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ATI2011 - Shocking Backup Experience - Validated Backup Cannot be Restored

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I have been a long time ATI user but this experience really shocked me.

I did a partition backup from the system partition and validated it. Everything was okay. Later I tried to restore the partition and got an error that the operation failed. I looked into the log and found a bitmap error - see attachment. I tried to mount the backup and had no problems.

AFTER I created this problem backup I run chkdsk because I had a system crash. Then I got a disk error reported - I guess it was there already when I created the problem backup. I simply fixed it with chkdsk and Windows was happy again. Then I created a new backup before I tried to restore the problem backup. This new backup I could restore but I needed the backup from before that did not work anymore.

When I created this problem backup there was no message that I would not be able to restore it because of such an error. Validation and mounting was problem free. All other backups I could restore but not this one.

What this means is that even if you create a backup and validate it this does not mean anything. I imagine that I did not find this out by accident very early and had an endless backup chain. A nightmare.

Please tell me that I am wrong! Otherwise I will have to restore every backup just to get a real validation - such chkdsk errors might be only one problem that I know now.

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Sad that you had such an experience but reinforces the need for multiple backups stored in a variety of places. I cringe everytime a user complains that the program refuses to delete their one and only backup before a replacement backup is created.

My rule for backup deletion is to keep as many as space will permit and never delete unless absolutely necessary. I have numerous backups disks--even old IDE which I refuse to throw out.

The validation is basically saying that the write matches the read. It is not unusual for a disk to make retries on a read until it succeeds so my "guess" is that yours was a marginal read and later failed. Some users believe that validation is a match of actual data which is not true.

You also found out how important a disk check for errors can be. I make a practice of a disk check at least every 3 months. A forced power down or power blip could create a problem at any time. A disk check only for file error is really quick--only a few minutes, wherease a disk check for disk errors can take several hours and the larger the disk, the longer it takes.

Be glad that you suffered no major damage and benefit from the early warning of the need to occasionally check your disks condition. Most certainly, I would believe that the best time for a disk check would be prior to the creation of a full disk mode image backup.

There is an all purpose cleanup program I use which is
Advanced SystemCare6
and it includes a quick check for errors as part of its examination of the computer. It also does random cleanup of the registry etc and this forces me to look at the disk as well.

Say your prayers that you got by with so little damage.

Hi GroverH,

As always thank you for your great comments and support. "Say your prayers that you got by with so little damage." Perhaps I should replace ATI by prayers :-)

Yes I had big luck that I discovered the problem by accident so early. Because of the system crash and the bad MFT I wanted to restore the "good" backup. But in the end I see a big design flaw that cannot be removed by any prayers but by coding only. The validation does just a CRC check - I know. But when you try to restore the backup ATI suddenly checks other things too and tells you that you have bad luck with your validated backup and cannot use it because it cannot be used.

To me this late final validation sounds like a bad joke and the only way to avoid this sad experience for sure is to make a test restore - mounting did not show any problems too. But from this moment on all incremental and differential partition backups don't make sense anymore because they might/will get very big. For the understanding for others - restore a partition backup and try to add the just restored data as differential or incremental backup again. Even if the data might be the same they will be different for ATI now and so it adds a lot as backup change since the data location changed on the disk. It does not care about changed data only. In such a case I always start with a new full backup. But test restores will be the only choice if I want to be on the safe side. chkdsk before a backup will be on my duty list too now.

But it would be easier if ATI checks at the not really validating validation if it can restore the backup and not afterwards. For sure I am not the first one who discovered this and I am wondering why this problem still exists. Perhaps somebody should remind them. For me such test restores are not a real option. I have TI2011. Is there a fix in a later version?