True Image 2014 - Bitlocker Problem
I attempted to clone my laptop drive to a replacement SSD but did not disable bitlocker first. The computer restarts now, goes into a diagnostic (Windows Repair) and doesn't fix any problems but won't boot. I suspect that True Image has altered the MBR or BCD. Is there anyway to restore them to the original boot to windows so that I can disable bitlocker and try this again? THANKS for any help!
I've done that and run FIXMBR and Boot Rec Rebuild without any change to the results. I need to get the bios to boot back to windows instead of IB. Is there a way to actually look at the data in those files and determine what I need to change?
Did you follow the recommended procedures outlined in the documentation to perform the clone operation? Did you detach the old (source) drive from the machine before attempting to boot into the new (target) SSD? If you did not detach the source drive you must do so to boot to the new one.
Here is a link to the recommended steps for cloning. Pay close attention to the specific requirements for laptops.
http://www.acronis.com/en-us/support/documentation/ATIH2014/index.html#…
Since the clone operation is a bit for bit copy of source to target you should not have a boot problem. It is possible to trash the boot record however if the clone is performed improperly. There are methods for restoring the boot record that you can find by Google search.
Enchantech, My problem is the computer won't boot to even begin the clone process. I did follow the wizard instructions, and when it restarted the computer to begin the clone, it comes up with the "repairing" msg and then shuts down. I need to UN-DO what ever True Image did to the boot sequence so I can Unlock the drive and then start over. Can anyone explain what TI does to the boot sequence to begin a system drive clone?
You say you followed the Wizard instructions meaning that you ran the process from within the Windows environment I take it. That is not per recommended steps of the documentation. Granted the application does not tell you that during the process and so cloning can and does result in problems like yours.
The correct procedure to clone a laptop System OS Drive is to first remove the original (source) drive from the machine, next attach the new (target) drive to the same physical port and location in the machine. Next would be to attach the target drive preferably via a second port internally within the machine and sans that via USB port. You then would boot the machine using the recovery boot media which you must create yourself either on CD or USB thumb drive. Once booted into the Acronis True Image app you then perform the clone operation. This is all after you have first created the recovery boot media and tested that to insure that you can boot the machine to that device to begin with.
It is further recommended that you perform a full disk backup of the source drive and verify that backup to be recoverable prior to any of this so that in the event something does go wrong you will have a working backup which can be restored to disk.
I will not guarantee you anything but if I were you I would remove the current disk from the machine which I suspect is now the cloned or target disk of this mess and reinstall the original disk into the machine and see what happens. If that fails to boot then attempt to repair the boot record on that drive. If that fails I think your probably going to have to start from scratch and perform a clean install of the OS and all applications.
RobFlg,
Sorry at ask, but are you saying you don't have a back up of your data and now only have a bitlocker encrypted system which will not boot?
I honestly don't know what the clone operation does exactly to the source disk. Cloning is risky and the few times I've done it was on unencrypted drives a party had a back up of. For my personal use, I always used a full disk image to restore the unencrypted partitions one at a time with boot media. Not helpful in your situation I know.
I found two KB articles on Bitlocker. Before reading the articles, I had tried performing a back up of all partitions from boot media to restore to a new disk. This failed, since cloning a bitlocker encrypted drive is not supported using boot media. I haven't tried for a while (over a year). I think I was using 2013 at the time.
https://kb.acronis.com/content/1734
I'm messing with my wife's work laptop now which employs bitlocker, but I can't install Acronis. Heavily locked down. So I think I'll have to give her company's IT department an SSD and have them image it for her.
I don't see much in the way of help beyond what Enchantech has offered. Start up repair, bootrec /rebuildbcd, bootrec /fixmbr..... Bitlocker is a decent native encryption software, but not good when things go south.
You didn't tell us what Windows operating system your laptop is running. That would help.
I took a look at what Acronis does on a Windows 8.1 UEFI 64 bit system. First, they write an Acronis folder in the EFI partition with the boot code. Second, they write an entry in the BCD called Acronis loader and set it as the default. Upon reboot I was able to enter my BIOS and see that the first boot option was set to "Acronis loader." All I had to do was select Windows Boot Manager as the first boot option and Windows booted normally.
Mustang, I'm running Windows 7 Pro. Sounds like you have it figured out! THANKS. I haven't checked to BIOS Boot Sequence yet but will do now.
Well, I'm not able to find a "Acronis Loader" anywhere in BIOS. This is a HP EliteBook 8570w and the BIOS settings are GUI controlled and don't offer an option I can find to change the boot device priority. I've tried resetting the BIOS to default and that didn't help. I've got about 8 hrs work that wasn't backed up before the attempt to Clone (LESSON LEARNED) so I just want that data off the drive, the rest I can rebuild.
Do you see an advanced option in your bios? If so that should allow you to drill further into settings which should get you to the disk priority options.
Don't give up yet. I'll try it with a Windows 7 64 bit system and see what I find.
Appreciate the help from all of you. I don't give up easy (probably have more than the 8 hrs it would take to recreate the work into recovery now!) I'll do some more digging in the BIOS. When I look at my BCDEdit results, I find custom5400000f listed under {current} is this a file that is somehow directing a boot without first using the McAfee fingerprint scan to validate my bitlocker and allow the boot?
I see the same result from a Windows 7 64 bit system. Keep in mind I'm using TI 2015 for the tests. It's possible TI 2014 could handle it differently, but I doubt it. I'm also testing on UEFI systems with GPT disks.
Keep looking in the BIOS. I know the HP BIOS' can be very sparse. I would think there has to be way to set the boot priority. How else would you be able to boot from a CD or USB flash drive?
I did try it with Bitlocker enabled on my Win 8 system and it made no difference. Selecting Windows Boot Manager worked and brought me to the screen to enter the Bitlocker password. I don't know anything about the McAfee fingerprint with Bitlocker.
Didn't see any other way to access additional info in the bios. Here is a photo of the screen I'm seeing:
Can you tell me about your system? Is it UEFI or legacy BIOS? Is your system disk MBR or GPT?
I tested on a Windows 7 system on a MBR disk in a legacy BIOS system. I was able to undo the Acronis loader by booting the system with a WinPE CD and opening a command prompt. In the command window I entered "bootrec.exe /fixmbr" without the quotes. I got a message that the operation completed successfully. The system now booted into windows and skipped Acronis loader.
On this type of system, TI writes a new MBR to start Acronis loader. When you reboot, it runs the operation you requested. After the operation completes, it rewrites the standard MBR so Windows starts on the next boot. The problem is that when Acronis loader can't start the Linux recovery media on your hardware, it never gets to the point of rewriting the MBR leaving you stuck in the loop you are in.
You will need to create a WinPE disk with TI to deal with this computer. Unlocking or removing Bitlocker and doing the clone operation from Windows will have the same result.
EDIT:
The WinPE I used was built using winre.wim (Windows Recovery Environment). Bootrec.exe is not available in a standard WinPE built using winpe.wim. Try to boot into the HP recovery environment and see if you can enter the bootrec line in a command prompt.
Appreciate the help from all of you. I don't give up easy (probably have more than the 8 hrs it would take to recreate the work into recovery now!) I'll do some more digging in the BIOS. When I look at my BCDEdit results, I find custom5400000f listed under {current} is this a file that is somehow directing a boot without first using the McAfee fingerprint scan to validate my bitlocker and allow the boot?
The custom5400000f entry is one added by OEMs (in this case, HP) to allow booting to their recovery partition when you press a certain key at startup.
In viewing your image file is it possible for you to, using your down arrow key on your keyboard, navigate to the section SecureBoot Configuration? If so are there other options that appear below that section or is it possible to expand that section by using the enter key?
None of the "grayed" options are available. I'm logging into the BIOS as admin with a fingerprint scan.
I've attached two images, one of the results of running BCDEdit.edx and the other after following your recommendation above to run Bootrec.exe Still get the same result, system boots to a Windows "Startup Repair" screen, states it's attempting repairs for about 5 minutes, then says it can't repair automatically.
Two options are available, View Diagnostics and Repair Details And View advanced options for system recovery and support. From the second option, I can go to advanced results and on that page, there is a option for a command prompt window. It's from that window I have run the above files. I have a Windows PE CD. Do I need to run the above from a command prompt generated by booting from the CD?
I've got a bad feeling you've done all you can to correct the boot problem. Not having your computer here is a giant handicap.
There is one last hope. See my thread about unlocking a Bitlocker drive using WinPE here https://forum.acronis.com/forum/84464 . See if you can unlock the drive and then use the A43 File Manager to copy out the data you need.
I concur with Paul on this.