ATI recovery media problem?
I have the recovery media on a USB thumb drive. It was used last week with no problem, but when I tried to boot from it tonight, Windows started. I never had the option to boot from the thumb drive. The drive showed up on my computer when I plugged it in, giving me the options to view the files, etc., but I just closed that window. After trying 3 times to boot from it, I gave up and started the backup through Windows. The thumb drive showed up as one of the options to backup to. I'm guessing I need to make a new ATI recovery media file, but wondering if there could be something else wrong?? Any ideas?
Mine is F12, but I tried that. Windows booted just like it would normally after a restart or shutdown. It did not display the menu like it did before. Thanks for the reply.
Sometimes more than one attempt is needed to achieve success.
On a "locked drive" one that has a hibernation file, some bios will prevent booting of 3rd party bootloaders to avoid corrupting the hibernation file. I have a laptop that has done this a few times. The work-a-round is to reboot instead of shutdown. At one point I had to actually pull the battery and hold the power button (without AC power) to force a cold boot of the machine - then I could boot my media. This stinks when you have a non-removable battery and a retular shutdown (even one using shutdown /p) is not doing the trick. Then you have to wait for the batter to drain completely. Shouldn't happen to many, but FYI for those that might run into this qwerk.
Also, are you sure the bootable media is exactly the same and working - any other computers to test on, just to be sure?
I'm trying to picture this, but am not seeing it. You can enter a decryption password on the machine currently? What happens at that point - I dont' see how you'll be able to boot Acronis unless this is done in the bios and the disk remains unlocked when you go to boot into another media. If this is the case, then after decrypting, boot to your Windows recovery disk and run a startup repair if you have the opportunity.
Do you have any Acronis backups at all - just in case? If the drive remains encrypted, even if you can boot the acronis media, the data in this backup won't do you any good unless the drive is unlocked or decrypted.
Hoping for the best though.
Ed, I think that Rob's last update #5 was intended for a different user topic as see no mention in this one about decryption passwords etc.
Do give Rob's suggestion of using a Restart rather than doing a Shutdown when wanting to boot from the Rescue Media USB stick a try - this will eliminate any risk of being in a Hybrid Sleep / Hibernation state due to having Windows Fast Start enabled.
Thank you very much for the replies. I have a backup I made last night through Windows. There is also another one I made last week, using the same thumb drive. The computer was restarted in each of 3 attempts to boot from the media. It was never shut down completely. This thumb drive media was made within the last 2 weeks, and as I said, it already worked correctly once before. I do have an old laptop that I can try to boot to. I'll try that a little later today, and post the results. Thanks again for the help. FWIW, every time the thumb drive was connected, it was disconnected safely.
Ed, are you seeing the correct / expected menu option on your one-time boot device menu for the USB drive when you are trying to boot from it? Just wondering if something in the BIOS boot device order / sequence has changed since you were able to boot successfully from it. I wouldn't expect the USB media to have gone bad but it won't harm to try it on a different laptop.
First time use, everything worked as expected. I did try it with the old laptop, and it booted successfully. I'll try it again on my desktop later on today. Thanks.
Just an update. The first time I tried to boot from the USB media today, it worked with no problem. Microsoft applied an update, and when I went to restart the computer, it configured Windows, which took over 1/2 hour. I don't know if that had anything to do with it, but I'll just blame Microsoft for any problems I can. ;) Thanks much for all the replies.
Windows updates can take quite awhile to configure - especially if a Service Pack has been applied (or a Windows 10 upgrade). If you're using a spinning drive, these can take a long time. SSD's (good ones) are so much nicer for these types of situations and should speed things along in most cases. Service packs always take a whiel to fully apply and sometimes even take a few rounds of reboots.
FYI, next time you have to rebuild, you may not have to start from scratch. If you have Windows 8.1 or earlier, you should have an OEM license key on your system. If it didn't come with one (or you don't know where it is), you should be able to grab it out of the OS with Magic Jellybean keyfinder or a tool like Belarc System Report. You can then create an official OEM iso online for Windows 10, 8.1 or 8, or grab an official Win 7 SP1 .iso from Microsoft and then apply your OEM key during the install
http://www.howtogeek.com/186775/how-to-download-windows-7-8-and-8.1-installation-media-legally/
Windows 10 doesn't work with locall license keys anymore unless you purchased a full/box retail version. The OEM licenes on the local machine all report with the ame generic key using tools like Magic JellyBean keyfinder and Belarc system report - those keys don't work to activate windows 10 OEM. The licensing for Windows 10 OEM is stricly handled by the Microsoft servers - once Windows 10 is licensed for a piece of hardware it will always license so make sure to have the latest version already downloaded and ready so you have minimal updates to apply after a fresh OS install.
You guys just blow me away with all the information you provide. Thank you so much.
glad to help!!!