Validate - issues and questions
The help documentation provides virtually no information for the validate function. This is a needed function, as I have recently learned.
Background: I have a sophisticated setup with 6 hard drives in my custom built desktop. I have images for several machines. Total of about 25 images totaling several terabytes. A week ago, my power supply started to fail, and it intermittently locked up my machine as well as randomly powering down several hard drives. This caused corruption on my backup drive. I need to validate a LOT of backups.
1. Can you run validate from within Windows? IF you browse to the folder where the tib files are, you can right-click on a tib, select Acronis True Image, Validate. THEN NOTHING HAPPENS. Never get any feedback that the tib was checked, no status of good or bad. How do you run from within Windows? This is critical in my situation.
2. The only way I have found to actually run a validate is to boot to recovery media, browse to the folder where the tib files are, and chose Validate from the options in the recovery process. This is a painful option when you need the computer for other things while the validate is running.
I need to be able to run validate from within Windows, and to be able to browse the folder. ATI on one computer doesn't know about the backups from another computer. BTW, I have a 3 computer license for ATI.
I am VERY frustrated at trying to figure this out, with virtually non-existent documentation, I keep hitting walls.
There is no point in saving hundreds of Gigs of data if they are corrupt.
Bubba, in addition to Ian's comments, if the validation using the Explorer integration doesn't work then I would recommend doing a Repair of your ATI software to resolve this.
To a Repair, download the latest full installer program from your Acronis account, then install this over the top of the existing software without uninstalling first. This will repair the shell integration for Acronis with Windows.
Update:
In my main desktop, I have an internal HDD - backup drive, drive letter H. If I Right-click on a TIB file on H that is a backup of the main desktop, I can validate from within Windows. ATI opens, and the validating task appears at the bottom, progressing as it works.
I keep copies of backups on another internal drive letter M. If I right-click on the same TIB filename from within Windows, nothing happens. It won't validate.
If I right click on H: for a TIB that is a backup of desktop #2, it won't validate. I get an error, see attached file. This is an internal WD HDD. No problems reading or writing to the drive. Retry comes back to the same error in a minute or two.
Conclusion: You can only validate files that were backed up by the same computer. TIB files copied to H and M from other computers will not validate. Validation never starts.
Using ATI 2009 updated to 14110 release. Error message says to look at KB for info on the errorcode. Nothing found for 0x00040001
Interesting detail: When I right-click on a file created on the main desktop, select Acronis, submenu pops up with BOTH Mount and Validate options. When right-clciking on a file created on another desktop, there is only the validate option, and it never validates.
Bubba, I have never encountered any such issue as you are describing here and have always been able to use the validate option for any .tib file on any drive regardless of what computer was used to create the file.
The fact that you can validate some files on your H: drive suggest that the Acronis shell integration with Windows is fine, therefore there must be a different issue here, probably related to copying the files or a file system issue.
I would suggest running CHKDSK on other drives where your .tib files are stored, or try validating those files in their original storage location (with files that have not been copied or moved).
It is possible that there is a memory issue at the heart of this problem which could cause files to be corrupted when being copied.
Like Steve, I do not recall having any such problems. If I have the opportunity I will do a test to see if I can replicate the problem you are having,
Ian
I can successfully validate backups created by other computers. All backup files are stored on a NAS. As I select such a backup to validate, the backup is added to the list of backups on the computer used to validate, and the validation succeeds.
Just in case, make sure you open ATI and look under "other backups"...
If you double click on the TIB files, can you open them successfully? If you can mount them and/or browse the content, it gives you a good level of confidence that you can access the data.
In the middle of the night it occurred to me that there may be a permissions issue. If the backup was either made directly to the USB drive while connected to the other computer or was copied to the USB drive while attached to that computer, the file permissions may not allow users on the "new" computer to access them.
Just checked the permissions for a *.tib file (created on the computer I am using) and got the following:
Not sure if this helps, but worth considering.
Ian
I hope that I have posted to the appropriate place. ATI 2019 allows one to validate a backup via the Windows Explorer application (i.e. right clicking on a backup). However when one does this on a previous version of a Backup the validation actually occurs on the latest version and not the backup version selected (according to Resource Montor and the MVP Log Viewer). Is this correct or an undocumented feature ?
Is there any way to validate a previous version of a Backup ?
Validation will apply to all files for the selected backup task not just those within the current backup version chain.
Steve, many thanks for your prompt response. For the sake of clarity, in the case of a task which creates a full backup and we have Versions, 1,2,3 where 3 is the latest and one selects validation of version 1 are you saying that validation will occur on all the versions 1, 2 and 3 ?
As the Windows Resource Monitor only shows version 3 with disk activity
Yes, that is our understanding based on another forum topic on this subject (for the ATI 2020 Beta) where some of the MVP’s have been testing validation behaviour after reports complaining about the time taken in these activities.
That is not the experience I am receiving with Build 17750, when I select an older version to validate only the most recent version is validated.
Thus there is no way of validating an older version without using either the Linux or WinPE environments
Perhaps the ATI 2020 Beta behavior relates only to 2020, not earlier versions. (I should be able to check that.)
While not convenient, using a stand alone may be your only option for validating old chains.