Can't restore original configuration from Startup & Recovery Manager
Hello. I'm having trouble with True Image Personal 2013 build 6306 on a Windows 7 system.
I am unable to restore the original configuration using the removable media. I can boot from the USB stick and I can see the original configuration in the Recovery Wizard. However, when I select it and hit "Next" nothing happens.
This also happens if I boot into the startup and recovery manager using F11. We have been using ATI 2009 successfully for awhile now. We only recently moved to 2013 when we moved to Windows 7 and now it doesn't even work. Any idea what is going on?
The Recovery Wizard lists the original configuration in the list of images. It shows it as a full backup and even has the date/time. This is the image that Acronis creates upon installation. The path is shown as "asz:\Original configuration". I have not done a restore on this machine yet. I loaded Windows 7 and installed Acronis. Acronis automatically created the above image upon reboot. Then I created a recovery USB stick and tried booting from it. I was able to get into Acronis via the USB and also via F11, but in both cases I was unable to load the image. When I select the image and hit Next nothing happens.
Ah, I see. I'll let someone else answer, in case there are special considerations when restoring an image from the Secure Zone. An alternative would be to copy the image from the Secure Zone to an external drive, and use the bootable Rescue Media to restore it from there.
Also, your build is not the latest build of ATI 2013. You should download the latest build and install it. You can also obtain an even later build of the bootable Rescue Media by downloading it separately rather than creating it using the Media Builder function of ATI's Windows app.
FYI:
I advise against creating the Acronis Secure Zone. It's a sub-optimal method of backup intended for people who have no external target to which to backup. If your drive fails, you would lose your system, files, and your Secure Zone backups.
It's much better and safer to make backup images to an external hard drive.
Also, in the past there were occasional reports of the Secure Zone causing problems to the system. When I installed Secure Zone on one PC, it corrupted the hard drive causing data loss and rendering the system unbootable. Perhaps the latest versions of Secure Zone are improved, but that experience coupled with its inherent insecurity and lack of redundancy cause me to be wary of Secure Zone.
I also recommend against the associated Acronis Startup Recovery Manager. If activated, it modifies your system drive Master Boot Record (MBR), which can cause problems with multi-boot managers and other low-level disk utilities.
Thanks for the reply. We are an OEM so we are less concerned about hard drive failure because that almost certainly leads to the system being returned to us for repair. We use the Secure Zone as a fail safe for our end user to fall back on if (when) they manage to mess up the OS. It is a requirement for our customers to have this OEM partition. We also include the bootable USB stick so they can create/restore their own backups outside of the OEM partition.
Some additional information:
We are using ATI OEM 2013 for System Builders. I've tried both the Personal and HD versions. Both have the same problem. Despite what is listed on the website (http://www.acronis.com/oem/comparison-atih.html), the only real difference appears to be the ability to do file-based backups in the Personal edition. Both support the Startup & Recovery Manager, both support the Secure Zone and both are able to clone a disk.
Any ideas why we can't restore the original configuration from bootable media?