Rescue disk problem

1) It looks like a driver issue. Try to download the latest bootable media from your ACronis account. You will get an ISO that you can burn to a CD and try.

2) Some builds list the serial number on the Help section, some don't. Acronis changes how it is done depending on the build.

3) What are the partitions you have on your laptop HDD? Do you have a OEM, Recovery or other hidden partition? That might be what kicks in when you boot with that HDD on another hardware. At any rate, it wouldn't mean it wouldn't work back on your laptop.

Were you just testing the restore, or do you prepare for a new disk in your laptop? A new drive might be the opportunity to get rid of the hidden partitions (except a possible Win 7 Reserved Partition that I would keep).

1) It worked! Thanks a lot.

3) Hmm. Interesting. On my laptop I have C: (= Local Disc), D: (= Recovery), & E: = (HP Tools). When I open the desktop HD inside the caddy, I get 4 more drives: I:, J:, & K: correspond to the above, but there is also a Drive H: labelled "System". However, when I boot up the Rescue Disc, Acronis gives me an extra drive option because it pairs up all four drives.

By the way, when I open Drive H: in Windows Explorer, it seems to be empty (and I've ticked the Show Hidden folders option), but the Computer pane indicates it has 170 MB free out of 203 MB.

What can I do to make the caddy HD bootable?
What can I do to make the Drive H: folders visible?

Thanks.

What can I do to make the Drive H:folders visible?In Vista and Windows 7, you have to uncheck "Hide protected operating system files". Maybe you will see a boot related file. If you did, the partition still needs some space to manage the file system (allocation table, indexes).

Which partion is marked active/system? Which one is marked boot (I guess C:\)

What can I do to make the caddy HD bootable?
I understand it boots, but you get this message. This message "start windows normally versus repair", does it happen before you see Windows 7 starting, or right after? If it is before, then you could try the repair option, or you could use the Windows installation CD to repair and it would boot right up into the boot-market partition. If you use the Windows CD, it may change the MBR and render these utility partitions useless, and that might just OK.

If it is after, I am wondering if the message stays after you have selected start Windows normally once.

My laptop HD has a drive called System. It doesn't have a letter. It is described as Healthy (System, Active, Primary Partition). Drive C: is described as Healthy (Boot, Page File, Crash Dump, Primary Partition). They are both NTFS.

The choice of booting normally versus repair comes up as soon as I choose the external HD to boot from. When I now pick boot normally, the "Windows is starting" screen comes up. It lasts just a few seconds, then I get a brief glimpse of a BSD, then back comes the "Windows is starting" screen. My guess is that the first of these is the external HD system trying to start, followed by failure, then it automatically returns to the default option of my laptop system. Does that seem reasonable to you?

If I choose the repair option, I get the following screen:

Recovery Manager

Sub-heading 1: I need help immediately:
Microsoft System Restore
System Recovery
Minimized Image Recovery

Sub-heading 2: I'd like to identify problems:
Run Computer Checkup

Sub-heading 3: I'd like to take precautions:
File Backup Program

What do you think will happen if I choose "Microsoft System Restore"?

The BSOD you get is because your laptop system image doesn't have the drivers to work on your desktop: different chipset, drive controller, or other.

Because of this BSOD, I doubt you will be able to boot on the disk as is.

Microsoft system restore will not help you, if it can find system restore information on that disk. You will still have a driver problem. The only option is a Windows reinstall or...

You could use ATI with the plus pack to restore the image to another disk on your desktop using universal restore. That restore option lets you point ATI to the drivers needed for your desktop.

About your partitions, the system and Drive C: partition are the ones you need. You need to restore these and the MBR and Track 0. Then ATI will rewrite the MBR correctly and the other partitions will become obsolete.

Could I use ATI with the plus pack to restore the image in the caddy onto an ordinary external HD?

I didn't try Plus Pack restore onto an external HD, but it should work.

On the Acronis website I clicked on Acronis True Image Home 2010 Plus Pack, but it leads to the 2011 version. Will this be compatible with ATI 2010? Will it be compatible with the clone in the caddy?

I don't think so. I am pretty sure the Plus Pack needs to be the same version and build as your ATI application.

I don't know how to get the Plus Pack for your version. I would contact Acronis directly to see if this is possible...

I've updated ATI Home 2010 to ATI 2011 with Plus Pack. I would like to do the following:

1. To restore the 4 drives in the internal drive in the caddy (System, Local Disk, Recovery, HP Tools) to the correct bootable format on an ordinary external HD.
2. Copy across this result to a blank internal drive in the caddy, then boot Windows from this.

To do this, do I have to put System and Local Disk onto the same partition?

Thanks for your help.

Robert,
This sounds like a HP or Compaq unit. Click on my signature link below and look at the refences 3-BB and 3-CC relating to the Compaq restore and or cloning guides--specifically for your partition arrangement.

I'm afraid, after reading your notes, I'm still not sure what I should do.

My laptop HD has 4 partitions (although one is only visible in Computer Management). The first is a drive called System. It doesn't have a letter. It is described as Healthy (System, Active, Primary Partition). Drive C: is described as Healthy (Boot, Page File, Crash Dump, Primary Partition). They are both NTFS. The other two drives are called Recovery and HP Tools.

Last October I bought ATI Home 2010 to make a mirror image of my entire LAPTOP drive onto an INTERNAL DESKTOP drive inside a caddy. As my laptop drive is bootable, I assumed that the desktop drive was as well. That is, when booting up my laptop, if I press Escape and F9 with the caddy attached, I get the option to boot from the mirror image, but, if I choose it, it doesn't boot.

All of a sudden my faith in Acronis was severely shaken because if the mirror image in the caddy won't boot up, then why should I believe that, if my laptop system goes phut, I'll be able to re-lay the mirror image back to my laptop HD?

I was advised that I would be able to rectify my problem by using Universal Restore in an add-on called Plus Pack. It turns out that the 2010 version is no longer available. However, I was able to update to ATI Home 2011 and buy the 2011 version of Plus Pack for a reasonable price, so I did so.

The problem now is that I can't find the Universal Restore option. It's not even listed in the Help section. Even worse, the add-on program is inside a folder called Plus Pack for ATI Home 2011 but the executable file is named Acronis WinPE ISO Builder. So it is not at all clear to me that I even HAVE the right add-on.

Please help me to sort this out. This problem is now chewing up a huge amount of time and all I'm doing is trying to protect my computer against theft or breakdown. (Things used to be a lot easier when I used Ghost.)

Robert,

Let's see if we can clarify some things.

If you want to do a image backup (not a clone) of your laptop and restore it on some other hardware (eg a disk of your desktop) you need the Universal Restore function (my assumption in post 5 and 7)

If you do a clone (I don't think you need to do this, but let's assume you do) of your laptop hard disk, you will get an exact copy of your laptop harddisk on another disk (in this case your disk in your caddy). But you won't be able to boot with that disk on your desktop (dissimilar hardware thing). You won't either be able to have your original disk and your cloned copy connected to your laptop a the same time and switch at will between the two at boot time. To achieve this, a clone is not the best approach, and you will need other operations to edit the boot files of your laptop to accept another bootable operating system partition. A clone is a way to replace a disk by another inside the laptop, but it is a process riskier than a regular backup.. Hence...

If you want to back up your laptop so that you can restore it when you laptop disk goes bad, you don't need the universal restore (because you will restore to the same hardware). You just need to backup (not clone) your main laptop disk to your external disk. On that external disk, you will get a TIB backup file with all the data you need to restore. If you internal laptop disk goes bad, you can use that TIB backup file to restore it (on the same disk or on another disk you would have put in). The external disk does not need to boot to make you confident you can use it to restore.

Robert,

Was the target disk(internal desktop) the same size or larger than the original laptop backup disk?

Last October I bought ATI Home 2010 to make a mirror image of my entire LAPTOP drive onto an INTERNAL DESKTOP drive inside a caddy.

What method did you use to transfer the contents from the laptop to the internal desktop drive? TrueImage has the capability of creating a duplicate disk via Cloning; or, creating a backup image (single *.tib file) and then restoring the *.tib image file via disk restore; or, via restoring individual partitions. What method did you use?

Have you tried removing the laptop disk and inserting the duplicate disk into the normal laptop boot position--to see if it would boot?

The information about the Plus Pack appears in the Help/About section of the TrueImage Windows Install as well as the same area in the Rescue CD. If the installed Windows version does not display this information, I would do a repair install but be aware that the both TI and PlusPack must have the same version numbers. You should also boot from the Rescue CD and confirm the existence of the pluspack there as well--just to make sure the pluspack was properly transferred to the Rescue CD.

If simulating a partition restore, there is a Universal restore option located between choosing the disk option or the Files and folders option of the CD.

My posting #11 shows how your disk management should appear except for different partition/disk sizes. The Recovery partitions does not have a drive letter and neither should the same partition on a replacement disk. If there is a letter assigned to that partition, it should be removed and changed to un-lettered.

I cannot comment about the caddy being bootable on a laptop drive. Many computers will not boot from a caddy. Even if you were successful booting the caddy, in my opinion, the test would not prove that a replacement disk placed directly into the laptop would succeed. It would seem to me that your are testing an apples and oranges comparison.

A much better task would be to get yourself a spare or future replacement disk for the laptop and then
1. Remove the working laptop disk.
2. Insert the new disk as a replacement.
3. Restore the mirror image *.tib backup file either as a disk option restore or as multiple partitions.
4. Shutdown and reboot with only the new disk attached.
5. You should have success but if not then we troubleshoot some more.

My guides illustrate how to duplicate a laptop disk onto a larger replacement disk via cloning or restoring. If restoring to a same size or smaller disk, then a slightly different clone or restoring procedure can be used.

Help/About section

Edit:
Pat L,
I was in the process of creating my response so we ended up with duplicate postings.

GroverH wrote:

Robert,

Was the target disk(internal desktop) the same size or larger than the original laptop backup disk?

Both laptop and desktop HDs are claimed to be 500 GB but they seem to have 465 GB.

Last October I bought ATI Home 2010 to make a mirror image of my entire LAPTOP drive onto an INTERNAL DESKTOP drive inside a caddy.

What method did you use to transfer the contents from the laptop to the internal desktop drive? TrueImage has the capability of creating a duplicate disk via Cloning; or, creating a backup image (single *.tib file) and then restoring the *.tib image file via disk restore; or, via restoring individual partitions. What method did you use?

I have made *.tib backups to EXTERNAL hard drives before. However, my October backup (which, unfortunately, is the one I'm most concerned about) does not seem to have been made the same way because I can see no *.tib files in sight. When I look in Computer Management, the contents of the caddy and my own laptop look almost exactly the same. Both have 4 drives.

Have you tried removing the laptop disk and inserting the duplicate disk into the normal laptop boot position--to see if it would boot?

They are of different physical sizes. My plan was, once I had found a way to make the desktop disk bootable, to buy a new caddy and internal HD but now of the right size to fit inside the latop, and copy the desktop HD onto the laptop HD. That way I would be sure I had a bootable laptop HD ready to go into my laptop if my own HD developed problems. (In case you are wondering why I don't just make a new clone of my existing laptop HD, it's because I did have difficulties with it a week or so ago, and I'm not 100% sure those difficulties are gone. So my October backup dates from when I am sure my laptop was working correctly.)

The information about the Plus Pack appears in the Help/About section of the TrueImage Windows Install as well as the same area in the Rescue CD. If the installed Windows version does not display this information, I would do a repair install but be aware that the both TI and PlusPack must have the same version numbers.

I downloaded the 2011 versions of both. In the Acronis folder there are two subfolders: "Acronis True Image Home" and "Plus Pack for Acronis True Image Home 2001". Inside the second folder there is a program called "Acronis WinPE ISO Builder". Inside the first there are several programs, but the main one is called "True Image Home". However, when I click on this, up comes a screen with the program name. It is called "Acronis True Image Home 2011 Plus Pack". All this is a bit confusing, of course.

You should also boot from the Rescue CD and confirm the existence of the pluspack there as well--just to make sure the pluspack was properly transferred to the Rescue CD.

I'll do this later on, and get back to you if there's a problem.

If simulating a partition restore, there is a Universal restore option located between choosing the disk option or the Files and folders option of the CD.

My posting #11 shows how your disk management should appear except for different partition/disk sizes. The Recovery partitions does not have a drive letter and neither should the same partition on a replacement disk. If there is a letter assigned to that partition, it should be removed and changed to un-lettered.

I cannot comment about the caddy being bootable on a laptop drive. Many computers will not boot from a caddy. Even if you were successful booting the caddy, in my opinion, the test would not prove that a replacement disk placed directly into the laptop would succeed. It would seem to me that your are testing an apples and oranges comparison.

This is the gist of Pat L's advice too.

A much better task would be to get yourself a spare or future replacement disk for the laptop and then
1. Remove the working laptop disk.
2. Insert the new disk as a replacement.
3. Restore the mirror image *.tib backup file either as a disk option restore or as multiple partitions.
4. Shutdown and reboot with only the new disk attached.
5. You should have success but if not then we troubleshoot some more.

Will the above procedure work if the mirror image is not in *.tib form?
Do I just need a bootable Acronis CD to do the procedure?

My guides illustrate how to duplicate a laptop disk onto a larger replacement disk via cloning or restoring. If restoring to a same size or smaller disk, then a slightly different clone or restoring procedure can be used.

Help/About section

Edit:
Pat L,
I was in the process of creating my response so we ended up with duplicate postings.

My thanks to both of you for your advice.

I have made *.tib backups to EXTERNAL hard drives before. However, my October backup (which, unfortunately, is the one I'm most concerned about) does not seem to have been made the same way because I can see no *.tib files in sight. When I look in Computer Management, the contents of the caddy and my own laptop look almost exactly the same. Both have 4 drives.

It appears you made a clone rather than a backup.If you get another disk which will fit into the laptop, you may be able to take a disk option backup of your clone and then use the backup to restore onto the new laptop drive.

I downloaded the 2011 versions of both. In the Acronis folder there are two sub folders: "Acronis True Image Home" and "Plus Pack for Acronis True Image Home 2001". Inside the second folder there is a program called "Acronis WinPE ISO Builder". Inside the first there are several programs, but the main one is called "True Image Home". However, when I click on this, up comes a screen with the program name. It is called "Acronis True Image Home 2011 Plus Pack". All this is a bit confusing, of course.

It sounds like you are in the right area. You can confirm by going to Start>Programs>Acronis>AcronisTrueImageHome> and click on Acronis TrueImage Home. Click on the Help section and the About section and you should see the listing for Acronis Plus Pack.

Will the above procedure work if the mirror image is not in *.tib form?

No, your 2nd mirror image is on a disk of the wrong size. As mentioned above, you can try taking a backup of the 2nd mirror and then try to restore the backup onto a new laptop disk.

Do I just need a bootable Acronis CD to do the procedure?

Yes, the Acronis bootable CD offers a much better success rate than if you try inside Windows.

I've done a backup of the 4 drives in the caddy onto an ordinary external HD. The result is a single 231 GB file inside a folder called My backups. I've bought a 2.5" caddy and an internal laptop HD. I had to do a simple format of it. The space available is 465 GB. I've run ATI Home 2011 Plus Pack and chosen the Explore option. It gives me the four drives to recover. I take it I need to create partitions on the laptop HD of the same size as the original, and recover each drive to a partition of its own. Will it be sufficient to just do them in order?

How do I make the new drive bootable?

All of a sudden, after partitioning my new laptop HD in its caddy in spaces mirroring the sizes of the partitions in the source HD, when I open ATI Home 2011 Plus Pack, I don't get a the recover options. The explore option doesn't seem to work now. What on earth has happened now?

Robert,

When you do the backup with 2011, you have selected *all* partitions on the disk. This is correct. Now your image contains all the information it needs.
You don't need to create partitions before restoring, this structure will be overwritten during restore.
Boot from your recovery CD.
Watch out! The drive letters you will see on the recovery CD are NOT the ones you have in Window. THis is OK. Look at the drive descriptions and labels.
When you choose what to recover, select your backup image, select the entire disk including MBR and Track 0 and disk signature (again look attentively at the drive description, not the letters).
Select the destination.
Go!

Attached is a picture showing what to select when restoring the disk.

I have succeeded in copying the internal DESKTOP HD to an external HD and thence I restored the entire HD to an internal LAPTOP HD (in another caddy). I was going to try it out inside my laptop but my own HD is covered with a film of thick black plastic and I couldn't see a sure way of taking out the HD safely. Following the always good advice of "If it works, don't fix it" (which I wish I had followed a month ago!), I decided to leave well enough alone.

So, I have my October backup on an internal LAPTOP HD, and I BELIEVE - though do not KNOW - it is ok.

I want to thank you both, Pat L and GroverH, for all your help.

Robert