True Image partition recovery trouble, recovery utility does not boot into graphical interface
I am trying to use True Image 2010 (or T.I. Home 9) to restore a full partition TIB file that created with True Image 9.0 build 3854.
Problem occurs on a Sony Vaio PCG505-TR. This 1999 notebook runs Windows 2000 because it has inadequate resources for XP (300 MHz Pentium, 128M RAM). Designed for portability, it has an external floppy disk drive. Sony offered an optional PC-card connected CD-R drive (read only); instead I bought a PC-card connected HP M820e CD-RW drive because it could write disks, too. Unfortunately the Vaio BIOS does not enable boot from the HP CD-RW drive. I am trying to locate a used Sony CD-R drive, which would be bootable. Until then...
True Image Home 9 is installed on the notebook. I have a full image for the c: drive on a HDD logical partition. This TIB file was created with True Image Home 9 and it validates just fine. But I am unable to restore it due to an apparent incompatibility with the Acronis restore utility.
If I run True Image Home from Windows GUI and initiate disk partition recovery from the TIB archive, reboot begins then execution stalls, failing to boot into the graphical interface. After True Image initiates reboot from Windows, the screen shows:
"Acronis loading, please wait...
(brief pause)
ide2: ports already in use, skipping probe."
after about 10 seconds, the display briefly flashes 2 lines that start with the word "error" (not displayed long enough to read) then says
"Restarting System" and the notebook simply reboots conventionally into Windows.
I cannot boot from Acronis CD-R recovery media due to BIOS limitations described above. But I have a DOS boot floppy disk that loads DOS drivers for the external HP CD-RW drive. After booting from A: I can access a CD-R under DOS. This is okay for using a windows install disk, but I cannot run Acronis utilities on the CD-R from DOS because they are written in Linux.
If I boot from floppy. using Acronis bootable rescue media (twelve floppy disks created using True Image Home 9) it fails exactly the same way.
A few days ago, I bought an upgrade to True Image Home 2010, but noticed Windows 2000 is not on the compatibility list. I considered making a set of True Image Home 2010 bootable rescue media on floppies, but bootable 2010 rescue software has ballooned to 68 MB! (too many 1.44MB floppies)
QUESTIONS
=========
After booting to DOS from the A: drive, is there a way to run the Acronis utilities on the CD-R (without actually booting from the CD-R)?
Is there a smaller bootable rescue utility than 68 MB, suitable for floppy disks?
Is there anything else I should try?
Thanks in advance,
Gary
Hi Dmitry,
I ended up buying a used Sony bootable CD-R drive at eBay, the same external drive that was originally offered as an accessory with the Vaio sub-notebook. Even using that drive, I was unsuccessful in loading the True Image 2010 rescue program UNTIL I read your reply...
I downloaded the Safe media plug-in and burned a new boot CD from the ISO image. The Safe version successfully loaded and ran. I am now certain that the Full version simply ran out of RAM, as this 1999 computer has just 128MB (the maximum). I believe it came with only 64MB!
I was relieved to find a successful recover method. Thank you.
COMMENTS
1. It would be helpful if the Acronis loader would attempt read-back after writing to RAM, then signal a FULL MEMORY error condition upon read-back error. Instead it fails without a clue as to reason. Looking back, it now seems obvious that RAM capacity was the problem all along, but at the time I didn't put the facts together. Had I seen a FULL MEMORY error, I would have immediately investigated smaller program alternatives.
2. After restore, I experienced a secondary problem. The PC would not boot from the C: drive, despite the fact the drive was primary and active, and was the primary drive when the image was created. This was an "ntldr is missing" error that I fixed after some Google searching.
The restore options for Master Boot Record are not well explained in the Acronis documentation.
Bottom line: My problem is fixed. Thanks for your feedback.
Gary
Hello Gary,
Thank you very much for your feedback! Please be sure that I will forward it to the responsible person.
Note that we have the special article for MBR recovery.
Additionally to this, you are welcome to ask me any other questions concerning Acronis, and I will assist you further.
Best regards,