Acronis True Image 7.0: Image verify, and bootable DVD image write?

[Matt]

Hello,

I am evaluating Acronis True Image 7.0, have previously only used
DriveImage and Ghost (2003).

True Image so far looks truly impressive. However, I have 2 key
questions/concerns:

1) Image verify

I created an image, then verified it with the source partition (my
WinXP system parition), and the image "verified successfully." I then
removed and added a couple minor files to my source partition, reran
the verify, and I still get the "verified successfully" message.
Bummer, not what I expected. What makes it verify unsuccessfully?

2) Creating bootable DVD image write disks that can "refresh" a
system?

I want to copy TrueImage image files to a DVD that I can make bootable
such that I insert the DVD into a system, reboot, and the system
automatically and with no human input required (except for maybe a
"verify system refresh" confirmation button) reset the designated
partition back to the state of the image.

Norton seems to have some docs on how to make this (at least for a
CD):

http://service1.symantec.com/SUPPOR...56952006d83d1&dtype=&prod=&ver=&osv=&osv_lvl=

TrueImage claims DVD writing...but can it handle my above scenario
requirements?

Thanks for any help,
Matt

 

[Harvey Gratt]

I am also interested in the Acronis True Image 7.0 product. Have you had
any luck in getting answers from their sales and/or tech people?

I have left 4 different phone messages to have a sales person call me,
to no avail. I then purchased the boxed version of the product online (I
wanted a CD and hard copy manual) only to be informed later that it was
backordered. I have also emailed tech support with several question -
again no response.

I am concerned about the level of support that I will get from Acronis.
Have you had luck in making contact with them? If so, how did you do it?

Thanks,
Harvey

 

[SloPoke]

1) Image verify

I created an image, then verified it with the source partition (my
WinXP system parition), and the image "verified successfully." I then
removed and added a couple minor files to my source partition, reran
the verify, and I still get the "verified successfully" message.
Bummer, not what I expected. What makes it verify unsuccessfully?

TI only verifies that the image is readable and the structure is
intact. It does not compare it to the original disk/partition.
AFAIK, no imaging product does a compare to the original.

2) Creating bootable DVD image write disks that can "refresh" a
system?

I want to copy TrueImage image files to a DVD that I can make bootable
such that I insert the DVD into a system, reboot, and the system
automatically and with no human input required (except for maybe a
"verify system refresh" confirmation button) reset the designated
partition back to the state of the image.

Can't day for sure, but I don't think so.

 

[Matt]

I am also interested in the Acronis True Image 7.0 product. Have you had
any luck in getting answers from their sales and/or tech people?

My email to Acronis support below represents the extent of my contact
with Acronis. (Note that my original email has embedded web links
that the text below does not show.) I just sent this note a few
seconds ago, and have only received an automated response back. If I
remember to do it (no guarantees), I'll post back here if I get a
human followup.

-Matt


Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2004 13:39:31 -0600
To: (e-mail address removed)
From: Matt
Subject: Create bootable DVD with system reload image?

Can I create bootable DVD image write disks that can "refresh"/reload
a system using TrueImage (any version)?

I want to copy TrueImage image files to a DVD that I can make bootable
such that I insert the DVD into a system, reboot, and the system
automatically and with no human input required (except for maybe a
"verify system reload" confirmation button) reset the designated
partition back to the state of the image.

Norton seems to have some docs (see the link here) on how to make this
(at least for a CD) using Ghost 2003. Can similar process happen with
TrueImage?

TrueImage claims DVD writing...but can it handle my above scenario
requirements?

I have also started this usenet thread asking about this, so far, the
one response I have thinks that there is no means to do this.

-Matt

 

[CS]

On Wed, 14 Jan 2004 19:43:23 GMT, Matt

Don't know if you looked at the FAQ posted on the Acronis web site
with regard to True Image 7.0.

According to their FAQ, DVD disks must be formatted (UDF) prior to use
by using a program such as Nero InCD, Roxio DirectCD, or Veritas DLA.

Again from their FAQ, it seems to indicate that you can write the
images to your hard drive and then burn them direct to DVD. You would
of course have to use your DVD burning program to make the disk
bootable. However, it would seem to me that the True Image program
would also have to be on the DVD so that the process is automatically
run upon bootup.

 

[Will Dormann]

Hello,

I am evaluating Acronis True Image 7.0, have previously only used
DriveImage and Ghost (2003).

True Image so far looks truly impressive. However, I have 2 key
questions/concerns:

1) Image verify

I created an image, then verified it with the source partition (my
WinXP system parition), and the image "verified successfully." I then
removed and added a couple minor files to my source partition, reran
the verify, and I still get the "verified successfully" message.
Bummer, not what I expected. What makes it verify unsuccessfully?

Image verify is used to verify the archive integrity. For example, it
would detect if there was an error writing to the destination, or if the
media that the image was written to has developed errors. I assume it's
doing some sort of checksum/hashing routine. It does not compare the
files in the archive to the source again.

2) Creating bootable DVD image write disks that can "refresh" a
system?

I want to copy TrueImage image files to a DVD that I can make bootable
such that I insert the DVD into a system, reboot, and the system
automatically and with no human input required (except for maybe a
"verify system refresh" confirmation button) reset the designated
partition back to the state of the image.

Yes, it's possible. But you'll need to create the disc yourself.
There's no option to add files to the bootable media that TrueImage
creates, plus it's for a bootable CD, rather than DVD.

1. Create a Bootable Rescue CD using the Acronis software.
2. Create an image of that Bootable CD using your CD authoring software.
3. Open that image file using WinISO
4. Save boot information to a file called "trueimg.wbt"
5. Get CD Shell and extract it to a directory somewhere
http://www.cs.uic.edu/~mter/cdshell/
6. Get Bootable CD Wizard for CD Shell and extract those files to the
[cdshell]\boot subdirectory that you selected above. Overwrite the
cdshell.ini file if it prompts you
http://bootcd.narod.ru/

Now you're ready to create the bootable DVD.

7. Open Nero and create a new DVD-ROM (Boot) project.
8. On the Boot tab, select Image file, and select the file
[cdshell]\boot\loader.bin
9. Use the "No Emulation" setting, and the number of loaded sectors
should be 4. (Other values should be left at the default)
10. Create a DVD directory structure like this:

/ (root) (Put your system backup / image (TIB) files here)
|
+ BOOT (The CDShell / BCDW files reside here)
|
+ ACRONIS (put the trueimg.wbt file here)


That's it. Save your Nero project and that way the next time you want
to create a bootable rescue disc, all you will need to do is update your
TIB files. (Or if you overwrite the old TIB files, Nero will pick up
the changes and automatically include the latest version)

Once you're satisfied that it works, you can edit your
\boot\bcds\bcds.ini file to get rid of the extra junk, and probably set
it up to automatically boot right into Acronis.

Also, in your Acronis backup settings, you're going to want to have 2GB
as the max image size. Files larger than that won't fit on an ISO
filesystem.

-WD

 

[Kyle Goodnight]

Hello,

I am evaluating Acronis True Image 7.0, have previously only used
DriveImage and Ghost (2003).

True Image so far looks truly impressive. However, I have 2 key
questions/concerns:

1) Image verify

I created an image, then verified it with the source partition (my
WinXP system parition), and the image "verified successfully." I then
removed and added a couple minor files to my source partition, reran
the verify, and I still get the "verified successfully" message.
Bummer, not what I expected. What makes it verify unsuccessfully?

Image verify is used to verify the archive integrity. For example, it
would detect if there was an error writing to the destination, or if the
media that the image was written to has developed errors. I assume it's
doing some sort of checksum/hashing routine. It does not compare the
files in the archive to the source again.

2) Creating bootable DVD image write disks that can "refresh" a
system?

I want to copy TrueImage image files to a DVD that I can make bootable
such that I insert the DVD into a system, reboot, and the system
automatically and with no human input required (except for maybe a
"verify system refresh" confirmation button) reset the designated
partition back to the state of the image.

Yes, it's possible. But you'll need to create the disc yourself.
There's no option to add files to the bootable media that TrueImage
creates, plus it's for a bootable CD, rather than DVD.

1. Create a Bootable Rescue CD using the Acronis software.
2. Create an image of that Bootable CD using your CD authoring software.
3. Open that image file using WinISO
4. Save boot information to a file called "trueimg.wbt"
5. Get CD Shell and extract it to a directory somewhere
http://www.cs.uic.edu/~mter/cdshell/
6. Get Bootable CD Wizard for CD Shell and extract those files to the
[cdshell]\boot subdirectory that you selected above. Overwrite the
cdshell.ini file if it prompts you
http://bootcd.narod.ru/

Now you're ready to create the bootable DVD.

7. Open Nero and create a new DVD-ROM (Boot) project.
8. On the Boot tab, select Image file, and select the file
[cdshell]\boot\loader.bin
9. Use the "No Emulation" setting, and the number of loaded sectors
should be 4. (Other values should be left at the default)
10. Create a DVD directory structure like this:

/ (root) (Put your system backup / image (TIB) files here)
|
+ BOOT (The CDShell / BCDW files reside here)
|
+ ACRONIS (put the trueimg.wbt file here)


That's it. Save your Nero project and that way the next time you want
to create a bootable rescue disc, all you will need to do is update your
TIB files. (Or if you overwrite the old TIB files, Nero will pick up
the changes and automatically include the latest version)

Once you're satisfied that it works, you can edit your
\boot\bcds\bcds.ini file to get rid of the extra junk, and probably set
it up to automatically boot right into Acronis.

Also, in your Acronis backup settings, you're going to want to have 2GB
as the max image size. Files larger than that won't fit on an ISO
filesystem.

-WD

Wd,
I also purchased Acronis 7.0, an upgrade from 6.0. I had difficulty
backing up my system and contacted tech support. I would start a
backup, and it always ended with an error message saying the back up had
errors but did not indicate what was wrong. Acronis responded with
some new dll files and the backup ran ok. I have not had a chance to
restore it to see if it works. I reverted back to Ghost 2003 and have
had no probs at all, it works and works correctly every time. Acronis
is probably a good product but I am a bit reluctant to use it for my
image backup as Acronis would never tell me why I was having problems,
and what they did to correct it. My messages to Acronis about what they
did to fix it went by the way side or so it seems.

 

[Harvey Gratt]

I just received an email from Acronis tech support answering my
questions. I feel better now.

Harvey

 

[Rod Speed]

So what were their answers ?

I just received an email from Acronis tech support answering my
questions. I feel better now.

Harvey

 

[Harvey Gratt]

O.K, the first set of questions/answers is as follows (pretty basic
stuff, but I'm new to this):
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Harvey,

Thank you for interest in Acronis software!

I have placed my answers inline.

[[email protected] - Sat Jan 10 02:01:21 2004]:

I have several questions regarding this product and cannot get your
sales team to call me.

1. Can disk/partition images which are created and stored on a backup
medium (say an external USB disk drive) be treated as a "file" and moved
to different locations (folders) and/or disk drives?

Yes. But you will have to move all image archvie volumes (files).

Yes.

Nothing special is required. Acronis True Image bootable media is based
on Linux that has its own USB drivers.



Yes.

You can purchase Acronis True Image at http://www.acronis.com/sales/online

-- Sincerely yours, Dennis Dementiev
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note that I'm not sure about the answer for being able to see hidden
partitions, specifically the hidden OS recovery partion on an IBM R40
Thinkpad (there have been other threads on this).

Also, they have responded to a follow question about boot time
availability of a USB2 PC Card adaptor for a DELL I7500 laptop
(win98se). They said that since the USB drivers are on their bootable
CD, I should have access to my external HDD via the PC Card at boot time
(no need to load a minimaal OS).

Harvey

 

[Jeff Malka]

I have Acronis's TrueImage 7 and used it to save and restore to/from a USB
external HD. Worked well, but I am thinking of asking for a refund because
their support is really poor. Slow or no email answers and their toll-free
phone connects to a mailbox with no return call so far.

It's a shame because their product seems good. However in such a critical
piece of software I cannot use it and depend on it if I cannot get good
support.

--

Jeff McPherson
Email address deliberately false to avoid spam
(e-mail address removed)
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free by AVG

 

[Will Dormann]

I have Acronis's TrueImage 7 and used it to save and restore to/from a USB
external HD. Worked well, but I am thinking of asking for a refund because
their support is really poor. Slow or no email answers and their toll-free
phone connects to a mailbox with no return call so far.

It's a shame because their product seems good. However in such a critical
piece of software I cannot use it and depend on it if I cannot get good
support.

I generally prefer good software with crummy "tech support" then crummy
software with good tech support.

But your point is well taken...


-WD

 

[Rod Speed]

I generally prefer good software with crummy "tech support" then crummy
software with good tech support.

Backup software is different tho, if you need support when attempting
to restore after a drive failure, you need decent support.

But your point is well taken...

It is indeed.

 

[PCEngWork]

Don't blame the Tech Support/Staff - Blame the managers who
outsourced it to the cheapest vendor.

 

[Jeff Malka]

I'm not blaming anybody. It's their business. But with backups, when things
go bad and your nerves are frazzled, it is not the time to have lousy
support.

--

Jeff McPherson
Email address deliberately false to avoid spam
(e-mail address removed)
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free by AVG