Acronis problem - may be XP related

[bullwinkle]

I'm not sure where to put this question.

I clone my hard drives using Acronis Home 11.0 on a regular basis.  But the last time I tried to clone the C: drive at the point where the system needs to reboot to do so, I got an Acronis error msg (E000A03EE - Unable to Update the Registry).  And it stopped there.

I checked Acronis for this error and could find nothing.  I'm thinking that the problem may be with the XP registry and not the Acronis software.

The only thing I did differently from other times was to download CC Cleaner prior to the cloning attempt.

I'm thinking that there might be some switch that was thrown which prevents Acronis from rebooting.  I'm concerned because my backup C: drive does not work when I tried to boot from it.  This might be because the last time I cloned it (2 weeks ago) there was the word Error when Acronis was done, even though Acronis put out the message that the clone was successful.

Any ideas/suggestions?  Thank you in advance.

[Allan]

You downloaded ccleaner or you downloaded and ran it? Do you have a restore point to which you can return? About an Acronis image?

[bullwinkle]

I have tried my restore points - they never have worked, even though I have the restore option activated. 

As far as I can recall, I don't believe I ran the CC Cleaner.  It had an auto run option and I believe I didn't take that route.

[Allan]

I suggest you check the hd first.
http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287
Make sure you select the tool which is appropriate for the brand of your hard drive.
Depending on the program, it'll create bootable floppy, or bootable CD.
If downloaded file is of .iso type, use ImgBurn: http://www.imgburn.com/ to burn .iso file to a CD (select "Write image file to disc" option), to make the CD bootable.
For Toshiba drives, see here: http://sdd.toshiba.com/main.aspx?Path=ServicesSupport/FujitsuDrivesUSandCanada/SoftwareUtilities#diagnostic

[bullwinkle]

I completed the Short Drive Self Test and the Short Generic Test.  Both completed successfully.  Is that enough or do I need the Long Generic or Advanced Tests?

 

[patio]

Was this a full backup...or incremental ? ?

[bullwinkle]

This was a full backup.

[patio]

Only reason i asked was if incremental and changes or cleanups were done to the registry it would explain that error message...nevermind.

[Allan]

Okay, a couple of things.

1) Open a command prompt and type chkdsk /r (then press ENTER). You will be told the drive is locked and do you want to run checkdisk at the next boot. Say yes, exit the command prompt and reboot. Checkdisk will run with the "repair" switch enabled. Let it run to completion.

2) After the system reboots, open a command prompt and type set (press ENTER). At the bottom, look at the username. Is it the account to which you wish to login and does that account have admin privileges? Assuming yes to both,

3) Run regedit. Right-click on one of the hive names (ie, "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE"). Click on Permissions. Click on the Advanced button. At the top, is the owner either the same as the account to which you are logged in (with admin privileges) or the ADMIN account?

By the way, when you create images with True Image or ANY disc imaging software, make sure the default settings include the option to always verify the image upon creation.

[bullwinkle]

OK, I ran the chkdsk /r.  I wasn't home when it completed but I managed to reboot the PC.

I ran 'set'.  I'm not sure which heading to pay attention to, I'm assuming it would be USERDOMAIN=MYCOMPUTER.  USERNAME=user was also there which might also be relevant.

When I went into regedit, the advanced screen listed four items:  None were inherited and all were "Allowed"

SYSTEM   -   Full Control
Administrators (MYCOMPUTER\Administrators)    -    Full Control
Everyone  -  Read
Restricted - Read

So I'm assuming that everything is OK - unless MYCOMPUTER should not have \Administrators on it.

I also hit the Owner tab.  Administrators (MYCOMPUTER\Administrators) was on the first line and is listed as the current owner.
User (MYCOMPUTER\user) was on the second line.

That might be relevant.  What do I do now?

[Allan]

If the issues is Acronis not having permission to write to the registry, I can show you how to change the ownership of the registry to the logged in user. However, the tool we're going to use is a powerful weapon and since you don't have a reliable image you can use in the event of a problem you'll need to make sure you have a good copy of the registry to which you can return if needed. There are two ways to backup the registry (and let's do both, just to be certain):

1) Download and run ERUNT (http://www.larshederer.homepage.t-online.de/erunt/)

2) Click on START - RUN and type: Regedit (press ENTER). On the menu bar click on file, then export, choose where you want to save it, then enter a name for it in the box titled: File Name. At bottom put a tick in "All", then click on save. If you ever want to restore the saved version, just IMPORT it.

Now keep in mind I'm not in any way sure that permissions are the issue and I'd strongly urge you to try to get a response directly from Acronis first. I've had several experiences with both their phone and email tech support and in each instance they have responded quickly and done their best to assist. If, in the end, you want to go ahead and change the permissions, go to the following link and follow the instructions exactly to run the SUBINACL utility. Be sure to replace "YOURUSERNAME" with your correct login name (the same you found when you ran "SET" under Username. BTW, I've used this tool about a dozen times and never had any problems, but since it is changing the permissions in your registry I feel obligated to urge caution:

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/astebner/archive/2006/09/04/739820.aspx

[patio]

Glad you mentioned ERUNT....you have no idea how many users seem to think simply exporting the registry is a full backup....nothing could be further than the truth...

[bullwinkle]

That sounds scary, so I decided to give the Acronis clone procedure another try.

And it worked.  I even tested out the cloned HD to be sure it would boot.

I have always said that if you don't believe in magic, you have never worked in the computer field.  I was in it from 1979 - 1986 and I definitely believe!

Thank you very much for your help.

[Allan]

Glad you got it sorted out. I'd still reach out to Acronis Customer Support if I were you and see if they can figure out the original problem.