Macrium image failure

[mjf]

This is the first time I've had Macrium fail on me
I updated a 2nd PC to the latest build 5.2.6474 and got this error

Macrium was working on an earlier 5.2 build. Windows inbuilt is working.

Any suggestions?

 

[fireberd]

I had that one time. Ran the backup again and no problems.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I had that one time. Ran the backup again and no problems.

Same here. In the 28 months (26 months of that using the Pro version) I've been using Reflect, I've had it happen to me only once; God only knows why it did. I immediately reran it and the image verified.

 

[Mark Phelps]

I updated a 2nd PC to the latest build 5.2.6474 and got this error

I can confirm that is not a problem related specifically to that build -- as I am using the same build to backups, without problems.

I have encountered the same problem in that past on another PC, so I ran CHKDSK on the target drive and MR worked properly after that.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I updated a 2nd PC to the latest build 5.2.6474 and got this error

I can confirm that is not a problem related specifically to that build -- as I am using the same build to backups, without problems.

I have encountered the same problem in that past on another PC, so I ran CHKDSK on the target drive and MR worked properly after that.

I also ran into that when I somehow damaged a HDD and tried to use MR to clone the disk. The clone failed. Fortunately, I had a backup so I reformatted the problem drive and cloned the backup back to the problem drive. While a bit of a panic at the time, it's good to know that MR won't allow cloning or imaging problems.

 

[dsperber]

If it's not just a fluke intermittent that goes away when you re-run Macrium a second time, good chance this is an indication of a failing disk with bad sector(s), or a corrupt file system.

I had a similar problem a few months back and contacted Macrium for a recommendation. I use the paid Macrium Reflect Standard, so there is WONDERFUL support from the vendor (theoretically there is no support for the FREE version of the product... you get what you pay for).

Anyway, their suggestion for my problem (error 23) was the following, which might work for you:

You have at least one bad sector that is in use by the file system. This may indicate a serious problem with your disk.

1. Click 'Start' then 'Run'
2. Type 'cmd' and press enter. This will open a command widow.
3. Type 'chkdsk c: /r /f' and press enter. Enter 'Y' if prompted to run at next reboot. This will perform a surface scan of your drive and flag any bad sectors in use by the file system. It may take some time to complete.

Also, their description of the various errors which can occur is on this page.

 

[SIW2]

I can't recall having that message from macrium. I had a couple of macrium restores that wouldn't boot, though.

 

[mjf]

On my main PC I haven't had a problem with this Macrium build. The PC in question is a 2nd PC used by my son that I decide to image from time to time. I reran the image/verify on 2 other external HDDs and it worked first time. The ext HDD with the problem was a 6 year old Seagate mains powered with low power on hours. The 2nd attempt at an image worked but the verify failed. The next day the verify worked.

So I'm running the Seatools Long test on the Seagate external.

UPDATE:
Seatools long test and Windows chkdsk said the HDD was fine. After running these tests the drive hit 56C . Terrific ventilation! A heap of cr**.
It must be a glitch (technical term for I don't have a clue).

My confidence in Macrium has dropped a little. Still I've always told my self to use more than one imaging program and definitely use more than one ext HDD to store images.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

...My confidence in Macrium has dropped a little. Still I've always told my self to use more than one imaging program and definitely use more than one ext HDD to store images.

Absolutely one should use more than one external HDD to store images. I save my OS images to a folder on a HDD in my computer since it's more convenient if I want to restore to an earlier image. However, that folder, along with the rest of the data on my computer, gets backed up to two local external HDDs every day. I also have two more external HDDs that I keep in a safe deposit box at my credit union. I swap those HDDs out with the ones at home at least once a month.

I have full confidence in MR but I do verify my images at the end of a scan. The only problem I ever had with an image was a "glitch" (unknown cause) which was caught during verification and corrected itself when I reran the image.

 

[SIW2]

None of these things will ever be perfect. There will always some system among hundreds of thousands/millions they don't quite know what to do with. The developers will always try and adapt the program to cope with that in the future - but they can only do that if they get enough info and are able to reproduce the symptoms. They can't always do that of course.

Same story with partition managers. Unfortunately, they can cause some damage. I have had some issues with Partition Wizard. That doesn't stop me suggesting it, though.

 

[mjf]

There will always some system among hundreds of thousands/millions they don't quite know what to do with.

True and this is seen with Windows inbuilt imaging for some users yet I have never had a problem so far. In my case this PC in question has been imaged for years with Macrium including using the ext HDD in question. The fact that it is reported by others as a very occasional event suggests Macrium isn't 100% reliable. I'll still use it but it's nice to have images made by another program as a safeguard.

 

[Victor S]

I don't use Macrium (still with Ghost 15) but that's not a flaw with Macrium. To me, anyway.
It's caused either by a change in the VSS snapshot, which is taken taken before imaging begins, or possibly by write caching not being enabled on your external HDD.
That info is garnered by google.
I don't see where Macrium is really at fault, though a case could be made for that. Ghost 15 isn't perfect either. OTOH, maybe software should be perfect. We can dream.
To my mind, a real failure is when the image won't restore properly.
Do you image cold, using the "rescue environment?"
I've never done it any other way, except when I was playing with the inbuilt Win 7 imaging.
Not saying that should be accepted practice, just my preference.

 

[mjf]

It's caused either by a change in the VSS snapshot, which is taken taken before imaging begins, or possibly by write caching not being enabled on your external HDD.

Write caching was enabled. I've been taking images every few weeks using Macrium and Windows inbuilt for some years now and have never experienced a problem like this before. The ext HDD checks out with thorough testing and the system configuration for the PC in question is the same as ever. Given that others have experience the (rare) event I think it is likely some glitch between Macrium+Windows.

I have had volsnap errors with Windows inbuilt. They are logged in the event viewer but this has never impacted on the integrity of the image.