Windows 7 Backup

[Peter g3hee]

I have bought a new Acer Aspire X1300 which came with Vista pre-loaded, I then bought and installed the Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade kit on offer from Acer and installed it.
It appears to work OK with one major exception, Windows Backup fails part way through the process every time I try it.
I am backing up to an external hard drive connected via USB,I have tried substituting another hard drive, also disabling my anti-virus program before I retry,makes no difference.
In addition to this I have endured several frustrating sessions via e-mail with Acer over the last week, every time I e-mail them I seem to get a different answer (none of them helpful) and all signed by different people, none of whom appear to have read properly the history of my problem.
The last statement was "unfortunately Backup does not work with the Windows 7 you have installed".
At this point I became very angry and accused them that if that is true they have "sold me a pup" and what are they going to do about it.
I await a reply (this was Friday last), I am not holding my breath.
I would be interested to know if anyone else has encountered a similar problem.

Peter g3hee

 

[Minotar]

Im not sure how to help with the WIn7 backup but have you tried 3rd part software?
Download Paragon Backup & Recovery Free Edition (formerly Paragon Drive Backup Express) 10 Build 8927 - Simply the most powerfull free backup software. Put your PC safety under control - Softpedia

 

[Peter g3hee]

Not yet, I do have available a copy of Norton Ghost 12, but am reluctant to admit defeat in a situation where a brand new Microsoft program is defective.
I really want to screw Acer to the floor on this one.
It may well come to that though,we will see.
Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[Minotar]

Not yet, I do have available a copy of Norton Ghost 12, but am reluctant to admit defeat in a situation where a brand new Microsoft program is defective.
I really want to screw Acer to the floor on this one.
It may well come to that though,we will see.
Thanks for the suggestion.

No problem.
When it fails do you get an error code?
Is there enough space on the partition allocated to recovery?

 

[TaraSWinTeam]

That is concerning! Have you made sure all your drivers are up-to-date? Your external hard-drive could be the problem. Check here: Windows 7 Compatibility Center search results - external hard drive.

Also, check your backup settings & troubleshoot: Back up and restore: frequently asked questions.

Cheers,
Tara
Windows Outreach Team

 

[ignatzatsonic]

You say you "installed the Windows 7 Home Premium upgrade kit on offer from Acer".

Look at that disc. Is it an actual Microsoft disc or does it say Acer on it??

I assume by "install" you mean that you tried an "upgrade install" rather than a clean install.

If it is an Acer disc, I would guess that you cannot do a clean install?

 

[Peter g3hee]

Not
yet, I do have available a copy of Norton Ghost 12, but am reluctant to admit defeat in a situation where a brand new Microsoft program is defective.
I really want to screw Acer to the floor on this one.
It may well come to that though,we will see.
Thanks for the suggestion.

No problem.
When it fails do you get an error code?
Is there enough space on the partition allocated to recovery?

Yes,Iget the error code 0x800706be, and there is plenty of space available on the external hard drive.

 

[Peter g3hee]

Yes,I get the error code 0x800706be, and there is plenty of space available on the external hard drive.
(my apologies if you receive this message twice,being a novice on forums (or should that be fora?) I am struggling somewhat with the modus operandi.

 

[whs]

I know you like the challenge to fix the defunct Win7 backup - but you are not the only one having trouble with it. So why bother. I took the easy way out and use free Macrium. Works perfectly, is very fast (my best time for a full system image was 3 min and 31 sec) and makes nice small images. Have a look at the little tutorial I posted - 1, 2, 3 and you are in business: http://www.sevenforums.com/software/43219-image-your-system-free-macrium.html

 

[Peter g3hee]

That is concerning! Have you made sure all your drivers are up-to-date? Your external hard-drive could be the problem. Check here: Windows 7 Compatibility Center search results - external hard drive.

Also, check your backup settings & troubleshoot: Back up and restore: frequently asked questions.

Cheers,
Tara
Windows Outreach Team

Hi Tara,
Whilst I have not checked the compatibility centre yet I do not believe that this is a driver problem, when I first connected each of the 2 separate external hard drives (one at a time) I was greeted with a message that the correct drivers had been located and installed ; also I find that I can transfer files and folders at will between the C: drive and the selected external hard drive at will and access them without problem.
The backup and restore procedures have also been tried, but nothing helps.

 

[gregrocker]

Did you get the Acer Upgrade Kit with a Win7 clean copy DVD and an Acer apps/drivers disk which allows you to choose programs and drivers you need?

We have two of those here, and the DVD is indeed bootable to do the cleanest possible install: Custom using Advanced drive tools to format before clean install. It even has the product key sticker attached.

I would recommend it as any in-place upgrade no matter how successful carries over corruption from the previous installation. You will be starting fresh then which is what you want when you are migrating to such a vastly improved OS.

I admire your persistence with Acer tech support but I can confirm it is some of the worst I have seen. I hope Tara passes the word along to MS since they require a level of support for their Upgrade disks when manufacturers provide the support. I get no response to email, and phone calls relating to Upgrade are referred to an FAQ on their fulfillment agency's website.

In fact, any real support from Acer is going to need to be done by calling as though you still have Vista on the system, but this will not help in this case since there is no comparable backup in Vista. Even so, I still had to call multiple times to find an agent to help me troubleshoot issues like Vista bluescreen as the incompetence was shocking.

Before reinstalling you might want to check the formatting on your external, run sfc /scannow to check integrity of all OS files after Upgrade, and finally do a http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html?ltr=R to refresh the OS, however it rarely replaces all corruption carried over from Vista.

 

[Peter g3hee]

Thanks for your advice.
If I want to reinstall Windows 7 using the 2 disks supplied by Acer what uninstalling procedure, if any, do I have to undertake to ensure a (hopefully) clean install over the existing Vista system wich came pre-loaded by Acer ?

 

[Peter g3hee]

My apologies, I see you did in fact make some recommendations re preparing for re-installatiom, however my technical prowess is somewhat limited.
Perhaps you may care to spell out what I should do before attempting a re-install in a little more detail.

 

[gregrocker]

Back up your files externally, gather your programs disks/installers (save them in Downloads file in the future).

Boot from the Win7 DVD, select "Connect to the internet during install" to get updates/drivers during install, then Custom install, then Advanced drive tools. You can change partitioning there, then Format and install Win7 to first partition.

You will use the product key on the license sticker which came in the Upgrade Kit.

Upon startup, connect to the internet and check Windows Updates for additional drivers, then check the Device Manager for any missing drivers. Click on each and use Driver tab>Update Drivers to browse the Apps/Drivers CD also in the Upgrade kit.

Other drivers/apps are available on the Support Downloads page for your model on the Acer website.

You can get Adobe reader/flash and Java runtime/free compatible Ofc. suite at their websites.

Just ask if you have any questions or need support during clean reinstall.

 

[Peter g3hee]

Ongoing Windows 7 Backup problems

Thanks for additional info.,just one point, the Windows 7 Home Premium kit upgrade kit I received from Acer comprised 2 disks, a green one containing the Acer Upgrade Wizard and Applications and drivers for Windows 7, whilst the 2cnd.disk (white) is labelled "Windows 7 Upgrade Media",the sleeve for both these disks carries the Microsoft validation sticker,
Is this the same as the kit that you received ?
I am a little uneasy that the disks I have may not permit a clean install.
In any case before I try anything heroic I should tell tou that yesterday I sent a letter by recorded delivery outlining my problems and expressing my deep dissatisfaction to the C.E.O. of Acer`s Service dept. at Plymouth, enclosing printouts of all the e-mail traffic between them and myself.
In addition I sent a copy of all this to the C.E.O. of Acer`s Head Office in London.
It will be interesting to see what response, if any, I get.

Peterg3hee

 

[ccatlett1984]

the white disc you have is the disc you will need to use.

 

[gregrocker]

Yes, you have all you need to boot from DVD and do a clean install with formatting - the cleanest possible install.

The installer is driver-complete but newer may arrive in Windows Updates, then any missing in Device Manager can be plucked from the driver CD along with favorite apps you want to add back in.

 

[Peter g3hee]

That is concerning! Have you made sure all your drivers are up-to-date? Your external hard-drive could be the problem. Check here: Windows 7 Compatibility Center search results - external hard drive.

Also, check your backup settings & troubleshoot: Back up and restore: frequently asked questions.

Cheers,
Tara
Windows Outreach Team

Hi Tara,
I get the impression that your presence on this forum is to monitor problems people encounter with Windows 7 and repoert back to Microsoft, hopefully with a view to ironing out the bugs encountered by subscribers
.This is to tell you that I have given up on getting any meaningful help from Acer whatsoever.Despite having run the gamut of an incomprehensible phone help line, a variety of online help assistants who seem never to talk to each other and never read the history of my complaint, and finally writing to the CEO of Acer`s Service dept. in Plymouth enclosing printed copies of all the relevant e-mails (also copying these to the CEO at Acer`s Head Office in London) some 4-5 days ago I have not even had the courtesy of a reply.
On the other hand I have received what appears to me to be some very good advice from other members of this forum.
However I am reluctant to execute thir recommended clean install as I feel the bug may be inherent in the version of the Windows 7 Uograde supplied by Acer.
I am of limited technical ability, and whilst I have successfully carried out the odd system reinstall in the past I do not relish the task, to me a computer is a means to accessing the internet,not a technical toy.
My final comment is that I have a friend who bought an identical machine and Windows 7 Upgrade package from Acer and experiences exactly the same Backup failure that I get,
if you do report back to Microsoft pass this on.
I shall never,ever,buy anything from Acer again.

Merry Xmas !

Peter g3hee

 

[gregrocker]

Have now used a half dozen of the Acer-provided Upgrade Kit DVD"s to clean install Win7 with no problems at all.

Use the key given on the sleeve to activate.

Didn't even need the drivers/apps disk since Win7 installer is so complete, followed by Windows Updates.

That CD has useful apps some might want, however.

Just boot from the DVD, format and install.

 

[Peter g3hee]

Thanks for that.
Just to clarify, am I to understand that in each case of your successful clean install of Windows 7 the Backup facility worked OK ?

Regards

Peterg3hee