New WD external drive not being read on XP

Here's a good link for reference http://windowsxp.mvps.org/rebuildhelp.htm. Would indicate your problem with Help and Support might be either due to
=> Help / Support was uninstalled at some point (maybe a 3rd party uninstaller) or
=> It’s installed but not configured to run as a service

If it needs reinstall it comes back to the XP install CD again (or maybe will happen when we decide to do SP3 upgrade). But let's first check if maybe is installed but not configured.

Fyi… Many of the installed Help and Support files can be found under C:\WINDOWS\pchealth\helpctr\binaries. Just as an example, i list below the files found there n my computer (running XP SP3). SP3 specific files have version 5.1.2600.5512

So you can take a look at your directory and if looks reasonable try the instructions in the link after the steps on Reinstalling files from CD

Code:

Name			Size	File Version	Date Modified		Date Created		Date Accessed	
StateChangeDiag.exe	1,250KB	1.0.0.1		11/17/2006 3:08 PM	11/17/2006 3:08 PM	1/8/2009 7:29 PM
brpinfo.dll		21 KB	5.1.2600.0	8/12/2004 7:17 AM	5/2/2006 9:54 AM	1/8/2009 7:29 PM
HCAppRes.dll		7 KB	5.1.2600.0	8/12/2004 7:19 AM	5/2/2006 9:54 AM	1/9/2009 7:08 PM
HelpHost.exe		98 KB	5.1.2600.0	8/12/2004 7:19 AM	5/2/2006 9:54 AM	1/8/2009 7:29 PM
notiflag.exe		35 KB	5.1.2600.0	8/12/2004 7:25 AM	5/2/2006 9:54 AM	1/8/2009 7:29 PM
pchshell.dll		101 KB	5.1.2600.5512	4/13/2008 6:12 PM	5/2/2006 9:53 AM	1/9/2009 5:07 PM
pchsvc.dll		38 KB	5.1.2600.5512	4/13/2008 6:12 PM	5/2/2006 9:53 AM	1/9/2009 5:07 PM
helpctr.exe		751 KB	5.1.2600.5512	4/13/2008 6:12 PM	5/2/2006 9:53 AM	1/9/2009 5:08 PM
helpsvc.exe		727 KB	5.1.2600.5512	4/13/2008 6:12 PM	5/2/2006 9:53 AM	1/9/2009 7:08 PM
hscupd.exe		18 KB	5.1.2600.5512	4/13/2008 6:12 PM	5/2/2006 9:53 AM	1/8/2009 7:29 PM
msconfig.exe		166 KB	5.1.2600.5512	4/13/2008 6:12 PM	5/2/2006 9:53 AM	1/8/2009 7:29 PM
msinfo.dll		368 KB	6.0.0.1230	4/13/2008 6:12 PM	5/2/2006 9:53 AM	1/11/2009 10:14 AM
SCStyle.xsl		14 KB			9/28/2006 3:32 PM	9/28/2006 3:32 PM	1/8/2009 7:29 PM
hscmui.cab		68 KB			12/28/2006 12:45 PM	5/2/2006 9:53 AM	1/8/2009 7:29 PM
hscsp_w3.cab		303 KB			12/28/2006 12:45 PM	5/2/2006 9:53 AM	1/8/2009 7:29 PM 

/*** EDIT **/
And you had indicated no success when trying to Mount the backup file. Did you also try Explore? rather then mount? What if any message?? (Explore shouldn't attempt to mount a drive letter)

Here's what's listed in my binaries folder:
View attachment 41542

I do not have the XP CD yet(!), but would I be able to follow the instructions in the link if I find those files on my cpu? So far I found the first requested file "dataspec.xml" in several folders (3KB), such as "C:\WINDOWS\ServicePackFiles\i386" - would this work the same?

Thank you LookinAround!
I Right Clicked on my Acronis Backup archive file and chose "Mount", anxiously I waited as it took more time, and then got the delightful message that assigning a drive letter was successfully completed! Woo hoo! lol. It made a new archive though called "MyBackup2"-I tried to explore that file, it opened explorer but it said I can only explore My Computer & My Data backups. THEN explorer froze and I had to END it. I went to the newly mounted "G" drive in My Computer and right-clicked and chose "Explore", it is also freezing/not responding. I have to be careful not to lose explorer.exe completely or I'll have to restart while the backup is still mounted.

^ Update:
I tried Explore on another drive letter, and then selecting drive "G" from the list in the left pane. It failed as I got this error: "G:\ is not accessible. The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable."

just an update....

I still need look at the Acronis info. But let me know if instructions allowed for any luck with getting Help and Support to work. In particular, if you've yet been able to run that msinfo32 report, Components->problem devices.. And the result.

^ I did everything and I still get the same error for Help & Support that "...a system service is not running"

As for Acronis, note that i use True Image v11 which is one version earlier then your True Image 2009 so i don't have a method to confirm I see the same as you do

However, v11 (and from what i read in True Image 2009 manual) both offer a choice between image Mount vs Explore. (And don't confuse that option with "Explorer") The difference between options is that Explore does not do a mount first

So take a closer look at what you see/choices you take as
=> You always describe doing a mount not an Explore (see chapter 12 so you understand starting with Mount followed by Explorer is not the same as starting with Explore.
=> And if that rt click is really showing Mount is certainly different then what manual says (this to be noted when reporting to Acronis

But if you can first closely note the difference between the two options and have you tried Explore? Was True Image really displaying Mount??? (and you say also gave a mount msg)

Then we can follow up with:
- Filing a problem report with Acronis
- As well as how to provide with data i might look at (but figure should still get Acronis involved asap)
- And also look at an upgrade to SP3

Hi!
When I right click I have both options: Mount and Explore
I wanted to try "Mount" first and the result is as mentioned in post #142.
I only selected "Explore" on the backup file that the Mount created.

I'm not sure what you mean in the sentence above about clicking Explore. You should try: (if haven't yet)
- Right click on any of the .tib file(s) that were created when you performed disk image backup of your other computer
- Then select Explore

Doing so shouldn't attempt any sort of Mount operation (as i understand it). I believe each attempt you've reported so far has always reported/had some type of error with a Mount? Doing above (even if doesn't work and i hope it does!) i wouldn;'t think should report a Mount related error.

So let me know what happens. (And have you sent Acronis a problem report? just curious as to whatever there response)

I selected Explore on the backup file and it opened up to reveal two folders; one is 'Backup Fri Dec 12 08...' and the other is 'Backup Jan 12 09...'. Each have a C drive inside, but when I open either one, it says 0 items--they are empty.

Correct me if I am mistaken, I thought the purpose of mounting was because it is the only way to view/explore your files?

I havent done a problem report with Acronis

But i am curious about the fact you say you see TWO backup listed? One states Dec 12, 2008? The other is in January?? Do you remember having run more then one backup of the old computer? Sounds as if the second one would have probably been an incremental or differential backup which used the Dec 12, 2008 full backup as the the base to compare for incremental or differential changes.

btw.....

I can't predict similar results....

But let me point out to some about "another long thread that seems to go nowhere".. that just got fixed!

It took #130 posts and over 2 months but it looks like a sound card driver problem was finally solved and fixed. (and by the way similar (but i can't say identical) still unresolved sound driver problems remain for many, many people posting for solutions on the internet. The thread linked to above might help point them to their solution as well!)

Corollary: Do people really believe everything can be condensed to a 60 minute episode of Law and Order to find, investigate and solve all problems?

^^ I only did one backup...I assumed the 2nd one was created due to a scheduled task being set, I didnt set any scheduling but it may have been set unintentionally(?)

^ Lol I love your use of that quote hehe

Honestly I feel like giving up...I am contemplating whether I should dismantle my HP and put the hard drive in an enclosure, buy a new computer ($), and then load everything on to there...

Not sure if/how I can effectively advise acronis, this has just burned, and bummed, me out

I feel your frustration! After all the work (including the help from mflynn) it's still a matter of "getting closer but still no cigar”.

Some thoughts on possible “what next”. (Is entirely your call) (i'll call your 1st computer with the hard drive problem Computer A)

Assistance from Acronis
As for getting help from/seeing what Acronis has to say, I’d be happy to draft something you could then just email to them

Fixing the first computer (I'll call computer A)
You might choose to buy a new computer ($$$$) or try just replace computer A's hard drive ($). (i know originally you didn't want to touch it until we'd proven the Acronis backup). Once you've installed the new hard drive you can both

1. Restore the old disk image doing a sector-by-sector copy from the Acronis backup
   • (Purely my guess) since the Acronis image backup was itself sector copy of old failing hard drive it probably has some bad blocks on it (which might be the root cause of the mount/explore attempts on new computer to fail)
   • Run chkdsk /r on the restored hard drive image so Windows can verify the filesystem and repair any bad block errors
2. Run chkdsk /r on the old hard drive itself
   • Put the drive in a USB enclosre or simply get a cable connection
   • Then run chkdsk /r on the old drive to see if it might be fixed (to be readable long enough to attempt another bakup.. i wouldn't trust it to actually rely on it for normal use)

Also wrt a new internal hard drive for Computer A
=> If you only need repair functions, you can download and burn an XP Recovery Console image from the internet and burn to CD. Then boot from CD and repair the restored hard drive image from Acronis Backup
=> Of course, you'd still need XP install CD should you want to do a full reinstall of XP on the new hard drive

This computer (Computer B) is so slow, its so outdated by now you would laugh at the specs lol.
Well awhile ago I tried to look for the Acronis support, I had seen it before but was unable to find it again. Unless they changed the look of their site? But at this point I would no longer have any idea what to say. I cant explain how lost I feel now ugh

i feel badly for you! so i can guess how badly you must feel yourself!!

Over the next couple days i will type something up you can email Acronis and also find their email support link so you can email them. We can wait for their reply and then (or in parallel) I'm thinking
1. Given the hard disk on Computer A was going bad anyway (which is why we tried the Acronis disk image clone in the first place)
=> It's a reasonable guess that disk image clone reflects some corruption that existed on Computer A disk at the time we cloned it
=> Perhaps best to recover the backup image by doing a sector-by-sector copy and restoring the image to a new disk drive
=> Then you run the Windows chkdsk /r command to verify and correct the file system you just restored to the new hard disk
=> Any corruption in the backup image might well explain the reason Acronis couldn't handle that image when we tried to mount and explore it from Computer B

2 That means what you might also try (and this is a hardware purchase so if it doesn't work I'm guessing (please check/verify) your purchase is still returnable/refundable within a certain timeframe, e.g. 30 days)
=> Buy a new internal hard drive for computer A
=> Carefully remove the old drive and replace it on Computer A
=> Boot Computer A using the Acronis Recovery Boot Disk
=> Once booted, you have the Acronis menu to now perform sector-by-sector copy of the backup image over to the new internal disk drive
=> etc. You can run chkdsk /r on the new internal disk and we proceed from there to verify the new drive's filesystem and then try booting up from new drive which has old Windows and your data
=> Depending on corrupted spots is possible: some disk spots containing Windows or your data are damaged. (or if lucky corruption is on unused portions). But we deal with that then as no way to predict before we do a chkdsk and try booting up!
=> Even if Windows is damaged (and we turns out we can't restore windows) we can use a boot cd for access to your data on the hard drive (which now is hopefully accessible after chkdsk fixed filesystem problems and any loss is limited to damaged sectors)

Bad news and good news and more info / next steps you can choose

• Bad news:
  I discovered Acronis only provides 30 days of email/chat support with the product (Tho access to their knowledge base, documentation, etc. is ongoing)
• Good news:
  I've been meaning to upgrade my current Acronis True Image version anyway (to same version as yours ). I did the upgrade earlier today
  => So now we are running matching versions. I should see the exact same screens as you see
  => I now get 30days of support with my upgrade. Am curious to ask Acronis the questions myself!
• More info
  I speculated in my last post that (at least part) of the problem when Acronis can't mount the backup image might be due to some bad sectors already on the failing hard drive by the time it was copied and the image was created.
  
  I skimmed the thread to refresh my memory on various points and noticed this
  
  Which I think tends to support my prior guess

So, i believe the next steps if you want to try further at backup image data recovery and also fix computer A

1. I understand from Post #26
   You have an HP Pavilion, Model a1324n, Prod #: EL464AA -ABA, S/N: MXK5490C3S
2. Replace the hard drive in computer A
   => HP specs for computer A . (Which i believe is a
   => Instructions to replace the hard drive
3. Copy the Acronis disk backup image to the new hard drive
4. Run chkdsk /r so Windows reports (and hopefully fixes) file system errors so data (excluding what might reside on bad sectors) can then be read/used
5. In the event chkdsk can’t repair the file system, there are data and file recovery tools that could be applied as well to recover the data on the new drive
6. If i re-read Post #28 info correctly you have an HP Recovery partition on Drive D called HP Recovery and also have the recovery disks that were created by HP

/* EDIT */
AND I'VE FINALLY FOUND HOW TO FIND/SEE version info for Acronis True Image Home 2009!
(It's one of the dumbest user interface implementations i've ever seen)
=> Open Acronis True Image Home 2009. Click on the window
=> Now hit the ALT key
=> You should see the words File and Help appear towards the top of the window
=> Click Help->About to see version info