Acronis won't start. How to restore Windows using Acronis True Image

Being an alternative to the standard Windows functionality for data backup and recovery, the software product from company Acronis work on resuscitation of the operating system can be carried out both in desktop mode, and from removable media, and even in its own recovery environment. Just as you can get into the Windows 7 pre-boot troubleshooting mode by pressing the F8 key while the system is booting, you can get into the Acronis recovery environment by pressing the F11 key while booting.

The Acronis recovery environment will be discussed below. Let's look at how the functionality works Acronis True Image 2016 in Windows preboot mode.

1. Acronis Recovery Environment when Windows boots

Getting into the Acronis recovery environment when booting Windows is much easier than fiddling with the standard system environment. In versions of Windows 8.1 and 10, the moment from computer self-testing to the system boot process passes very quickly. And the F8 key, as well as the combination Shift + F8, with which ideally supposedly starts the standard recovery environment, the operating system simply does not have time to perceive it. The Acronis bootloader will also flicker on the monitor screen for only a short time, only a couple of seconds, but this time will be enough to press the saving key F11.

Acronis Recovery Environment when Windows boots- this is the same functionality that True Image offers on bootable removable media created in the desktop mode of the program. This is the ability to restore Windows, non-system disk partitions and individual files in Acronis True Image pre-boot mode, regardless of the operating system. In the event of a critical failure of Windows, when it stops loading, you can get into the Acronis recovery environment without a bootable flash drive or DVD, just by pressing the F11 key. And there you can carry out an operation to restore the system from a previously saved backup copy.

Acronis Recovery Environment, of course, increases the normal Windows boot time by the very couple of seconds allotted for pressing the F11 key. But it eliminates the need to create and store bootable media. Thus, many modern PCs and laptops are equipped without a DVD drive, and the only bootable media in such cases can only be flash drive. If there is no second computer device in the house so that it can be used to quickly create a bootable Acronis True Image flash drive, you will have to initially sacrifice a separate flash drive in case of problems with Windows.

Alas, not all users will be able to use the Acronis Recovery Environment when booting Windows at a critical moment. Many device owners with BIOS new format UEFI will have to forgo its benefits and enable the regular BIOS if they prefer to use a tool like a third-party Windows boot recovery environment. In the future, perhaps this problem will be solved.

Activation of the Acronis Recovery Environment when Windows boots is carried out inside the True Image desktop program. We will look at how the recovery environment works below, using the current 2016 version of Acronis True Image as of the date of writing this article.

1. Activating Acronis Recovery Environment

Launch True Image.

When using the trial version of True Image 2016, which can be downloaded for free on the official Acronis website and freely tested for a month, click the button.

In our case, we already have two Windows backups stored on a non-system disk partition.

Switch to the program section and click on the inscription "More Tools".

System Explorer will open with individual True Image utilities. Let's launch the utility.

In the window for activating the recovery environment when loading Windows, click, respectively.

The recovery environment has been successfully activated.

That's it - after this, every time you start Windows, we will see the Acronis bootloader window for a couple of seconds with a notification that you can get into the recovery environment by pressing the F11 key.

1. Windows Recovery

Having entered the Acronis recovery environment using the F11 key, if problems arise with Windows, we can return it to the state from a previously created backup copy. Press Enter in the boot menu window.

We get to the start page of the True Image functionality in pre-boot mode. We choose.

In the next window click "Update backups" so that all files on the computer ".tib"- Acronis True Image backup format files - appear in the table below. If Acronis backups are not automatically detected during scanning, you can specify the path to them manually using the search button below. After the available backups appear in the table below, select the current one, call up the context menu on it and select .

The recovery method for resuscitating Windows is disks and partitions. Click "Further".

We also put marks on the boot record MBR, and to the section with Windows . Click "Further".

We do not change anything in the recovery configuration. Just click "Further".

In the target disk selection window (the disk to which the data will be restored) in our case, only one hard drive is visible. Therefore, you don’t need to choose anything. Click "Further".

The Windows recovery process has started. We can wait until it completes, or we can use the options to automatically turn off the computer or reboot.

After restarting the computer, we will find Windows in the state in which it was saved at the time the backup we just used was created.

You can disable Acronis Recovery Environment in the same way as you can enable it. Go to the program section, click on the inscription "More Tools", launch the utility from the system explorer. Only now we press the inscription "Deactivate".

Download Acronis True Image 2016 from the official website.

Today we will take a detailed look at the process of creating a bootable USB flash drive or disk. We will do this in two ways: using Acronis True Image and Acronis Disk Director. Let's consider a simple option, as well as a more powerful one in terms of capabilities - based on Windows PE (WinPE).

Acronis True Image 2016

To create a bootable flash drive or disk for personal use with Acronis True Image 2016, you do not need additional knowledge and skills. Such a flash drive is needed to restore the OS and solve various problems associated with system problems. If you use the trial version of the program, it will stop working after some time (in this case, 30 days). A flash drive, if necessary, can always be used.

Overall, this is a program that has been proven over the years for backing up operating systems and various files. In 2015, a new version with the number 2016 was released. The program is easy to use, it works with almost all Windows and Mac operating systems. The latest version of the program has become even more convenient to use and contains various auxiliary utilities.

Let's look at how to make a bootable USB flash drive with Acronis True Image 2016.

To get started, go to the official website of the programs and click, select the section with the program and click the link “ Download free trial».

after which the installation file will automatically begin downloading.

Run the file and click Acronis True Image 2016.

Once the download is complete, you will be prompted to launch the application.

Then again you make the choice to start a trial or buy.

After starting the program, select “ Tools" - the fifth menu from the top, then you need to select which of the two media classes will be created:

• creating bootable media to restore your computer if it stops booting;
• creating bootable recovery media for different hardware.

Now you define the media type:

• Acronis True Image 2016 bootable media is a simple option without unnecessary functionality;
• WinPE-based media: Windows Preinstallation Environment is a simplified version of Windows that will boot from the media. Of course, when you download WinPE, you will get much more options for servicing your computer.
  Click on the first item.

Then we select the device itself. We are installing on a flash drive, so we press on point 3.

After copying is complete, our flash drive is ready.

Acronis Disk Director 12

Acronis Disk Director 12 is a program designed to protect files and optimize data storage on your computer. With its help, you can quickly recover lost or accidentally deleted data. Acronis Director allows you to create a clone of the operating system on a new disk. Can format the disk in different file systems. Contains many features for working with disk partitions and much more.

A bootable flash drive with Acronis Disk Director 11, unlike the new version 12, cannot work with BIOS and UEFI-based systems. In addition, the new version is certified up to Windows 8.1. There are many other improvements as well.

A bootable flash drive or disk created using Acronis Disk Director 12 is a real salvation for PC users who have lost some files or damaged the operating system.

First you need to download the program. On the official website you need to find an offer to download a trial version of the Acronis Director 12 program and enter your email.

After downloading and running the installer, you need to run the installation.

After this, fill out the registration parameters (required ones are marked with an asterisk).

Select for which users you are installing Acronis.

The installer will do its job and such a wonderful shortcut will appear on your desktop.

We click on it and see the program window with all its rich capabilities.

Since our task is to create a bootable USB flash drive or disk, we will launch the “Acronis Bootable Media Builder” menu item. We are surprised that the wizard has its own name: “Acronis Media Builder”. And click Next >.

We observe the media type selection window. Let's specify Windows PE. If you do not have Windows PE Deployment Kits installed on your computer, you will see a list of Windows PE versions with download links.

Now we will install the required Windows PE media. Click on the blue link for your media option. It will download. Run the downloaded file.

You can install the kit immediately, or download it first and then install it on this or another computer.

In any case, after starting the installation you will be presented with a choice of components.

The installation has started.

When you install the Windows PE Deployment Toolkit, you will need to run the creation wizard and get to the media type selection window, it will be different (compared to the previous launch).

Select the media type. You can immediately burn a bootable disc. To create a flash drive, you will first have to save the image as a file. For example, in iso format.

Select a folder.

Attention! When selecting a folder, be sure to enter the file name, as this may not happen automatically (the Next > button will not be active).

The file creation process will begin.

And now the file is ready.

Note that in some cases you may see error code 18001F (0x18001F) and 4003 (0x4003): Failed to create an ISO image. The cause of this error may be viruses that have infected the computer. Urgently check your PC for viruses. If they are not detected, then some files on the computer system may be damaged.

Now that the iso file is ready, you can .

Using a boot disk or flash drive, Acronis Disk Director 12 can boot and perform various service work on your computer.

Video on the topic

ProgramAcronis is a disk backup system. It has quite a lot of useful features.

The traditional Acronis package consists of two main components: and Acronis True Image. Today we will learn how to work with each of them.

After installing these programs on your computer, let's first try to split the hard drive partition into two parts without losing information.

Let's launch Acronis Disk Director. After launch, a working program window will appear in front of us, from where we can manage all operations with the hard drive of your computer:

This package allows you to work in two modes: automatic operations on partitions,

Designed to perform basic operations, and manual operations on partitions, designed for advanced users and providing full control over all partition operations.

In the automatic operating mode, the main actions on sections are performed using a wizard in a step-by-step mode.

Manual operation control mode allows the user to independently select operations and stop or cancel them on demand.

Switching modes is done using the “View” menu.

After installing the new hard drive, we will need to split it into partitions for more convenient use. This operation can be carried out automatically and is performed as follows:

• Launch the “Partition Wizard” and select creating a partition using free disk space

• Next, we will need to specify the partition size using the digital window, or by moving the slider.

• Next, you should specify the type of partition to be created. The options are as follows; “Active” (disk for system installation), “Primary” (for both system installation and data storage) and “Logical” (for data storage). The second type is usually used because of its versatility and the ability to make subsequent changes. So, select “Primary”

• Next we will need to select the file system type. In our case it will be NTFS

• Next, we will need to assign a drive letter, and assign an optional partition label parameter.

• When the wizard completes, click the “Finish” button.

We should not forget that all operations in Acronis Disk Director are initially classified as pending and can be canceled at any time before clicking the “Run” button in the main program window.

To create another partition, let's return to the main Disk Management Wizard window. By analogy, let’s create another partition on your computer’s hard drive and, after viewing the prepared markup structure, finally click on the execute button.

After the program finishes, we will see the following result.

4 years ago Vladimir Belev 87 comments 7243 views

Good day everyone! Today there will be a final article from me on the topic of backup and recovery using the wonderful Acronis True Image program.

In the last 2 articles we talked about how to backup the entire system and individual files using Acronis and how to then restore it all if necessary.

Surely those who read these two articles noticed that I talked about backup and recovery through a program that is only accessible from the operating system. But here the question arises: “How can I restore my system from a backup if Windows cannot boot?” This is exactly the case I wanted to tell you about in this final article about backup using Acronis.

In order to restore a system that, for any reason, is inoperable and cannot boot, it is necessary that Acronis True Image can start before the system boots. This can be achieved in 2 ways:

Burn the Acronis True Image program to a disk or flash drive and if Windows crashes, boot from the disk and restore the system.

Create a special hidden partition on your hard drive with Acronis bootloader. Then it will be possible to load this program even before Windows boots by pressing the F11 key when turning on the computer.

Today in this article I will tell you about both methods.

Let's start with the ability to boot Acronis from disk.

Loading Acronis True Image from disk and restoring the system/individual files

In order for this method to work, we need a blank CD on which we will burn the bootable version of Acronis. You can also use a flash drive, but I recommend the disk, since when writing to flash drives and loading from them, there can be many different nuances and problems.

Blank discs for recording (blanks) can always come in handy. 10 CDs from the reliable company Verbatim in a box cost only about 200 rubles. In addition to your own files, you can later record other useful boot programs on them, about which I will probably also write articles :)

So, let's assume that we have a disk.

Burning Acronis True Image to disk

The function for burning Acronis to disk is built into the Acronis True Image program itself. We launch it from a shortcut on the desktop or from the Start menu.

Go to the “Tools and Utilities” tab and click on the “Bootable Media Builder” link in the “Security Tools” section on the left:

A separate program “Acronis Media Builder” will launch, which will allow us to burn Acronis to disk. In the first window, simply click the “Next” button:

In the next window, you need to select which Acronis programs will be written to the disk. The choice is not great: the backup/restore program “Acronis True Image” itself and the program for creating reports on the operating system “Acronis System Report” (useful only to good specialists).

Both programs will fit on a simple CD, so I recommend checking off everything that is offered on the left side of the window. If you wish, you can enable the “Automatically start after...” function for one of the programs in the list and specify the time in seconds. Then, after loading from the disk and the number of seconds you select has passed, the desired program will start automatically:

After you have selected everything, click the “Next” button.

The next window prompts you to set additional boot disk parameters using special commands. This is for experienced specialists and we will not need such advanced functions, so just click the “Next” button:

Now we are required to select a device to record the bootable version of Acronis. In my example, there are only 2 choices: burn to disk or create an ISO image. When choosing the second option, a regular file with the extension “.iso” will be created on the computer, which can later also be written to a disk or flash drive. This option, in principle, is only needed if you later want to burn another copy of Acronis to another disk, but from a computer where Acronis True Image is not installed.

If you connect a USB flash drive to your computer, the option to write to it will also be available.

We consider recording specifically to a disk (to a flash drive absolutely as well) and select the “CD burner” item. Insert a blank CD into the computer's drive, and then click the "Next" button:

In the last window, click the “Proceed” button to start the process of burning the Acronis program to disk:

Waiting for the disc to be written:

After the disc is burned, we will be given a message in the window where we need to click the “OK” button to continue:

This completes the process of burning a disc with a bootable version of Acronis True Image. Let's move on to booting from the burned disc and consider the recovery process.

Booting your computer from the Acronis True Image boot disk and restoring the system

Now our task is to boot from the previously recorded disk.

Insert the disk into the computer's drive and restart the computer.

If the computer’s BIOS is configured optimally (we won’t go into details of this for now), then immediately after the reboot, even before your Windows operating system starts, booting from the disk will begin and you will see the message “Starting Acronis Loader...”.

After a few seconds, the Acronis boot loader will launch and you will see a window with boot options: “Acronis True Image”, “Acronis System Report” and “Windows”. We chose the first two programs to burn to disk ourselves, and when you select “Windows”, you will exit the Acronis bootloader and the Windows system will boot.

Select the very first line in this window – “Acronis True Image”:

After a certain period of time (20 seconds), the program we have selected will start. Its interface will look like the image below:

Since the interface is significantly different from what it was in the Acronis True Image program for Windows, I will go through all the recovery steps again so that everything is as clear as possible. We will not touch on the process of backing up from a boot disk, since this action can be performed without problems from a Windows system, and I talked about this in the 1st article about backup.

Now we connect to the computer the media on which you store the created backup copy (Flash drive, hard drive) or later specify some other location.

To start recovery, click on the “Recover” button located at the top of the Acronis interface and select the desired recovery option from the drop-down list: disks and partitions or individual files/folders. In this example, I will look at the process of recovering disks and partitions - i.e. I will restore the entire system with all programs and settings from a previously created backup.

There will be absolutely no problems with the restoration of individual files and no questions should arise.

A recovery window will open. In it, at the very beginning, you need to select the archive with the backup copy that we will restore. To select, click the “Browse” button below:

In the explorer window that opens, select the media on which your backup is located in the window on the left, and in the window on the right we look for the backup copy itself on this media. Having selected the archive, click the “OK” button:

If your backup was password protected, a window will immediately appear where you need to enter the password. Enter the password and click “OK”:

If you forget your password, recovery will become impossible.

Returning to the main recovery window, we will see the newly connected backup. Click the “Next” button below to move to the next step:

At the next stage, we can restore the entire partition (for example, the entire system along with data) or restore individual files and folders. As I said above, in the example I show how to restore a partition using this bootable version of Acronis True Image, and there will be no problems with file recovery, since there is nothing complicated there and I talked about it in the previous article.

In the next step, we select the items to restore. In this case, we can select the partitions that need to be restored. If at the last step you had chosen to restore individual files, then, accordingly, at this stage you would have indicated those files/folders that need to be restored.

Since we are restoring the entire system, I mark all system partitions. If you do not mark one of the system partitions, then after recovery the system simply will not boot!




1. The Completion step will provide a summary of what actions will be performed during the recovery. Before starting the recovery, you can also visit the “Options” section by clicking on the corresponding button at the bottom left:

   Here you can enable verification of the backup before starting recovery, as well as activate automatic reboot of the computer if Acronis deems it necessary. In principle, these options do not carry anything important and I usually do not enable them.

   To start the recovery, all we have to do is click the “Proceed” button below, which is what we do:

   All that remains is to wait for the operation to complete. You can also, by selecting the appropriate option at the bottom of the window with the recovery process, activate automatic shutdown of the computer or reboot:

Well, that's all :) After restoration, you will receive a working system, completely ready for work.

The method with a boot disk, of course, is still not always convenient, so let’s look at another way to launch Acronis True Image to restore a system that currently, for example, refuses to start.

Creating a special hidden partition on a hard drive with Acronis True Image bootloader to restore a damaged system from a backup copy

So, let's look at another way to launch the Acronis program before booting the system itself, by pressing the F11 key immediately after turning on the computer. Of course, if your system has already “gotten bad” and stops booting, you will no longer be able to complete all the steps below. Therefore, I recommend activating this method of loading Acronis as soon as you start working with the program. Let's start:

Now you can restore the system in the same way as you would by booting from a boot disk, which I talked about from points No. 3 to No. 9 in the “Booting a computer from an Acronis True Image boot disk and restoring the system” section of this article.

The only disadvantage of this method compared to a boot disk is that the computer may boot slower. This is due to the fact that immediately after turning it on, a prompt will be displayed for several seconds to press the F11 key and load Acronis, and only after that Windows will begin loading.

It’s up to you to decide which download method to use, but I highly recommend burning the disc in any case. It can be useful.

On this topic about backup and recovery using Acronis True Image, I told you everything I planned :) Feel free to ask questions in the comments :) We all once knew nothing and learned everything, so any question on the topic will not go unnoticed! ;)

Today, a bootable USB flash drive with Acronis Disk Director 11 (ADD XI) no longer seems out of the ordinary, as it was a couple of years ago. What can I say? Recently, it has turned into a kind of magic wand, with which you can easily restore lost documents, restore your computer, change disk layout, and even install several operating systems at the same time. At the same time, using the ADD XI program is so convenient that even a novice PC user can discover all its capabilities.

Benefits of the program

Ever since Acronis introduced the Disk Director program in version Home 11, probably only the lazy have not heard about its advantages. In particular, its advantages include such functions as:

• selecting, scaling, formatting, deleting and then restoring deleted partitions on a GPT or dynamic disk;
• changing the size and position of volumes on the hard drive with minimal risk of data loss;
• a simple process of partitioning the hard drive into partitions, including for installing two or more operating systems, including OS Windows 7 and earlier Microsoft developments;
• adding and redistributing mirrored volumes to minimize system fault tolerance.

Meanwhile, the greatest advantage of this program is that you can work with it even when the operating system does not boot due to errors or viruses in the system partition. True, in this case, only those who have spent a little of their precious time and previously recorded the Disk Director utility on a disk or flash drive will be able to use it.

Preparing a boot device with ADD XI

In principle, you can burn the Disk Director program from Acronis to a flash drive, or to a CD or DVD: the scheme of actions in both cases is practically the same. Meanwhile, as practice shows, it is much more profitable to use a bootable flash drive: after all, there are USB ports on both new and old computers, but modern laptops may not have drives. One way or another, you will have to act like this:

In addition, you can also prepare a bootable USB flash drive or CD with a similar set of hard drive recovery programs using the True Image utility. It is no less convenient to use than Disk Director 11, since the interface, functionality and principle of operation are almost the same. The only difference is that True Image supports work not only with Windows OS, but also with Mac OS, although it is often supplied in a package with ADD XI.