Hi Barry, Sorry but I got problems again.
1. I have downloaded and use 1.9 (203) but had the same problems with version 202 I had before.
2. Sometimes when I boot to XP, I get the message “Can’t find C:\Aisrstr\Aisbrstr.exe…..”. I don’t have any directory like that and I don’t know why this message pops up because AISBackup still runs.
3. It seems that when I do a “quick job” backup and don’t change the file selection the backup (testing) is successful.
4. When I do a “new job” backup and I manually select the folders, the backup and CD mastering as per the log are done okay but the job fails during testing either before the test begins or after few files have been tested. At this time the system feels “hang” and I have to use the task mgr a few times to terminate AISBackup.
5. I have tried to use different ASPI drivers as you suggested but I see no difference.
5. Since I have a dual boot system (XP on my C:\ and WinMe on D:\) I tried AISBackup under WinMe and it seems that my backups work fine there. I did a system backup for the C:\ but I did not see that the registry was backed up (I don’t know if it is a good idea to backup my XP system when I am under the WinMe environment).
Your help and suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you
XP Problems2
XP problems?
AISBackup adds C:\Aisrstr\Aisbrstr.exe to the run once section of the Registry just prior to backup and then removes it so that normally XP will not run C:\Aisrstr\Aisbrstr.exe except after a restore. No harm is none if Aisrstr is not there. Are you running a system like Adaware that warns when the run or runonce section of the Registry is updated?
There is a problem with Quick Job in version 203, this is corrected in 204.
I think the test problem may also be fixed in build 204, an internal abort flag was not been re-set. This would not have caused the ‘hang’, I have seen this many times when a CD has not been created correctly. After a re-boot are you able to test the files on the CD using the Manage Backup / Validate (Test) Backup option?
It is okay to backup Windows XP from ME but not to restore XP from ME, important registry updates cannot be made from Windows ME. AISBackup should work okay from Windows XP, we have seen problems with PC’s using old VIA chipset’s e.g. KT133A, these were usually fixed by installing the latest VIA 4-in-1 drivers. As a test try setting the CD writer to PIO mode, the write speed will have to be reduced to no more than 8X, and the PC will slow right down while the CD is been written.
Barry
There is a problem with Quick Job in version 203, this is corrected in 204.
I think the test problem may also be fixed in build 204, an internal abort flag was not been re-set. This would not have caused the ‘hang’, I have seen this many times when a CD has not been created correctly. After a re-boot are you able to test the files on the CD using the Manage Backup / Validate (Test) Backup option?
It is okay to backup Windows XP from ME but not to restore XP from ME, important registry updates cannot be made from Windows ME. AISBackup should work okay from Windows XP, we have seen problems with PC’s using old VIA chipset’s e.g. KT133A, these were usually fixed by installing the latest VIA 4-in-1 drivers. As a test try setting the CD writer to PIO mode, the write speed will have to be reduced to no more than 8X, and the PC will slow right down while the CD is been written.
Barry
XP Problems2
Thanks again for the prompt reply
I do have the Adaware program but it is set to run manualy. In any case this is not important because iy only happened twice. When you have a chance please let me know when the 204 will be released. I did not use the manage backup/Validate... but I use the explorer to open the CD and check the files at random. I also did set the PIO setting but did not lower the CD speed. I will try this. I have upgraded my RAM to 384 MB and also changed my video card to 128 MB (from 32 MB). Since then my backups seems to work fine again. In one I only had 2 files failing the test: the ntldr from my root directory and the other was a data file from my ECCO directory. I do appreciate your fast responce and I would like to add that in my 20 + years of computing experience and the so many backup programs I have tried, nothing compares to AISBackup.
Best regards
I do have the Adaware program but it is set to run manualy. In any case this is not important because iy only happened twice. When you have a chance please let me know when the 204 will be released. I did not use the manage backup/Validate... but I use the explorer to open the CD and check the files at random. I also did set the PIO setting but did not lower the CD speed. I will try this. I have upgraded my RAM to 384 MB and also changed my video card to 128 MB (from 32 MB). Since then my backups seems to work fine again. In one I only had 2 files failing the test: the ntldr from my root directory and the other was a data file from my ECCO directory. I do appreciate your fast responce and I would like to add that in my 20 + years of computing experience and the so many backup programs I have tried, nothing compares to AISBackup.
Best regards
Build 204
Hi Nick
Build 204 has been uploaded, this includes the Quick Job fix:
http://www.aiscl.co.uk/downloadaisbackup.htm
Barry
Build 204 has been uploaded, this includes the Quick Job fix:
http://www.aiscl.co.uk/downloadaisbackup.htm
Barry
XP Problems2
Great job Barry. It seems that the new b204 works fine. I just finish 4 data / system backups and they all worked fine, rather slow but nonetheless correct.
The following subject is not important but I’m curious and when you have a chance I will like your comment; since I upgraded my RAM (from 128 RIMMS to 384 RIMMS) and my video card (from nVidia Gforce2 32 MB DDR to nVidia XFX5299 128 MB DDR), AISBackup (all versions which I have) acts very “sluggish”. Before my upgrades when I will click on AISBackup.exe it will snap into my screen instantly. Now it takes few seconds and the window unfolds slowly and the same for all windows within AISB. All my rest programs have improved on performance except AISB which went the opposite way.
Thanks
The following subject is not important but I’m curious and when you have a chance I will like your comment; since I upgraded my RAM (from 128 RIMMS to 384 RIMMS) and my video card (from nVidia Gforce2 32 MB DDR to nVidia XFX5299 128 MB DDR), AISBackup (all versions which I have) acts very “sluggish”. Before my upgrades when I will click on AISBackup.exe it will snap into my screen instantly. Now it takes few seconds and the window unfolds slowly and the same for all windows within AISB. All my rest programs have improved on performance except AISB which went the opposite way.
Thanks
XP Problems2
Today I tried to do another backup and I got the same error message again “failed testing”. However from what I can see, the CD has been made correctly because I am able to open all zip files (of course I did not check if all files within each zip are written correctly). I am very disappointed because yesterday I thought that the problem was fixed. I send an email with the .bdb and .buz files attached. The disk4a.bdb is from the C:\Backup directory and the other 2 are from the AISBackup\Database directory.
Thank you
Thank you
Failed Testing
Hi Nick
Please send us the disk4a.log file (database directory) as this contains the failure messages. There is not a message in AISBackup that says "failed testing" so it is difficult to work out whether complete zip files are corrupt or if individual files from the zip files are failing. If you have WinZip you may use the test facility to test that the zip files can be read. To re-test the backup use the Manage Backup / Validate (Test) Backup option, this will check the integrity of the files on each CD. Please run this validation prior to sending us the log.
When you create CD's using third party products do you use the verify after write option to ensure that there are no problems? As I stated in a previous post we have had problems with some CD writers in PC's that use the VIA chipset when DMA mode is selected. AISBackup reports back that there are problems but the third party products did not unless the verify option was turned on. Switching the mode on the CD writer to PIO fixed the problem in both AISBackup and the third party products. Installing the latest VIA 4 in 1 drivers fixed the problem for most of the test CD writers except for a TDK 3210.
The CD writer engine has not changed in AISBackup since release 1.7.
What CD media are you using, CD-RW or CD-R? Generally we find that CD-R work better, although newer (and very cheap) CD writers seem to work well with all media.
Barry
Please send us the disk4a.log file (database directory) as this contains the failure messages. There is not a message in AISBackup that says "failed testing" so it is difficult to work out whether complete zip files are corrupt or if individual files from the zip files are failing. If you have WinZip you may use the test facility to test that the zip files can be read. To re-test the backup use the Manage Backup / Validate (Test) Backup option, this will check the integrity of the files on each CD. Please run this validation prior to sending us the log.
When you create CD's using third party products do you use the verify after write option to ensure that there are no problems? As I stated in a previous post we have had problems with some CD writers in PC's that use the VIA chipset when DMA mode is selected. AISBackup reports back that there are problems but the third party products did not unless the verify option was turned on. Switching the mode on the CD writer to PIO fixed the problem in both AISBackup and the third party products. Installing the latest VIA 4 in 1 drivers fixed the problem for most of the test CD writers except for a TDK 3210.
The CD writer engine has not changed in AISBackup since release 1.7.
What CD media are you using, CD-RW or CD-R? Generally we find that CD-R work better, although newer (and very cheap) CD writers seem to work well with all media.
Barry
XP Problems2
Hi Barry
I first answer your questions: I sent by email the disk4.log file; the message I get is actually “Test Failed: C:\filename,…from[DISK4_1.zip], I get about 3-4 screen full messages like that in one shot, then there is a pause of 3-6 minutes, then again messages like that until the program stops; I did run the WinZip test on the CD and I tried the 1st zip file and got 3 messages “Error: invalid compressed data to inflate” and 1 message “bad CRC 1f862072 (should be ccc4519e)”; When I try to run the Validate(test) Backup the system hangs. I don’t use third party products to create the CD-RW, I use the AIS integrated program; My chipset is the Intel 850 Revision A-2 so I don’t think the problem is with my chipset. I always use CD-RW because I backup my system/data 2-3 times/week.
When I tried to use the “Troubleshoot CD/DVD writer faults” command on AISBackup, I observed that the default file wnaspi32.dll driver is not under my C:\drive where the WinXP is installed. Is this normal?
AISBackup always defaults to my NEC writer which is the 2nd unit on the secondary IDE channel. My 1st writer is the ASUS CRW-5232AS and I always have to select it manually by clicking on the arrow. I also have tried changing the DMA setting to PIO but the results are the same. I find it very strange that when I 1st downloaded the b204 and run few backups they all worked fine and the next day the same program got into trouble.
Since I also try to resolve the problem, I uninstall / re install AISBackup yesterday night and of course I lost the disk4a.log. Today I run the same backup again and on the 1st run the system hang and had to use the task manager to get out. I re run the same job and let it finish by removing the CD during the test of backup and hitting the “continue button” on the No-Disk message. The AIS.ZIP file I send is from the …..AISBackup\Database directory and the other from the CD itself. I hope the above will help
Thanks for you help
I first answer your questions: I sent by email the disk4.log file; the message I get is actually “Test Failed: C:\filename,…from[DISK4_1.zip], I get about 3-4 screen full messages like that in one shot, then there is a pause of 3-6 minutes, then again messages like that until the program stops; I did run the WinZip test on the CD and I tried the 1st zip file and got 3 messages “Error: invalid compressed data to inflate” and 1 message “bad CRC 1f862072 (should be ccc4519e)”; When I try to run the Validate(test) Backup the system hangs. I don’t use third party products to create the CD-RW, I use the AIS integrated program; My chipset is the Intel 850 Revision A-2 so I don’t think the problem is with my chipset. I always use CD-RW because I backup my system/data 2-3 times/week.
When I tried to use the “Troubleshoot CD/DVD writer faults” command on AISBackup, I observed that the default file wnaspi32.dll driver is not under my C:\drive where the WinXP is installed. Is this normal?
AISBackup always defaults to my NEC writer which is the 2nd unit on the secondary IDE channel. My 1st writer is the ASUS CRW-5232AS and I always have to select it manually by clicking on the arrow. I also have tried changing the DMA setting to PIO but the results are the same. I find it very strange that when I 1st downloaded the b204 and run few backups they all worked fine and the next day the same program got into trouble.
Since I also try to resolve the problem, I uninstall / re install AISBackup yesterday night and of course I lost the disk4a.log. Today I run the same backup again and on the 1st run the system hang and had to use the task manager to get out. I re run the same job and let it finish by removing the CD during the test of backup and hitting the “continue button” on the No-Disk message. The AIS.ZIP file I send is from the …..AISBackup\Database directory and the other from the CD itself. I hope the above will help
Thanks for you help
XP Problems2
Perhaps the following may be of additional help:
When I click on the Tools Menu\Program Options\Backup Options\Troubleshoot CD/DVD button, after the search for the aspi driver I get a window with all aspi drivers available (they all have my 2 cd-rw units). The 1st is the default Wnaspi32.dll (I don’t know where this is located). The 2nd is the Nero Wnaspi32.dll (ver. 2.0.1.59, June-17-2003) located on the Nero directory and it says that AISBackup is using this driver. I also have a third choice from PowerDirectorPro, Wnaspi32.dll from Padus® ASPI shell, version 2.5.0.193. And of course the last choice is the AISBackup aspi.
However Nero 6.0 has a utility called Nero Info Tool which shows all settings for my 2 cd-rw units and under the ASPI tab it has 2 choices; System ASPI or Nero ASPI. The system ASPI is the default and underneath it says “System ASPI is not installed”. Then I click on the Nero ASPI and it says underneath “ASPI is installed and working properly”. After I re boot it defaults again to system aspi not installed etc. Despite what this setting is, I can copy any file / folder to my CD-RW using the Nero interface.
When I click on the Tools Menu\Program Options\Backup Options\Troubleshoot CD/DVD button, after the search for the aspi driver I get a window with all aspi drivers available (they all have my 2 cd-rw units). The 1st is the default Wnaspi32.dll (I don’t know where this is located). The 2nd is the Nero Wnaspi32.dll (ver. 2.0.1.59, June-17-2003) located on the Nero directory and it says that AISBackup is using this driver. I also have a third choice from PowerDirectorPro, Wnaspi32.dll from Padus® ASPI shell, version 2.5.0.193. And of course the last choice is the AISBackup aspi.
However Nero 6.0 has a utility called Nero Info Tool which shows all settings for my 2 cd-rw units and under the ASPI tab it has 2 choices; System ASPI or Nero ASPI. The system ASPI is the default and underneath it says “System ASPI is not installed”. Then I click on the Nero ASPI and it says underneath “ASPI is installed and working properly”. After I re boot it defaults again to system aspi not installed etc. Despite what this setting is, I can copy any file / folder to my CD-RW using the Nero interface.
CD writer problems.
Hi Nick
Thanks for the log file. This shows that the CD did not get created properly, this is either owing to system problems or faulty media, or media that may work if burnt using a slower speed. Your test with WinZip confirmed these findings. Unreadable CD's often cause problems with PC's, especially with Explorer and any program reading the CD, pressing the Eject button does nothing and often leads to pressing the PC re-set button (not recommended).
Try a full erase and using a slower write speed, indeed we test the validation phase of our program (testing failed backups) by burning a pre used CD-RW at a fast speed. I do not think that CD-RW media is as good as manufacturers lead us to believe, if you examine the write area of record able CD's compared to commercial CD's they appear to be damaged much easier.
I would like you to try CD-R (more reliable but obviously write once). AISBackup only adds new and changed files to subsequent backups you could either keep an on-going backup (CD's may be appended to until full) or restart the next full backup from 'after' the first CD (by using the Manage Backup / Import Backup Contents File from CD no. 1).
If you have a new CD-RW disc perhaps you could try this too.
It is possible to use Nero to create the CD rater than AISBackup:
Manage Backup / Edit Backup Job Parameters
Check Use Third Party CD Writer
Run the backup, when AISBackup is ready to create the CD it will pause and wait for you to make the CD using Nero. Make sure that you get Nero to verify the disc after creation (forthis test). Once the CD is complete click Done to resume the backup (the test phase will run).
Barry
Thanks for the log file. This shows that the CD did not get created properly, this is either owing to system problems or faulty media, or media that may work if burnt using a slower speed. Your test with WinZip confirmed these findings. Unreadable CD's often cause problems with PC's, especially with Explorer and any program reading the CD, pressing the Eject button does nothing and often leads to pressing the PC re-set button (not recommended).
Try a full erase and using a slower write speed, indeed we test the validation phase of our program (testing failed backups) by burning a pre used CD-RW at a fast speed. I do not think that CD-RW media is as good as manufacturers lead us to believe, if you examine the write area of record able CD's compared to commercial CD's they appear to be damaged much easier.
I would like you to try CD-R (more reliable but obviously write once). AISBackup only adds new and changed files to subsequent backups you could either keep an on-going backup (CD's may be appended to until full) or restart the next full backup from 'after' the first CD (by using the Manage Backup / Import Backup Contents File from CD no. 1).
If you have a new CD-RW disc perhaps you could try this too.
It is possible to use Nero to create the CD rater than AISBackup:
Manage Backup / Edit Backup Job Parameters
Check Use Third Party CD Writer
Run the backup, when AISBackup is ready to create the CD it will pause and wait for you to make the CD using Nero. Make sure that you get Nero to verify the disc after creation (forthis test). Once the CD is complete click Done to resume the backup (the test phase will run).
Barry
Hi Barry
As you suggested I tried to backup 3401 files, 770 MB using my Asus drive and these methods:
1. Using AISBackup, CD-RW media, full erase, 16X speed. Backup successful, TEST FAILED
2. Using Nero, same media, full erase, 24X speed. Backup successful, TEST FAILED
This led me to believe what you said is right; CD-RW media may not be 100% reliable.
I tried to backup the same files using my old NEC drive and these methods:
3. Using AISBackup, new CD-RW media, full erase, 10X speed. Backup successful, TEST FAILED
4. Using Nero, same media, full erase, 10X speed. Backup successful, TEST SUCCESFUL
I don’t know what to make out of these results.
I tried again to backup the same files using my Asus drive and this method:
5. Using AISBackup, CD-R media, 16X speed. Backup successful, TEST SUCESSFUL
From the above I conclude that I have to re think my backup strategy. I always thought that the CD-RW media is as reliable but maybe not. On the other hand, CD-R media is not as flexible as CD-RW for backups (cant remove files or have a new clean backup on the same media).
I thank you for the excellent service you provided me
Cheers
As you suggested I tried to backup 3401 files, 770 MB using my Asus drive and these methods:
1. Using AISBackup, CD-RW media, full erase, 16X speed. Backup successful, TEST FAILED
2. Using Nero, same media, full erase, 24X speed. Backup successful, TEST FAILED
This led me to believe what you said is right; CD-RW media may not be 100% reliable.
I tried to backup the same files using my old NEC drive and these methods:
3. Using AISBackup, new CD-RW media, full erase, 10X speed. Backup successful, TEST FAILED
4. Using Nero, same media, full erase, 10X speed. Backup successful, TEST SUCCESFUL
I don’t know what to make out of these results.
I tried again to backup the same files using my Asus drive and this method:
5. Using AISBackup, CD-R media, 16X speed. Backup successful, TEST SUCESSFUL
From the above I conclude that I have to re think my backup strategy. I always thought that the CD-RW media is as reliable but maybe not. On the other hand, CD-R media is not as flexible as CD-RW for backups (cant remove files or have a new clean backup on the same media).
I thank you for the excellent service you provided me
Cheers
Possible Backup Strategy
Hi Nick
You now have a backup on CD-R, this could be the bottom line for future backups. I'll explain:
The next time you backup do not reset the existing backup but instead allow AISBackup to create a new session. When AISBackup asks for the last CD used in the previous backup use a blank CD instead (preferably CD-R, but if a pre-used CD-RW use a slower write speed, e.g. 4X). Subsequent backups load pre-used and new CD’s as directed by AISBackup. When you feel there are too many CD’s in the backup instead of re-setting the whole backup use the Manage Backup / Undo Backups option and remove all backup sessions except session 1, i.e. the original set of CD’s. AISBackup will now calculate a new backup based on the original backup rather than running a 100% full backup.
As an experiment I reinstated an old backup (9 June 2002) which was taken of the C: drive from one of the development PC’s we were using then. Both the old and new systems run Windows ME from the C: drive but the new has nearly 2 years of changed. The original backup was to CD-R this was tested using the Manage Backup / Validate (Test) Backup option to ensure the backup could be restored from. The original backup contained 40 sessions taken between 15 March 2002 and 9 June 2002, 92, 886 files.
A full backup of the current C: drive would have been 104,703 files size 10,283.86 MB. A new backup of the C: drive as a session added to the 2 year old backup taken on 9 June 2002 backup is 43, 551 files of 5, 384.86 MB, this is still a lot of data but nevertheless half the size of a full backup; 61,156 file had not changed. The backup was run which added 7 new CD-R’s. My starting point was quite a long time ago (nearly 2 years) so I would expect your backup to grow more gradually the last used CD can be re-used until full. This will save you both time (expensive) and media (quite cheap). If at some future date you feel the backup has grown too much (in terms of CD’s) you may use the Manage Backups / Undo Backups option to reset the backup back to session 1, i.e. the original set of CD-R’s and start again from that base line. If you choose to keep the pre-used CD’s you will essentially have multiple backup sets all starting from the same base line, i.e. the existing CD-R backup.
Barry
You now have a backup on CD-R, this could be the bottom line for future backups. I'll explain:
The next time you backup do not reset the existing backup but instead allow AISBackup to create a new session. When AISBackup asks for the last CD used in the previous backup use a blank CD instead (preferably CD-R, but if a pre-used CD-RW use a slower write speed, e.g. 4X). Subsequent backups load pre-used and new CD’s as directed by AISBackup. When you feel there are too many CD’s in the backup instead of re-setting the whole backup use the Manage Backup / Undo Backups option and remove all backup sessions except session 1, i.e. the original set of CD’s. AISBackup will now calculate a new backup based on the original backup rather than running a 100% full backup.
As an experiment I reinstated an old backup (9 June 2002) which was taken of the C: drive from one of the development PC’s we were using then. Both the old and new systems run Windows ME from the C: drive but the new has nearly 2 years of changed. The original backup was to CD-R this was tested using the Manage Backup / Validate (Test) Backup option to ensure the backup could be restored from. The original backup contained 40 sessions taken between 15 March 2002 and 9 June 2002, 92, 886 files.
A full backup of the current C: drive would have been 104,703 files size 10,283.86 MB. A new backup of the C: drive as a session added to the 2 year old backup taken on 9 June 2002 backup is 43, 551 files of 5, 384.86 MB, this is still a lot of data but nevertheless half the size of a full backup; 61,156 file had not changed. The backup was run which added 7 new CD-R’s. My starting point was quite a long time ago (nearly 2 years) so I would expect your backup to grow more gradually the last used CD can be re-used until full. This will save you both time (expensive) and media (quite cheap). If at some future date you feel the backup has grown too much (in terms of CD’s) you may use the Manage Backups / Undo Backups option to reset the backup back to session 1, i.e. the original set of CD-R’s and start again from that base line. If you choose to keep the pre-used CD’s you will essentially have multiple backup sets all starting from the same base line, i.e. the existing CD-R backup.
Barry
XP Problems2
Hello Barry
Thank you for the information, seems a bit complicated but probably a good way and I will give it a try. For the benefit of all forum members I would like to say that the aforementioned problems I had (XP Problems & XP Problems2) they were not because of AISBackup but because of a faulty CD-RW media I have.
I do my backups on six CD-RW media (they were all purchased new last February) numbered DISK1 to DISK6. I don’t remember why but my backup on DISK4 contains not very important data and I always do the backup on DISK4 the last. That is why I praised AISBackup one day and the next day I will say that I had problems; I was doing my backup on all disks except disk4 one day and the next day I will do the disk4 and since it was not successful I blame it on AISBackup. I could not imagine that a CD-RW could go bad so soon until you mentioned to me that CD-RW’s are not as reliable.
So yesterday when AISBackup and Nero failed the test on disk4 along with the information you provided me regarding CD-RW’s, I got suspicious and I performed a backup of all the data I normally write on disk4 with a CD-R and it was successful under AISBackup.
I just read the post from Hugh of Apr-05 and I recal that I had the same problems as he has with my disk4 (the damaged CD-RW). I am positive that if he follows your suggestion he will have no problems again.
I would like to apologize for the inconvenience I created and to thank you again for the fast and excellent service you gave me.
Cheers
Thank you for the information, seems a bit complicated but probably a good way and I will give it a try. For the benefit of all forum members I would like to say that the aforementioned problems I had (XP Problems & XP Problems2) they were not because of AISBackup but because of a faulty CD-RW media I have.
I do my backups on six CD-RW media (they were all purchased new last February) numbered DISK1 to DISK6. I don’t remember why but my backup on DISK4 contains not very important data and I always do the backup on DISK4 the last. That is why I praised AISBackup one day and the next day I will say that I had problems; I was doing my backup on all disks except disk4 one day and the next day I will do the disk4 and since it was not successful I blame it on AISBackup. I could not imagine that a CD-RW could go bad so soon until you mentioned to me that CD-RW’s are not as reliable.
So yesterday when AISBackup and Nero failed the test on disk4 along with the information you provided me regarding CD-RW’s, I got suspicious and I performed a backup of all the data I normally write on disk4 with a CD-R and it was successful under AISBackup.
I just read the post from Hugh of Apr-05 and I recal that I had the same problems as he has with my disk4 (the damaged CD-RW). I am positive that if he follows your suggestion he will have no problems again.
I would like to apologize for the inconvenience I created and to thank you again for the fast and excellent service you gave me.
Cheers