Trouble Making Image Backup with Acronia True Image 2016 -- apparent misread of space

You are welcome.

(1) A directory or folder is a container that holds files. Install.wim is just one file (a pretty big one) among many that are on Partition 6. Do you want the whole partition or just the file? If you want the whole partition, you should keep the Recovery folder too. It was there to begin with, but 2017 is the last year in which it had its original Gateway contents (a reworked WinRE.wim). That is why I say Partition 6 is dysfunctional. The reworked WinRE.wim had your push button in it, I think.

If you want the whole partition, don't do it until we adjust the XCOPY commands. Do you want it?

(2) GatewayWin8 is a folder that will temporarily hold the file Install.wim while we delete/recreate Partition 6. But that will need to be adjusted, if you want the whole partition.

(3) "Will moving it to the external drive make it visible"

I think it should become visible because the external drive is not a Recovery partition, But there might be something in the file's "permissions' that will keep it invisible in File Explorer. But DIR (with /a) in a Command Prompt should see it just fine. Also, turn OFF "Hide protected..." in Folder Options (type into search), & you should see it in File Explorer too... 

You still won't be able to delete it in File Explorer without a huge battle with permissions (that we likely will lose). It even may refuse to delete in an Administrator Command Prompt while in Windows. In that case, we'll have to go to Advanced Startup & do it there.

(4) "get the number on Part 6 correct"

The number you put there is the partition you will delete when you get to "Delete  Partition  Override". Examine the "List Part" just above to be sure it is the Push Button partition. It should be. If so, don't inadvertently type in a different number than 6.

(5) Well, to get the whole partition here are the XCOPY commands (using letter E:)...

XCOPY  X:\  E:\GatewayWin8  /E  /I  /H    <<< Copy old Partition 6 to E:\GatewayWin8 folder

XCOPY  E:\GatewayWin8  X:\  /E  /I  /H     <<< Copy it back to the new Partition 6

Also, for that second one, omit the MD command which was: "MD  X:\RecoveryImage".

1. Oh, gee, I thought there were two things on part 6, the Recovery folder we moved to part 5 (so why would we keep the old one on part 6?). And the other files with the install.wim.

I have no idea what is in that other file other than the install.wim. I thought that was all it is. I don’t know what the other is, so can’t say yes, let’s delete it. I don’t understand why you think we should keep that Recovery folder on part 6. Its not active now, so does not even work. We think it is linked to the Recovery folder on part 5. Its pretty small, size-wise it doesn’t really matter to me, it just seems like a worthless folder.

Glad I asked dumb questions. See what I meant. :)

So, there is/was Gateway stuff in the Recovery folder too? I thought that all was in this other file with the install wim. Don’t forget, the Recovery file on there is the newest one, not an older v 2017 with Gateway stuff. Or, are you saying to leave it, that will thwart the next update from putting one there, it instead will overwrite the one on part 5?

And you’re saying since the Recovery folder does not have the Gateway stuff it once had, it is not likely it even could work with the file on part 6, at least not for recovering the Gateway stuff? So that entire consideration is a dead consideration? I never understood that to be what you were saying, I thought you simply figured I would never make use of a Win 8 recovery installer. I was saying keep it so I can install the Gateway stuff sometime if I chose to.

Maybe I have a new understanding of this now. I’ll wait for your response. Let’s not rush this, possibly I will be convinced to go with the original suggestion. just get rid of the partitions. Not so sure about that yet, and I can easily delete it later myself. Maybe I would keep it just to sleep on it a bit before I delete it. I don’t know.

2. Understand.
3. Not clear what you are getting at. I was asking because it should be invisible on part 6 when we are done. I don’t need to see it anywhere, the code is going to deal with it.

Maybe you’re talking about after we’re done, the file wills till be on the external drive? And you’re saying how to make it visible? Is there a code line we can add to delete it from the external drive at the end?

4. Yes, you were emphasizing. I thought so. Hey, that is important, and so many other things are too, a typo in this command line stuff can do havoc. So I have mostly been copying and pasting the commands from what you write.

So, I’ll wait primarily for response on 1). This isn’t an emergency, we can do it tomorrow or later.

Regarding invisibility, I'm afraid I don't fully understand it myself. There will be much less of it in File Explorer, if you change that setting I mentioned. But I always like to change the setting back after having a look. My prediction is that the new folder "E:\GatewayWin8" & its contents will indeed be invisible. But we end up deleting it anyhow, maybe requiring Advanced Startup. It will be the same RD command to delete it -- but be sure the letter is right. You know how they change there.

Really -- I think you should just delete Partition 6 & be done with it. I think it is dysfunctional, & it has nothing on it that you need or can possibly be useful. But -- if you want to keep it -- I'll see you through it. Well, here is the whole thing with adjustments to keep the full Partition 6 & using the letter E: for your external drive...

DiskPart                           <<< Enter DiskPart

Select  Disk  0

Select  Part  6

Assign  Letter=X             <<< Put letter X onto Partition 6

Exit                                  <<< Exit DiskPart

>>> Plug in your external media. I'm presuming it gets letter E: for the following...

MD  E:\GatewayWin8                               <<< Make a directory on E: named GatewayWin8

XCOPY  X:\  E:\GatewayWin8  /E  /I  /H    <<< Copy old Partition 6 to E:\GatewayWin8 folder

DIR  E:\GatewayWin8  /a                          <<< Show contents of the new folder (but not its subfolders)

DiskPart                                    <<< Enter DiskPart

Select  Disk  0

List  Part                                   <<< Show the partitions

Select  Part  6                           <<< Be sure you get that number right

Remove  Letter=X                   <<< Optional, due to a guess you once had

Delete  Partition  Override       <<< Delete partition 6

Create  Partition  Primary         <<< Creates a new partition 6

List  Part                                    <<< Show partition 6 is back

Format  Quick  FS=NTFS  Label="Push Button"               <<< Format & label it

Set  ID="de94bba4-06d1-4d40-a16a-bfd50179d6ac"     <<< Make it a Recovery partition

GPT  Attributes=0x8000000000000001                            <<< Give it those attributes

Assign  Letter=X                                                               <<< Give it letter X

List  Vol                                    <<< Show the new letters

List  Part                                   <<< Show partition 6 is a Recovery partition

Exit                                           <<< Exit DiskPart

XCOPY  E:\GatewayWin8  X:\  /E  /I  /H     <<< Copy old partition back to the new Partition 6

DIR  X:\  /a  /s                                            <<< Show the full contents of Partition 6

>>> Did you see a pretty full listing of Partition 6? If so, then...

RD  E:\GatewayWin8  /S                            <<< Delete it from the external media

(a) Do a reboot to ensure the system is informed of the changes.

(c) If there is a "permissions"  error on the last command (RD - remove directory),

     we'll have to do it in Advanced Startup -- just the RD. All else will have been done.

I think that does it. You are in the same shape as before regarding Partition 6 (whatever that was), but hopefully Acronis likes it better now. That's about it. We near the end.

OK, thanks. But can you give me a little more input of possible Gateway stuff needed in the Recovery folder in Part 5 in order to even work with it on Part 6? If it stopped being included in 2017 in the Recovery folder, and it is needed to deal with the Gateway stuff, or more, on Part 6, then you might have a good point about deleting part 6.

I think either way, I'm going to make an Acronis image of only part 6 as it is now, in case I delete and then some time down the line change my mind.

I think you're saying without that stuff in the folder on part 5, I can't even use the OS install wim on part 6 -- not that I would want to install OS 8? I was only ever considering trying to install the Gateway stuff in that.

Well, I'm running the commands now. I guess its now copying over to the external drive, but it gives no indication. But that was the last command, and it is not set to put in a new command, so I guess its working. Its 15 GB to copy, I guess it will be taking a while.

I note, two minor modifications. I will name the partition Push Button Reset, as the original is named, rather than merely Push Button. Also, at the end, I want to take off the X from the partition, we already believe that will make it visible, and so I want that off before doing the restart. If wanted, I can always put it on later easily enough.

I first made an Acronis image of part 6 to the external hard drive. (That took about 10 minutes, and was done as a sector-by-sector image, which is slower. But that gives an idea of the time this adds to the overall imaging, something less than 10 minutes when done as a full disk backup rather than sector-by-sector because of bad sectors.)

I decided to use a 32 GB flash drive to move the files to and hold them while the partition is being deleted and recreated. I formatted it as NTFS. And afterward, if any issue with deleting the files from it, I can simply accomplish that by once again Reformatting it back to FAT32. I believe that reformatting will erase everything, including anything invisible.

So, that's it, it's now copying over to the flash drive, I think -- that's taking quite a while. I'll keep you posted.