Has there been a resolution to this issue?  ???

I just puchased Ghost 10 last night and cannot create a restore point.

Symantec tech support recommends that all USB devices be unplugged duing the cretion of the restore point. Then to plug my USB DVD writer back in to burn the archive.

Description: Error EC8F17B7: Cannot create recovery points for job: Recovery point of C:\. Error EA39070A: The internal structure of the image file is invalid or unsupported.
Details: 0xEA39070A
Source: Norton Ghost

Thanks in advance,

socket_666

Where are you trying to create the Restore Point?  Is it NTFS?

Many users have had good success in creating the restore point to a folder of an external USB2 hard drive.  If you want to later burn that backup image to DVD, then use a separate utility (Nero, etc.) to copy the backup image files to dvd.  (You can limit the size of backup images so they fit on dvd in the advanced options if needed.)

Yes, Ghost4me: I am trying to save the restore point to another NTFS partition on a seperate internal hard drive.

I will try saving over the network and/or an external hard drive (USB 2.0) and see how that works.

I don't understand why none of this is covered on the Symantec site, or in their help.

I am not planning on unplugging all of my USB devices just to make thier S/W work. That is what tech support suggested!  >:(

Thanks again.

I would ignore that advice about unplugging USB devices just to create a backup.

Are your Windows XP updates current?  Specifically, the .NET ones?

Also, try creating an Independent Backup Image of one of your partitions, instead of a recovery point.  Pick one of your smaller partitions if you have more than one.

Additionally, I would avoid trying to backup over a network for now, because that adds another layer of complexity.

Wait till you can do a simple backup to another internal drive folder.  You do have plenty of space on the other drive?

Plenty of space on my other Two (2) drives: 15 & 32 GB of free space. Thre drive I am (tring) to back up is 20 GB with 12 GB actually used (my boot drive).

I am getting the 1.1 .NET update off of Widows Update right now.

What is a simple backup vice a recovery point? All I see in the main screen is th eoption to create a recovery point.

On the main Ghost 10 screen, choose option:
Backup
Backup Now
Define new Backup (using wizard)
Select source partition
select Independent Recovery Point

An Independent Recovery Point is a complete backup of your partition (not one based upon incremental backups)

Just to be safe, you should run a chkdsk c: /r from the command prompt (requires rebooting for it to run) which will check all sectors to make sure they are readable.

http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c5/ghostimage/Ghost10Main.jpg


http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c5/ghostimage/DefineBackup.jpg

Sorry; I forgot to mention that I already did a CHKDSK /R and a defrag (using Diskeeper 10) prior to my post.

I am follwing your instructions right now and will post (as well as register!) in a few minutes. Thanks again for the assistance! Wizard output is below:

Drives and Recovery Point Locations:
WINXP (C:\) to E:\data\ghost\Drive001.v2i

Base Schedule:
none

Options:
Job name: Recovery point of C:\
Compression level: Medium
[  ] Verify recovery points after creation
Recovery point set limit: 3
Description: XP boot drive.


Advanced Options:
[  ] Use password
Encryption level: None
Max file size: <none>
[  ] Ignore bad sectors during copy
[  ] Disable SmartSector copying

Restore Anyware Option is not licensed for this recovery point.

Also:

Below is the email I received from Symantec. I have checked out all of the options they provided.




Hello Marty,

Thank you for contacting Symantec Online Technical Support.

I understand from your message that you are unable to create the backup image and come across an error message"-Error EC8F17B7: Cannot create recovery points for job: Recovery point of C:\.
Recovery point of C:\. Error EA39070A: The internal structure of the image file is invalid or unsupported.
Details: 0xEA39070A


Note : Please be informed as a work around we tried the below instructions on one of the customers computer which resolved the issue.

Marty, please be aware that this error can be caused on Windows XP/2000 if Norton Ghost was installed while the two VSS services are stopped. and also some issue with the SymSnap.sys driver such as if:
1) The driver does not load properly during the Windows startup process
2) The driver is not properly registered in the Windows registry
3) The driver does not exist in the %SystemRoot%\System32\Drivers folder

So firstly i suggest you to check if the two VSS services "MS Software Shadow Copy Provider" and "Volume Shadow Copy" are started or not in the services , if they are stopped then set it to  start Automatically and then uninstall and reinstall the program and then check for the issue.

If it is an issue with the  SymSnap.sys driver then check and confirm that SymSnap.sys file exist in the %SystemRoot%\System32\Drivers folder and also SymSnap file appears in System Information > Software Environment > System Drivers, so if any of the above files are missing then Uninstall and then reinstall the program.

If the above files are installed then a registry key at the following location may causes the trouble
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Installer\UserData\S-1-5-18\Components/Symsnap so change the hexadecimal value from 0 to 1.

Please follow the web-link fo the document below :

>Title: 'Error: "The internal structure of the PQI file is invalid or not supported" when creating, restoring, or browsing an image'
Document ID: 2004010648203262
Web URL: http://service1.symantec.com/Support/powerquest.nsf/docid/2004010648203262?Open&src=ent_gold_nam

So after following the above instructions if the issue is resolved mail us back with steps you followed.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you need any further assistance.

Best regards,
Vamshi Krishna.H
Symantec Authorized Technical Support.

Success! I still do not know what is different. Is it that I chose the Indepedent first?

Log:

Description: Info 6C8F0434: A manual base recovery point of C:\ completed successfully.
Details:
Source: Norton Ghost

I am going to try an incremental version now:

Drives and Recovery Point Locations:

WINXP (C:\) to E:\data\ghost\Drive001.v2i

Base Schedule:

none

Event Triggers:

[  ] Any user logs on to the computer

[  ] Any user logs off from the computer (Not at Shutdown or Restart)

[  ] Any application is installed

[  ] The data added to a drive exceeds:

Options:

Job name: Recovery point set of C:\

Compression level: High

[  ] Verify recovery points after creation

Recovery point set limit: 3

Description: Incremental backup.


Advanced Options:

[  ] Use password

Encryption level: None

Max file size: <none>

[  ] Ignore bad sectors during copy

[  ] Disable SmartSector copying

Restore Anyware Option is not licensed for this recovery point.

wrote on Jun 25^th, 2006 at 4:16pm:

Success! I still do not know what is different. Is it that I chose the Indepedent first?

I don't think so.  Did you have any of the problems/issues noted in the Symantec email such as Volume Shadow etc?

Sounds like you're working ok now.  Recovery Points managed by Ghost 10 are used to minimize updates to the backup--Ghost 10 creates a full backup and then you can schedule an incremental update recovery point to be created every night.  That keeps the backup(s) smaller, but you lose some control over when Ghost 10 decides to take a full backup.  Usually Ghost 10 decides it's time for a full one because too many changes have been made to the sectors.

A disaster restore is easier (in my opinion) because you have a single independent file that is fully contained, instead of asking Ghost 10 to process multiple restore images.  Just my opinion, and some people like the incremental backups, which is fine by them.

I did have to start the MS Software Shadow Copy Provider service. And I set both services to Auto. I uninstalled & reinstalled Ghost after that.

Wierd that the setup routine is not configured to do that automatically.

Description: Info 6C8F0432: A manual base recovery point of C:\ completed successfully.
Details:
Source: Norton Ghost

Thanks again Ghost4me. I will be monitoring the board as I use Ghost more.

wrote on Jun 25^th, 2006 at 6:35pm:

I did have to start the MS Software Shadow Copy Provider service. And I set both services to Auto.

Thanks for the update and information on the cause and fix!

I thought this solved my problem but it didn't. :-(
My config:
Windows XP Pro, 80GB HDD, using about 37 GB
External HD: Seagate 300GB connected via USB 2.0
Ghost 10.0

Symptoms:
Could do a complete system backup, and could read individual files from it, but could not verify it successfully.

I had done all of the following:

* Run Live Update until there are no more updates.
* Created the recovery point with the external drive as the only connected USB device.
* Run chkdsk c: /F /R (there were no problems)
* Configured the backup not to copy bad sectors
* Deleted the Backup command, created a new one pointed to a different directory
* Uninstalled and Re-installed Ghost, clicking "no" when asked if I wanted to save anything.

NONE of these fixed the problem.

Tried the following based on the above post:
Going to the Administrative Tools/Services app and setting to "Automatic" and starting both "MS Software Snadow Copy Provider" and "Volume Shadow Copy" (this was already started but set to Manual).

Then I uninstalled Ghost completely (including the data, etc.) as instructed in the earlier post, and reinstalled it.

I created a new Complete System Backup and set it to verify automatically after creation, but it failed.

Note: the ReadMe.txt with Ghost 10.0 says:
...
----------------------------------------------------------------
General Issues
----------------------------------------------------------------

1. Norton Ghost is not integrated with Microsoft's Volume Shadow
  Copy service
...

wrote on Oct 14^th, 2006 at 3:51pm:

I thought this solved my problem but it didn't. :-( My config: Windows XP Pro, 80GB HDD, using about 37 GB External HD: Seagate 300GB connected via USB 2.0 Ghost 10.0 Symptoms: Could do a complete system backup, and could read individual files from it, but could not verify it successfully.

tw,

Could you try this as some people have problems with direct imaging to external HDs.

If your 80 GB HD is not partitioned then it's OK to write a high compression image (recovery point) of the C drive to the C drive. Tick verify in the setup to make sure the initial image is OK. Then using My Computer, cut and paste this file to the external HD. Now, double click the v2i file and click Verify in the Recovery Point Browser.

Success or failure?

Thanks for the reply.
I did the test. The recovery point of C onto C was fine (verified automatically). Once copied to the external drive, however, it produced the same error as the others upon verification.
Also, since my last post I purchased Acronis True Image 9.0, hoping that would work, but I am having the same problem with it. Still waiting for their tech support reply.
Any ideas about what could be wrong?
BTW, I have Oracle installed on this laptop. Could that or any other software be an issue?  I don't typically use special utilities that are always running except my anti-spy (Spybot S&D) and virus (CA) software.

Tw, here is a suggestion:  repeat the test recommended by Brian in Reply #15 (image C-drive onto C-drive, verify, copy to external drive, verify).  Next, delete the image stored on the C-drive, copy the image from the external hard disk back onto the C-drive, and verify.

Success or failure?

If "failure," then the contents of the .V2I files are somehow becoming corrupted during the transfer from/to the C-drive to/from the external hard disk drive.

You're probably getting data corruption between your PC and your USB2 external drive.

Cheapest solution is to purchase a PCI USB2 card and plug the external drive into that.  The cost is about $15.

It's not uncommon for some PC's (especially older ones) to have i/o problems with USB2 devices, especially under heavy load.

Pleo and Ghost4me, good suggestions.

Also, while you are creating the image, don't have your external HD connected to the computer.

http://service1.symantec.com/Support/powerquest.nsf/docid/2005111019380362

In the Acronis group, your situation is described frequently and one of the suggested causes is bad RAM. Could you run an overnight test with Memtest86+.

http://www.memtest.org/

Thanks everyone, for the feedback.

Could not run memtest last night because my OEM CD burning software would not create the image from the .iso file.

I did copy the .v2i file back to my internal boot drive and, indeed, it no longer verified.

I am suspicious of my USB hardware, but this is a Toshiba laptop (Satellite A75), about 2 years old, so buying a USB card is probably not going to be a solution (or is it?). I am still covered by an extended warranty, but I want to be sure what the problem is before I lose access to it for two weeks.

I will work on getting memtest working. In the meantime, any other suggestions?

wrote on Oct 24^th, 2006 at 12:20pm:

I am suspicious of my USB hardware, but this is a Toshiba laptop (Satellite A75), about 2 years old, so buying a USB card is probably not going to be a solution (or is it?). I am still covered by an extended warranty, but I want to be sure what the problem is before I lose access to it for two weeks.

Since you still have an extended warranty with Toshiba, here are a couple suggestions:

1. First look on the Toshiba website for any updated BIOS software or other that relates specifically to your model.

2. Contact Toshiba with a short explanation concerning corrupted data transfer using USB2 ports on your PC.  Or look in their support forums for other USB issues.

I agree with you and still believe the problem is a USB interfaced firmware/software update issue.  There are PCCARD usb plug ins, but they are more expensive for a laptop and you are better off with more research first.

wrote on Oct 24^th, 2006 at 12:20pm:

Could not run memtest last night because my OEM CD burning software would not create the image from the .iso file.

tw,

You can get Nero 6 from here.

ftp://ftp1.usw.nero.com/Nero-6.6.1.4_no_yt.exe

Fully functional for one month. To burn an .ISO is easy.

Start Nero. Close the central window. Recorder, burn image.

This is my 1st posting on this forum. Hope this is the right place to mention this.!
Problem is Ghost 10.0 and a new external USB HDD. Made two attempts to backup my laptop..Both failed. Reformated the new USB HDD and tried again. Failed again. Was seriously considering a copy of Ghost 9.0. There are no updates for Ghost 10.0 available.
I found Sym's solution by searching support for EC8F17B7. The article contains the exact 3 err msgs I was experiencing. It blames "file system error's or bad sectors" and offered 2 recommendations: check the option "Ignore bad sectors during copy" in the backup wizard and disconnect all USB devices except for destination HDD.
Did both these on my laptop. Used only my touchpad for interaction and screen saver disable. It backup up successfully.
Next I reattached the usb hub containing a kybd, mouse, wireless adaptor, and an external zip drive. Repeated the backup WITHOUT USING ANY OF THE USB DEVICES. Left the HDD attached directly to computer. Successfull again.
I then repeated the backup a 3rd time using only my attached usb mouse to start the backup and keep my screen saver disabled. Successful again!
I must say that the problem seemed to be solved by enabling the option "Ignore bad sectors during copy" option. Hope so. Hope this may help someone else!

Have you run a chkdsk c: /r to do a complete scan of your hard drive (presumably c:).  It will detect any bad sectors and flag them.

After that, try again with the ignore-bad-sectors Not checked for Ghost 10.