Recently one of our readers faced a problem with Windows 7 Backup and Restore after installing and then uninstalling Acronis True Image. When the user double-clicked the Backup and Restore item in the Control Panel, nothing happened except for a brief hour glass.
Supposedly, the user had enabled the Windows integration feature in Acronis True Image software, which in turn replaced the Windows 7 Backup utility by modifying the Backup and Restore shell folder registry keys. And uninstalling Acronis True Image did not revert back the original shell folder values for Backup and Restore, causing it inoperable. Running the file "C:\Windows\System32\sdclt.exe" manually did not launch the Backup utility either.
(Screenshot from Acronis sources.)
Fixing the Backup and Restore Registry Keys
1. Click Start, type Regedit.exe and press ENTER:
2. Go to the following branch:
3. Right-click on the key and choose Permissions…
(The above registry key and sub keys are owned by TrustedInstaller by default, and you may have to take ownership of the keys in order to restore the default values. ResourceDLL and ResourceID seems to be the two values that Acronis True Image modifies in order to integrate with the shell.)
4. Click Advanced, and select the Owner tab.
5. Look at the Current owner information. If TrustedInstaller is currently the owner of the key, select Administrators from the list below, select Replace owner on subcontainers and objects, and then click OK.
6. Select Administrators, allow Full Control permission and click OK.
7. Run the Windows 7 Backup Restore – Shell Folder Registry Fix. Download Fix-W7BackupKeys.zip, unzip and run the REG file.
You’ve fixed the Windows 7 Backup shell folder key. Next, restore TrustedInstaller back as the owner of the above registry key, and revoke Full Control permission for the Administrators group.
Reinstate TrustedInstaller as the Owner
8. Right-click on the {B98A2BEA-7D42-4558-8BD1-832F41BAC6FD} key and choose Permissions…Click Advanced, and select the Owner tab.
9. Click Advanced, and select the Owner tab.
10. Click Other users or groups… button
11. Type NT Service\TrustedInstaller in the text box, and click OK. This adds TrustedInstaller group to the listing.
12. With TrustedInstaller selected, select Replace owner on subcontainers and objects, and then click OK.
13. Select Administrators, uncheck Full Control and click OK.
Editor’s note: The Windows 7 Backup issue discussed in this article is not to be confused with another similar sounding Windows 7 Backup problem ("Set up backup" or click "Change settings" links within the Backup and Restore applet non-functional, which is a third-party shell extension saga.)
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Worked for me, although I had to limit the REG file down to just the key mentioned in Arcano’s post. Even with applying the permissions to all subkeys, it still didn’t work (error when importing) with the full file.
Thanks!
Ta very much thank you.
Worked a treat
For those of you who couldn’t import the reg file into the registry, I had the same problem, but I found out the solution:
make sure the “new” temporal permissions (full control for administrators) is applied to all subkeys.
And for what it’s worth, the only thing I had different in my registry was the InitPropertyBag subkey, which still contained Acronis garbage. Everything else was fine.
Interesting I should find this. I thought I had fixed the problem with my Windows 7 backup and restores disappearing with XP double-boot system; actually I had. But, in the aftermath, a bit after having initiating the fix, I installed Acronis. Then my system went down. I had oodles of W7 backups and so tried to do one. Evidently Acronis disrupts the restore to the point that it fails. Come back with, “A file could not be accessed! FAILED!” I had to reload everything with the Acronis boot disk and then an Acronis whole disk image restore. A royal pain. Now I’m now so hep on having it on my system. More trouble than it’s worth!
I have the same issue after uninstalling Acronis True Image. And I did NOT have it “integrated” at the time I dumped it. However, I followed the instructions above untill running the downloaded “fix” witch failed to write to all data. “Some keys are open by the system or other processes” was the reason given. Help. I hope someone is monitoring this blog.
Exactly how do I run the download fix. Windows says that it wasn’t able to complete. Should I run in safemode with the registry open?
I’m very grateful for the Acronis 2011 fix above. It has worked perfectly for me.
Hope Acronis fixes this or I’m going to be uninstalling their software. Programs should NOT break Windows functionality.
In the same vein, I just ran into a problem with Win 7 Check Disc (Claimed the disk was locked and unable to be checked after restart). Other online references said Acronis was at fault, and indeed uninstalling Acronis True Image 2011 allowed the disk check and repair to proceed.
Has there been any success in finding/fixing the Acronis problem?
Nice post. Good to know such issues exist. But which version of Acronis True Image?
And did he or you try to contact Acronis to inform them of this issue?