Solved HELP! Installed Acronis TI 2021

Badger · Mar 29, 2024

Today I foolishly decided to install Acronis True Image 2021. After playing around I decided to remove it even using Revo Uninstaller to do so. Now all of a sudden when I try to boot off USB via bios the below message pops up and calls this program so I am unable to boot off of any other bootable recovery USB drive so I can restore my system to the pre-Acronis install. Here the message that pops up. I've been trying to get rid of it for hours using gpart etc...

Starting x64 UEFI Loader (v1.1.230)
Loading Recovery Media using UEFI
Loading protected mode kernel...
Press <e> to edit kernal command line

This displays whenever I try to go into the bios and boot from an alternate device. I am unable to boot off of any of my other bootable recovery USB sticks because of this. It seems it wrote it this little program into a EFI partition that I'm not seeing. Tried deleting and reformatting the drive but it's not getting the area where this lives. Your help in ridding me of the pest is greatly appreciated!

Ghot · Mar 29, 2024

Badger said:
Today I foolishly decided to install Acronis True Image 2021. After playing around I decided to remove it even using Revo Uninstaller to do so. Now all of a sudden when I try to boot off USB via bios the below message pops up and calls this program so I am unable to boot off of any other bootable recovery USB drive so I can restore my system to the pre-Acronis install. Here the message that pops up. I've been trying to get rid of it for hours using gpart etc...

Starting x64 UEFI Loader (v1.1.230)
Loading Recovery Media using UEFI
Loading protected mode kernel...
Press <e> to edit kernal command line

This displays whenever I try to go into the bios and boot from an alternate device. I am unable to boot off of any of my other bootable recovery USB sticks because of this. It seems it wrote it this little program into a EFI partition that I'm not seeing. Tried deleting and reformatting the drive but it's not getting the area where this lives. Your help in ridding me of the pest is greatly appreciated!

Acronis is very hard to cleanly remove...
Reinstall Acronis then use the Acronis Removal Tool to uninstall it.

Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office, Acronis True Image: Cleanup Utility | Knowledge Base

Utilities for removing Acronis True Image and its components on Windows and Mac

kb.acronis.com

If you still have problems... post back here.

Then, peruse these...

Poll on Backup software

A poll to see which imaging programs people use. You can select up to three options (eg some people use more than one program or use a regular imaging program plus a cloud based one).

www.elevenforum.com

Macrium Reflect, AOMEI Backupper and Hasleo Backup Suite - GUIDES

How to use backup software... 1. When everything is working perfectly... make a full Windows backup. 2. Then, if something breaks... restore from the latest backup. 3. Then... try "whatever you were doing" a different way. If it still breaks Windows, then... go to step #2. 4. Repeat...

www.elevenforum.com

NOTE:
After the Windows 11 Revocations... bootable devices may no longer boot, if "Secure Boot" is enabled in the BIOS.
You can temporarily disable Secure Boot... then boot from your device, do whatever, then when finished... re-enable Secure Boot.

Ghot · Mar 29, 2024

@Badger

I changed the Acronis Cleanup Utility link above.

SIW2 · Mar 29, 2024

Might have added its own .efi file to esp partition EFI folder.

I suggest format the esp partition to fat32 and use bcdboot to recreate the boot critical files.

I am unable to boot off of any other bootable recovery USB drive

if you are able to boot winre you can do it from there

Badger · Mar 29, 2024

Hi Ghot, thanks for the link but that cleanup util made no difference.

SIW2: I was able to boot off the manufactures (MinisForum) USB Win 11 recovery disk and restored the system. I had used Gpart to delete all the partitions, reformattted the drive, then deleted the partitions again leaving it in an unallocated state prior to running the MinisForum USB recovery stick. So I don't think bcdboot will buy me anything? I just don't know where this thing resides. I even tried Hasleo EasyEFI but don't see it. Boy is this frustrating! So because of this Acronis program I can't even access my USB recovery stick( Macrium) to bring the system back to the pre-Acronis install because it screws up the bios selecting it with that same boot message below:

Starting x64 UEFI Loader (v1.1.230)
Loading Recovery Media using UEFI
Loading protected mode kernel...
Press <e> to edit kernal command line

The only bootable sticks are the Linux based ones like Gpart.

Try3 · Mar 29, 2024

It sounds to me like you set up Acronis Startup recovery manager to provide you with a dual boot [similar to the boot menu facility that Macrium reflect can set up].
ATI2021 Startup recovery manager

ATI2021 Startup recovery manager - F11 at boot.jpg

I suggest you press F11 at boot and, if you get Acronis TI starting up, go to its Tools section and disable it.

All the best,
Denis

Badger · Mar 29, 2024

Hi,
I had tried that earlier and it didn't work.

Thanks for the suggestion though. There's got to be a way to delete it but it currently eludes me!

Ghot · Mar 29, 2024

Badger said:
Hi,
I had tried that earlier and it didn't work. Thanks for the suggestion though. There's got to be a way to delete it but it currently eludes me!

Back in 2020, I installed Acronis True Image on Win 10... then discovered Macrium Reflect.
I could find no way to completely remove Acronis.

I finally gave up and just reinstalled Windows 10.

Badger · Mar 30, 2024

GOT it!!! :) Reinstalled Acronis TI 2021 in Windows 11 Pro and once again used Revo Uninstaller Pro (latest version 5.2.6) to uninstall it again. This time it removed it. :) Case closed! I was then able to recover a pre-Acronis backup via a USB Rescue stick. No more Acronis anything for me!

antspants · Mar 30, 2024

Badger said:
No more Acronis anything for me!

From one scary clown to another: That’s a good plan

Steve C · Mar 30, 2024

Acronis software is the work of the devil. I had similar problems removing their backup software a while ago and have used Reflect ever since with no issues.