Recently a XP user, let’s call him “dad,” obtained a Maxtor One-Touch 500GB USB/Firewire hard drive for remote storage. With it came some free backup software, Retrospect Express, which he used for making incremental backups.
It was working well enough until he upgraded to .NET 2.0, then mysteriously the software didn’t work anymore. It stuck at “Checking status…” and didn’t recognize any restore points. Nothing seemed to help.
I ran FileMon to watch what Retrospect Express was trying to do when it started. It was trying to repeatedly write to a log file and failing. So, I created the file, and tried again. It was an audit message saying it was failing at a .NET Hashtable. Clear evidence that the changes in the .NET 1.1 to .NET 2.0 collection API messed up Retrospect Express. Or, another way to look at it, Retrospect Express was trying to use the latest .NET, but was coded for the older .NET, and even though -both- were installed, it failed to run.
Turns out a lot of people on the Internet were having this very problem. And, everyone who contacted Dantz, the makers of Retrospect Express, seemed to get the same abusive treatment: left on hold for an hour, only to be told they’d need to pay to have assistance, and that the copy that came with the drive wasn’t registered. It wasn’t Microsoft’s problem, nor Maxtor’s. A fix had been promised on the web for months, but nothing was come of it. In the eyes of the online community Dantz was being an evil bastard company, and it was hard to disagree.
Luckily, persistence paid off, and a user I only know as Chris posted this in a forum:
- Close Retrospect Express, including the icon in the system tray.
- Create a file called Retrospect.exe.config and using notepad, put this in it:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<configuration>
<startup>
<supportedRuntime version="v1.1.4322" />
</startup>
</configuration> - Save the file in the same directory as the Retrospect.exe file (usually in C:\Program Files\Dantz\Retrospect Express HD\) and try running Retrospect Express again.
This solved the problem, coercing the application to use the older v1.1 copy of .NET.
Chris, whoever you are — thanks.
I’ve found that Retrospect ExpressHD 1.1.127 works fine with .Net 2.0: http://www.emcinsignia.com/supportupdates/updates/
Hi, I’ve got Maxtor One-touch II with Retroexpress 1.0 and Net Framework 1.1
Retroexpress hangs at ‘updating status’.
I don’t have Net Framework 2.0 on my PC so the solution you published doesn’t work for me.
I tried upgrading from Express 1.0 to 1.1 but that didn’t help.
I tried upgrading to Net Framework 2 (I removed Net Framework 1.1 first just to ensure no conflicts). That didn’t help.
I’m very stuck.
The backup worked once – immediately after I installed it some months ago. But it’s hung ever since.
I could scream!!!!!
It is because of backup problems like this that I’ve stopped using proprietary backup software and simply mirror drives. This results in a live copy, allowing for quick random access. When I do need file-level versions only, I use tools like rsync and scp. But I’ve got to say, switching to a Mac has actually made my backup concerns go away. There are tons of free tools from dd to CarbonCopy Cloner. And, now that OS X is about to support historical versioning natively, things are getting even better.
The rule of thumb, however, is that when it comes to free copies of software you get get with your drive, you get what you pay for. Sigh.
Awesome. Fixed it like a charm! I have 2.0 Framework loaded and apparently that was the problem. THANKS!!!