Acronis 2010 Hangs in Windows 8

Acronis 2010 Hangs in Windows 8

Symptoms:
While running a backup to an External USB disk, using the Emergency Recovery Disk, the backup hangs after running for a few minutes.  Mouse is unresponsive.  No disk activity. Status bar stops at apx 3%.

Recovery:
a.  The backup is incomplete and must be abandoned.
b.  Because the machine is hung, you have no choice but to Power off.
c.  Reboot into Windows.
d.  Consider launching File Manager and deleting the backup files created by the failed run.

Solution:

Acronis 2010 will not work in Windows 8.
Upgrading to Acronis 2013 resolves this issue.
Update: Acronis Documentation on this problem

If Acronis 2013 continues to hang on Backup

Run a DOS Checkdisk - this time-honored solution almost always fixes Acronis backup problems.

See this article:  Run a DOS CheckDisk


Want to speed up your backup?

Follow the steps outlined in this article; which work well in Windows 8. 
Keyliner Article: Acronis 2010 - Step-by-Step

Although this refers to Acronis 2010, the steps are nearly the same for Windows 8 and Acronis 2013.

Related Article:
Exposing the Windows 8 Run Tile
Disk Imaging Cleanup Steps - Faster backups
USB Backup Drive Slow