Failed to exclusively access a backup file during consolidation. Make sure the file is not opened in other applications.
I've seen this problem before and I think that I've tried everything I can to eliminate the issue.
Acronis True Image 2015, Build 6525
I've been using ATI 2015 (and previous versions) for a while. I just added an external USB 3.0 2TB drive (K:) and moved a bunch of stuff from C: to K:. I wanted C: and K: to both be in my backup.
I rotate backups between two USB 3.0 3TB drives. I took backup A (Finch) offline and put it away. I got backup drive B (Nuthatch) out, removed the backup configuration for Nuthatch, and reformatted Nuthatch.
I created a new backup in ATI 2015. I specified C: and K: as my input set and Nuthatch as the output. Otherwise I used the exact same backup configuration that I've been using and last successfully used on Finch.
The backup runs, fails with "Failed to exclusively access a backup file during consolidation. Make sure the file is not opened in other applications", restarts, runs, fails, restarts, runs, fails, over and over again, never ending. The backup is set to run once a day. I suspect that the backup restarts because of the failure.
I attached a MS Word document with screen captures to show my configuration.
I have tried this with and without validation. I include this statement because I have had problems before when validation was used, even as a one time event.
I have tried this with and without encryption.
I have worked to make sure that the Nuthatch and K drives are not open during the backup, although that should have no effect on the backup.
Any suggestions are appreciated.
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acronis_backup_problems_2015_05_12.docx | 308.4 KB |


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After trying many things, including those noted by Enchantech, nothing worked. I deleted the backup, formatted the drive, rebooteded, but still no luck. I got the error every time I created a new backup and it would create a full backup, fail, create the incremental, fail......
I finally uninstalled ATI. I downloaded the latest, although I'm pretty sure I was using that build. I installed and configured for a new backup using the same settings as before, including validating the build the first time and using encryption. Voila! It worked.
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David,
Each backup task is tied to one specific destination, whicgh is the destination device that was attached at time of task creation.
If you use two different disks for storage, each disk needs its own backup task, as per this link.
http://forum.acronis.com/forum/64634
Depending upon the type of backup scheme you wish to create, here is an example of each type. These can be set up for Disk image, or Partiton, or Files-folders backups. These example show how to set up automatic cleanup so the program will do the deletion after it reaches your set goal of how many chains to retain.
Editing an existing task is not recommended. Rarely does an edited task perform to user expectations. It is usually better to start with a new task using a new non-identical task name and point to a new storage sub-folder so each task has it own storage folder/sub-folder. Old task can be stopped or deleted from the task listings.
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I got this error after retrospectively applying 'Turn on automatic cleanup', ATI 2016.
After 6 incremental backup chains, I set 'keep 5 backup chains' and 'do not delete 1st version of the backup'. Backup appears to fail during consolidation but incremental TIB's are created, (several times over with the automatic retries). After turning of auto cleanup, backup completed manually without error but am not sure if the chain is now screwed so will run validate.
Apologies if this problem has been raised elsewhere.
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Hello M Harris,
Thank you for your posting! Here you will find more information on the issue: https://forum.acronis.com/forum/119938
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