Backup keeps repeating in a loop
Using Acronis True Image 2020 Build 38600, when backing up, ATI does a partial backup then restarts, overwriting any backup files. I am backing up Disk 0 and Disk 2 on my system, Disk 0 containing Win 10.
Initially, it showed a 2.7GB of data to be backed up, and I am backing up to an empty 6GB external hard drive. I used this HDD on a previous backup successfully, then deleted the files before doing this current backup attempt.
Can anyone please advice how I can get a successful backup?
The "Upload" button on this page is not working, so I have put my System Report , VSS Doctor Report and a screen print on my server:
www dasq com au / ati2020
kind regards,
Jill
Thank you Steve, I will do separate backups as suggested.
With regards the Disk I/O load, these are partitions on Disk 2 that I am backing up. I did not think the error message was important as I was not backing up to any of these partitions. Is this the correct interpretation?
My kind regards, and thanks
Jill
Well, it seems to have gone form bad to worse when I decided to just backup the small Disk 0. Would not backup, get immediate Backup error on the screen, and it restarts. Same again.
My System Report is 20MB, too large for this site, so have stored it on my server:
www*dasq*com*au/acronis
Hoping someone can suggest what is going wrong.
I have formatted the6 GB external HDD in NTFS file system mode
Had another go at backing up disk 0, but the screen froze on "Calculating space, whatever, at the bottom of the screen.
I previously used the Backup page to delete the previous files on the 6GB external HDD
I have attached the 20 MB System Report and the screen print files in a new folder in my server:
www*dasq*com*au/acronis1
Had a further go after using ATI202 to stop the process and delete the files on 6 GB extrnal HDD U: drive. Switched U: drive on and off, relocated the USB plug from the hub to a socket on the motherboard. Still no joy, it would not even start to backup, suck on "Preparing data"
Diagnostic files and screen print showing VSS setting found here:
www*dasq*com*au/acronis2
Any ideas what is going wrong please
Jill
Jill, quick first comment. You should not be using 'Acronis snapshot' in the Snapshot for backup Performance setting - this should be left at default of 'VSS' plus the Operational priority should be left at the default 'Low' setting.
These settings have worked fine for me for many years and don't really need to be touched.
I get a 404 Not found error for your Acronis1 web link but have downloaded the Acronis2 system report that I will look at shortly. Note: I am in the UK so opposite side of the world in terms of time zones!
How exactly are you deleting any Acronis backup files when doing so?
KB 61844: Acronis True Image 2019, 2020 and 2021: How to delete old backups
It is very important that .tibx files are only deleted either using the Clean up versions tool or else via the Automatic cleanup option for the task Backup Scheme.
The most common issue shown in the logs from the system report continues to be snapshot related but I am also seeing another error which I have never seen in logs before!
02/10/2022 05:10:13:185 PM +10:00 6732 I00640002: Operation WDC WDS480G2G0A-00JH30 UG500000 started by schedule.
02/10/2022 05:10:13:388 PM +10:00 6732 I00640000: Backup reserve copy attributes: format tib; need_reserve_backup_copy false;
02/10/2022 05:10:13:388 PM +10:00 6732 I013C0000: Operation: Backup
02/10/2022 05:10:13:388 PM +10:00 6732 I0064000B: Priority changed to High.
02/10/2022 05:10:13:622 PM +10:00 6732 E00000000: Can't read slices: Error 0x40011: The specified file does not exist.
| function: `anonymous-namespace'::ReturnCodeToError
|
| error 0x40011: The specified file does not exist.
| function: `anonymous-namespace'::ConvertArchive3Error
02/10/2022 05:10:15:977 PM +10:00 6732 E02160015: Error 0x2160015: A backup error.
| function: da_backup::Commit
|
| error 0x70026: File system is too large for 32-bit version.
| function: `anonymous-namespace'::PartitionBackuper::SetSectorBySectorMode
| $module: disk_backup_vs_650
02/10/2022 05:10:16:062 PM +10:00 6732 E013C0005: Error 0x13c0005: Operation has completed with errors.
It looks from the above that Acronis is finding a disk error because it is attempting to switch to using Sector-by-Sector mode of operation, and this looks like it would generate a backup file that generated the other unusual error: File system is too large for 32-bit version!
What is strange is that the Disks report (disks.txt) in the system report is not showing any indication of any disk error!
I would suggest trying a backup of a different disk to the one referenced above and ensure that it isn't involved in the backup at all. Please use the default Performance settings for the task to avoid any issues related to overall system resource usage etc.
Hi Steve, I really appreciate your help with this.
I have set the VSS to the settings you showed above, disabled the Sector -by Sector image setting, and used a new HD, an internal one that still has one of my last backups. It had over 3GB spare. My Disk 0 is 0.5GB in size.
Again, there was no backup :(
I have put the relevant diagnostic files on :
www*dasq*com*au/acronis_3 My apologies for giving the incorrect address on the last one
My kind regards,
Jill
Jill, the latest logs are still showing VSS snapshot issues and the VSS Doctor report also shows a number of failed VSS writers.
In addition to the failed VSS writers, there are lots of other errors being reported in the System Information Report from Windows Error Reporting.
I would recommend trying a restart of Windows initially to see if this will fix the VSS writers issue?
Finally, looking at your Windows 10 version (19041) you are running an out of support version from May 2020 which went unsupported back in May 2022 that I would recommend upgrading and which is likely to fix lots of the issues being reported. The latest Windows 10 upgrade software can be downloaded from the Microsoft Download website. See the Update Assistant tool on the MS website.
With regards to creating a full backup of your PC before embarking on any upgrade adventures, I would recommend creating and using the Acronis 'Simple' rescue media and creating a backup outside of Windows which will eliminate any issues being introduced by Windows itself.
See KB 63226: Acronis True Image 2020: how to create bootable media and KB 59877: Acronis True Image: how to distinguish between UEFI and Legacy BIOS boot modes of Acronis Bootable Media
OK, thanks for this advice Steve. Before I downloaded the upgrade to Win 10, I decided to clone the Disk 0. No joy, error. I am really beginning to hate this ATI. In the many years that I have owned it, I have never had a backup work first go.
I am hoping you can identify what is going wrong with this cloning process.
I have put the VSSDoctor report and the System Report here: www*dasq*com*au/acronis_4
Jill, the clone operation failed as shown in the log below:
04/10/2022 08:59:07:301 AM +10:00 18708 I00640002: Operation Clone Disk started.
04/10/2022 08:59:07:301 AM +10:00 18708 I00640000: Operation description: Clone Disk1. Clearing disk (Reboot required)
Hard disk: 5
2. Clearing disk
Hard disk: 5
3. Copying and merging partitions
Hard disk: 1, 5 -> 5
Drive letter: -, - -> -
File system: FAT32
Volume label:
Size: 100 MB, 100 MB -> 100 MB4. Copying and merging partitions
Hard disk: 1, 5 -> 5
Drive letter: C:, C: -> C:
File system: NTFS
Volume label: Win SSD
Size: 0.436 TB, 5.457 TB -> 5.457 TB5. Copying and merging partitions
Hard disk: 1, 5 -> 5
Drive letter: T:, T: -> T:
File system: NTFS
Volume label:
Size: 513 MB, 513 MB -> 513 MB6. Copying and merging partitions
Hard disk: 1, 5 -> 5
Drive letter: -, - -> -
File system: FAT32
Volume label:
Size: 99 MB, 99 MB -> 99 MB7. Copying MBR
Hard disk: 1 -> 5
.
04/10/2022 08:59:07:968 AM +10:00 18708 E000A0001: Error 0xa0001: Failed to prepare operations. Error code: 7 'Disk is not found, please check that all the hard disks are attached to your computer'
04/10/2022 08:59:07:992 AM +10:00 18708 E013C0005: Error 0x13c0005: Operation has completed with errors.
Just looking at the above, I suspect that the error for not finding the target or source disk is due to rebooting into a temporary Linux environment without any support for the drive(s).
The VSS Doctor report continues to report multiple failed VSS writers.
I would again suggest booting your PC from Acronis rescue media and making a full backup using that means so that you are outside of any influence from any Windows components etc.
SUCCESS!! All the problems seem to be around the VSS, as they have in the past. :(
So in the Performance option, I selected "VSS without writers".
It backed up Disk 0 correctly to H: drive, the internal HDD, and validated it.
I then backed up the large Disk 2 to U:, the 6TB external USB HD. At time of writing, it was backing up properly. Will know in the morning.
Thanks for your help, Steve. I would be interested in your comments as to why this worked and the others didn't, and if there is anything more I should do.
I have copied the VSS Doctor and the System Report and the screen shot of the VSS settings for this successful backup to :
www*dasq*com*au/acronis_5
My kind regards,
Jill
Jill, using VSS without writers may cause further issues in the long run as it is possible that some data is not captured, hence this is not the default mode of operation.
Upgrading Windows 10 to a later supported version would probably help resolve these VSS issues as you would be doing an in-place upgrade / install of Windows which effectively replaces lots of system programs and applications.
Note: even before doing the upgrade, I would recommend doing the following from an Administrator Command prompt window to ensure that any latent issues are resolved.
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth
DISM /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth
SFC /scannow
Thanks again Steve, for your valuable advice. Have done the DISM actions as you recommend , and corrupt files were found and repaired.
I have posted the screen print and the log file.
You can see them here:
www*dasq*com*au/acronis_6
Hi Steve, I have successfully saved my Disk 0 (which is my Windows system drive) to internal drive H:
I then successfully saved Disk 2 to my 6TB external HDD.
I take on board that these backups may be incomplete as I did not use Writers.
My immediate problem is how to recover the Disk 0 backup on H: drive. The file is shown, as seen on one of the screen shots below, but there is no reference to it in Acronis, Acronis can only see the latest backup which was Disk 2 on U: drive
Can you please advise on what I have done wrong, and how to recover the Disk 0 backup on H: drive?
I think I have solved the problem in my last post. Forgot to "Add backup" at the bottom f the screen. Will redo the Disk 0 backup after I have upgraded Win 10
Hi Steve, well, I upgraded to the latest version of Win 10. Thanks for that link you provided.
Ran the backup of Disk 0 on external 6 TB HDD, using the" VSS " setting, but no success. Looks like there are still VSS problems with Windows 10.
Files store here: www*dasq*com*au/acronis_7
Looking forward to your comment, Steve
Jill, looking at the latest VSS Doctor report, some of the writer errors may be associated with bad or invalid characters in partition names.
The error being reported is: Fail to parse XML file. Reason An invalid character was found in text content.
Unfortunately the method of fixing this type of issue is not trivial!
See webpage: VSS backup fails due to invalid characters in partition names which will direct you to use the Sourceforge GPT Fdisk utility to find and correct the invalid partition name. Note: please be careful in using this utility as it needs to be run from an Administrator command prompt.
I would suggest looking at the Windows Recovery partitions on your drives as the most likely cause - these can be seen in the disk report below (from the system report zip file).
DA-API report version 3
PS Speed IFace Hs-Bs-Tg Model
Num NT L9NO Size FSsize Free FS Type Label ABCHSV Error
---- ----- ---- ----- ----- ----- ------ --------------- ----------- ------ ----------
1- d(2) GPT 447G SATA 0-0-0 WDC WDS480G2G0A-00JH30 UG500000
MBR ------
GPTpri -----v
MSresr -----v
-2 ---- 100M 100M 63M FAT32 EF EFI ........... --c--V
-3 --EC 446G 446G 86G NTFS 07 NTFS, HPFS Win SSD.... --c--V
-4 ---- 568M 568M 85M NTFS 27 Windows RE H ........... --c--V
1M unallc ------
-5 ---T 513M 513M 499M NTFS 27 Windows RE H ........... --c--V
1M unallc ------
-6 ---- 99M 99M 68M FAT32 EF EFI ........... --c--V
GPTbck ------
2- d(3) GPT 3.6T SATA 0-0-0 WDC WD40EZRZ-00GXCB0 80.00A80
MBR ------
GPTpri -----v
MSresr -----v
-2 --FH 3.6T 3.6T 2.5T NTFS 07 NTFS, HPFS WD drive -B --c--V
1.8M unallc ------
GPTbck ------
3- d(4) GPT 3.6T SATA 0-0-0 ST4000DX001-1CE168 CC45
MBR ------
GPTpri -----v
101M unallc ------
MSresr -----v
-2 --GE 488G 488G 149G NTFS 07 NTFS, HPFS Empty...... --c--V
-3 ---O 451M 451M 61M NTFS 27 Windows RE H ........... --c--V
1M unallc ------
-4 --HM 488G 488G 135G NTFS 07 NTFS, HPFS WOODWORK... --c--V
-5 --IN 488G 488G 372G NTFS 07 NTFS, HPFS Downloads.. --c--V
-6 --JX 488G 488G 26G NTFS 07 NTFS, HPFS Video...... --c--V
-7 --KP 293G 293G 21G NTFS 07 NTFS, HPFS Music...... --c--V
-8 --LQ 488G 488G 24G NTFS 07 NTFS, HPFS Photos..... --c--V
-9 --MR 488G 488G 182G NTFS 07 NTFS, HPFS Photography --c--V
-10 --NS 503G 503G 429G NTFS 07 NTFS, HPFS Temp....... --c--V
1.8M unallc ------
GPTbck ------
4- d(0) GPT 5.5T USB 0-0-0 Seagate Expansion HDD 1801
MBR ------
GPTpri -----v
-1 ---- 200M 200M 197M FAT32 EF EFI EFI........ --c--V
-2 --CI 5.5T 5.5T 3.4T NTFS 07 NTFS, HPFS #8_Seagate_ --c--V
GPTbck ------
5- d(1) GPT 5.5T USB 0-0-0 TO Exter nal USB 3.0 0104
MBR ------
GPTpri -----v
MSresr -----v
-2 ---- 2G 2G 1.3G FAT32 0B FAT32 ACRONIS HM. A-cH-V
-3 --DU 5.5T 5.5T 3.6T NTFS 07 NTFS, HPFS #3_Seagate --c--V
GPTbck ------Above, disk 1 partitions 4 and 5 show as Windows RE partitions as does disk 3 partition 3.
When using the gdisk64.exe tool, the disk numbers need to be adjusted, so disk 1 is actually Windows disk 0, so in the tool first use 0: then enter i and enter the partition number, i.e. 4
To check the next partition type i again then the next partition number 5.
Press q if you want to quit without making any changes, i.e. to check the partition names for any invalid characters only before making any changes.
See the following example from my own PC.
D:\OneDrive\Utilities\gdisk-windows-1.0.9>gdisk64.exe GPT fdisk (gdisk) version 1.0.9 Type device filename, or press <Enter> to exit: 0: Partition table scan: MBR: protective BSD: not present APM: not present GPT: present Found valid GPT with protective MBR; using GPT. Command (? for help): i Partition number (1-3): 2 Partition GUID code: EBD0A0A2-B9E5-4433-87C0-68B6B72699C7 (Microsoft basic data) Partition unique GUID: DEEA6C64-6F61-4C25-A982-25F9CF2C57E5 First sector: 264192 (at 129.0 MiB) Last sector: 1928740863 (at 919.7 GiB) Partition size: 1928476672 sectors (919.6 GiB) Attribute flags: 0000000000000000 Partition name: '' Command (? for help): i Partition number (1-3): 1 Partition GUID code: E3C9E316-0B5C-4DB8-817D-F92DF00215AE (Microsoft reserved) Partition unique GUID: 3D5AC794-57C2-4C28-9287-1271FAE50DFC First sector: 34 (at 17.0 KiB) Last sector: 262177 (at 128.0 MiB) Partition size: 262144 sectors (128.0 MiB) Attribute flags: 0000000000000000 Partition name: '' Command (? for help): i Partition number (1-3): 3 Partition GUID code: EBD0A0A2-B9E5-4433-87C0-68B6B72699C7 (Microsoft basic data) Partition unique GUID: B2BCFCBF-F6DE-413C-B117-3F8130E8F786 First sector: 1928740864 (at 919.7 GiB) Last sector: 3907028991 (at 1.8 TiB) Partition size: 1978288128 sectors (943.3 GiB) Attribute flags: 0000000000000000 Partition name: '' Command (? for help): q
Hi Steve, I upgraded my Win 10, then upgraded my ATI2020, and on rebooting got the dreaded Automatic Repair. Of course, it didn't repair. Could not even do a clean install of Win 10, did not have the product keys. Microsoft had upgraded my Win 7 Ultimate free of charge, and I did not keep the keys.
Got out the ATI2020 Recovery Boot disk , but the backup I did three days earlier could not recover ! Kept saying unknown error.
Took it to the local IT repair shop, and they found the PC would not start, diagnosed a faulty motherboard. Which was weird, because I had never had any problem starting the PC. In addition, they found something like 15 partitions throughout the PC, most of which I was unaware of,. There should have been just six spread over three disks.
So, two days and $700 later, I have a new motherboard and a Windows 10 that was working.
Took it home, and using Windows file Explorer was able to find my Password Safe files on the backup, WHEW !! and downloaded and installed the Passwords Safe software and moved my database from the backup to the new installation, worked well.
Downloaded and installed the latest ATI2020, needed Support since I had two licence codes, one for my old 2019 and my 2020 versions, and it needed both. In the end I just logged in to my ATI dashboard and transferred the licence to the new version.
Made a backup of the new win 10, using Acronis VSS writers, validated OK
Yesterday, I made a new Universal Recovery Boot disk, and once I had figured out how to get to the BIOS on the new motherboard [Microstar A520M PRO (MS-7D14), use F11 key ] the new Boot disk was able to recover the whole 5 day old 320 GB backup to my C: drive partition
Have transferred a copy of my Password Safe files to my partner's iMac, and also ran a DiscoverKeys and kept all the keys information in a separate disk with my backups. Lesson learnt.
You can see from my first post dated 1st Oct, this has been a very stressful week.
Many thanks for all your time and effort , Steve. I think it has all worked out in the end.
Until next time, of course
Jill
Jill, sorry to read of the issue with your PC failing and needing a 'heart transplant' to get working again! I suspect that the earlier problems had their roots in the same issues as they were developing / growing worse!
I moved from using Password Safe to using KeePass a couple of years back and use it on a mix of different platforms, i.e. Android, iOS (iPad), Windows and Linux. KeePass has import options for a large number of programs including Password Safe (exported as XML).
Hi Steve, many thanks for the heads up about KeePass. If I change it on my PC, does it change automatically on iPad?
Jill
Jill, you would have to install KeePass on your iPad from the Apple store. You can store your password safe / keepass safe files in a cloud service such as OneDrive that you can access from the PC and iPad etc.