RFI: Deleting Chains Manually
I am aware of how ATI handles "expired" chains and the strategies suggested--(maintain x-number of chains, delete oldest when full-backup-x+1 has successfully been created at which time the oldest chain is deleted). This is however basically my point, ATI can and does delete chains without having to boot from a bootable media to do so manually.
I run into the situation every now and again, when my backups grow unexpectedly large, that I cannot complete a full backup, because I do not have enough disk space to successfully create it without first deleting the oldest chain first. This makes the standard ATI strategy a Catch-22.
To get around this, I can either use the bootable media method, or change my backup configuration to store only x-1 chains, add 1 to the number of incremental backups per chain--thus my next backup will be incremental--, run the backup, then change everything back and run the backup again to get the planned full backup.
It would be so much more user friendly to be able to simply manually tell ATI to delete the oldest chain, because ATI can obviously do that. Just not on my request.
There is a very strong point on both sides. I very much like the advise Steve offers here, because every now and then I had been confronted with the same problem. That's mostly the case after one of these huge Windows updates where for a while Windows also keeps the old version in order to provide for a rollback, to the effect that the backup for the system drive is now unexpectedly almost doubled in size for every new chain within the next two or three weeks.
However, the problem that Thommy_L ran into calls for a better solution. If I remember it right, TI will in such case just hang there with a message saying that the target destination ran out of space and that you should cater for that. TI should provide for an option that would be available without interrupting the ongoing backup and that is something like "Shall I delete the oldest chain so that I can continue?". That would really be of great help, even if it is not before the next morning that you see the message. A much more elegant solution would be to provide for such option already in the settings, kind of "Keep [n] chains but delete the oldest chains until there is enough room for the ongoing backup".
#BS# I would recommend adding 'C:\WINDOWS.OLD' to your list of Exclusions for your backup task to avoid including this folder in your main OS backup. The folder is removed automatically by Windows after 10 days and you will only need it if you want to roll back to the prior update version, which hopefully you will recognise within those 10 days or else have an ATI backup to use.
With regards to managing space on the destination drive, then use the Notification option for this and set the threshold level a whole lot higher than the default of 100MB - this can be set for GB or even TB sizes.
Yes, adding 'C:\WINDOWS.OLD' to the exclusions list would help. For those backing up to the cloud it would seem a basic thing to do if they have slow upload speed (like I have),.
Ian
Or, instead of making the user adapt to Acronis, Acronis could adapt to the user and offer both methods to solve a common problem. I side with Thommy.
I use the method of one full followed by twelve incrementals. Sometimes I'm down to the last incremental in a set and I'm unsure whether that last incremental backup will fit the remaining space. It could be 500mb, it could be 2gb. I hate deleting prior backups needlessly, and sometimes I guess incorrectly on how much space will be necessary. Sometimes I guess too low and my backup gets hung up. Sometimes I guess too high and delete a chain too early when I could have gotten three more weeks of incrementals in. I've experimented with having shorter chains, but I still have the same problems.
Although I appreciate your answering my thread, Steve, to me, it's should be something which works as easily and straight forward as setting the oldest chain to be deleted automatically, when the backup set exceeds the max number of chains. As I stated in my original post, ATI already deletes chains without having to go through, IMHO, possibly unsafe workarounds, and locking up my PC with validations which take many hours.
I've already had bad experiences with a corrupt database, which could not be reconciled through validation by manually deleting or moving a backup chain to a different disk.
I would have no issue with ATI strongly warning about manually deleting a chain out of order, even with a two step validation, to lessen the chance of a user accidentally deleting a chain by being too quick to click.
But in the end, when it comes to data security, the question of whether having a current backup is more important than having an older backup, can only be answered by the user. I feel ATI ought to offer a simple, safe and expedient method to make room for a current backup run. One which doesn't take hours of my time to complete.
Don & Thommy, I would love to have the ability to influence and change Acronis application design to incorporate / satisfy the many changes that users come to these forums with, but I and all the other MVP's replying in these forums are just users like yourselves. We are neither employed or paid by Acronis, we purely volunteer our time and experience here to help other users as best we are able.
You can submit Feedback directly to Acronis using the tool provided in the GUI, or else you can open a Support Case to register your desire to have these changes introduced.
Yes, and you are doing a great job, Steve. Thanks for your time, effort and expertise!
Hi Steve,
okay I'll have to do that.
Many thanks for your time and effort.
Best regards
Thom