Acronis is creating a "Weird Backups" folder on desktop.

Rajah, please use the Log File Viewer app to check for any messages that may be given, assuming that this is being caused by ATIH 2016?

A screen shot would be helpful if the folder stays after the task has completed.

I'd be interested in seeing the file/folder screenshot if it returns again too!  I have not seen this behavior before.  

Hi Steve, Bobbo,

I can't see anything rel; that points to any kind of error in the last 3 back-ups.

Here's 3 of the short variety...

log uuid=7C9E024B-8CEF-40CF-B301-01AA6701C4D2;  product=True Image;  version=19.0;  build=6571;  task=F3CCCFD8-2509-4E29-9A72-F1685BE4C18D;  task_name=ST500DM002-1BD142
Start= 4/07/2016 11:30:05 PM
id=1;  date/time=4/07/2016 11:30:05 PM;  message=Backup reserve copy attributes: format tib; need_reserve_backup_copy false
id=2;  date/time=4/07/2016 11:30:05 PM;  message=Operation ST500DM002-1BD142 started by schedule.
id=3;  date/time=4/07/2016 11:30:07 PM;  message=Backup reserve copy attributes: format tib; need_reserve_backup_copy false
id=4;  date/time=4/07/2016 11:30:08 PM;  message=Operation: Backup
id=5;  date/time=4/07/2016 11:30:08 PM;  message=Priority changed to Low.
id=6;  date/time=4/07/2016 11:30:08 PM;  message=Create Backup Archive From: Disk 1 To file: I:\My Acronis Back-Ups\ST500DM002-1BD142.tib Compression: Normal 
id=7;  date/time=4/07/2016 11:30:11 PM;  message=Pending operation 172 started: 'Creating partition image'.
id=8;  date/time=4/07/2016 11:35:35 PM;  message=Writing incremental version to file: ST500DM002-1BD142_inc_b1_s3_v1.tib
id=9;  date/time=4/07/2016 11:43:30 PM;  message=Pending operation 172 started: 'Creating partition image'.
id=10;  date/time=4/07/2016 11:43:30 PM;  message=The following backups have been successfully created: I:\My Acronis Back-Ups\ST500DM002-1BD142_inc_b1_s3_v1.tib
id=11;  date/time=4/07/2016 11:43:31 PM;  message=Validate Backup Archive Location: I:\My Acronis Back-Ups\ST500DM002-1BD142_inc_b1_s3_v1.tib  
id=12;  date/time=4/07/2016 11:43:31 PM;  message=Pending operation 4 started: 'Validate Backup Archive'.
id=13;  date/time=5/07/2016 12:21:12 AM;  message=Operation has succeeded.
Start= 4/07/2016 11:30:05 PM
Finish= 5/07/2016 12:21:12 AM
Total Time= 00:51:07

----------------------------------------------

log uuid=CA04CB5A-5FD5-43C5-9DF3-52B2E4930E15;  product=True Image;  version=19.0;  build=6571;  task=F3CCCFD8-2509-4E29-9A72-F1685BE4C18D;  task_name=ST500DM002-1BD142
Start= 25/06/2016 11:30:05 PM
id=1;  date/time=25/06/2016 11:30:05 PM;  message=Backup reserve copy attributes: format tib; need_reserve_backup_copy false
id=2;  date/time=25/06/2016 11:30:05 PM;  message=Operation ST500DM002-1BD142 started by schedule.
id=3;  date/time=25/06/2016 11:30:07 PM;  message=Backup reserve copy attributes: format tib; need_reserve_backup_copy false
id=4;  date/time=25/06/2016 11:30:07 PM;  message=Operation: Backup
id=5;  date/time=25/06/2016 11:30:07 PM;  message=Priority changed to Low.
id=6;  date/time=25/06/2016 11:30:07 PM;  message=Create Backup Archive From: Disk 1 To file: I:\My Acronis Back-Ups\ST500DM002-1BD142.tib Compression: Normal 
id=7;  date/time=25/06/2016 11:30:10 PM;  message=Pending operation 172 started: 'Creating partition image'.
id=8;  date/time=25/06/2016 11:33:40 PM;  message=Writing incremental version to file: ST500DM002-1BD142_inc_b1_s2_v1.tib
id=9;  date/time=25/06/2016 11:40:46 PM;  message=Pending operation 172 started: 'Creating partition image'.
id=10;  date/time=25/06/2016 11:40:47 PM;  message=The following backups have been successfully created: I:\My Acronis Back-Ups\ST500DM002-1BD142_inc_b1_s2_v1.tib
id=11;  date/time=25/06/2016 11:40:47 PM;  message=Validate Backup Archive Location: I:\My Acronis Back-Ups\ST500DM002-1BD142_inc_b1_s2_v1.tib  
id=12;  date/time=25/06/2016 11:40:47 PM;  message=Pending operation 4 started: 'Validate Backup Archive'.
id=13;  date/time=26/06/2016 12:17:33 AM;  message=Operation has succeeded.
Start= 25/06/2016 11:30:05 PM
Finish= 26/06/2016 12:17:33 AM
Total Time= 00:47:28

-----------------------------------------------

log uuid=3D845C54-F0F8-4E7A-A34A-73CB07B627C9;  product=True Image;  version=19.0;  build=6571;  task=F3CCCFD8-2509-4E29-9A72-F1685BE4C18D;  task_name=ST500DM002-1BD142
Start= 22/06/2016 11:25:28 PM
id=1;  date/time=22/06/2016 11:25:28 PM;  message=Backup reserve copy attributes: format tib; need_reserve_backup_copy false
id=2;  date/time=22/06/2016 11:25:28 PM;  message=Operation ST500DM002-1BD142 started manually.
id=3;  date/time=22/06/2016 11:25:30 PM;  message=Backup reserve copy attributes: format tib; need_reserve_backup_copy false
id=4;  date/time=22/06/2016 11:25:30 PM;  message=Operation: Backup
id=5;  date/time=22/06/2016 11:25:30 PM;  message=Priority changed to Low.
id=6;  date/time=22/06/2016 11:25:30 PM;  message=Preparing the media...
id=7;  date/time=22/06/2016 11:25:30 PM;  message=Create Backup Archive From: Disk 1 To file: I:\My Acronis Back-Ups\ST500DM002-1BD142.tib Compression: Normal 
id=8;  date/time=22/06/2016 11:25:30 PM;  message=Pending operation 172 started: 'Creating partition image'.
id=9;  date/time=22/06/2016 11:28:11 PM;  message=Writing full version to file: ST500DM002-1BD142_full_b1_s1_v1.tib
id=10;  date/time=23/06/2016 12:20:13 AM;  message=Pending operation 172 started: 'Creating partition image'.
id=11;  date/time=23/06/2016 12:20:13 AM;  message=The following backups have been successfully created: I:\My Acronis Back-Ups\ST500DM002-1BD142_full_b1_s1_v1.tib
id=12;  date/time=23/06/2016 12:20:13 AM;  message=Validate Backup Archive Location: I:\My Acronis Back-Ups\ST500DM002-1BD142_full_b1_s1_v1.tib  
id=13;  date/time=23/06/2016 12:20:13 AM;  message=Pending operation 4 started: 'Validate Backup Archive'.
id=14;  date/time=23/06/2016 12:55:22 AM;  message=Operation has succeeded.
Start= 22/06/2016 11:25:28 PM
Finish= 23/06/2016 12:55:22 AM
Total Time= 01:29:54

=================================

This, ^,  FULL version was done manually, as I had changed the schedule.

So, I'll wait until the 11th & see what occurs then.

&....The folder does stay on the desk top after closing Acronis, so I'll grab a screen shot for your perusal.

Not that it'll show much. Just an MT folder of zero bytes.

Regs, Rajah..

Rajah, I don't see anything in the log files either from the information you have provided, and haven't encountered any similar behaviour with ATIH over all the years I've been using it, (not that I can remember!).

Hi Steve, Bobbo,

Acronis just finished the weekly back-up.

It removed the 1st full & 2 incrementals that were previously backed up & I now have just the one full back-up. = O.K.

This is what I have it set to do.

It was about 50% through the process & I noticed "The Folder" had been deposited on my desk top.

"The Folder" has zero bytes, no files & no folders, via the Properties.

As I mentioned, I cannot see anything related to "Weird Back-Ups" anywhere in Acronis' options/settings.

I've also searched the whole computer for anything named "weird", & nothing returns except for "The Folder"

& the .jpg image I took.

I thought I may have created a folder quite a while ago for things I thought of as "weird" but nope.

Nada. Zip. Zero, as per the above search.

It really is a strange one, as it's definitely being created by ACRONIS....hence the name.

Plus....It does stay, proudly diplaying itself, on my desk top, but it can be re-named, moved, deleted etc., etc.

Anyway, any ideas that you may have are welcome.

Thanks muchly.

Regs, Rajah.. 

If you right click on the folder and select Properties what is the path location of this folder?  This being on your desktop would be a short cut so curious where exactly it points to?

Hi Enchantech,

Nope. It ain't no shortcut....No little SC arrow anywhere to be seen....

as seen in the 1st image of "The Folder" & that can be seen on my other short cuts.

ref; attached piccie.

Regs, Rajah..

So do you have a C:\Users\xxxxxx\Desktop that can be found with Windows File Explorer?  If yes, is there anything else in the xxxxxx folder?  If not and you delete the folder That should remove it from your Desktop.  Do you have another of these folder in your Recycle bin?   If yes and you delete that one or the ones there and you run the backup will the folder reappear on your desktop?

Hi Enchantech,

Thanks for the reply.

As I mentioned, "The Folder" appears on my desk top when ACRONIS is running.

It just completed a FULL back up.

"The Folder" appeared at approx. 50% of the process.

I can move it, re-name it, add anything to it or just delete it.

There's nothing in my Recycle Bin. I run a clean ship.

I deleted the 1st one, as I noted. That's why I had to wait for ACRONIS' "normal" weekly scheduled back up to run this time.

I just created a new folder on my desk top & threw all the "stuff" ("The Folder" & the images into that one.)

A search brings that folder & it's contents. I can also find it via the path you mentioned.

It does not matter if I move, re-name or delete "The Folder" as ACRONIS just creates another, upon any back-up process.

(I wonder.....If I just leave "The Folder" on the desk top & wait for another week for ACRONIS' weekly back up to run.....

will it create another/duplicate of "The Folder?" Mmmmmm.)  I will do just that.

I did mention that it was a weird error, did I not?

Never happened with the old v2011.

Any more ideas are more than welcome. :)

Thanks again.

Regs, Rajah..

Yes I do understand this to be a strange issue.  I think I need to be more specific in my thoughts.

Since you can locate the C:\Users\xxxxxx\ folder on your PC can you tell me why you have this xxxxxx folder other than you believe that True Image is creating it?  

I am suggesting here that this xxxxxx user folder is a temp folder that is not being removed after use by whatever app is creating it.  Why it appears on your desktop during the backup process is a mystery. 

My suggestion to delete the folder xxxxxx was to see if you could in fact even do that.  When I say delete it I mean delete it using File Explorer not simply delete or remove it from the desktop.  If you cannot delete the folder using File Explorer that would mean you do not have permissions to modify it.  The xxxxxx folder being nested under the Users folder would suggest that there is a User account on the machine known as xxxxxx.  Does such an account exist?

Do you have any shared folders on your PC that may use this xxxxxx folder?  If so and you can pin down what app it is then you might get this corrected.  As of right now I do not see this as being a True Image issue.  I do not think True Image is creating this folder.  Why the folder appears during backup creation again is a mystery, something about that process is causing the folder to appear on the desktop however, True Image creating the folder is in my opinion not happening here.

Enchantech wrote:

Yes I do understand this to be a strange issue.  I think I need to be more specific in my thoughts.

Since you can locate the C:\Users\xxxxxx\ folder on your PC can you tell me why you have this xxxxxx folder other than you believe that True Image is creating it?  

The xxxxxx folder being nested under the Users folder would suggest that there is a User account on the machine known as xxxxxx.  Does such an account exist?

Do you have any shared folders on your PC that may use this xxxxxx folder?  If so and you can pin down what app it is then you might get this corrected.  As of right now I do not see this as being a True Image issue.  I do not think True Image is creating this folder.  Why the folder appears during backup creation again is a mystery, something about that process is causing the folder to appear on the desktop however, True Image creating the folder is in my opinion not happening here.

Hi Enchantech,

No, No, No...The "xxxxxxx" is just to mask my name. Nothing more. No file or user of that xxxxxxx name.

!/. ACRONIS must be creating "The Folder" because it's named as such. Please ref; the posted image/s.

Why would any "other" program create such a folder & name it "ACRONIS_Weird Backups?"

2/. I am the only user of this PC & there are no "Guest Accounts."

3/. Nope. No shared folders of any kind.

As I mentioned....It is not a shortcut, just a plain old folder with nothing/zero in it.

4/. Well, all I can say is...."It's happening here." :)

Thanks once more.

Regs, Rajah..

Thanks for clarifying that it is your user account in question.  If I find anything relevant I will post here.

Thank you Enchantech.

Regs, Rajah..

I have a feeling this references a backup that used to exist on the destop with this name once-upon-a-time...

I've seen this behavior before and occassionally get "empty" folders where backups used be written too after I do a database repair.   If you have a backup task with a similar name that exists elsewhere on a drive that is not in Acronis GUI, it does sometimes try to re-use that name in the location where such a backup folder once existed.  

You may want to grab schedulemanger  then run the "get list" command and see if there are any references to tasks with names matching this fodler that's being created on your desktop and delete that particular hidden schedule if it does exist.  Also go into C:\ProgramData\Acronis\TrueImageHome\Scripts and open each script with notepad.  Check the names in those to see if any of them have this folder name listed as the backup task and if it's not an active script in the Windows GUI, you can delete it or add .old to the end of the file or something like that to hold onto it, but remove it as a scheduled task. 

Hi Bobbo,

I removed/deleted all the old tasks a few months ago & created new ones.

There's nothing reported via the ScheduleManager.

I only have 2 scripts, one is dated 22nd June, all 1.18kb ....the other is, 12th July & 4.38 kb.

Neither have any ref; to "The Folder."

Are there any old files, say in the App Data > My name or the User Folder that I can re-name or safely delete?

There are a few from May this year. Possibly from the old tasks?

Thanks.

Regs, Rajah..

Not that I'm aware of, there are registry keys and folders all over the system so I'm leery of suggesting a deleting of specific files in this case as I'm just not sure.

Can you remember ever having a backup with this name on the desktop - perhaps years ago in a previous version of Acronis?  Could such a backup exist somewhere else in another folder somewhere the computer has access to (like a network share, an etnernatl hard drive, an old internal hard drive?)

What if you open regedit32.exe with "run as administrator" and search the registry for 

"ACRONIS_Weird-Back Ups"  maybe you'll get a regkey hit that might shed some more light - not really sure. 

Hi Bobbo,

Thanks for sticking with this strange one.

1/. Will not re-name or delete anything. JIC. :)

2/. Nope. No folders found or created that I can think of... & no shared stuff.

3/. I have 2 HDD's. The main 500 Gig (Disc 0) "C" drive.

3a/. Disc 1. = 500 Gig & 3 Partitions. 

Partition 1 = (D) of 10 Gig. = ACRONIS-Universal Boot.

Partition 2 = (K) of 222 Gig. Which is MT. (I have this reserved for Windows 10....if & when I decide to use it.)

Partiton 3 = (G) of 235 Gig. Which is MT. (empty.)

4/. A Registry search last night & again just now, revealed absolutely nothing, save for the "normal" ACRONIS entries.

I only have 4 days (18th), till the next scheduled back-up, so, will see what occurs then.

I'll make sure to put "The Folder" back on the desk top & see if ACRONIS duplicates it or not or ?

Thanks.

Regs, Rajah..

I'm guessing that if the folder already lives there, it would not get created twice, but worth a shot to see.

Could you not create a brand new task for testing and see if the same behavior occurs with a brand new task/backup on a schedule.  For the pupose of testing, you chould also schedule it to run more frequently (if inclined to do so) so that you don't have to wait a week between each test backup - maybe just daily for testing purposes?   

If the new task does the same thing and creates the folder, I"m out of ideas.  I've only seen similar behavior for backups that I had once created in the same location that somehow still lived in the hidden scheduled tasks, but those cleared up after running taskzap so not sure why this would continue on your system if you've arready done this.

Last thought/try, would be if it comes up again would be to ensure hidden files/folders is turned on first and make sure there isn't a folder there already.  Then, if'when the folder appears agin,  run the ATTRIB command on it from an elevated command prompt 

Attrib -h -s -r C:\users\xxxx\acronis-weird-foldername /s /d

Then Delete the folder with shift + delete to immediately and permanently delete the folder for good (hopefully).  Hopefully it doesn't come back on the next scheduled backup, but if it does, I'm out of ideas - strange indeed. 

attrib /?
Displays or changes file attributes.

ATTRIB [+R | -R] [+A | -A ] [+S | -S] [+H | -H] [+I | -I]
       [drive:][path][filename] [/S [/D] [/L]]

  +   Sets an attribute.
  -   Clears an attribute.
  R   Read-only file attribute.
  A   Archive file attribute.
  S   System file attribute.
  H   Hidden file attribute.
  I   Not content indexed file attribute.
  X   No scrub file attribute.
  V   Integrity attribute.
  [drive:][path][filename]
      Specifies a file or files for attrib to process.
  /S  Processes matching files in the current folder
      and all subfolders.
  /D  Processes folders as well.
  /L  Work on the attributes of the Symbolic Link versus
      the target of the Symbolic Link

Hi Bobbo, Steve,

Well, this is interesting.

ACRONIS just started to load the services etc., & low & behold....

a 2nd "ACRONIS_Weird-BackUps" folder appeared on the desk top.

(I had replaced the 1st one on the desk top.)

ACRONIS had NOT started the back up process.

There is nothing returned via the CMD box on the folder.

Q?...I just checked a few other (music/text/video, etc.), folders "Properties" & under the Sharing tab, they are not shared...

BUT, the "ACRONIS_Weird-BackUps" does show up as shared on my (W.M.Y.C.), Network.

A heap of other folders are the same, but I take this as normal.

What would be sharing the ACRONIS folder?

How do I change it?

If you have any further suggestions......?

Thanks for the assistance.

Regs, Rajah..

Rajah, as this strange folder appears to be created when simply startup up the Acronis application (services & processes / programs) and not when you are doing a backup task, then my assumption here is that there is something in the Acronis Database files that is triggering this.

Unfortunately, there are no tools that allow us to browse the contents of the Database files, so the only other method of confirming or denying that this is the cause is to rename the C:\ProgramData\Acronis\TrueImageHome\Database folder to Database.OLD after first ending all Acronis Services and Processes, then restarting ATIH which will restart everything plus create a new Database folder & files.

Please note that there is another Acronis database that may need to be cleared that is described in post: https://forum.acronis.com/forum/117232#comment-359062

If you double click on these folders what happens?  Do they open and display nothing?  Do you get a dialogue asking for permissions?  When you installed Acronis did you do so as admin?  Did you install Acrons as a singe user app or o that everyone whom uses your PC can use?

Hi Steve,

1st up...There's no "Program Data" file/folder in that directory.

"C:\Users\[your_username]\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\ProgramData\Acronis\TrueImageHome\Database"

I do have...

"C:\Users\MyUserName\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files", but there's only my UPS stuff in there.

I 'tried" to stop all the services, but some re-started.

The folder was re-named & a new one created....No Probs.

Will try a new back up...Manually.

Stay tuned for the next episode of......."The Magic Folder."

Regs, Rajah..

Enchantech wrote:

If you double click on these folders what happens?  Do they open and display nothing?  Do you get a dialogue asking for permissions?  When you installed Acronis did you do so as admin?  Did you install Acrons as a singe user app or o that everyone whom uses your PC can use?

1/. The folder opens to display absolutely nothing. Zero/zilch/MT.....As stated.

2/. Nope. Permissions not wanted.

3/. I am the only user of this PC & am the Admin.

4/. I believe I installed ACRONIS as a single user.....coz there's only little ol' me that lives here.

Thanks.

Regs, Rajah..

Hi Steve, Enchantech, Bobbo,

Well, all I can say, is that the manual back-up did NOT produce "The Folder" in any form.

ACRONIS completed the task to my "G" Drive & veryfied it with no adverse effects.

Will await yet another week for the scheduled back-up to take place.

I really don't want to change any of the settings, JIC it stuffs things up.

We might be O.K. from now on.

Thanks to all.

Regs, Rajah..

ps.

I just checked the "old/re-named" data base files & found 2 references to "ACRONIS_Weird BackUps" folder.

!Volume2192981206182717440C:\Users\MyUserName\Desktop\ACRONIS_Weird-BackUps\Local_disk__inc_b1_s2_v

!Volume2192981206182717440C:\Users\MyUserName\Desktop\ACRONIS_Weird-BackUps\Local_disk__inc_b1_s2_v1.tib

This database was from around the time I created a back-up of my Entire PC.

Dunno if [i]that[/i] had anything to do with it

Is it any good me sending the old database to anyone for perusal?

It's only 68 kb.

Thanks.

Regs, Rajah..

Rajah, it looks to me that you have the answer to this problem now with the reference to this desktop folder in the archive.db file.

Recreating the database files has now cleaned out that / those old references.

Errors can occur in the database when backup images are deleted outside of using the Automatic Cleanup options without running validation afterwards to reconcile changes, or from changing the configuration of tasks, including changing drive letters for the source or destination drive locations.

Hi Steve,

Yes. It would appear to be a reference to the old/er database, as you say.

I can't remember if I did remove any of the "original" back-ups, from outside of ACRONIS......but it's possible. :)

re; Changing drive letters...

I've had Windows actually "remove/lose" a couple of my drives.

I could "see" them, but ACRONIS couldn't until I checked & found the letters were missing.

Re-named them & all was well again.

Anyway, we keep our fingers & toes X'd.

Thanks to you, Steve, Enchantech & Bobbo for the great assistance with this very "weird" problem.

(Sorry, but I had to say that.) ;)

Much appreciated.

Regs, Rajah..