Pre command not working when scheduled backup runs
I run scheduled backups daily to another machine on my network. This machine sleeps and is woken via magic packet when needed. I have setup a Pre command to send the Magic Packet as I have done in older versions of True Image (2013 and earlier).
- If I test the Pre command it works fine.
- If I manually run the backup (Click on Backup Now), again it works fine.
- But it will not work when the backup tries to run as a schedule?
True image shows a red X saying the last backup has failed - Edit connection settings.
It seems to me that True Image scheduling is not working properly. It either tries to connect to the remote location before running the Pre command, or ignores it completly.
Can someone from technical support please review this and advise? I have been a long standing customer since 2008 and was disapointed to see that I don't have any direct support.
Many thanks.
Thanks for the giudence Steve. I've been checking the logs over the past few days and the schedules are not running and not getting logged.
I think the next thing to do is a full clean install and re-build the jobs from scratch.
Simon, you may like to look at the Acronis Scheduler Manager which provides a utility program for checking what tasks are scheduled to run and allows you to clear the list so that you can start a clean new schedule.
Simon, does your backup have a password? If so, this may be the problem. The post task may be triggering that the password be entered first and missing the password as a result.
Perhaps, if your schedule is set to run at a specific time anyway, you could use a Window scheduled task to wake the other machine instead, then ditch the pre-command in Acronis and it should kick off anyway (assumign the Windows task did it's job to wake the other machine). If the password is the issue, then it won't prompt for the password if there is no pre-command.
Hi Bobbo,
My backup does not have a password, but the network connection does.
I just tried using Acronis Schedule Manager and the tasks can be run fine from that.
Agreed that I could setup a windows scheduled task to wake the other machine, however this should work in Acronis. I'm still rather shocked that as a long standing customer who upgraded for the 5th time and did not check the new software for a month has no free support direct with Acronis. I have to say this is starting to put me off the software and I think I will have to look elsewhere. The whole ethos of "backup" software is security and peace of mind... at the moment I have lost that with True Image... My non stop backup is now stopping every few days and has to be recreated to get it going again :(
I will try a clean install and setting things up from scratch again (although this machine was a new build and clean windows 10 install when I applied True Image 2016).
Confidence is shot :(
Hi Simon - completley understand and would feel the same way if I could not confidently rely on my backup software either.
As for non-stop backups, I have no experience with them. I have steered away as they seem to be the least reliable backups (at least in the forums). I'm hard pressed to find a need to backup changes every 2 minutes, but I suppose there is always a unique case. Do you need to backup changes every 2 minutes? The way NSB works, you are essentially taking 720 incrementals a day, 1 every 2 minutes, and to me, that seems like trouble waiting to happen. I'm sure it is working fine for many, but still seems like a risky backup plan. These are just my thoughts and I understand that it's an offered feature and should work, but I just don't see how it could reliably under constant use on an ever changing machine - especially one running real-time AV software that scans data as it is changed too and also has other backups being created and who knows what other system resources being used at the same time.
Are you aware of the limitations of nonstop backup like only being able to recover from them within the Windows GUI and that even though they're nonstop, they consolidate into a single backup each night at midnight (losing your 2 minute restore points for the day when that happens) and then again each week. Are you aware that Windows libraries are skipped in a nonstop backup unless you're doing a full disk nonstop backup? Lot's of limitations, plus continuous use of computer resources and Windows Services and that's what puts me off on the NSB scheme.
Using Acronis Nonstop Backup
Nonstop Backup - Frequently asked questions
I just tried using Acronis Schedule Manager and the tasks can be run fine from that.
I'm a little confused by this comment - so it is working with schedule manager or not? That should be the same service being invoked when set to run at a scheduled time. Is that only working when both systems are awake, or what has changed that it is allowing it to work now? Wondering if there needs to be more of a delay with the magic packet and wakeup of the remote system, or, perhaps, it's working only after you've entered the password for the remote share at least once before during the session. Are you running the NSB to a remote share on the other Windows computer that is allowed to sleep, or is that a completely different separate backup task?
Nonstop backup
I'm a programmer and I use non stop backup just for the key folders i'm working on. In the past it's proven invaluable giving me a history of changes so I can go back if I mess something up... I use it more as a development tool than as a backup.
Schedule
Let me clarify...
I have 4 backup jobs setup.
- Backup my Internet favorites daily to a folder on the same machine
- This runs fine via the schedule.
- Nonstop backup of my work projects folder to another drive on the same machine
- Keeps stopping.
- Daily backup to my server using a "pre" command of specific folders only.
- Runs fine if I click the "Backup Now" button.
- Runs if I open the schedule manager program that Steve suggested, if I type the run command for the task.
- Says it is scheduled to run the next day in Accronis, but never does.
- Pre command runs WOL via magic packet.
- Weekly backup to my server of a full c-drive image.
- Same issue as (3) above.