"The last backup has failed" - Entire PC backup won't start

what you describe is normal behavior.  During what you describe as Stop the app is creating a snapshot of your computer disks.  Once that completes the backup will be created. Be more patient and see what happens.

Thanks for your answer but I don't think this is normal behavior.

Actually, Acronis seems to do 5 attempts to initialize the backup. During this period, there is a "pause" symbol on the GUI and after that, there is a red cross symbol instead displaying "Last backup has failed" when clicking on it.

Give more details about your system.  How many disks physical disks are you backing up?  What operating system are you running?  When you tried the Disks and Partition backup what did you select for backup?  Where is the destination disk attached, internal or external disk? 

You might try to change the priority level back to Low, it may be that the High setting is to much for your computer.

I'm backing up 2 physical disks: 1 SSD containing my OS (Windows 10) and 1 HDD containing my data.

Here is the list of the partitions when I first tried the Disks and Partition backup:

I tried selecting only the Data partition but it didn't work better.

The destination disk is an external disk (Maxtor M3 - 2Tb) I bought yesterday.

I tried switching the priority to normal and low but it didn't change anything.

Try using the Disks and Partition style backup and only select your SSD disk, all partitions, and leave the Performance options at the default settings.  Some external disks will time out and power themselves down to an off state which can cause a backup to fail.  You can check the power settings for the drive and change them to help with that problem if it exists.

I personally never use Entire PC method of backup and I do not select multiple disks when creating a backup only single disks.  This simplifies the backup and restore process for me.

I tried selecting the whole SSD and the backup worked ! Thank you !

I was hoping it would also work with the HDD but I was wrong... That's really annoying... I don't understand the problem as my external drive seems to stay alive all the time, it's not a power settings problem.

It should work with your HDD as well.  If there is file system corruption or bad sectors an a disk that can prevent proper operation.

I recommend that you setup a new backup for the HDD only and see if it works.  If that fails have a look at the log file to see what errors show if any.  If errors are found then run from a Windows Admin command prompt  chkdsk X: /f /r where X is the drive letter of the HDD then attempt the backup again.

I'm a bit stuck right now...

I did everything you said:
-run a chkdsk (took long but no errors apparently)
-created a new backup
-after the fail, looked at the logs

And still nothing.

I ***** want to backup my data :'(

Your HDD is a Seagate Momentus 1TB drive it looks like.  It is strange that you are not getting any error messages as that is the case for most users.

You can try Seagate Sea Tools for Windows diagnostics utility, sometimes the manufacturer tools can fix things that Windows cannot.

Download Link: http://www.seagate.com/support/by-topic/downloads/

Usage FAQ's: http://knowledge.seagate.com/articles/en_US/FAQ/202435en

I agree that you should give Seatools a try. Manufacture utilities can do much more than the native windows offering. I aways have a copy of Seatools and the corresponding WD App. They can be run from removable media (cd/dvd is easy, USB flash drives require a bit of work).

Ian

I downloaded Seatools and ran every reading test including the long generic. The test passed. Do I have to run the fix all program or not then?

I would run it yes. 

So would I!

Ian

Sorry guys, I ran it, it passed and didn't change anything... Here is the logs:

2017-07-22 13:24:23:917 6168 I00640000: Attributs de la copie de réserve de la sauvegarde : format tib; need_reserve_backup_copy false;
2017-07-22 13:24:23:918 6168 I00640002: Opération ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB démarrée conformément à la planification.
2017-07-22 13:24:23:920 11732 D00080000: AcronisLRPCConnect::BEGIN
2017-07-22 13:24:23:920 16560 D00080000: AcronisLRPCConnect::BEGIN
2017-07-22 13:24:23:985 13824 D00080000: AcronisLRPCConnect::BEGIN
2017-07-22 13:24:24:249 6168 D00100000: Retreiving Fdisk ver1 disk set to Fdisk ver2c disk set...
2017-07-22 13:24:24:249 6168 D00100000: Fdisk2: Use Disk 1 host= 0 bus = 0 target = 0
2017-07-22 13:24:24:249 6168 D00100000: Fdisk2: Use Disk 2 host= 0 bus = 0 target = 0
2017-07-22 13:24:24:249 6168 D00100000: Fdisk2: Use Disk 3 host= 0 bus = 0 target = 0
2017-07-22 13:24:24:249 6168 D00100000: Refreshing Drivers...
2017-07-22 13:24:24:381 6168 D001E0000: Enter to process disks in Mbr Driver (id = 11)
2017-07-22 13:24:24:383 6168 D001E0000: Exit from process disks in Mbr Driver (id = 11)
2017-07-22 13:24:24:384 6168 D00200000: Enter to process disks in Gpt Driver (id = 12)
2017-07-22 13:24:24:384 6168 D00200000: Try to load Alternate Header from 250069679
2017-07-22 13:24:24:384 6168 D00200000: Gpt Disk 3CC60EA7-8F40-47E2-ACCB-4AF2E091A78F LBA=250069679 ALBA=1
2017-07-22 13:24:24:384 6168 D00200000: try to loading Header from 1
2017-07-22 13:24:24:384 6168 D00200000: Gpt Disk 3CC60EA7-8F40-47E2-ACCB-4AF2E091A78F LBA=1 ALBA=250069679
2017-07-22 13:24:24:384 6168 D00200000: Exit from process disks in Gpt Driver (id = 12)
2017-07-22 13:24:24:384 6168 D000C0000: LDM: New ProcessDisks(rawLayer, headLayer)
2017-07-22 13:24:24:384 6168 D000C0000: ProcessDisks: One more disk to check
2017-07-22 13:24:24:384 6168 D000C0000: ProcessDisks: One more disk to check
2017-07-22 13:24:24:384 6168 D000C0000: ProcessDisks: One more disk to check
2017-07-22 13:24:24:385 6168 D000C0000: Mark All groups as Root Like Dgs
2017-07-22 13:24:24:385 6168 D000C0000: ------ Volumes Objects ------
2017-07-22 13:24:24:385 6168 D000C0000: LDM initialization complete
2017-07-22 13:24:24:395 6168 D000101F7: Analyse de la partition « 0-0 » en cours...
2017-07-22 13:24:24:948 6168 D000101F7: Analyse de la partition « 1-1 » en cours...
2017-07-22 13:24:24:953 6168 D000101F7: Analyse de la partition « 1-2 » en cours...
2017-07-22 13:24:24:984 6168 D000101F7: Analyse de la partition « 1-4 » en cours...
2017-07-22 13:24:25:047 6168 D000101F7: Analyse de la partition « C: » en cours...
2017-07-22 13:24:25:051 6168 D000101F7: Analyse de la partition « 1-6 » en cours...
2017-07-22 13:24:25:054 6168 D000101F7: Analyse de la partition « 1-7 » en cours...
2017-07-22 13:24:25:056 6168 D000101F7: Analyse de la partition « 0-0 » en cours...
2017-07-22 13:24:25:608 6168 D000101F7: Analyse de la partition « D: » en cours...
2017-07-22 13:24:25:608 6168 D000101F7: Analyse de la partition « E: » en cours...
2017-07-22 13:24:25:609 6168 D000101F7: Analyse de la partition « 0-0 » en cours...
2017-07-22 13:24:26:165 6168 D000101F7: Analyse de la partition « G: » en cours...
2017-07-22 13:24:26:174 6168 I00640000: Attributs de la copie de réserve de la sauvegarde : format tib; need_reserve_backup_copy false;
2017-07-22 13:24:26:178 6168 I013C0000: Opération : Sauvegarde
2017-07-22 13:24:26:179 6168 I0064000B: Priorité changée en Basse.
2017-07-22 13:24:26:188 6168 D00000000: Error 0x0
| niveau de suivi: debogage
| line: 0x0
| line: 0x0
2017-07-22 13:24:26:208 6168 I000B03F0: Créer une archive de sauvegarde Depuis : Disque 2 Vers le fichier : G:\Medion Erazer X7827\ST1000LM024 HN-M101MBB.tib Compression : Normal Exclure : Fichiers correspondant au filtre Critère de concordance : hiberfil.sys, pagefile.sys, $Recycle.Bin, swapfile.sys, System Volume Information, *.tib, *.tib.metadata, *.~, *.tmp, C:\Users\Francois\AppData\Local\Temp, C:\Users\Francois\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCache, C:\Users\Francois\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Cache, C:\Users\Francois\AppData\Local\Opera Software, C:\Users\Francois\AppData\Local\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles, C:\WINDOWS\CSC

François, the log is incomplete but doesn't show any errors in what was posted. 

That's what is shown in MVP log viewer. I only copy/paste it.

Understand but there should be more log entries following the details you posted. Take a look at any other logs you have where the backup was successful to see the difference. 

Yeah, I noticed that too.  I am thinking you could possibly have a cabling problem with the drive.  Often times unexpected behavior can be corrected by detaching the data cable on both ends and re-seating them.  Barring that you might see if Seagate has a firmware update for the drive, sometimes that is necessary but make sure that if you do that it will not wipe the drive in the process.  Even if it is not suppose to a backup of the drive is always recommended which of course you cannot do at this point!  

Yes I know that my logs are incomplete but the question is: why?

Which drive are you talking about? If you're talking about the external one (which is a Samsung Maxtor), I already plugged/unplugged it and nothing changed. If you're talking about the internal one which I'm trying to backup, I don't know how I can access it as i'm using a laptop and don't want to take risks for a problem that is probably not coming from there.

Again, for the update, is it for the external or the internal drive? Can you explain a bit more what I have to do?

Thanks for taking time to solve my problem !

The external drive would be the potential issue here rather than the internal one.

Do you have any other drives that you can try backing up to?

The external drive is brand new as I just ordered it a few days ago and the strange thing is that the SSD backup worked on it... I don't understand why there would be an issue with this drive.

I do have another external drive (a 1TB Western Digital). I can't do the full backup on it as I need more than 700Gb and there's only 600Gb left. Anyway, I'll try to see if the backup starts on it tonight.

How long did you wait for the backup to run for the short log file?  I wonder if the computer was still preparing the snapshot phase of the task?  I would expect to see at least a message in the log to indicate if the task aborted or was cancelled by the user. If the backup source size is very large then it may take a while to actually get started and show progress. 

It will take awhile to get a 700GB backup started.  The VSS snapshot would be at least 70GB at a minimum setting and default size is unbounded so the snapshot could be longer. 

I'm with Steve here, more time is needed to create the snapshot and start the backup/

You have to understand that I'm not interrupting the backup at any time. Here is EXACTLY what I'm doing:

-click on start backup
-a initialisation progress bar appears saying "calculating remaining time"
-after a few seconds, the progress bar disappears and a "pause" symbol appears in the middle of the UI
-after 30 seconds, the progress bar comes back and then disappears again like before
-this cycle happends 5 times (i saw in the settings that there were 5 attempts every 30 seconds when a backup failed)
-after the five attempts, a "red cross" symbol appears where the "pause" symbol used to be. It displays "Last backup has failed" if I click on it.

P.S: Still not have tried the backup on my other external drive, I'll let you know tomorrow or later.

Francois, how is your backup drive formatted?  It should be using NTFS and not using such as exFAT which is not supported by Acronis for backing up to.

My backup drive is using NTFS.

Also, I tried doing the backup on my other backup drive and encountered exactly the same fail. With the same lack of logs...

Francois, if this is happening for two different backup drives, then the next step are to look at this as a possible Microsoft VSS issue - this is the function that is used to create the snapshot used by Acronis for the backups.

Please download and try running the free Acronis VSS Doctor (link in my signature) and see what this reports.  It may also offer options to try to resolve any problems found that it can help with.

I downloaded Acronis VSS Doctor and ran it. Find below the saved report:

https://pastebin.com/v9jPymQ4

Error indicate a disk identifier problem wherein 2 disks are reporting as the same disk.  I saw another post of similar nature awhile back here on the Forum.  I am not sure if that was resolved.  As I recall some users upgrading to a new Windows version were seeing this and consensus was that it was a Microsoft Windows issue.

You might try this:

With your PC running and external disk attached first eject the attached external disk using the Tray icon.

Now, right click on the Windows Start button and select Command Prompt (Admin) or Powershell (Admin) if you are using Win 10 Creators edition.

At the prompt type shutdown /s

You will see a warning message on screen sying that your computer will be shutdown in less than 1 minute.  This is expected.

Once computer shutsdown press the Power button to start it back up.  After startup and all apps are once again loaded then attach your external disk drive.  You should see a New Hardware found message when you attach the drive.  This would be expected.  After Windows reports that the device is ready to use run the VSS Doctor tool again and see if the errors persist.  Hopefully they will not show now,

With errors resolved you can run the backup again.

If this all fails to correct the issue you can navigate to Backup Options in  the TI app, select Advanced tab then, Performance and select No Snapshot which should allow you to backup the drive.  You can use that option until the issue you have is resolved.

Can you highlight the error in the report that gave you this clue?

I tried doing what you said but no Hardware found message popped up after starting the PC and attaching the external drive. Only a "Drive manager" window which is a little software installed on the drive, as usual.

I don't understand why the computer should say "New hardware found". The shutdown /s command doesn't make any difference with a normal shutdown, does it?

If I decide to do the backup without VSS snapshot, what will be the difference?

The Event errors section that you posted show this problem as shown below:

Notice the google search link, it is there for the user to search for problem cause based on the Event InstanceId.

The Shutdown /s command is different than a regular shutdown.  Windows 8, 10 by default uses Fast Startup which is a type of Hybrid sleep state when the normal Shutdown is used.  When run from a command prompt the Shutdown /s command closes all applications, processes and then performs a complete shutdown.  I advice doing this about once a week so that hardware is powered down and then re-initialized regularly.

The New Hardware found message not appearing is not a big deal, just added that as it is possible for you to see that and so did not want it to surprise you.

I would suggest at this point to have a look at the Google search link and read some of the offered problem links.  You night find a clue to the issue there.  I would also recommend that you visit your computer manufacturer support page and check for updated drivers for you USB ports.  If you find newer drivers install them.

I would also recommend that you visit Windows 10 Forums: here

Search there for issues like yours and post a question on those pages.  If it is a Windows problem someone there has experienced it too and may well have a solution for you.

Are you sure I should try looking in this direction?

I just tried the solution of "No snapshot" and encountered exactly the same fail ! With the same lack of logs !

I'm lost...

The fact that the "No Snapshot" solution produced the same result actually supports going in the direction of my last post so yes, I am sure you should try looking in that direction.

I did a bit of research about the problem myself and I found that a common comment among some of the posts I looked at were card readers having the id as an attached disk.

Oh I see, and what was the solution to that problem?

First I do not have access to your machine so I can only make suggestions as to where you might find a solution or problem with your machine. 

The posts I read unfortunately did not have solutions posted.  If it were my machine and I had a card reader that I suspected may be in conflict with an external disk I would disable the card reader.  I would not do that however before having a good look at Windows Event logs for Error 158 which indicates the issue found by the VSS Doctor tool.  I am pretty confident you will see the errors there as the tool scans the Event logs for disk related errors.  I would also try to determine when these event happen, when the disk is attached, when the computer is started, randomly for example.  This can help to narrow down what the trigger is at times and sometimes that can help in finding a solution or workaround.

It is all up to you to find a workaround or solution.