Problem installing a backup to my seagate Slim ext.HDD
I keep getting the message backup failed because some paths are more the 256 characters long , I just got Acronis True Image and I don't know if I should get a refund or I f I should try it with a new ext HDD , maybe Seagate is not compatable with whole drive backups ? what do you think ?


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The ATI backup file names are based on the name you've given the backup task. For the old .tib format ATI can append up to 25-30 characters to create the file name. Let's say 30 (although I've not seen that many). For the newer .tibx format I know ATI will append 10 characters but I suspect it could be more.
Then there's the path name of the directory structure on your drive. That also gets added to backup file's path name.
If, in fact, you really are running into the 256 character limit you have control over the backup task name; you can make it shorter. Depending on how your drive is used (and who else is using it) you may be able to limit the number of directory levels and use shorter directory names.
There is also the possibility that the error message is wrong. What is the exact message? Could your external drive be too small to hold the backup? (If that were the case, I would expect ATI to give a more clear message.)
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This is a Windows limitation. What version of Windows is being used? You need to adjust your backup path name and/or backup file name to get the entire path and file under 250 characters. It doesn't matter what backup program you use.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/win32/fileio/naming-a-file
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Charles, Win 10 has had support for longer files names. This is disabled by default, and there is no guarantee that applications support these names even if Windows has the support enabled. I have no idea if ATI supports this or not. Have you enabled, and are you using long file names?
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