won't backup during shutdown

From you posting, not totally sure of your procedures being used.

1. You need to create a backup task to do what you want done. I don't know about 8.1 but my Win7-64 WILL do a backup upon shutdown and only once a day at shutdown. This can be configured within your scheduler. If you have trouble with the Acronis scheduler, you can use the Windows Task scheduler to run your backup at shutdown.

You can use either of 3 examples to have your backups perform automatic cleanup after it performing x number of backups.

GH11. Create Custom Full Backup Scheme.Keep 4 versions (chains). The 4 is an example only with user choice for whatever number of chains to be retained best fits the individual needs..

GH12. Create Custom Incremental Backup Scheme. 6 Inc, Keep 4 chains. The 6-4 is an example only with user choice for whatever number of chains to be retained best fits the individual needs.

GH13. Create Custom Differential Backup Scheme. 2 Diff, Keep 2 chains. The 2-2 is an example only with user choice for whatever number of chains to be retained best fits the individual needs.

2. Yes, it is still possible to create desktop shortcuts with 2015 and use those shortcuts to run backups via either the Acronis scheduler, or via the Windows Task Scheduler.

However, 2015 won't make the shortcuts for you as 2014 did, but with a little effort, you can create your own shortcuts manually.

This example below-

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Acronis\TrueImageHome\TrueImageLauncher.exe" /script:AO8C9DCC-EA95-4EF7-A34B-722EA3E3C43E

gets placed inside the desktop shortcut command windows--except the script number (AO8....etc) is your script number for the backup task being run.

Duplicate exactly the placement of the quotation marks and the command line but use your script id

Your backup script number can be found in your scripts folder

C:\ProgramData/Acronis/TrueImageHome/Scripts using the date/time of the script for its identification, or you can also use Notepad to open the script to look at its internal contents for correct identification of the specific backup task being configured for the shortcut.

Example from Scripts folder as used above except only the id info used above--not the extensions.

AO8C9DCC-EA95-4EF7-A34B-722EA3E3C43E.tib.tis January 22, 2015 8:00 PM

Here are some additional help in how to se Windows Task Scheduler to run TI backups:

     A. How to use Win7 scheduler to run TIH backup tasks. PDF download

     B. How to use Windows XP Task Schedule Every 3 days and  Schedule Every 2 weeks

To create a desktop shortcut,
On the desktop, Right click any open spot
Click New, Click Shortcut
Paste this information into the open command windows, .

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Acronis\TrueImageHome\TrueImageLauncher.exe" /script:AO8C9DCC-EA95-4EF7-A34B-722EA3E3C43E

and then assign a name to the shortcut.

GroverH, you are awesome!!!

Grover, I did create a "backup task". Then under "options" and in "schedule"- I chose "upon event", "system shutdown or restart" and "once a day only". I didn't realize Win 8.1 even has a Windows Task Scheduler- I never used that feature in past versions of MS OSs- but I'll look for it. I will also give this another try - starting over again. Sometimes some glitch happens that can't be tracked down- but starting over again works. I've seen this before. If I ultimately can't find a convenient way to make the backup happen upon shutdown- I will be rather disappointed with ATI 2015. If any Acronis tech people are reading this- it would be nice to know if there are any special problems with this feature with Win 8.1 (64 bit). I don't presume having an SSD boot drive would cause the feature to fail. Perhaps my external WD "My Book" drive goes into a rest mode and can't be seen instantly by ATI and so it won't trigger the backup. I don't know.... but I'll keep at it. I would also strongly recommend to Acronis to bring back the shortcut feature. I have read their item in this forum as to what features they dropped in ATI 2015 and why- not sure if it mentioned this feature, but I can no reason to NOT have this feature available.

I appreciate your discussion, GroverH about how to create a shortcut- but that's a bit too much work when Acronis once offered the feature so I wouldn't have to think about it. Please, Acronis, bring back the shortcut feature!

Oh, one the thing- in previous versions, as I set up a backup task, I could name the backup- it seems here, it's not so obvious- I think I saw one old message about this "problem" and I'm sure there's a way, a round about way, not designed by Acronis to make it simple- but simple is what most of us want- I shouldn't have to spend much time trying to figure out how to name a backup.

thanks again, GroverH- Acronis should at least give you free updates for all the effort you put in here!
Joe

I finally got around to testing if the "backup on shutdown or restart" would work with a restart and it did! So, why the heck won't it work for a shutdown? Might this be a Windows 8.1 problem?

Win 8.1 is known to shut down very quickly- in seconds- perhaps Acronis just can't get a grip on it quickly enough- I dunno....

Anybody using this feature with Win 8.1? I bet it's not a problem with Windows 7!

Ultimately, what matters the most is that it creates the backup and I can use if I need it- but, if this is a problem for many people, then I hope Acronis will address the problem. I want the backups to be convenient and a no brainer. They took away the desktop shortcut which I used with an earlier version. I don't want to have to think about it much- I don't care to load the program first and I certainly don't want to do a restart just to get a backup.

I don't leave the system running at night so I can't have the backup run automatically that way. I don't put the system into sleep mode because the boot drive is SSD and I've read somewhere that sleep mode isn't recommended with an SSD drive. In sleep mode- I believe Acronis could wake it up - at least it's supposed to. That would be a good alternative if it wasn't for the "don't use sleep mode with an SSD" concern.

BTW, one thing I've noticed is that- with an SSD boot drive and with a USB 3 external drive- a full back hardly takes longer than an incremental backup- so I might as well skip incremental or differential backups.
Joe

PS: one last thing for now- when it's time to post a message here, it's strange to have to click on a button that says "Save"- it should say "post", right?

OK, here's a further thought- if I can't get ATI 2015 to run a back up during shut down- and, if I overcome my concern about using sleep mode with my SSD boot drive--- can ATI 2015 wake up a sleeping/hibernating computer?

I can appreciate that ATI should be able to wake up the computer if in sleep mode because it's not 100% off- but what about if it's in hibernation?

I've got a great book on Win 8.1, "Windows 8.1 the missing manual". The author explains that in Win 8.1, sleep mode is still using some small amount of power, but it will at some point, go into hibernation- with no power. Once it does that, how can any program turn it back on? It would be cool if it can.... then I can have ATI do the back up in the middle of the night.
Jo

First, I am assuming that the task which does not work at shutdown is an original 2015 task and never been edited. If edits has been done, suggest a new task for a new test.

Acronis has recently released a KB article on how to create a desktop shortcut--but very much the same as my suggested instructrions
https://kb.acronis.com/content/54944
These shortcut instructions could also be used to start a Windows Task Scheduler backup at Shutdown, if the TI scheduler continues not to work.

The WD MyBook has sleep controls which could be a factor if this disk is involved in your backup at shutdown not working.

Check to see if your task scheduler settings is setup using this option except using the SHUTDOWN OPTION.

Grover, thanks for you incredible contribution to this forum.

I have discovered that the "backup during shutdown or restart" works for a restart- but of course that's not what I want.

Then, I discovered a huge problem- that hopefully was just a glitch and not a defect on ATI 2015.

What happened several days ago- was that Microsoft uploaded its usually monthly Windows Updates- on that date there 14 which were strongly recommended. I had my system set up to automatically download and install- following a shutdown of course. I seem to recall that, with my W8.1 system- that the options in the Start screen were: sleep, shutdown, update with restart. So, forgetting that ATI 2015 would do a backup during a restart-- I chose update with restart-- then, the backup occurred- but, the system failed to restart- or at least I think that was the case- it didn't restart for a few minutes, so I clicked on the Dell power button- the system shut down- but when I clicked again to turn it back on- the OS was messed up. If I tried to open any windows, open any program or dialogue box- it opened at maybe 10% the normal speed- and the same when closing them. Yikes, I almost has a heart attack. After pondering for several minutes how to get out of this dilemma, I did a Windows Restore, which fixed the problem.

Then, I installed each of the 14 updates one at a time- doing the most innocuous ones first, leaving the bigger, more questionable ones last. After each update installed successfully, I created another Restore point- so if I had to use the Restore trick again, I wouldn't go back to the beginning of the 14 updates. Amazingly, I completed the 14 updates with no problem.

So, I concluded that either the backup occurring before the updates could be installed- messed up the OS- or, I should have waited longer to see if the system would come up. Either way- I'm a bit traumatized over this.

Regarding your comment that the WD may have been in a sleep mode- I don't think so since ATI would do the backup if I chose to restart the system. As I said, the problem may have occurred because I didn't wait long enough for the installation process to complete- or, the problem may have been due to some complication with the update installations attempting to occur while ATI proceeded with a backup. Since I don't know for sure- I'm going to give up on seeking backups for each shutdown. I presume somebody out there must be having luck doing backups from the shutdown command using ATI 2015 and W8.1- but until I see their comments, I'll do without.

I haven't checked your link from Acronis on how to set up a shortcut- but I think it's crazy that it's no longer a built in function- as that would be most desirable. I presume somebody from Acronis must read this forum and if so, please bring back the shortcut.

What I'll do is simply go into the program, choose the backup and trigger it from there. What's nice is that- with this super fast system- with a SSD drive - a full backup is incredibly fast, so no reason not to do it often.

The reason I don't want to have the backup occur from a sleep mode (apparently no hibernate mode with Win8.1) is that I read somewhere online that sleep mode isn't a great idea with a SSD drive- because the sleep mode works the SSD pretty hard as it saves so much data and I don't care to beat on the SSD. Otherwise, I suppose I could leave it in sleep mode and have the backup occur automatically in the middle of the night.

Another thing- I've read many complaints about the user interface with ATI 2015. I'm beginning to appreciate their complaints- as I still have ATI 2013 on an older computer. One issue is that if you have several backups listed in the backup window when you load ATI 2015, it's hard to tell which is which. I'm not sure how to give each backup a name that I can recognize. What I do instead- is create a folder name that I can recognize and put each backup in its own folder- but I'd prefer to give the actual file name. I think I saw a message about this months ago- but when I tried searching for it- couldn't find it.

thanks again Grover and the other folks here who contribute so much!
Joe

This is a link you should consider regarding your computer not staying awake. This procedure will work if going to sleep is the issue.

Creating a shortcut is not difficulat and only takes a few seconds. No, it is not as easy as 2014 but then again it is not difficult to do.
Once you have created the shortcut once, you will find it not difficult. The most difficult is determining which is the task script number.

Acronis has recently released a KB article on how to create a desktop shortcut--but very much the same as my suggested instructrions
https://kb.acronis.com/content/54944

This link may be of interest regarding naming.
73586: How To Stamp Date & Time in Backup File Name
tomb
https://forum.acronis.com/forum/73586

OK, guys--- I think I tripped across some information which explains the problem of ATI not properly doing a backup during a shutdown- with the Win 8.1 OS.

It's because, I just found out, by default, Win 8.1 enables "fast startup" which is not a full and proper shutdown. It saves system info during the shutdown, then reloads it when starting up- so drivers, etc... are not properly reinitialized.

Whereas, a Win 8.1 restart is a proper shutdown. As I've mentioned previously, the backup upon shutdown didn't work but when I did a restart with 14 MS updates, ATI did the backup- but then the system was messed up- a Windows file that manages how windows open/close must have been trashed- and I could only fix it with a MS Restore from a week earlier.

So, for anyone who really wants to do a backup upon shutdown, it looks like you'll need to turn off fast start up. You can read how to do it at: http://en.kioskea.net/faq/31793-windows-8-1-how-to-disable-fast-startup…

Also, with fast startup- as that link discusses, it may be difficult or impossible to get access to your BIOS, boot menu and Safe Mode. I recall when trying to test an Acronis emergency CD- trying to get to BIOS- I couldn't do it if the system had been shutdown- but eventually, I did get access and I think that was after a restart.

This "problem" with Win 8.1 fast start feature is probably something you advanced dudes are aware of- but for anyone trying to find out why their "backup during shutdown" isn't working with Win 8.1- I think this is the solution. Either disable fast startup or use another scheme. I don't intend to test this by disabling fast startup- then trying again to do a backup from shutdown because I was traumatized by the problem I had- I would test if if I had an older computer I could afford to mess up.

Now, I might be wrong about this- but if somebody really needs a backup from shutdown, they should give it a try. I've decided to just click on my Acronis icon now installed at the bottom of my Win 8.1 desktop and run backups from within the program.

Perhaps the Acronis programmers failed to notice this "problem"- please take note- or, maybe everything I'm saying here is wrong- I dunno. If I'm right, then Acronis should inform people that they'll need to do a restart- but don't do it if you're installing updates! I've now turned off automatic updates and I'll install them one at a time, and making Restore points after each one!
Joe

Very interesting Joe. Thanks for the efffort. I can't help you test it as I do not have Win 8.
Using Windows Task Scheduler might still be an option. No sure whether the Bios setting would be an issue or not. You would need to test it.

An IT friend said:

"I think that’s only true if you use the Shutdown “charm” menu instead of the Win+X shutdown.
If you use the “Charm”, which I’m pretty sure you do, you can get a full shutdown by holding Shift plus clicking Shut Down.
I don’t think Fast Startup is an issue with an SSD."

But, we don't know how the ATI programmers implement triggering the "backup from shutdown or restart". Of course this theory of mine may be totally wrong- but all I know is that it only works on restart- so, hopefully somebody from Acronis is reading this and can take a look at it. I haven't approached Acronis directly about this issue- and why when it did proceed with the MS Update restart- it messed up my windows system file(s). I wish I had a system to experiment on.

thanks for your suggestions about using Task Scheduler and creating a shortcut- but I prefer to have a backup program do this for me- so I'll live without those features until they do fix them.

I wonder what Acronis has planned for their next version? I have to presume they read the forums and listen to us.
Joe

Joseph Zorzin wrote:

I have to presume they read the forums and listen to us.

If that were true, more fixes would occur and much more freqently. If that were true, there would not be the need for fixes as such drastic changes would not have occurred. For 2015, they discarded working code for all new code. I don't know of any user whom prefers the 2015 version log information to that of 2014. as one such example.

Grover, I can't imagine a software outfit not reading their forums- maybe they do but don't much care about what our issues are. I suppose I could move back to an earlier version. How complex would that be? I'd have to uninstall ATI 2015- having purchased the latest, I'm not sure if I'd have free access to an earlier version unless I complained loud enough. My previous version I paid for was ATI 2013 but I'm not sure I want to go that far- though I still have it on my 8 year old Vista system and I do like that very much- never a problem.

Though I was aware of the complaints here about the latest--- I know that all new software gets complaints (including Win 8.1) so I thought I'd just overlook those negative comments. Now, if only Acronis promises to greatly improve the program, I just may back track.

Joe