Problem with Backup Size (Write/Timeout Error - Disk Full)
I ran into a 'disk full' problem when I tried to back up two large partitions. I don't understand, because there should have been plenty of room on my destination drive.
Here's the detail of what happened to me..........
I am backing up two partitions. Acronis says this backup size is 185GB.
My destination is an a 305GB partition on an external drive.
My backup scheme is 'Single Version', which I understand overwrites the old backup everytime.
In trying to perform this backup, I received Error #49502....Write/Timeout. When I sought additional info regarding this error, it implied that I had run out of disk space for my backup.
Sure enough, when I went to my destination drive, it was full because it still contained my old backup and as much of my new backup as it could get on the drive.
What I had to do at this point was delete my old backup and redo my new backup. This entire process cost me many hours, so I was not a happy camper.
So my question is.....when does Acronis start the overwrite of my old backup? It sounds like Acronis keeps the old until the new backup is completed. If this is true, then my destination drive must always be twice the size of my desired backup. That's not good news........
What am I missing here? Thanks in advance
Thanks, Steve. That certainly explains what happened to me. But where in the Acronis User Guide does it explain this to a novice......the fact that you need twice the space?
But my really important remaining question is........where in the User Guide does it show you how to define Pre-Commands. The Guide makes it sound like I can select Commands from a list, but I don't see any. Can you tell me how to do this? What would the command be for deleting previous backup?
Thanks again.......
Durago, please see the following from the ATIH 2016 User Guide: Automatic cleanup rules which states:
To delete obsolete backup versions automatically, you can set one of the following cleanup rules:
- Store no more than [n] recent versions (available for full method only) - Select this option to limit the maximum number of backup versions.
When the number of versions exceeds the specified value, the oldest backup version will be automatically deleted. - Keep size of the backup no more than [defined size] - Select this option to limit maximum size of the backup.
After creating a new backup version, the program checks whether the total backup size exceeds the specified value.
If it's true, the oldest backup version will be deleted.
As per the above statements, the cleanup rules only fire after the next backup image / version has been created.
For the Pre Command, you would need to create a batch command file with the commands needed to check for and delete any existing backup image file(s). See the attached PDF document showing how this could be done.
Thanks again, Steve, for some valuable information. I probably would never have found this without your guidance.
Sadly, Acronis is becoming more complicated than I had ever anticipated. I never thought I would be coding a batch command file to use the program. And as I read (or try to read) the User Guide, I struggle. For example, when I see the statement "You cannot overwrite existing pre-defined backup schemes"..........now what the heck does that mean. What is a pre-defined scheme???
One last quick question, then I guess I'll be forced to find a destination partition twice the size of my source backup.
I perform weekly full backups. If I wanted to delete the old backup before the new one starts, would it work to do the following:
- select Custom Scheme
- select Full
- select/set Delete version older than 6 days
Would the 6-day old backup then be deleted before a new backup started on the 7th day? Or does Acronis ALWAYS keep an old full backup until the new one is created?
Thanks again, Steve.
Durago, the pre-defined schemes are those offered on the Backup options page such as Incremental or Differential schemes that are built in to the program. If you want to change these then you need to choose Custom scheme then adjust the settings to suit your requirement.
For your Custom scheme - Full - delete older than 6 days, my understanding is that the check for and deletion does not take place until the next full backup has been created. Using the Pre Command batch file can overwrite the default cleanup behaviour and delete the old backup as a part of the preparation for the new task running, as shown in my PDF document from the previous post.
That's what I thought, Steve. I'm liking Macrium Reflect more and more (just kidding).
I will just find me a destination with twice the capacity. If Acronis had told me that up front in plain English, I would have understood and taken precautions. As it was, I wasted several/many hours of backup time. Or even if the error had been clearer.......I mean, I was told 'timeout' and 'write error'.......not very definitive.
Anyway, Steve, you are a credit to this forum. Your responses are very quick and always helpful, even if I don't always agree with the way Acronis does things.
Regards......
Durago, thank you for your kind comments, it is a pleasure to be able to help others and helps to keep the grey matter ticking over.
On the comment about Macrium Reflect, no need to apologise - I also have it installed on some systems to give a belt & braces approach, plus I tend to use it on friends systems where they have no backup software other than the default Windows backup program - their free version has some restrictions such as only allowing differentials but for the price = free, no complaints and far better than no backup at all!