Inconsistent Naming of Backups
Since purchasing Acronis True Image 2013 I’ve yet to complete a full version backup without problems, for no apparent reason the naming convention goes astray. If you look at the attached screenshot you’ll see the Microsoft Office backup commences 24/01/13 with a full backup albeit with hyphenated file name b2_s1_v1-3.tib, this was a continuation of the version chain with previous backups having been automatically deleted.
The backup version continues in sequence until 13/02/13 when it reverts to what I believe to be the correct naming convention i.e. Microsoft_Office_inc_b4_s7_v1.tib this then continues correctly until 02,03,04/03/13 when the convention changed to Microsoft_Office_inc_b2_s8_v1.tib, b2_s9_v1.tib, and b2_s10_v1.tib respectively; I deleted these via Acronis and ran a new backup. I was expecting the new incremental backup to be named Microsoft_Office_inc _b7_s5_v1.tib, however a full backup was produced named Microsoft_Office_full _b3_s1_v1.tib.
If you look at the L/H pane of the screen dump you will see the same thing occurring on my media backups which is a custom incremental backup. This has been going on since I purchased the software in Dec 12, as I’ve already said I’ve yet to complete any of my backups successfully from start to finish. Is it me, have I misunderstood the process? If so what should I expect and what#s causing the problem.
David are you backing up to a NAS ? I used to have this problem when the delay between the backup running and the NAS waking up would cause the file not to be found, if that's the case there are a number of ways around the problem.
Thanks but no, it's backing up to a USB3 external Itb disk, attached and showing on the system before TI starts.
What is throwing me is that the machine eventually appears to find the files (as the log shows) but then doesn't turn itself off after completing.
Oneeasygeezer I too would have expected the Microsoft_Office_inc _b7_s5_v1.tib to be tthe next slice. It would appear that it used the name from another task. At this point, the tasks are corrupt. As to the cause, it could be caused by editing a task; or restoring a backup or installing or reinstalling the TI program--or who knows the reason. I can't see a fix or correction to these chains. My suggestion would be to restart with new tasks and new folders for both backups.
I note the media backup to have 18 (and maybe more coming) inc backups. I would discourage your use of a large number of inc backup and suggest more frequent fulls (like the office backup). Under the rules of incrmentals, if one of the early incs becomes missing or corrupt, then all the newer one have no restore value so limiting the number of inc can be beneficial. Whereas, if using a differential backup, the restore only needs the full plus 1 single diff backup--not all diff's.
GroverH thanks for your input. So far I've never had to do a restore, backup or reinstall the TI program although I've had to go into settings to check things. Out of frustration last time I did as you suggested and restarted from fresh using new tasks and folders for both backups but the results were eventually the same as you can see.
My problem with using version backups for the media file is the folder is 270GB and I've currently only got 1.5 TB free storage on my NAS so I'd have insufficient room not to mention the time involved in backing up and validating but I'll certainly change the method to a differential backup
I'm now going to delete all my backups (>1TB) and start afresh without touching anything and check daily until a complete cycle of 5 weeks has run to see what happens, I must say I'm rapidly losing confidence with this program and the lack of support from Acronis.
Oneeasygeezer,
The direct suppor offered by Acronis is for 30 days after purchase. Posting on the forum will not get you direct support from Acronis. You need to fill out a direct support request. After the 30 days, you need to use the forum or purchase assistance. Acronis does offer recovery support at no charge for any of the versions.
I do find that the 2013 version is much more dependable in the handling of backup retention.
Hi GroverH
Following your advice I decided to delete all the backups and schedules and start afresh ( this'll be the third time) however when I got home last night the Microsoft version backup had again started a new naming sequence as I said previously I’ve yet to complete a full version backup without problems, for no apparent reason the naming convention goes astray.
There's been no changes to the settings, schedule or anything else since I set up the new backup schedule
Oneeasygeezer
OneEasyGeezer,
Yes, the next expect bu should have been B3. S5--not B1.
Would you post a screen capture of your backup scheme for this task.
You indicate you go into the task and look, When that occurs, you should be backing out by canceling.
Any chance you might be saving a no -change view instead of cancelling the look?
Are you using any disk quotas such as notifications, etc?
HI OneEasyGeezer,
You have indicated to be using a File Backup and Version Chain Backup scheme which is based on elapsed days, etc. I don't know what has caused your scheme to become corrupted but I can tell you what has worked for me and is my recommendation for you and many others.
My recommendation is that you switch to a Custom backup Scheme (11-Dif) and you choose whether you want Incremental type or Differential types of backup.
The key to this custom scheme is NOT to use time or space as the criteria for retention but to use the "Store no more than X "recent version chains."
Refer post #4 above which illustrates an example setting but you can adjust the 6 (inc or dif) and 4 (complete chains) to fit your needs. My folder example illustrates the retention results it should produce.
My reason for suggesting these options is that the calculation of how many chains exist/keep is straight forward and it does not involve any consolidation/merging which can be time consuming and troublesome.
One again, Cease to use the old scheme and start a new fresh scheme pointing to an empty sub-folder for storage. Editing a task is not recommended as the results are often unpredictable or not what is expected. In my own usage, if a task needs adjustment/editing, I stop using it and create a new task pointing to a new sub-folder.
These examples work for me and hope they will for you as well. Good luck.
GroverH
Thanks for the suggestion I'll delete the scheme again and start afresh although I have to say I'm far from happy with software that can't perform such basic tasks without problems, and even more disappointed that there's no input or assistance from Acronis staff on the forum, certainly wont be using their software again.
Oneeasygeezer
Oneeasygeezer
I can sympathize with your feelings. Acronis handles their support via their stated method of direct contact (not via the forum) as I wrote in post #6 above. I hope that you find your latest new restart will work for you. Grover