Cleanup fails due to not enough space!
I've run out of space on my backup drive, so went to "clean up backup versions" in order to delete an older backup and make some more room. I select an old version and click on the delete button. ATI works for a little bit, then comes back having decided NOT to delete the selected backup. To my astonishment and delight, I see this error message in the "activity" tab:
Guess what happens if I "try cleaning up"? I'm certainly glad that someone at Acronis exercised their sense of humor when creating this!
I just hit this wall, too.
I had things set up so that it would make no more than seven incremental backups before doing another full backup, and then delete the oldest backup chains. Instead it's been doing incremental backups for months and only recently started a new full backup. Of course, now it runs out of space and I can't do the cleanup.
No, I didn't have any other files to delete on the partition since I only used that partition for Acronis backup. Fortunately, I was able to shrink another partition and then enlarge my backup partition. Then I was able to run the cleanup effectively.
I'm thinking that there should be a failsafe where ATI never goes beyond the point where it won't have enough room to operate. At least a warning about the approaching cataclysm would be helpful. Maybe helpful error messages as well.
Dave, shrinking another partition then increasing the partition size for the partition with the backups is an excellent idea. Definitely better idea than buying a new drive.
I have to closely watch my NAS to manage the space. If worst come to worst, I can shift some files off the NAS. I am putting off upgrading the storage as I need to replace 2 drives, and the best option is 2 x 8TB drives, which a little hard to justify at the moment.
Ian
Ian, I think I would prefer having 2 x 8TB drives to shrinking and expanding my partitions. You talked me into it! You'll max it out eventually, though, so I still think there should be some sort of check to make sure you don't go past the point of no return.
Weirdly, now that I've made room and successfully cleaned up, my backups seem to be happening but it doesn't always show. See the attached windowshots where the Activity tab shows backups and validations occurring regularly, but the main Backup tab shows a backup date from before the problem even started.
I thought I might find out if I'm reading this wrong, or if it's also a known issue, before sending in a report.
Dave
Dave, I am seeing similar discrepancies for some of my backup tasks.
I agree that there should be a way of getting a warning that you need to do a cleanup before the next backup occurs. Under "Settings" there is an option for email notifications when available storage gets to a particular level, but it may not be easy to estimate. For example, a major update to Windows may throw out the calculations. Automatic cleanup rules are also subject to the same estimation issues.
Ian
I came up with a workaround for this. I can't exactly recommend it, but it worked for me:
1) In ATI, bring up the backup cleanup dialog box, i.e. the screen where you select backups to delete.
2) In Windows Explorer, navigate to the folder where your backups are saved.
3) Carefully select a backup file that you would intend to delete as part of your cleanup and delete it.
4) In ATI, select the backups you'd like to delete, making sure to include the backup file that you deleted in Explorer.
5) Cleanup should now work. Apparently if it tries to delete a backup that's already been deleted it's a non-issue...thankfully.
Andrew, welcome to these public User Forums.
Thanks for sharing the method that worked for you. The only other comment to add is to ensure that Acronis Active Protection is turned off before attempting to delete a file in Explorer.
Andrew, your workaround worked around great! Which is good, since I'd already thoughtlessly maxed out the size of the partition on the drive so that I could fix this problem the last time it came up. Deleting the backup did the trick, giving The Backup Solution Formerly Known as ATI enough space to start cleaning up.
Steve, I did turn off Active Protection, as you recommended. Seemed to go okay. I assume that was necessary because TBSFKaATI Active Protection watches my backup file particularly closely, or something. Thanks for the tip.
And what do you all think of the acronym? It's a little easier to remember than ACPHO, isn't it?
Glad to hear it worked for you as well! I frankly hate it, as I've deleted backup files in the past and had it break my backup, but there doesn't seem to be a better option right now. I'd much prefer it if the app was smart enough to warn users of the paradox they were going to get into, and "delete other files to free up space" is a really awful solution, especially if one's using storage space specifically intended for backups to begin with. I'm afraid I don't have strong feelings regarding the acronyms. :p
I ran in to this issue today and Andrew's process worked. I did not stop Acronis Active Protection but it prompted to allow Explorer to delete. Thank you!