"Acronis Experts" - The Sequel

Some time ago I submitted directly to Acronis and also posted in these forums a question about TIH2012's peculiar and annoying idle time creation of empty log files in the ProgramData\Acronis\TrueImageHome\ArchiveExplorer\ folder that persists even when the application is not running and its Nonstop Backup and Sync Agent services have both been disabled. See http://forum.acronis.com/forum/25514 for background details and the sequence of Acronis responses.

My chief concern is a previous suggestion from Acronis that the issue involves some unexplained (and therefore worrisome) "internet interactivity" and my own final input to that forum posting included the following comment: "Thanks for your follow-up. Much appreciated. You might want to ensure that your frontline support staff are fully aware of this and other such identified issues. There would seem to be some room for communications improvements in that regard and the resulting gaps can be quite offputting for end users (like myself) who tend to expect authoritative responses from Acronis support personnel."

Here below, then, is the sequel which, I think, speaks for itself.

-----Original Message-----
From: A...... P......
Sent: October 13, 2011 12:44
To: Richard Virtue
Subject: [Acronis 01276532] Incessant Idle Time Logging - Why? [ ref:00D3Zcb.5005DTmwD:ref ]

Hello Richard,

Thank you for your response. I really apologize for the delay in my reply. We analyzed the reports provided by you for Acronis True Image Home 2012. The reports in Archive Explorer folder is generated whenever a Backup Archive is accessed. [Emphasis added]

[...]

Please download and install Scheduler Manager from the link below:- http://kb.acronis.com/sites/default/files/content/2005/12/1518/schedmgr…
After installation you will get command prompt window, type “task zap” and hit Enter
Note: Please note that these steps will remove all the scheduled Backup tasks so you would have to create the backup tasks again.

After removing the tasks, kindly delete all the previous logs from Archive Explorer folder and check if still you are facing the unusual behvaiour as Acronis should create logs only when you access the backup Archive.

I had thought that my original inquiry had made it very clear that the idle time logging occured even when the TIH application was not running and there was certainly no backup archive being accessed in any case. Nevetheless I tried the suggested solution and have replied as follows.

-----Original Message-----
From: Richard Virtue
Sent: October 14, 2011 10:12
To: A...... P......
Subject: [Acronis 01276532] Incessant Idle Time Logging - Why? [ref:00D3Zcb.5005DTmwD:ref ]

Hello again.

As suggested in your last reply, I have tried the “task zap” utility that you provided, but TIH2012 continues to create logs in the \ProgramData\Acronis\TrueImageHome\ArchiveExplorer\ folder even when no backup archive is being accessed.

It appears that we (both of us) are getting conflicting information and advice from our Acronis sources. In the Acronis public forums (see http://forum.acronis.com/forum/25514 ) I am now being told by the Acronis QA Engineer, Oleg, that this problem as I've reported it has been added as "a new case to our bug queue, the number is ATIHIIOXII-6515" and that the Acronis developers are "planning to fix the encountered issue for the nearest released build."

In the circumstances, I'm really not sure where this matter stands. Although the problem is actually occurring under all three of my WinXP, Vista and Win7 set-ups, you seem to be suggesting that it has something to do with my Windows 7 installation. The Acronis QA Engineer, on the other hand, seems to suggest that it's a known bug that is being dealt with and will be addressed in a future TIH2012 update release.

The "bottom line", as I see it, is a need for clarification and for improved communications between Acronis QA and its frontline support personnel. That's an Acronis managerial issue and it's neither your fault nor Oleg's. But it's very frustrating and annoying for the end user and it certainly doesn't enhance my own confidence in Acronis backup and recovery products.

I guess there's really nothing more to be said.

[Edited to remove agent's name as per TOS. Thanks, Colin.]