Nonstop Backup Issue
I purchased and installed this product for its nonstop backup capabilities. I want to keep a constantly-updated "snapshot" of my system drive, because it's an SSD, and I've had experience with SSDs dying catastrophically, with no warning.
This is on a Win8 64 bit desktop system.
My configuration backs up to an external USB backpack drive. I encountered no problems configuring the backup, and it appeared to be working correctly.
Unfortunately, I discovered to my shock today that the "nonstop" backup is anything but. It looked like backups were being made, but an attempt to recover a backup failed with a message that no backups were available. This despite the fact that there is 47 GB of >>something<< on the external USB drive, and the fact that no fatal errors were ever flagged.
Digging into the backup logs shows repeated message patterns like the following:
Session has started
Consolidation as failed 0x006B0000
Read error or metadata corrupted 0x001703EE
Nonstop backup has been created successfully
Initial full backup version has been created successfully
I do not understand these messages. Do the errors mean the backup failed? Why, then, is success declared?
If it's failing I do not understand why it's designed to fail silently (i.e., with the backup appearing to run successfully to completion, despite errors, but then no backup is available).
Does this product even work as advertised? If so, how do I get it to create the nonstop backups it claims to be able to produce?
- Mark
Mark,
To get notified of replies there is a tick box at the bottom of the page when making a post, if you wish to auto receive replies you need to check that you have ticked that option in your forum account profile.
Back to your problem, if you enable viewing hidden files and folders, what files do you see in the Timeline folder on your external drive?
Colin, FYI, there is no tickbox displayed when creating a post, at least not under Chrome. There is an expando area to control file attachment uploading, but nothing else that I could see.
As to the contents of my external drive:
The root contains only a folder called "Time Explorer Storage".
That folder contains another folder called "8D61ADB0-F481-43C6-9973-2EC43C3EDF75".
That folder, in turn, contains:
A027380B-4485-4e11-8ED3-7623DDBC4544.tib
a bunch of cdpXX.data files, numbered from cdp.data to cdp47.data
a cdp.metadata file
a config.xml file
and an image.data file
I'm not on a PC that allows screen shots to be taken, but anyway, those cdp.dataXX files are your NSB slices, do the dates tally and what is the average size of the slices?
The tib file on this folder is out of place, it is a temporary True Image file unless at some time you enabled the Secure Zone, in which case that file belongs to the ASZ.
The average cdpxx.data file are all exactly the same size -- 1,048,576 KB, per File Explorer -- except for the last one, cdp47.data, which is only 677,108 KB.
The other oddity is that the most recent file -- cdp47.data -- is timestamped at 3/7/2013 1:41 PM. That's almost two weeks ago, and I know I've installed apps on my system (c:) drive since then (my backup covers only the system drive).
This is starting to sound like something got corrupted on March 7th.
Any other thoughts?
- Mark
My guess is that the cdp metadata file might have become corrupted, but it will also be worthwhile checking that the NSB service in Services.msc is set to automatic and is enabled.
Somehow I get the feeling that if the metadata or config file are corrupted the only way forward is to start the NSB over again.
Those file sizes are correct, what doesn't appear to have happened is consolidation, which only starts once 30 days have eleapsed, unless that is what was happening and caused the strange temporary image file.
I take it you've never enabled the SZ or tried to make images of backups to the timeline folder in addition to the NSB task.
I've attached two screenshots of where you should be seeing the notify me options concerning posts.
I don't know what the SZ is, so if I enabled it I did so accidentally. I'll try deleting and recreating the nonstop backup and see what happens.
Thanx for the image files. I was aware of the first one (where the "notify me" tick box shows up), but that's for when you make a comment, not initially create the message. The second image is from my account settings, correct? I'll go in there and change my default to "notify me". FWIW, I'm used to the more common approach (in my experience) of offering the "notify me" option when creating each thread/topic.
I am having a very similar problem. Did anyone find the solution? Just upgraded to True Image 2014. One twist is that when I restart the computer, NSB starts creating a backup as if from scratch. Then it exits/stops and usually leaves a new NSB (type NSB). When I just let it build a new archive and exit, I can recover from each of these, but only one version is available. When I try to use the recover button while NSB is backing up, It says no version available.
The log contradicts itself - Most of the red x circle main entries have no error subentries! service starts... consolidation has completed successfully.
A few have consolidation completed successfully, followed by:
x Failed to create initial full backup version - Event code: 0x006B0000
x Operation has been stopped - Event code: 0x00170801
then it goes back to saying NSB created successfully, initial full backup version created successfully, started, etc. (see attached).
Hours of searching the KB has not really helped. Appreciate any update, advice, or even instructions on how to start over clean!