Scheduled Task Not Executing

We downloaded and installed the Acronis Home 11 trial version. We set up a scheduled task (using the "Wizard") to run a backup to an attached USB drive at 3:00am. The drive is connected and accessible, all paths are correct, no other conflicting software is running. The computer is clean as a whistle. The task is clearly listed in the "Manage Tasks" area.

However, the backup task does not automatically execute. If I subsequently open the program and run the task manually, it works fine.

What am I missing?
Thanks for any help you can provide.

 

You're not doing anything wrong. This is known bug in ATI 11. Until a build comes out with a fix for this, you can use the Windows Task Scheduler instead. It's a bit more work to set up but it has the advantage that it can wake a PC from standy if desired to run a task.

See post #3 in this thread

https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=189475

 

Thank you very much for replying. I am new to this forum and appreciate any information you can provide.

However, I am somewhat astonished at what you said in your reply. Is this really true Any backup program, regardless of who produces it, which fails to execute a scheduled backup task, is not only useless but DANGEROUS

I reviewed the post you suggested. To be clear: We are running Windows XP, not Vista. The Acronis installation proceeded normally, no errors or omissions. Our machine is not in "suspended" mode, it is sitting unattended with no other foreground applications running. The machine and O/S are plain-vanilla configurations, as clean as can possibly be.

My humble opinion is that putting software with a bug of this magnitude on the market is like publishing a word processing program that does everything but save files. If this is really the case, it is nothing more than a glorified and colossal waste of the user's time.

I own and operate a software company. It is inconceivable to me that any manufacturer could roll out any application with such a fatal defect. Given what you said, and in view of the 15-day "trial" we are conducting, if what you said is true, I am hard pressed to imagine why anyone would buy this company's products under any circumstances.

So, I guess what I'm really asking is your opinion concerning Acronis software.
I am the CEO and my decision will have far-reaching consequences.

Thanks again for any insights you can offer.

 

You are correctly questioning their approach to releasing a product.
Here are a couple of comments that I made in another thread: https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=196597
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I'm experiencing the same scheduled backup problem and I've observed that when I edit the task there is only one thing wrong (one very significant thing). On the credentials page where you put in the users name and password there are an extra two characters in the password. I've corrected this repeatedly. I put in my password of n characters and save the task...when I go back and edit the task the password has changed to n+2 characters. It does not do it every time, but whenever I have a task that has not run I find the extra two characters.

One other note. I bought Acronis True Image back at version 7 and had constant serious problems. The programs problems as well as the terrible customer technical support scared me, and I stopped using it for years. They recently offered an attractive update price for version 11 and I thought it was worth a try. This scheduled task problem, as well as the comments on this forum tell me that Acronis has not matured in the years that have passed.

I guess I've been shown to be a sucker. As they say: Fool me once...shame on you. Fool me twice...shame on me.
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I'm a reasonably astute end user. I'm not a software engineer.
Your answer is way beyond my interest level. I'm looking for a program that works or a patch that will make it work. I paid for this program and I'm not your beta tester. You should have had a beta test and and caught this problem early in the process.

Scheduled backups are an important and basic part of the program's functionality. You are up to version 11 but you are still not delivering a working program. After many years you continue to disappoint.
Thanks for listening...
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Tcas,
I agree wholehartedly with your comments. Several users including myself have pointed out this bug to Acronis since a few days after Version 11 was released.
So far I have seen no response from Acronis on a fix for this problem nor for that matter even an acknowledgement that there is a problem. Aparently scheduling does not fail on all installations. This however is no comfort when it does not work consistently for you.
Regulars to this forum have suggest Windows scheduler as a workaround. Luckily I was able to revert to Version 10 which performs perfectly. I only lost half a days work when I was hit by the intermittent bug but once was enough for me.

I only visit this forum from time to time to keep up with this and all the other idiocies that are outstanding with Version 11.

Xpilot

 

Dear shieber, firzle, and Xpilot,

Your replies were not what I was hoping to hear, but they were extremely helpful to me. I thank you all for your time and consideration.

I have since read other reviews of Acronis software and, unfortunately, it seems you have identified a recurring problem in their company. To date I have received no reply to my email inquiry to Acronis. This appears to be consistent with experiences reported by others.

Unquestionably, mistakes are sometimes made and software products occasionally make it out the door with bugs not recognized during testing. I am always willing to give a manufacturer the benefit of a doubt and credit their willingness to address a problem, provided it is characterized by strong follow-through and execution.

But there is a vast difference between an occasional mistake and poor business practices. For what it's worth, I occasionally hire people who have worked at other software companies. Sometimes they're passionate about the quality of their work and they do well. But, others are not and I usually spot them easily, because their "Just Ship It" attitude invariably manifests itself. They do not last long here.

Sadly, there is an insidious and pervasive attitude among companies who conduct business via the Internet, that the very medium itself shields them from the consequences of their unwillingness to deal directly with problems. Such companies typically exhibit regular patterns of deception. They feel quite secure, since they have resorted to anonymity with regard to service. This includes such approaches as hiding telephone numbers, placing multiple communications obstacles in the path of customers, insisting that users paw through a "knowledge base" (as if that was a good thing), re-labeling flaws as "features," and generally ignoring messages from customers for which they do not have satisfactory answers.

I personally choose to characterize individuals who adopt this approach to business as "Cowards," but then I am known for my lack of tolerance. It's a personal character flaw...

On the other hand, it has been my experience that human beings can rationalize in their own minds absolutely anything they so choose. We see it in war, in religion, in society -- and in business. Managers convince themselves their reasons justify their actions and selectively ignore the problems created by short-sighted decisions. I suppose we all do it to some extent in our personal lives -- but in business, there can be severe consequences.

It is difficult to set standards and maintain them, but the alternative is unacceptable -- at least, it is to me. Difficulty or inconvenience is not a reason to choose another path, particularly one that severely inconveniences customers. It is merely another obstacle to overcome, a problem requiring a solution. That's how a good company grows and becomes more efficient.

For example, I just switched all of our company's telephone service to another carrier from AT&T, simply because they insisted I use their hideous "automated" response system, which requires voice-recognition to operate. I politely informed the company that I do not "talk" to computers, nor do I have conversations with my toaster or washing machine, and never will. My time is not valueless and major appliances are not well-suited to serve as customer service agents.

I choose not to do business with such companies. Based on your input, my own experience to date, and the reviews I have just read, Acronis now joins that list. They are better off without me, as I would make their lives a living Hell.

I apologize for this long-winded response, but you pressed the right buttons. Again, thank you for your insights regarding the Acronis software. I have no doubt you saved us a good deal of time and money.

Sincerely,

T. Sawyer
CEO, TAS Software Innovations
President, Web Logic Group

 

Yeah. I blame the bean counters. They seem to be taking over the world. The new slogan: "Nothing personal, it's just business".

~Dave

 

I too had the same problem with scheduled tasks. That was until I used another program to "clean" my registry. Now for 32 consectutive days my differential backups have run daily. I am not saying this is a fix, but, for me it appears to be.


E. Sawyer
Virginia

 

tcas,
I wholeheartedly agree. Their "business practice" is the worst I have seen and normally I would expect users (should almost be called victims) of their software to unite and file a lawsuit.
False advertisement would be the first thing that comes to my mind, how would you call selling features that do not work, a "support" model that is useless and the inability to provide fixes for long known issues. I am almost willed to bet that there will be no fix of all the issues that make the latest version unusable but a new version 12 will be released - oh, it will only be $20 for the upgrade.... and another promise that all problems will be resolved.
The bad thing is that the other companies out there that promise great backup solutions - I personally only invested in Paragon and am more than happy to share my experience with them in case somebody is interested - aren't any better. Maybe I should not say that - they at least admit that there are problems they do not have a solution for instead of playing "dead man".

Tom

 

Acronis have definitely been working to fix this problem. See the earlier thread at:

https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showthread.php?t=192182&page=2

and specifically:

https://www.wilderssecurity.com/showpost.php?p=1189463&postcount=34

As a programmer, I have some sympathy for their position - they cannot recreate the problem, which makes debugging rather more difficult.