Scheduled Backups Don't Always Run

I have two Dell Computers one with 512MB and one with 1 GB RAM. Both with Win XP PRO. Both run Zone Alarm Security Suite. Both have Acronis 9 Home latest build on them. Aside from Zone Alarm and Roxio CD Writing Software and the MS Office 2000 toolbar, neither have any other extraneous (other than XP) programs running.
Both are scheduled to run an incremental backup when the computer is shut down once a day. And both are scheduled to run a full backup weekly on Friday morning. Both have a second internal hard drive for backing up to.
First, they only run the incremental backup on random days. Some days it doesn't run. Then today, Thursday, one of them ran the full backup scheduled for Friday even though the computer's clock is correct and reports it to be Thursday, June 14. This is the first time that has happened. Are there any known interferences with the scheduled incremental backups when the computer is shut down? Does anyone have a suggestion for this? On my own machine at home I have no problem with this schedule and I have a lot more background programs running.

 

Hello GTBSr,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

Could you please perform the actions described in this previous post of mine to provide us with the information about scheduled task on your computer?

In addition, please create Windows System Information as it is described in Acronis Help Post.

Then submit a request for technical support. Attach all the collected files and information to your request along with the step-by-step description of the actions taken before the problem appears and the link to this thread. We will investigate the problem and try to provide you with a solution.

Thank you.
--
Aleksandr Isakov

 

When I try to do the following:


- Download schedmgr.exe application;

- Open the command prompt (Start -> Run -> cmd);

- Run the following command in the folder the schedmgr.exe file was saved to:

schedmgr get report > schedreport.txt

- Collect schedreport.txt (do not close command prompt);

- Issue the following command:

set logflags support

- Schedule backup creation once again;

- Wait until the scheduled backup will fail;

- Collect the log file schedul2.log that is placed in the \Program Files\Common Files\Acronis\Schedule2 folder.

I get to the part about "set logflags support" highlighted above. The response I get from the cmd window is: "Environment variable logflags not defined". What am I doing wrong?

 

Since my problem is also a scheduled backup not running, I thought this was a good thread to post in.

I've had Acronis True Image 10 Home (Build 4942) installed on my laptop for many months. It's been running a weekly scheduled backup (11:55PM ever Sat.) fine during that time.

A few weeks ago I noticed that a scheduled backup was no longer being run. I ran it manually and it worked fine. I checked the Acronis services/processes (schedul2 and timounter) and they were in the "started" state. I checked the script and schedule and it looked OK (note that the script isn't even starting, so it's not an issue with a missing backup set, etc.). I rebooted the PC but it still didn't run at the scheduled time. Note that the PC is set to never go into Standby or Hibernation.

I haven't changed anything to do with ATI in the last several months. Certainly other things go on on the PC (other software installed or updated, Windows Updates, etc.). The schedul2 service does have an RPC dependency. I do have other programs on the PC (no SW firewall but Norton AntiVirus, Retrospect backup, etc.) that are running their regularly scheduled tasks OK.

I searched the forum ("schedule") and tried a few suggested items, including generating some reports ("schedmgr get report > schedreport.txt" OK, and nothing jumped out) trying & failing to create some enhanced logs ("set logflags support" didn't work, with a ""Environment variable logflags not defined" message...).

I filed a support request but after having me recheck all this and generate a System Information report, they've recommended I check for bad memory (...), create a new script, and reinstall ATI, etc.

Before I resort to memtest86 (with little likelihood of finding anything--the PC isn't failing or crashing in any other way) and a brute-force ATI reinstall, is there anything else I can try to debug as to why ATI is "suddenly" failing to run a scheduled task?

 

Were all four of the following services running:
schedul2
schedhlp
Timountermonitor
TrueImageMonitor
All four must be running for the scheduled task to work properly. I had a similar situation which I resolved with a repair install. I believe it was schedhlp.exe which was not running.
Don't dismiss bad memory yet there have been numerous cases reported here of bad memory causing issues. TI stresses memory more than most other applications.

 

I checked my system processes and Timountermonitor is not running. I have Acronis True Image 9.0. Does this make a difference? Should this be running?

 

Read this thread Timountermonitor.exe.

 

Hello bpearce2001 and GoAWest,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

Please make sure you use the latest build of Acronis True Image. To get access to updates you should first register your software.

If updating doesn't solve the problem, could you please do the following?

- Download and run schedmgr.exe application;
- Issue the following commands:

service stop
service uninstall

- Close schedmgr;
- Replace schedhlp.exe and schedul2.exe files in the C:\Program Files\Common Files\Acronis\Schedule2 folder with the files from this ZIP archive.
- Run schedmgr application once again;
- Issue the following commands:

service install
service start

- Close schedmgr;

If the problem still persists then please do the following:

- Open the command prompt (Start -> Run -> cmd);
- Run the following command in the folder the schedmgr.exe file was saved to:

schedmgr get report > schedreport.txt

- Collect schedreport.txt;
- Run Acronis Schedule Manager program (schedmgr.exe) once more;
- Issue the following command:

set logflags support

- Schedule backup creation once again;
- Wait until the scheduled backup will fail;
- Collect the log file schedul2.log that is placed in the \Program Files\Common
Files\Acronis\Schedule2 folder;

Please also create Acronis Report and Windows System Information as it is described in Acronis Help Post.

Then submit a request for technical support. Attach all the collected files and information to your request along with the step-by-step description of the actions taken before the problem appears and the link to this thread. We will investigate the problem and try to provide you with a solution.

GoAWest, could you please let us know your Acronis request number which was sent to you in autoreply to your letter? We will find out the reson for such reply. Notice that memory test is a good idea anyway.

Thank you.
--
Marat Setdikov

 

Ran a full Pass with memtest86 (1.70, CD boot) on the 2G of DDRII RAM. No errors.

Set scheduled backup for a short while from "now." Didn't launch ATI and run at the scheduled time.

Reinstalled (repair) ATI 10 4.942 and rebooted.

Set scheduled backup for short while from "now." Didn't launch ATI and run at the scheduled time.

Set scheduled backup for a short while from "now" and left Acronis GUI running. Didn't run backup at the scheduled time even thought program was running.


schedul2
schedhlp
Timountermonitor
TrueImageMonitor

Are all running (as viewed by Task Manager) and have been at each point in this process.

So it looks like Acronis has been demoted to a manual backup program and I'll have to rely on Retrospect for scheduled backups.

Acronis request number:
1047768

---------------------------------------
I'll consider taking the time to follow the procedure although I was getting a "Not in environment "logflags support*" when trying to run the "set" command.

Also note that attempts to download the ZIP file return this from the Acronis site:

Requested file not found


The file you have requested does not exist. It is possible that the link to it has expired.

 

All of these steps are getting confusing and convoluted.
My error is this:

I am suddenly unable to do an incrememental backup MANUALLY (not scheduled) because I get all the way to picking the last backup (in order to proceed to the next backup), and I get the attached error.

My last successful backup was back in February!

I am backing up /imaging to an external harddrive that still has 25Gig of room on it. That last incremental backup was only 7Gig.

What am I doing wrong, and how do I fix it?

Thanks,

Greg

 

TI runs ALL tasks as a scheduled task even when started manually. Read this thread Error 1722, the RPC Server is unavailable and follow the instructions to correct it.

 

Even if all the correct services are running, sometimes you have to delete a scheduled task and create a new on for it work. It's a mystery, so far why.

Sometimes you have to delete a backup Location and a scheduled task that refers to it and recreate both.

This seems to happen very rarely, but it can happen.

I'd make a test Backup Location, if you're using Backup Locations, and a small file backup task and make sure that things seem to be running correctly, them make the task you really want.

The problem might be due to a corrupted ATI data file or program file and rinstalling might fix things, but more often recreating the task will do and it's easier to test so test that first.

 

So I was pretty much about to give up getting ATI 10 to run scheduled tasks when I noticed Shieber's post in the forum. With nothing left to lose, I deleted the scheduled task and created a new one with the same settings(source, dest, scheduled a few minutes from "now"). And, lo & behold, it launched ATI and ran fine.

Note that this was *not* a problem with a task with faulty settings (i.e. something I changed). That task had been running fine weekly, unchanged for months, when I happened to check the logs and notice that it hadn't run in a couple of weeks. I ran it manually a couple of times before filing the report and trying to debug why it was no longer running on schedule.

So however it happened, it does point to a bug, even if only some sort of corruption that isn't reflected in the visible task settings.

 

I've pondered this too, since it's happened to me once each on two diff machines over a period of about 8 months or however long ATI 10 has been out.

I'm not sure what the case is, but I had suspicions that Zone Alarm Security Suite was causing the damage that resulted in the aberrant behavior. I just couldn't reprduce the problem at will so I never figured to out. For other reasons I have removed ZASS from all my machines so if the problem ever comes up again, we'll know it's not that.

In any event, maybe ATI needs to do a task integrity check before it tries to run a task, an alert the user if there's a prob? Hard to say sinc ethis seems to be a relatively rare prob.

 

Thanks for the info and help.

As a datapoint, I've never had Zone Alarm or any other 3rd party SW firewall loaded on the PC where ATI was giving me grief. So it's probably not the (only) culprit.