Why do I have so many differential files?

I have TI 10 build 4.492. I created a backup location and the only limitation checked is that the max number of backups is 5 (location quota and storage period limits are both unchecked).

I do differential backups to the backup location. It appears as though the max backup limit is not working -- I have over 40 differential backups.

What's going on here?

 

I don't use TI10 or backup locations but I am guessing that a differential is just part of the backup it is based on and so a full and any number of differentials is just 1 backup. Check the user-guide for possibly more info on this or hopefully, somebody else will have the answer.

 

You may be right in your interpretation -- does anyone know for sure? The user guide is pretty lame, IMO (I'm a programmer and find the TI user guide unusually bad for a utility type program)

 

Hello David07666,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Backup software.

When the program checks for the quota violation it counts each backup (no matter full, differential or incremental) separately so in your case Acronis True Image should have start consolidation process before the fifth differential was created. So something went wrong. In order to find the reason why this happened please tell us where (the folder on the internal drive, network share, etc) the Backup Location is organized (the possible way of issue fixing depends crucially on this).

Thank you
--
Nikita Sakharov

 

Thanks Nikita. The backup location is on my USB drive (mapped as F, specifically, F:\David Backup Location\. Here is the info from the log:

Create Differential Backup Archive
From:C:\Documents and Settings\David Bland\My Documents\...
To file:"F:\David Backup Location\DavidMyDocumentsBackup.tib"
Compression:Maximum
Exclude:Files matching mask
Match criterion:*.bak, *.~, *.tmp,

I have exactly the same issue with another backup task for my wife's documents:

Create Differential Backup Archive
From:C:\Documents and Settings\Susan Lesh\My Documents\
To file:"F:\Susan Backup Location\SusanMyDocumentsBackup.tib"
Compression:Maximum
Exclude:Files matching mask
Match criterion:*.bak, *.~, *.tmp,

 

Nikita?

 

Hello David07666,

Thank you for your answer and please accept my apologies for the delay with the response.

The possible reason of the issue can be that when you scheduled task the destination backup place you have chosen was not one from the Backup Locations list but just the folder representing it. So please create a test task - no matter what backup type you choose - and choose to save it in the Backup Location from the corresponding list in the top part of Backup Archive Location window. Then please run the task several time to check if the quotas are violated.

As you used "mapped" term saying about USB drive you use to keep backups let me clarify whether you use USB connection to plug your external drive to the computer or you use network cable to connect external drive (some of the drives have both USB and Ethernet interface) and map it as a network folder?

Thank you
--
Nikita Sakharov

 

When I say "mapped" I did not mean to say that it's a network location that I mapped to my F: drive, I just meant it's a USB drive that got assigned to f:

I've checked and double checked that I specified the backup locations correctly but agree with you that that must be the problem -- so I will try it again. It would not be the first time that I've made that mistake (maybe you should change the UI in future releases to make it harder to make this mistake).

I'll let you know what happens

 

You were right, I had not selected it from the Backup Locations location, my (embarrasing) mistake

 

Don't feel like the Lone Ranger. A number of us have made that mistake the first time out the gate with Backup Locations. Enough threads to knit a sweater

Plain and simple, it's just not intuitive that two different references in a single directory tree and to the very same locations would be the same yet diff. Maybe Acronis will adjust ATI so that it reads/treats two references in a directory tree as a Backup Location if the actual referent is a Backup Location. Or better, just have one reference in a Driectory tree to a single location and mark the reference with a flag or bodface or whatver instead of having two diff refernces in one Tree.

 

Hello David07666 and shieber,

Many thanks for your answers.

Graphical User Interface will be changed in the next version of the program and probably it'll be arranged in such a way that it'll be easier to choose Backup Locations correctly. I'd recommend you to post in wish-list thread in order to pay our GUI Developers' attention to the problem.

Thank you
--
Nikita Sakharov

 

I did as you suggested and posted a msg in the wish list

thanks