Managing Managed Directories

ONe of my favorite features in ATI 10 is the managed directories. Today I created a new directory on an internal disk, made it a managed location with size and file number limits. Then changed the destination of an existing scheduled task from an prior existing Backup location to the new Backup Location.

I ran some backups with the task only to discover that the limits didn't function. Every time I ran the task, it just added another tib file. I tried deleting and recreating directories, rules, and tasks, the works, nothing helped. Finally I had to uninstall, scrub the registery, and delete the remainder ATI directories that ATI uninstall leaves behind. Then I reinstalled ATI 10, created directories, set limits, and created a new task. It appears to be working so far. But no idea what went wrong or why.

 

Hello shieber,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

We are sorry for the delayed response.

Please be aware that we have not heard about such issue of Acronis True Image 10.0 Home before and so we would like to investigate this one with your assistance, if you have time for this of course.

If you could reproduce the issue and collect the log file from Acronis True Image 10.0 Home that contains the last backup creation operation to the backup location (the one when limits did not accomplish), we would be able to investigate the issue and try to provide you with a solution.

Please submit a request for technical support and 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.

Thank you.
--
Aleksandr Isakov

 

I just came across the same issue, looking at the logs it seems like the rules aren't being checked, and my rule for top 4 images at 11GB is being ignored while a forth image is being created, then i get an out of free space error. i tried deleting the cfg file at my backup locations, deleting the backup locations via the wizard, and or redefining it, nothing worked. repair install didn't as well, only full install and reinstall seems to have solved it for now.

 

In my case the log showed that the rules were being checked but no violations were detected. I didn't have time to research the possible causes; it was faster to just do a triple scrub and reinstall ATI10, which fixed the prob.

sh

 

It just happened to me again, ignoring the rules of backup locations, creating a new image and running out of space. again install and reinstall solves this., what is interesting is that restoring an older image doesn't help, you have to reinstall.

 

Probably whatever is mucked up is in the backup image as well as the source disk.

I don't know if this is relevant to your case but note that when you backup up to a size-managed directory, you need to have enough room for the number of fiels you want plus one more. ATI creates a new backup before deleting any previous backup. Suppose your limit is 2 backup files. After the second is made, the next time it makes a backup, it will make a third, and when done, then delete the oldest of the other 2 backups. This ensures that you don't lose a backup file if something goes wrong with the backup process while making the next backup. But there has to be enough space on the drive for that third backup while it is being made.

 

Yes i coughed on to that in the last hiccup, just hope it would be sorted by a new build already.

 

Sorted? Doesn't seem like something wrong that should be changed.

The alternative is to delete backup files before you can ensure that a new one can replace it? That doesn't sound like a secure protocol. I can see having that as an optional setting, perhaps, but not as a default or sole setting -- after all, security and data integrity have to come first. The power could go out, there could be ahardware failure of various sorts that could cause a backup in progress to be whacked -- in which case, I'd like to know that the existing backups aren't damaged just because I started another backup. Or so it seems to me.

 

Shieber - You seem to be a very knowledgeable user. Maybe you can help here.

I am starting to write a batch script to delete the previous differential backup each time a new one is created. Each backup (*.tib) file is incremented by 1 (e.g., D DRIVE BACKUP.tib, then D DRIVE BACKUP2.tib, then D DRIVE BACKUP3.tib). What variable holds the number of the current backup? In other words, how do I tell the script which b/u file to delete?

I hope the question makes sense. I appreciate you taking a look at this.

Of course I would be happy to hear from anyone who sees this and knows the answer.

Eliot

 

I think you have gotten one answer in another thread that might help you. I'm not really profficient at batch files -- the only time I used them in the last few years was with ATI7, ATI8, and ATI9. With the advent of ATI10, I can skip using batch files to manage my backups and just use ATI.

However, you should be able to output a directory listing sorted by date and create your own variable with the set command using the filename and then use reference to that variable as the filename in the delete command.


sh

 

Sorry i wasn't clear, i was referring to the bug where the rules are ignored and you are forced to reinstall.

 

My experience with this problem, and it showed up on several PCs, is that a simple reinstall was insufficient. Doing an uninstall, clenaing the registry, and deleting the Acronis directories under Program Files\ and Program File\Common Files, then reinstalling solved the problem in each case. I suspect that the security software was interfering with the install/uninstall routines in some small but significant way.

The PCs that had ZoneAlarm Security Suite each had the problem, and those that did not have ZASS did not have the problem -- on those non-ZASS machines installing over the prior (ATI9) worked just fine. All the PCs in question were Pentium 5 machines of various makes and the only thing I can think of that the problem machines had in common was the ZASS, which, btw, has casued me many fewer probs than Norton Internet Security, which I previously had used for many years.
sh