Results of testing user commands in build 2323

I have been testing pre/post commands since 2277; for details see here and here.

With build 2323 I find:

• Pre and post commands of type .bat and .exe are correctly invoked.
• They are correctly passed arguments specified in the setup dialog
• Their return status is correctly recorded in the log.

In addition, Shraddhan noted:

I didn't attempt to test this setup, but I see in the log that the pre command is spawned immediately after the task starts, and before the "Analyzing partition..." messages, so maybe this is okay too.

There is one problem remaining. Actually you might say "one problem introduced", because this feature worked correctly in builds 2277 and 2289. In those builds if the command returned a non-zero status TI would (correctly) interpret this as failure and would not continue the operation. In the current build the return status is noted in the log but the command is always logged as "succeeded" and the operation always continues.

So the main issue is this: there is no way for a pre-backup command to abort the backup.

 

Hello MKairys,

Thank you for choosing Acronis Disk Backup Software.

We appreciate your collaboration on this matter.

Could you please provide me with the more detailed information on the problem?

- What operating system you use?

- What exact commands have you tried to perform?

- Provide the exact text of the batch files you tested, if possible;

- How exactly did you find out that the non-zero status is "noted in the log but the command is always logged as "succeeded" and the operation always continues"?

- Describe actions taken before the problem appears step-by-step.

As soon as I'll receive this information, I'll forward it to our Testing Team and they will certainly do their best in order to find out the reason for this problem.

Thank you.
--
Alexey Popov

 

- What operating system you use?

Windows XP Pro SP2

- What exact commands have you tried to perform?
- Provide the exact text of the batch files you tested, if possible;

A batch file and a compiled program. Results were similar so I will discuss the batch file example.

The backup task created a file/folder backup C:\test.tib from two files C:\test1.txt, test2.txt. It included a pre-backup command C:\test.bat with the argument hello.

The batch file contained:

echo Arg is '%1'
pause
exit 0

On execution of the backup task I would see the command prompt window come up and ask for a key, after which the task would complete.I tried various exit codes as described.

- How exactly did you find out that the non-zero status is "noted in the log but the command is always logged as "succeeded" and the operation always continues"?

Um, I looked in the log. Here is an extract from the entry when the batch file exited with "0":

Code:

<event code="1024" id="3" message="Spawn process has exited with code 0" module="1" time="1134390486" type="2" />
<event code="134" id="4" message="Execution of user command succeeded: c:\test.bat " module="100" time="1134390486" type="2" />

... and here when it exited with "2":

Code:

<event code="1024" id="3" message="Spawn process has exited with code 2" module="1" time="1134390438" type="2" />
<event code="134" id="4" message="Execution of user command succeeded: c:\test.bat " module="100" time="1134390438" type="2" />

- Describe actions taken before the problem appears step-by-step.

I don't really know what else I can say. If there is some detail I have omitted please ask...

 

Hi,

I noticed my name mentioned here.

I have been quoted out of context. My comments about any problems with the pre/post commands were to do with build 2302, or whatever the previous one was, and do not apply to the current build, 2323.

I have been using build 2323 with my pre/post commands with no problems. One command checks whether my external USB drive is powered up, and if not, it does an annoying beep on the hardware beeper until the USB drive is accessible. When this program exits, TI9 can then proceed with doing a backup.

The other command is run after making a small file/folder backup of the files I work on most, to rename the backup file so that I get a new backup file each time.

With build 2323, both commands work well, and I am much pleased.

Shraddhan

 

Hello MKairys,

Thank you very much for all the provided information.

I have forwarded this issue to our Development Team and they will certainly do their best in order to investigate and fix it as soon as possible.

I'll let you know when the fixed build will be available.

Please accept our apologies for the current inconvenience.

Thank you.
--
Alexey Popov

 

Hello MKairys,

I'm glad to inform you that this problem has been investigated and fixed. The fix will be implemented in the next build of Acronis True Image 9.0 which will be available in the Product Updates section of our web site in the near future.

If you have any further questions please feel free to ask.

Thank you.
--
Alexey Popov