Windows 7 Backup Problems

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Windows 7 Backup Problems

(19 posts)

Started 9 months ago by msc
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msc

Member
Joined: Jul '10
Posts: 60

I'm switching from XP to Win7 64 bit.

In XP, I could back up any folder with no problems.

In Win7, there is a large group of common folders such a My Docs, My Music, My Pics, My Vids, Downloads, etc. By default, they are all inside a folder named after the user (ie: Bob).

The only folders I can back up in this group is My Docs, and My Pics, presumably because they have plugins.

If I try to back up any other folder in this group, I get errors and warnings after the backup. Restore causes even more problems.

If I create my own folders inside of My Docs or My Pics, they backup fine.

Have you run into this before with Win7? If so, any suggestions?

Thanks...

Posted 9 months ago #
Admin

Administrator
Joined: Oct '08
Posts: 1,492

Hi,

What is the error message you receive?

Posted 9 months ago #
Admin

Administrator
Joined: Oct '08
Posts: 1,492

Hi,

It seems your backup destination is set to J: drive which does not exist.
Please open Backup Properties->Destination and change it to another available drive.

Posted 9 months ago #
msc

Member
Joined: Jul '10
Posts: 60

The J drive actually does exist, and I am able to backup other files and folders, including Thunderbird, Firefox, My Documents and My Pictures if I use the plugins.

The errors I sent you occur when I tried to backup My Music or My Videos (no plugins of course)

Posted 9 months ago #
Admin

Administrator
Joined: Oct '08
Posts: 1,492

Hi,

In the log file you sent us, there was a message about the J: drive not found. Please make sure it is connected when you run the backup. What is the difference between this job and the other jobs that works when backing up to J: drive?

Posted 9 months ago #
msc

Member
Joined: Jul '10
Posts: 60

I use a 32GB flash drive for Destination and it is absolutely connected. I assigned it drive letter J.

The difference is the plug-ins.

I tried to backup My Documents and My Pictures without the plug-ins, and I got the same error messages. They backup fine with the plug-ins.

Do you have a Windows 7 PC? Try backing up My Music or My Videos and see what happens.

Thanks...

Posted 9 months ago #
Admin

Administrator
Joined: Oct '08
Posts: 1,492

Hi,

The plugins only define the source files to be backed up.
The problem in your case is the destination drive.
We don't have such problems here and your details are not relevant for this problem.

Please try to create a new backup job using My Music or My Videos plugin or manually add the sources in a new backup job. Do you have the same problem?

Posted 9 months ago #
msc

Member
Joined: Jul '10
Posts: 60

The screenshot of the folder I sent you contains My Documents, My Pictures, My Music, and My Videos, as well as 9 other folders.

I can only backup My Documents and My Pictures, using the plugins. No problem.

I cannot backup My Music or My Videos by simply adding those folders to the source list. This is what gives me the errors.

I was able to find the plugin for My Music, but it says that that file must be INSIDE the My Documents folder.

The odd thing is, I cannot move any of these 13 folders. They are somehow locked in place in the factory folder. Therefore, I cannot put My Music inside of My Documents to use the plugin.

I tried using the My Music plugin with the My Music Folder outside of My Documents, but the the My Music folder turns red in the source list. It will not back up.

I don't have these problems with XP, because I have all my folders for backup inside My Documents. But as I said, Windows 7 will not let me move these folders into My Documents.

Note: If I create a new folder and name it anything besides My Music or My Videos, I CAN put it inside My Documents, and it backs up fine.

I could not find a plugin for "My Videos".

I don't believe I have any problem with the Destination drive, J. It works fine on My Documents, My Pictures, Firefox, and Thunderbird (all using plugins).

I am new to Windows 7 and don't understand what is happening. I could really use your help. I love FBackup, and really want to continue using it.

The strangest thing is that these folders cannot be moved.

Thank you very much.

Posted 9 months ago #
Admin

Administrator
Joined: Oct '08
Posts: 1,492

Hi,

You can create a new backup job and manually select the sources to be included: your music and video files from the location where you keep them on your computer.

Posted 9 months ago #
msc

Member
Joined: Jul '10
Posts: 60

That is what gives me the waring: "Could not create folder J:\"

Posted 9 months ago #
Admin

Administrator
Joined: Oct '08
Posts: 1,492

Hi,

Can you give me access to your computer?
Please send an email to info[at]fbackup[dot]com with details.

Posted 9 months ago #
Hollywood

Member
Joined: Jul '11
Posts: 5

I think the problem may be that XP uses "MY Documents" and Windows 7 has a "Users" folder. I would try to restore your backup, but choose Restore To An Alternate Location, and also an option to choose Files To Restore.

After you choose My Documents and restore the files and folders to an alternate folder, close all of the FBackup windows and open an Explorer window of C, Users, your account name, and My Documents. Then open another Explorer window of the temporary folder you restored your data to. Then drag the stuff over to the new Windows 7 Users folder.

Also, if you have folder settings in Windows 7 set to show hidden files and folders, there IS a My Documents folder off of the root like XP, but if you try to access it, you get permission denied. So maybe that the hidden folder exists (but you can not access), could be the reason your restore failed. Try as I stated above and let us know.

Hope this helps?

Posted 9 months ago #
msc

Member
Joined: Jul '10
Posts: 60

Thanks Hollywood.

I can backup and restore My Documents and My Pictures in Win7 using the FBackup plugins.

My problem is backing up My Music and My videos (no plugins). I'm getting the error/warning on the 1st BACKUP, not just the restore.

And yes, all of these folders are inside the "User" folder. The User folder does not behave like any other folder I've encountered. If you try to move a folder out of the User folder, it recreates itself inside the User folder, and you end up with duplicate folders. It tried moving My Music inside My Documents to see if it would backup without errors, and that is when I discovered this odd behavior.

I can create my own folders inside My Documents, and they backup and restore just fine, as long as they don't include the words Music or Video in the folder name. Weird...

Posted 9 months ago #
Hollywood

Member
Joined: Jul '11
Posts: 5

I don't know exactly why you are having problems, but sound like you have more then basic PC skills and know what you are doing. All I can do is show how I have it setup.

I have my C & D drive on one physical drive, and my E on another. My email and documents are saved to default locations, my iTtunes music library is on D and my (LOTS of) pictures are on my E drive.

I do not use any plugins with FBackup. I created a job to Mirror files to my U (external USB drive). I chose the Users folder and my name, but under AppData, I unchecked the Mozilla Firefox cache data. I chose the iTunes folder on D, and all of my E drive. I also set it to delete files from the target that are no longer on the source. It is scheduled to run everyday at 11 PM.

The first run took about 3 hours, but after that, it utilizes the index files it creates and takes about 3 minutes to update. The external drive has all of my backups in one folder divided by drive letter and folder name. As far as your situation, I don't store music files in My Documents\My Music, but iTunes does store my iTunes profile there and it has been properly copied to the backup.

All I can suggest is get you data restored and make your new backup job from scratch. Two other ideas are to make sure you name your drive volumes like (Name_C, Name_D, etc) so if you have to boot off of a recovery CD your drive letters might not match what they used to be. Also I would go to the Disk manager and assign your external USB a letter like U or whatever like I did so that if you add a drive, memory card, or USB stick, it wont effect the drive letter of your backup drive.

Hope this helps??

Posted 9 months ago #
msc

Member
Joined: Jul '10
Posts: 60

Problem solved.

I have no idea what was causing these warnings, but they just stopped for no apparent reason. I even did a fresh install of Windows 7 to make sure I hadn't inadvertently changed something, but it is working just fine. The solution must therefore remain a mystery.

Thank you both for your kind assistance and suggestions...

Posted 9 months ago #
Admin

Administrator
Joined: Oct '08
Posts: 1,492

Hi,

The problem is not with the restore, but with the backup. The backup log file is clear: the destination J: drive cannot be accessed.
The plugins were created to work fine on both XP and Windows 7.

Posted 9 months ago #
msc

Member
Joined: Jul '10
Posts: 60

It always worked with the plugins. It was other folders, such as My Videos, without plugins that gave me the warnings.

Posted 9 months ago #
Admin

Administrator
Joined: Oct '08
Posts: 1,492

Hi,

Are you sure that was not a shortcut to the My Videos folder?

Posted 9 months ago #
msc

Member
Joined: Jul '10
Posts: 60

I'm sure.

It is now backing up these same folders with no problem. Same destination drive too.

Well, I may never know what happened, but it's working now. Probably something I overlooked. I've been using FBackup now for some time, and was very careful in the setup.

I find Windows 7 to be a bit more temperamental than XP.

Thanks Again...

Posted 9 months ago #

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