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This is horrible

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jjaylad
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Nov 18, 2013 3:05 am

This is horrible

Post by jjaylad »

I just installed Sysback free today on my HP 6850 laptop running Windows 7 64 bit with latest upgrades.
Over the years I've had various backup programs but never one that generated so many errors and wasted so much time looking at them all.
I ran the first go and got 38 errors and on examination found most were probably due to programs being open ..like Lightroom, Google Drive etc. I ran it again and the result again is "Failure", this time with Lightroom and Google Drive closed ...and it skipped 120 files and generated errors on 97. If I can't even use my computer while a backup is running, and can have no confidence in the backup ...what good is it? With a backup program "Failure" isn't an option, and having to pay for a commercial version that handles open files reeks like the free version is just a fish hook to grab us in the lip and sell us the hook extractor.
I've never had a backup program ...free or otherwise that reported such files were locked an could not be backed up. Even the awful "Backup Now EZ" that came with my Toshiba 3TB USB3 drive ...the backup I want to replace because it is extremely slow, at least gets every file and does make a mirror immage of the C drive which it updates on a user's schedule.
I've spent more time exploring the errors on Sysback Free in one day than I've ever spent exploring backup errors on any backup software over the course of 25 years of using computers. Three are so many options to choose from that anyone with less that 'programmer' status would have a difficult time interpreting them.
We just want to back up our files ...open or not. What's the problem here? I won't wipe it off the drive just yet in case there is a version problem that can be fixed with an update, but it will be very difficult for 2brightsparks to entice me into buying a commercial version of the software after experiencing the time consuming, frustrating, confidence destroying errors and backup failure so far experienced with this so highly rated software. This experience has not been good at all and I wouldn't rely on the backup produced, for a heartbeat!
Dave Wilkins
2BrightSparks Staff
2BrightSparks Staff
Posts: 131
Joined: Thu Jan 04, 2007 10:02 am

Re: This is horrible

Post by Dave Wilkins »

As already explained to you elsewhere, the free version cannot copy open/locked files. If a file cannot be copied then it would be silly to not record an error (so that you know). The free version is not an evaluation version of the commercial software. Obviously you should find software you are comfortable with - if SyncBackFree isn't suitable for you, then you are obviously free to look for/use something else.
jjaylad
Newbie
Newbie
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Nov 18, 2013 3:05 am

Re: This is horrible

Post by jjaylad »

Thanks to Dave Wilkins for responding.

I was pretty ticked and today am the same way ...not because of this, but because of trying to download an update to Irfanview and running into their 'providers' pages that are so full of links that take you anywhere but to the download I finally gave up. I felt like a trout in a tankful of fishing lures! Click Here ...takes you elswhere, Start the Download takes you elsewhere. "Download Now" started an unauthorized scan of my hard drive etc., etc. What a minefield! All of the disguise their links to make you think you are going to download the file you wanted when you clicked on the download link right on Irfanview's homepage. Just telling you this to 'frame' my state of mind. I was in a similar situation last time too after trying to get another program.

I have been letting SysBackFree run but it only gives a 'Failure' result

The last one lists 124 Critical Errors including:
C:\Users\user\AppData\Local\ElevatedDiagnostics\

A whole bunch of "Chrome" files that are listed as locked or that may have changed since the scan was run. I didn't have Chrome open (unless it was syncing in the background) at the time so don't understand why all those would fail.
Lots of files like:
\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\WebCache\V01.log
I wasn't in Adobe Lightroom at that time either and yet all these failed to back up:
11:20:08 PM \Pictures\Lightroom\Lightroom 5 Catalog Previews.lrdata\previews.db Failed to copy from Source : File is locked: C:\Users\user\Pictures\Lightroom\Lightroom 5 Catalog Previews.lrdata\previews.db
11:20:08 PM \Pictures\Lightroom\Lightroom 5 Catalog Previews.lrdata\root-pixels.db Failed to copy from Source : File is locked: C:\Users\user\Pictures\Lightroom\Lightroom 5 Catalog Previews.lrdata\root-pixels.db
11:20:08 PM \Pictures\Lightroom\Lightroom 5 Catalog.lrcat Failed to copy from Source : File is locked: C:\Users\user\Pictures\Lightroom\Lightroom 5 Catalog.lrcat

Lightroom does make its own backups ..not the photos, just the LR information about the photos and the changes made to them so not worried about those.

Because the backup result is a "failure" I'm lost on whether or not anything it backed up is trustworthy. That's the major problem I have with the program ...TRUST. If other programs would have the same results with those kinds of files and not report a "failure", why does Sysback?

That word just doesn't instill a whole lot of confidence so I really don't know what to make of the program's ability to do a backup.

Am I the only one having this issue?
Dave Wilkins
2BrightSparks Staff
2BrightSparks Staff
Posts: 131
Joined: Thu Jan 04, 2007 10:02 am

Re: This is horrible

Post by Dave Wilkins »

We report a Failure to let you know there were Errors (which we log). If you prefer software that doesn't tell you about files it couldn't copy (so you're not alerted that some files were not copied), suggest you use it.
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