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Unusual Issue with Macrium Reflect failing to backup files and folders
Windows 10 Pro: 22Hs (OS Build 19045.4291)
I belive I may have encountered an unhandled exception where Macrium Reflect doesn't create a backup full/diff or Incremental.
I have set up scheduled backups to run, and as long as I am online, they will run. However, I do not like leaving my computer unattended online, especially when it will take several hours to complete a backup.
My solution is to disable the NIC. Unfortunately, when I do this, Scheduled backups indicate a successful backup, but no logs or backup files are created.
I've been working with support for almost a month to resolve this issue. Macrium says that it will make offline backups. But, I've only found this is true under one condition.
NIC enabled, Router OFF will create a backup successfully
NIC disabled fails to create a backup.
I would turn my router off after I'm done for the day, but it would shut down the rest of the house. Did I mention I'm a home user (but one with a lifetime of experience... I'm 70 and have been coding and using computers since I was 16.) ;-)
I prefer to just disable the NIC, but all Macrium's backup does is annotate the scheduled backup as successful, and in History, it creates two entries, START and FINISH, with the same time stamps. IOW, precisely the same date and time for start and finish. IOW, 0 minutes long. IOW No backup, no logs, no saved files.
Their support is stumped. But I think this is an unhandled exception: It's not creating errors but just dropping out of the process and finishing the backup without doing anything except creating a start and finish time stamp in the History and marking it as a successful backup. A fundamental problem is if people took that successful backup for what it claims and appears to be, and not what it is.
I'm waiting to hear back and have given them what I think will allow them to duplicate my issue. But, after a month, I'm incredibly frustrated.
I hope someone here has seen this before or might be interested in helping me test my hypothesis. IOW, can I get help in someone else duplicating this?
Automatic backups fail if the NIC is disabled.
Manual backups fail if 1. Start Macrium Reflect online (for authentication).
disable NIC
Run a scheduled backup by right-clicking and running it manually (I use an incremental, short, and sweet, but I don't think it will make a difference.)
It took me almost 3 weeks to get them to understand I couldn't file a support request report and send them logs and files because when it fails, it doesn't make any.
They have me trying to grab crash reports with Microsoft's DebugDiag2 collection. I get nothing; it's not throwing errors; it's just not doing anything except, as I said above, marking the scheduled backup as successful and making start/finish entries in History.
At this point, I think only getting them to try my steps to duplicate the bug or using Process Monitor to find where it steps out of the process might be the only way to solve this issue. (sigh) I think my having a conversation with their coder will do wonders.
Or, find another backup software. But, if I didn't like the features in Macrium Reflect, I would do that. But I've already put a lot of hours into trying and solving their (cough) *my* problem.
What is the difference between success and failure? IOW, what is the difference between:
1. Leaving the NIC enabled and turning off the router to go offline; and,
2. Disabling the NIC and leaving the router online(sic)?
Both result in being offline. But, 1. Makes a backup and 2. fails w/o a backup.
Thanks for any help or consolation! ;-)
Chip