Retrospect only backing up Folders and .DS_Store files

[erikendswithak]

I'm doing a manual file backup through Retrospect 10.5.0.  I select the files and folders that I want to back up.  When Retrospect starts backing up, it immediately stops claiming there was only 1 file to back up that is 6kb.  There is actually 200GB to back up to LTO.  

 

Going through the Restore Assistant I can see that Retrospect has the folders and the .DS_Store files, but hasn't backed up any other files.

 

[Don Lee]

Retrospect goes to extra work to make sure that only one copy of each file resides on a given media set. You may be reading the display incorrectly, because only the .DS_Store files have *changed* and therefore need to be "backed up".

 

If the files that you are trying to back up have never been backed up to that media set, you may be seeing the "delay" caused by the "Instant restore" feature, where if you make file changes, and then IMMEDIATELY ask for a backup, you can sometimes miss the files that are changed. If you let retro work, tough, it will do the right thing.

 

"Instant scan" can be disabled, if you prefer to remove the delay, but then you have to "scan" the files at the beginning of each restore.

[Lennart_T]

As iCompute points out, the files may already be backed up (maybe from another source).

 

Apart from that, the most common reason for files not being backed up is a faulty rule. That faulty rule excludes too many files.

[erikendswithak]

Here is a screen shot of just one of the folders that I'm attempting to backup.  The backup was performed yesterday.  I have the restore assist open and the finder window showing the original files.  Restore assist shows that the folder is 6kb, and the finder window shows that same folder to be 31GB.  There are no files present in the folder.

 

I do not use any rules when I backup.  I only do manual file selection.

 

I have encountered this problem before and my only workaround was to restore the entire media set, delete the LTO tape and backup the files all together.  It was acceptable when it was only one tape.  However, this is 6TB of media spanned across 5 tapes.  I cannot afford to rebuild entire media sets for 200GB of media that won't backup.

 

 

[twickland]

 I have the restore assist open and the finder window showing the original files.  Restore assist shows that the folder is 6kb, and the finder window shows that same folder to be 31GB.  There are no files present in the folder.

What kind of restore are you performing? Are you using a point-in-time backup snapshot? 

 

 

I do not use any rules when I backup.  I only do manual file selection.

How are you achieving this? In my experience, you have to choose a rule, whether you are using the Backup Assistant or manually creating/editing a script. (The default rule is All Files.)

[erikendswithak]

What kind of restore are you performing? Are you using a point-in-time backup snapshot? 

 

 

How are you achieving this? In my experience, you have to choose a rule, whether you are using the Backup Assistant or manually creating/editing a script. (The default rule is All Files.)

 

I'm selecting "Search for files in selected media sets" restore.

 

When I'm in the Select Sources window, I select the source and then click browse.  I select the folders/files that I want to back up.  When I return to the Select Sources window, under "What type of files do you want to back up?" has automatically changed from All Files to Manual file selection.

[twickland]

When I'm in the Select Sources window, I select the source and then click browse.  I select the folders/files that I want to back up.  When I return to the Select Sources window, under "What type of files do you want to back up?" has automatically changed from All Files to Manual file selection.

I had never used this option before; it doesn't appear to be well-documented. When I tried it a couple of times as you describe, I noticed that sometimes the manual selection would not hold, and the Backup Assistant would revert to a rule when the backup actually began. In my case, it reverted to All Files. 

 

When you look in the Operations Log after performing a manual backup, what do you see? Do the number of files and their combined size look right?

 

If you go to the Media Sets window and view the Backups pane for the media set in question, is the backup displayed for the date it was performed? Is the number of files reasonable here? (Remember that any files that were previously backed up won't be included in the file count or listed when you browse the current backup.)

 

I'm selecting "Search for files in selected media sets" restore.

Exactly what selection criterion or criteria are you specifying in your search?

[erikendswithak]

I had never used this option before; it doesn't appear to be well-documented. When I tried it a couple of times as you describe, I noticed that sometimes the manual selection would not hold, and the Backup Assistant would revert to a rule when the backup actually began. In my case, it reverted to All Files. 

 

When you look in the Operations Log after performing a manual backup, what do you see? Do the number of files and their combined size look right?

 

If you go to the Media Sets window and view the Backups pane for the media set in question, is the backup displayed for the date it was performed? Is the number of files reasonable here? (Remember that any files that were previously backed up won't be included in the file count or listed when you browse the current backup.)

 

Exactly what selection criterion or criteria are you specifying in your search?

 

I haven't seen it revert back to All Files.  In the Backup Summary (right before I Start Now) it has always said: Select files and folders based on the following rule: Manual file selection.  I use this method because there is files from different projects on the same drive and I want them to remain on separate Media Sets.

 

The operation log for this particular Media Set is giving an inaccurate file size.  However, previous back ups are correct.  Every time I back up I check the Restore Assistant to make sure that all files/folders were backed up and that the file size matches.  Since I have experienced this issue before.

 

If I go to the Media Set in question and look at previous backups, it does show a log for backing up that day.  However, 0 files were backed up.

 

I'm leaving the search criteria blank, so that I can view all files/folders within the media set.  Even if I restore through Restore Entire Source Volume or Restore Selected Files, they both show that the files haven't been backed up.

[twickland]

The only reasons a file should not be backed up are that the file was backed up previously, or the selection criteria that are in use would exclude the file. The information you've provided us makes it pretty clear that neither of those reasons would apply in your case.

 

That pretty much leaves only two possibilities: that either the media set's catalog file or the Retrospect configuration file is corrupt. A corrupt catalog file seems most likely, but the fact that this has happened before suggests that maybe there is something wrong with the configuration file or possibly even the application itself.

 

Back in the days of Retro 8, we had some odd problems that were resolved by uninstalling and reinstalling both the engine and the console app, while retaining the existing configuration and catalog files. Retro 8 was a not-ready-for-primetime mess, so I'd like to think that those kinds of issues have been resolved. On the other hand, even though this is the least likely cause for your problem, it's also the easiest and least disruptive to try.

 

To check the configuration file, quit the console app and stop the engine. Drag the files Config80.dat and Config80.bak to the desktop or somewhere else safe, and restart the engine. You'll have a clean configuration at this point, so you'll need to reenter your registration code. You'll also need to go to Media Sets and click on Locate to point Retrospect to the media set in question before you can try a test backup.

 

Have you enabled fast catalog rebuild for the media set in question? If so, you would only have to insert the last tape member and rebuild the catalog from there (assuming that the problem did not appear until after this member was first written to). While not a joy, it's better than having to run through all of your tapes.