Retrospect Express 6.0: "Please select the Backup Set member" window

[rmccallu]

I'm doing a backup with Express 6.0 on one of my computers and, after taking quite a while and making lots of .rdb files on my backup device, I get a window with the following message:

 

Backup Set C

Please select the Backup Set member:

Name: 1-Backup Set C on HomeBackup

If disk is unavailable, please click Choices.

 

What is this about?

 

It sounds like it is asking for another backup device. But the backup device (a Maxtor OneTouch - one of the original ones) is nowhere near full.

 

This worked just fine for a couple of years until yesterday. What did I do yesterday? In a rare moment of rash action I decided to delete all of my Restrospect-related directories on my backup device and start again (I don't really need the old stuff). I pressed the 'OneTouch' button on the Maxtor, and nothing happened. So I decided to remove and reinstall the Maxtor software and Retrospect Express. This seemed to do the trick - the OneTouch button started working again. But then, after apparently completeing part of the backup, I get this message.

 

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Here's the exact sequence of steps that I perform to do the backup:

 

1. Press Maxtor OneTouch button.

This launches the 'Maxtor OneTouch' script.

The script scans the C drive then starts backing it up.

Takes quite a while - half an hour or so, with the 'Remaining' number getting smaller and the 'Completed' number getting bigger all the while.

But then the 'Remaining' number jumps back to 15.8 GB (where it started) and Completed jumps back to 'zero KB', and another window pops up:

 

Backup Set C (I named the backup set after the disk partition letter)

Please select the Backup Set member:

Name: 1-Backup Set C on HomeBackup

If disk is unavailable, please click Choices.

 

The Backup Set already has one member configured: 1-Backup Set C on HomeBackup

 

The destination device has almost 100 GB free.

The source partition has around 19 GB of stuff to be backed up.

 

2. If I click 'Choices' I get to choose between:

Missing: Ignore this member, execution will resume with the next member

or

Browse: Browse for the missing file or choose the next available file

 

Is it telling me that there is a file missing?

 

My backup (dest) device has been busily creating .rdb files for the last half hour under G:\Backups\Retrospect\Backup Set C\1-Backup Set C (My backup set's only member has path G:\Backups).

 

Regards,

 

Rob

[Mayoff]

When this happens, are you able to open the disk and view it's contents from within Windows?

 

Sounds like a disk communication issue or maybe corruption to the backup itself.

 

Can you do a verify from the tools menu?

[rmccallu]

Yes, the disk's contents are visible in Windows. Also the disk can be written okay (the backup creates the .rdb files) so I don't think communications is an issue. Verify, like backup, works through the backup and then pops up the same window asking for the backup set member.

 

Actually I think I have worked around this problem: Somebody on another forum (Professional) had the same message; you advised him to rebuild his catalogue; I tried that but the rebuild failed, telling me my volume didn't contain a recognizable backup (probably because I quit out of the backup when I got the original problem). Anyhow this got me thinking that maybe the backup and the catalogue file were in some way out of sync with each other. So I deleted the backup data files (I can afford to do that since I already threw away my old backups) and the catalogue file. I then ran another backup with a new backup set and it got to the end without that message.

 

So my advice to anyone who wants to delete their old backup set and start over with a new one, is to also delete the old catalogue file.

 

Regards,

 

Rob