elem.cpp-993 problem in Express 2.5.113

[jez]

Hi

I have a 2TB drive, the backups take up about 1TB and there are 800GB free. I'm running Vista and Retrospect Express HD 2.5.113.

There are about 300 restore points.

Whenever it tries to reclaim disk space it asserts at elem.cpp-993.

I have seen this referenced in the release logs for Retrospect version 7, as a bug to do with pruning.

To try to get mine working, I have removed and rebuilt the catalogue (which takes about 12 hours) and it still asserts at the same place. I have tried this twice, with suitable reboots to make sure it rebuilt it correctly.

I have re-installed the software and that also didn't help.

I am doing the pruning because I know from past experience that if I don't prune it now, it will die horribly when the disk gets too full.

Is there any way to get my backup system working correctly again?

Does the full retrospect work with the backup files from Express HD?

Thanks

Jeremy

 

[rhwalker]

Is there any way to get my backup system working correctly again?

One suggestion to try would be to "Transfer" this backup set to a new backup set ("Transfer" command) in case the problem is with the backup set itself. Of course, you would need space for the old and new backup sets to do the transfer, and it's unclear from your problem statement ("about 1 TB") whether you have room to do this.

 

I've never used the "Express" version of Retrospect, only the full version, so I don't know if the "Express" version has the Transfer command that the full version does. But you might try a "trial" version of the full Retrospect to see if it can repair this issue and let you get going, then fall back to the Express version. The full version is more robust and has been updated more recently than the Express version.

 

Does the full retrospect work with the backup files from Express HD?

Yes, it just has more options / capabilities. The catalog and backup set format is the same (well, for same vintage; Retrospect 7.7 has a slightly different format and you can't go back to Retrospect 7.6 once 7.7 has had its way with the backup set).

 

Russ

[jez]

Well, I have gone ahead and bought the full Retrospect 7.7...

 

I have to say - its a really _extremely_ unnecessarily confusing product - talk about making an easy task into something impossible.

 

So in my old setup for Retrospect Express HD it was nicely backing up my C drive, except for 3 folders I had excluded. Apart from the bugs that made it crash when grooming, it would have been fine, but EMC appear to have stopped updating the Express HD version...

 

In Retrospect it seems next to impossible to do this simple backup task nicely.

 

The whole volume thing in the full version - its next to incomprehensible (and I have a maths and computing degree and 25 years in the software industry).

 

The problem is that whatever I define, if I add a new folder at the top level of my C drive, then it isn't included in the backup. With Express HD, new folders automatically were added in, so nothing was missed.

 

It looks as if the only way to do it is define a Volume, C:, and then go into the even more esoteric world of Selectors and set up some exclusions to eliminate the folders I do not want to back up.

 

To to this I think I have to duplicate the selector 'All Files Except Cache Files' and then add in the folder exclusions as paths starting with and also exclude with things like System Volume Information.

 

Please - there must be an easier way?

 

As an aside - the documentation is truly terrible.

 

Also, the wizard to make a script is useless - backing up some folders on a computers - that is mainstream backup, but the wizard offers no help whatsoever - it is either back up a drive, or it throws you into the volume hell.

 

Also - their grooming method - keep last few days, last few weeks, and a monthly - is there any way to edit that? I want to keep the last 120 days, then weekly from before that - seems like I have to do a manual prune to do this?

 

Also - why on earth didn't they think of a better name for things than folders and volumes - at least prefix them with something to indicate they are not real folders.

 

I really wanted to not lose my backup history, which is why I got the full version - and that would work - but to be honest I really feel like just ditching the product.

 

Sorry this is a rant, but I am really disillusioned. Having to waste hours of time and more money, because of a bug in a broken product is not my idea of fun. Its obvious now that there was a good reason to make the Express HD version - if EMC want to play in the consumer arena they need to do it with a solid product, not a cut down broken version they don't update.

 

Anyway, please could you let me know if there is there an easy way to set up Retrospect to just back up a drive, and miss out some folders I don't want to back up, and automatically include any new top level folders I make?

Edited May 9, 2010 by Guest

[rhwalker]

Anyway, please could you let me know if there is there an easy way to set up Retrospect to just back up a drive, and miss out some folders I don't want to back up, and automatically include any new top level folders I make?

That's very straightforward. Have you taken a look at the tutorials?

 

See the navigation bar at the top of each of these forum windows, choose "Support Resources > TUTORIALS".

 

Russ

[jez]

Do you mean the tutorial with title

 

"Excluding Files or folders with Retrospect"

 

I cannot find anything else relevant to excluding some folders, and in my post, I already had found what is relevant in the tutorial.

 

1. Such a basic behaviour should be implemented the same way in Professional as in Express HD - its bread and butter functionality, not sdomet

 

2. The tutorial forgets to say that you will then be backing up EVERYTHING except what you exclude, including temporary internet files etc. You have to also exclude these (as I said).

 

This is a really messy unpleasant piece of interface to implement something very simple.

 

3. The 'private files' option is useless - I have my folders already, and I do not want to rename the things I do not want to back up, and change the things that depend on those folder names.

 

4. The 'easy' option in the tutorial is Mac specific and I am on PC.

 

And the whole reason for trying Professional turns out to be useless anyway (to get functioning grooming) - I tried using the Grooming feature and it failed, also in elem.cpp, just at line 1091.

 

And yes, I have rebuilt the catalogue in 7.7 as well, twice now - and I ave plenty of disk space free.

 

I used to think Retrospect was the bees knees, but it turns out its long lost that accolade - maybe something to do with EMC, which I now know stands for 'Everything Made Complicated'...