rbahra Posted May 12, 2004 Report Share Posted May 12, 2004 Help! I'm continually having crashing or disk writing problems with Retro Prof. 6.5 on a Win2k PC. Backing up a 1-2 Gb subvolume is usually fine but backing up larger amounts, like the 12Gb partition that I have problems with, fails 90% of the time. I'm at the point where I will have to abandon Retrospect unless I can sort out the problem. The PC is Win2k, dual pentium III, HPT370 RAID 0 set up backing up to a Maxtor Onetouch USB hard disk, using Retrospect Prof. 6.5 up to the latest 350 release. The backup fails mostly with a complete system freeze at a random point (usually after a few Gb have been backed up), requiring a PC switch off/on, or if it (rarely) gets to the verification stage, lots of "[backup set name] error -102 (trouble communicating)" errors in the log and lots of Windows messages about problems writing to the Maxtor volume resulting in data loss. Even when I tried to backup via another PC with the Win2k PC in client mode, the *client PC* hung and Retrospect on the backup PC gives a network read error and stops! I tested backing up the parition uaing the standard Win2k backup facility and other (simpler) backup software and these worked fine. Therefore, it does seem to be specfic to the Retrospect software. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
natew Posted May 17, 2004 Report Share Posted May 17, 2004 Hi My first guess is that the USB2 controller or driver is causing problems. Mine is a royal pain in the neck.... Can you try backing up via firewire or USB1.1 to see if the problems continue? I have found it to be far more reliable. Thanks Nate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaikow Posted May 17, 2004 Report Share Posted May 17, 2004 What other software is running/enabled whilst you do the backup? First, make sure your AV software is disabled. See if that makes a difference. Next, exit from services running in the Systen tray, e.g., scanner software, SQL server, CD recording software, fax software. See if that makes a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rbahra Posted May 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted May 18, 2004 Thanks for the suggestions. However I don't these solve the problems. I've only recently moved the Maxtor to a USB2 port. When it was on a USB1.1, I never got the -102 writing error, but the system freeze happened 100% of the time! As the freeze generally happens after a few hours I put this down to the fact that as the backup takes up to 5 hrs longer with a USB1.1 connection, it has more time in which to hang! With the USB1.1 connection it always used to freeze, but with a USB2 connection it freezes about 25% of the time and for 75% of the time the backup gets to the verification stage before the -102 errors start. I've tried backing up after disabling as many system tray processes as I could, but with no difference. Also, I'm backing up two partitions separately, one of which contains about 12Gb of data files and no system or application files. So, I don't think that it's an open file type of issue. In a posting somweher else in the forum I remember reading that older RAID controllers can give problems? I do not have the latest RAID drivers as this means having to upgrade the system BIOS first. I am very reluctant to do this in case it causes problems on the PC (the PC is critical to my work). So, I will only consider as a very, very last resort. My other option is to use different software that does work, but none matches the excellent functionality of Retrospective Professional. I would be grateful if anyone has any more suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaikow Posted May 19, 2004 Report Share Posted May 19, 2004 Quote: Thanks for the suggestions. However I don't these solve the problems. I've only recently moved the Maxtor to a USB2 port. When it was on a USB1.1, I never got the -102 writing error, but the system freeze happened 100% of the time! As the freeze generally happens after a few hours I put this down to the fact that as the backup takes up to 5 hrs longer with a USB1.1 connection, it has more time in which to hang! With the USB1.1 connection it always used to freeze, but with a USB2 connection it freezes about 25% of the time and for 75% of the time the backup gets to the verification stage before the -102 errors start. I've tried backing up after disabling as many system tray processes as I could, but with no difference. Also, I'm backing up two partitions separately, one of which contains about 12Gb of data files and no system or application files. So, I don't think that it's an open file type of issue. In a posting somweher else in the forum I remember reading that older RAID controllers can give problems? I do not have the latest RAID drivers as this means having to upgrade the system BIOS first. I am very reluctant to do this in case it causes problems on the PC (the PC is critical to my work). So, I will only consider as a very, very last resort. My other option is to use different software that does work, but none matches the excellent functionality of Retrospective Professional. I would be grateful if anyone has any more suggestions. I too have an external Maxtor USB drive (the 5000LE) and it is connected to an Adaptec USB 2 card because the mobo has only USB 1.1. I did not install the Maxtor software, as that is not needed unless one wishes to play with the one-touch button (which I find to be of little/no use). Also, I use Disk backup sets, not File backup sets, on the Maxtor drives. Sew, I would suggest: 1. Get rid of the Maxtor drivers and see if that makes a difference. 2. Is the USB 2 port on a separate card, or is it on the mobo? In either case, make sure that the correct USB drivers are installed. 3. Verify that the USB port is good. Do you have another USB device you can connect to the port as a test? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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