Windows Backup stopped working

[T. Wise]

I'm running Windows XP Pro (SP2) and have always used Windows' Backup
Utility without a problem. For the last week or so, however, it hasn't
worked. It will start a backup, then quit, saying "Completed with skipped
files".

Today, it worked for 1 second then quit, saying it couldn't find the C:
drive. The weird thing is, other backup programs (Retropsect, BounceBack)
work fine, and copy everything without a problem. So this seems to be a
problem limited just to Windows Backup Utility.

Here's today's log:

Backup Status
Operation: Backup
Active backup destination: File
Media name: "2007-01-13 weekly.bkf created 1/13/2007 at 1:32 PM"
Backup (via shadow copy) of "C: "
Backup set #1 on media #1
Backup description: "Set created 1/13/2007 at 1:32 PM"
Media name: "2007-01-13 weekly.bkf created 1/13/2007 at 1:32 PM"
Backup Type: Normal
Backup started on 1/13/2007 at 1:33 PM.
Warning: Unable to open "C:\" - skipped.
Reason: The system cannot find the path specified.
Backup completed on 1/13/2007 at 1:33 PM.
Directories: 0
Files: 0
Bytes: 0
Time: 1 second

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I'm running Windows XP Pro (SP2) and have always used Windows' Backup
Utility without a problem. For the last week or so, however, it hasn't
worked. It will start a backup, then quit, saying "Completed with skipped
files".

Today, it worked for 1 second then quit, saying it couldn't find the C:
drive. The weird thing is, other backup programs (Retropsect, BounceBack)
work fine, and copy everything without a problem. So this seems to be a
problem limited just to Windows Backup Utility.

Here's today's log:

Backup Status
Operation: Backup
Active backup destination: File
Media name: "2007-01-13 weekly.bkf created 1/13/2007 at 1:32 PM"
Backup (via shadow copy) of "C: "
Backup set #1 on media #1
Backup description: "Set created 1/13/2007 at 1:32 PM"
Media name: "2007-01-13 weekly.bkf created 1/13/2007 at 1:32 PM"
Backup Type: Normal
Backup started on 1/13/2007 at 1:33 PM.
Warning: Unable to open "C:\" - skipped.
Reason: The system cannot find the path specified.
Backup completed on 1/13/2007 at 1:33 PM.
Directories: 0
Files: 0
Bytes: 0
Time: 1 second

You might have a serious disk problem. Check the Event Viewer
and run chkdsk.exe /F after backing up your important data files.

 

[Poprivet]

I'm running Windows XP Pro (SP2) and have always used Windows' Backup
Utility without a problem. For the last week or so, however, it
hasn't worked. It will start a backup, then quit, saying "Completed
with skipped files".

Today, it worked for 1 second then quit, saying it couldn't find the
C: drive. The weird thing is, other backup programs (Retropsect,
BounceBack) work fine, and copy everything without a problem. So
this seems to be a problem limited just to Windows Backup Utility.

Here's today's log:

Backup Status
Operation: Backup
Active backup destination: File
Media name: "2007-01-13 weekly.bkf created 1/13/2007 at 1:32 PM"
Backup (via shadow copy) of "C: "
Backup set #1 on media #1
Backup description: "Set created 1/13/2007 at 1:32 PM"
Media name: "2007-01-13 weekly.bkf created 1/13/2007 at 1:32 PM"
Backup Type: Normal
Backup started on 1/13/2007 at 1:33 PM.
Warning: Unable to open "C:\" - skipped.
Reason: The system cannot find the path specified.
Backup completed on 1/13/2007 at 1:33 PM.
Directories: 0
Files: 0
Bytes: 0
Time: 1 second

Interesting. I see one person suggested a serious disk problem, but I'm not
so sure based on your comments. However, the advice to run chkdsk and look
in Event Viewer for errors was reasonable, especially chkdsk.

If chkdsk is OK, I'd suggest creating another backup job and see if that
works; perhaps the existing one is corrupted for some reason.

BTW chkdsk can't run on the C: drive; it'll ask you if you want to run it on
at the next boot; say yes and reboot.

Pop`

 

[T. Wise]

Interesting. I see one person suggested a serious disk problem, but I'm
not so sure based on your comments. However, the advice to run chkdsk and
look in Event Viewer for errors was reasonable, especially chkdsk.

If chkdsk is OK, I'd suggest creating another backup job and see if that
works; perhaps the existing one is corrupted for some reason.

BTW chkdsk can't run on the C: drive; it'll ask you if you want to run it
on at the next boot; say yes and reboot.

Pop`

Well, chkdsk is okay. I'm pretty certain I don't have a disk problem, as
everything else works fine, and other backup programs backup perfectly. So
I tried creating a new backup job, and it stopped yet again, this time
citing different files as the problem. Here's the log:

Backup Status
Operation: Backup
Active backup destination: File
Media name: "test bu.bkf created 1/14/2007 at 2:25 PM"

Backup (via shadow copy) of "C: "
Backup set #1 on media #1
Backup description: "Set created 1/14/2007 at 2:25 PM"
Media name: "test bu.bkf created 1/14/2007 at 2:25 PM"

Backup Type: Normal

Backup started on 1/14/2007 at 2:26 PM.
WARNING: Portions of "\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application
Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\4.0\Organizer\Graphics\costumes\shirt08.png"
cannot be read. The backed up data is corrupt or incomplete.
This file will not restore correctly.
WARNING: Portions of "\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application
Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\4.0\Organizer\Graphics\costumes\shirt09.png"
cannot be read. The backed up data is corrupt or incomplete.
This file will not restore correctly.
Warning: Unable to open "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application
Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\4.0\Organizer\Graphics\costumes\tie01.png" -
skipped.
Reason: The system cannot find the file specified.

Warning: Unable to open "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application
Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\4.0\Organizer\Graphics\costumes\tie02.png" -
skipped.
Reason: The system cannot find the file specified.

Warning: Unable to open "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application
Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\4.0\Organizer\Graphics\costumes\tie03.png" -
skipped.
Reason: The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not access portions of directory C:\Documents and Settings\All
Users\Application Data\Adobe\Photoshop
Elements\4.0\Organizer\Graphics\costumes.
You may not have permission to open the file, or the directory may be
missing or damaged.
Please contact the owner or administrator.

Backup completed on 1/14/2007 at 2:30 PM.
Directories: 323
Files: 6956
Corrupt: 2
Bytes: 1,273,238,393
Time: 4 minutes and 26 seconds

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Well, chkdsk is okay. I'm pretty certain I don't have a disk problem, as
everything else works fine, and other backup programs backup perfectly. So
I tried creating a new backup job, and it stopped yet again, this time
citing different files as the problem. Here's the log:

Backup Status
Operation: Backup
Active backup destination: File
Media name: "test bu.bkf created 1/14/2007 at 2:25 PM"

Backup (via shadow copy) of "C: "
Backup set #1 on media #1
Backup description: "Set created 1/14/2007 at 2:25 PM"
Media name: "test bu.bkf created 1/14/2007 at 2:25 PM"

Backup Type: Normal

Backup started on 1/14/2007 at 2:26 PM.
WARNING: Portions of "\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application
Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\4.0\Organizer\Graphics\costumes\shirt08.png"
cannot be read. The backed up data is corrupt or incomplete.
This file will not restore correctly.
WARNING: Portions of "\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application
Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\4.0\Organizer\Graphics\costumes\shirt09.png"
cannot be read. The backed up data is corrupt or incomplete.
This file will not restore correctly.
Warning: Unable to open "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application
Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\4.0\Organizer\Graphics\costumes\tie01.png" -
skipped.
Reason: The system cannot find the file specified.

Warning: Unable to open "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application
Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\4.0\Organizer\Graphics\costumes\tie02.png" -
skipped.
Reason: The system cannot find the file specified.

Warning: Unable to open "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application
Data\Adobe\Photoshop Elements\4.0\Organizer\Graphics\costumes\tie03.png" -
skipped.
Reason: The system cannot find the file specified.

Could not access portions of directory C:\Documents and Settings\All
Users\Application Data\Adobe\Photoshop
Elements\4.0\Organizer\Graphics\costumes.
You may not have permission to open the file, or the directory may be
missing or damaged.
Please contact the owner or administrator.

Backup completed on 1/14/2007 at 2:30 PM.
Directories: 323
Files: 6956
Corrupt: 2
Bytes: 1,273,238,393
Time: 4 minutes and 26 seconds

This could be a permissions problem. I would now seize ownership
of the folder "c:\Documents and Settings".

 

[T. Wise]

This could be a permissions problem. I would now seize ownership
of the folder "c:\Documents and Settings".

I'm the administrator and only user of this computer - what else do I need
to do to "seize ownership" of the folder?

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I'm the administrator and only user of this computer - what else do I need
to do to "seize ownership" of the folder?

Click Start / Help, then look for "ownership" to see how it's done.
If you have Windows XP Home then I believe you need to boot
into Safe Mode in order to modify the ownership settings.

 

[Rock]

I'm the administrator and only user of this computer - what else do I need
to do to "seize ownership" of the folder?

HOW TO: Take Ownership of a File or Folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=308421

 

[T. Wise]

HOW TO: Take Ownership of a File or Folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=308421

Thanks for that. I followed the instructions, and seized ownership, but
there were quite a few files - mostly Symantec that I was denied permission.
(I run Norton AntiVirus.) I tried backing up after this, and it again
failed. But again, backing up works fine with other programs. Just not
with Microsoft Backup.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Thanks for that. I followed the instructions, and seized ownership, but
there were quite a few files - mostly Symantec that I was denied permission.
(I run Norton AntiVirus.) I tried backing up after this, and it again
failed. But again, backing up works fine with other programs. Just not
with Microsoft Backup.

This might be a good time to drop Symantec stuff . . .

 

[T. Wise]

This might be a good time to drop Symantec stuff . . .

I hear you. What do you recommend to replace it?

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

This could be a permissions problem. I would now seize ownership
of the folder "c:\Documents and Settings".

I'm the administrator and only user of this computer - what else do I
need to do to "seize ownership" of the folder?

HOW TO: Take Ownership of a File or Folder in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=308421

--
Rock [MVP - User/Shell]

Thanks for that. I followed the instructions, and seized ownership, but
there were quite a few files - mostly Symantec that I was denied permission.
(I run Norton AntiVirus.) I tried backing up after this, and it again
failed. But again, backing up works fine with other programs. Just not
with Microsoft Backup.

This might be a good time to drop Symantec stuff . . .

I hear you. What do you recommend to replace it?

I used to use Trend Internet Security. I considered it pretty good
until about 18 months ago when it became as bloated as the other
big products, dragging down performance. My clients got to
hate it. These days I use ETrust Antivirus. It's slim, unobtrusive and
as effective as Trend. You can even get a free licence for the first
year from the site below. Note: This is my own personal opinion.
I have no ties of any kind with Trend, CA, Norton or McAffee.
http://www.my-etrust.com/SubscriptCenter/MSTrialRegistration.aspx

 

[T. Wise]

I used to use Trend Internet Security. I considered it pretty good
until about 18 months ago when it became as bloated as the other
big products, dragging down performance. My clients got to
hate it. These days I use ETrust Antivirus. It's slim, unobtrusive and
as effective as Trend. You can even get a free licence for the first
year from the site below. Note: This is my own personal opinion.
I have no ties of any kind with Trend, CA, Norton or McAffee.
http://www.my-etrust.com/SubscriptCenter/MSTrialRegistration.aspx

Okay, I fully uninstalled Norton Anti-Virus, re-booted, then tried another
backup. Another failure. This time, the log shows a completely different
set of folders as "cannot be read":

Backup Status
Operation: Backup
Active backup destination: File
Media name: "full-post Norton.bkf created 1/14/2007 at 11:39 PM"

Backup (via shadow copy) of "C: "
Backup set #1 on media #1
Backup description: "Set created 1/14/2007 at 11:39 PM"
Media name: "full-post Norton.bkf created 1/14/2007 at 11:39 PM"

Backup Type: Normal

Backup started on 1/14/2007 at 11:42 PM.
WARNING: Portions of "\Dell\drivers\R63944 - Modem Helper\Setup.exe" cannot
be read. The backed up data is corrupt or incomplete.
This file will not restore correctly.
WARNING: Portions of "\Dell\drivers\R63944 - Modem Helper\setup.inx" cannot
be read. The backed up data is corrupt or incomplete.
This file will not restore correctly.
WARNING: Portions of "\Dell\drivers\R63944 - Modem
Helper\Language\Cs\ChineseS.txt" cannot be read. The backed up data is
corrupt or incomplete.
This file will not restore correctly.
WARNING: Portions of "\Dell\drivers\R63944 - Modem
Helper\Language\Cs\Pictures\PNP2K.gif" cannot be read. The backed up data
is corrupt or incomplete.
This file will not restore correctly.
WARNING: Portions of "\Dell\drivers\R63944 - Modem
Helper\Language\Cs\Pictures\PNP9X.gif" cannot be read. The backed up data
is corrupt or incomplete.
This file will not restore correctly.
WARNING: Portions of "\Dell\drivers\R63944 - Modem
Helper\Language\Cs\Pictures\PNPME.gif" cannot be read. The backed up data
is corrupt or incomplete.
This file will not restore correctly.
Warning: Unable to open "C:\Dell\drivers\R63944 - Modem
Helper\Language\CT\chineseT.txt" - skipped.
Reason: The specified network resource or device is no longer available.
Warning: Unable to open "C:\Dell\drivers\R63944 - Modem
Helper\Language\CT\MDM_Util.ini" - skipped.
Reason: The system cannot find the file specified.
Could not access portions of directory C:\Dell\drivers\R63944 - Modem
Helper\Language\CT.
You may not have permission to open the file, or the directory may be
missing or damaged.
Please contact the owner or administrator.

Backup completed on 1/14/2007 at 11:46 PM.
Directories: 330
Files: 7112
Corrupt: 6
Bytes: 1,279,914,897
Time: 3 minutes and 47 seconds

----------------------------------

So now I know the problem isn't Symantec. It's clearly Microsoft Backup, as
the other two backup programs work fine, without a hitch. But I don't have
a clue what's going on here. Since it's always different files showing up
in the error log, is it possible it's Window Indexing accessing those files
when Backup wants to? (Although why that would affect MS Backup and not the
others, I don't know.) If so, how do I stop it to test it out?

Sorry to keep coming back to you with more and more questions, but that has
really got me stumped.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Okay, I fully uninstalled Norton Anti-Virus, re-booted, then tried another
backup. Another failure. This time, the log shows a completely different
set of folders as "cannot be read":

Backup Status
Operation: Backup
Active backup destination: File
Media name: "full-post Norton.bkf created 1/14/2007 at 11:39 PM"

Backup (via shadow copy) of "C: "
Backup set #1 on media #1
Backup description: "Set created 1/14/2007 at 11:39 PM"
Media name: "full-post Norton.bkf created 1/14/2007 at 11:39 PM"

Backup Type: Normal

Backup started on 1/14/2007 at 11:42 PM.
WARNING: Portions of "\Dell\drivers\R63944 - Modem Helper\Setup.exe" cannot
be read. The backed up data is corrupt or incomplete.
This file will not restore correctly.
WARNING: Portions of "\Dell\drivers\R63944 - Modem Helper\setup.inx" cannot
be read. The backed up data is corrupt or incomplete.
This file will not restore correctly.
WARNING: Portions of "\Dell\drivers\R63944 - Modem
Helper\Language\Cs\ChineseS.txt" cannot be read. The backed up data is
corrupt or incomplete.
This file will not restore correctly.
WARNING: Portions of "\Dell\drivers\R63944 - Modem
Helper\Language\Cs\Pictures\PNP2K.gif" cannot be read. The backed up data
is corrupt or incomplete.
This file will not restore correctly.
WARNING: Portions of "\Dell\drivers\R63944 - Modem
Helper\Language\Cs\Pictures\PNP9X.gif" cannot be read. The backed up data
is corrupt or incomplete.
This file will not restore correctly.
WARNING: Portions of "\Dell\drivers\R63944 - Modem
Helper\Language\Cs\Pictures\PNPME.gif" cannot be read. The backed up data
is corrupt or incomplete.
This file will not restore correctly.
Warning: Unable to open "C:\Dell\drivers\R63944 - Modem
Helper\Language\CT\chineseT.txt" - skipped.
Reason: The specified network resource or device is no longer available.
Warning: Unable to open "C:\Dell\drivers\R63944 - Modem
Helper\Language\CT\MDM_Util.ini" - skipped.
Reason: The system cannot find the file specified.
Could not access portions of directory C:\Dell\drivers\R63944 - Modem
Helper\Language\CT.
You may not have permission to open the file, or the directory may be
missing or damaged.
Please contact the owner or administrator.

Backup completed on 1/14/2007 at 11:46 PM.
Directories: 330
Files: 7112
Corrupt: 6
Bytes: 1,279,914,897
Time: 3 minutes and 47 seconds

----------------------------------

So now I know the problem isn't Symantec. It's clearly Microsoft Backup, as
the other two backup programs work fine, without a hitch. But I don't have
a clue what's going on here. Since it's always different files showing up
in the error log, is it possible it's Window Indexing accessing those files
when Backup wants to? (Although why that would affect MS Backup and not the
others, I don't know.) If so, how do I stop it to test it out?

Sorry to keep coming back to you with more and more questions, but that has
really got me stumped.

Time to get down to basics. Instead of using a number of backup
programs whose internal operation is anyone's guess, use a simple
Command Prompt command with full inbuilt logging. Here is what
I have in mind:

xcopy /s /y /d /h /e /c "c:\Program Files" "D:\TestBackup\" 1>d:\test.log
2>&1

Run this line from a Command Prompt, then check the log file.

 

[T. Wise]

Time to get down to basics. Instead of using a number of backup
programs whose internal operation is anyone's guess, use a simple
Command Prompt command with full inbuilt logging. Here is what
I have in mind:

xcopy /s /y /d /h /e /c "c:\Program Files" "D:\TestBackup\"
1>d:\test.log
2>&1

Run this line from a Command Prompt, then check the log file.

Very interesting. Instead of "Program Files", I copied "Documents and
Settings\All Users", since that's where so many of the errors were that
Microsoft Backup reported. It copied perfectly. Not even a hiccup.

So I think that suggests the problem lies with Microsoft Backup, yes?

Any suggestions as to what I should try next?

And thank you again for all the time you're putting in on this. I really
appreciate it.

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

Very interesting. Instead of "Program Files", I copied "Documents and
Settings\All Users", since that's where so many of the errors were that
Microsoft Backup reported. It copied perfectly. Not even a hiccup.

So I think that suggests the problem lies with Microsoft Backup, yes?

Any suggestions as to what I should try next?

And thank you again for all the time you're putting in on this. I really
appreciate it.

Are you comparing apples with apples? In other words: Since you
ran the xcopy command directly from the Command Prompt, you
must also run the ntbackup command directly from the Command
Prompt.

 

[T. Wise]

Are you comparing apples with apples? In other words: Since you
ran the xcopy command directly from the Command Prompt, you
must also run the ntbackup command directly from the Command
Prompt.

I've been running Microsoft Backup from the software itself, not from a
command prompt. I have customized my backup set with so many exclusions
that I wouldn't know how to do it any other way.

Is ntbackup the same as the Windows Backup Utility?

 

[Pegasus \(MVP\)]

I've been running Microsoft Backup from the software itself, not from a
command prompt. I have customized my backup set with so many exclusions
that I wouldn't know how to do it any other way.

Is ntbackup the same as the Windows Backup Utility?

Yes, it is the same.

There is no need to re-invent the wheel. Run the backup wizard
and specify that the job should run some time in the future. This
will generate a scheduled job which you can examine in the Task
Scheduler. Now copy the command line from the scheduled task
into your own batch file, then run the batch file.