⁦I.⁩ When something goes wrong

Some files did not make it into the backup

What happened

The backup succeeded, but the summary says some files were skipped. The most common causes:

  • The file was open in another program. Some programs, for example Outlook with a .pst file or programs with a database, lock their files. The program tries to copy them once more at the end of the backup. If a file is still in use, the summary says “Skipped …” with the number of files open in other programs, and a note below it lists the files and the programs holding them.
  • The file changed while it was being copied. The program does not treat such a file as saved. When the “Top-up of changes made during the backup:” option is not turned off, the program writes it again in a top-up run, and otherwise with the next backup.
  • The file name contains a broken character that the backup cannot store. A note in the summary lists such files.
  • The file matches an exclusion (see “Leaving out unneeded files”).

What to do

  1. Read the notes in the backup summary window. After a scheduled backup, they are in the log (see “Where to find details: the program log”).
  2. Files open in other programs: close those programs, for example Outlook, and run the backup again. The program adds only the missing files.
  3. Files with a broken character in the name: rename them in Windows Explorer, and they will go into the next backup.
  4. Excluded files: remove the matching pattern from the “Exclusions” box and save the template again.

If something goes wrong

  • A file is still skipped although the program holding it is closed: some programs keep running in the background or by the clock. Quit them from there, or run the backup after restarting the computer, before you open them.
  • The backup ends with errors (“Finished with errors”): the window lists the files with an error. The full list is in the log. A version with errors is unfinished; the next backup offers to finish it (see “Finishing an interrupted backup”).