Not enough space on the backup drive

What happened

Before a backup, the program works out how much space it will write. If there is not enough, the backup does not start, and “Not enough space in the destination folder. About … is needed, … is available.” appears. If there is enough space but little will be left, the preview of changes shows “Little free space will be left after the backup (…).”.

If space runs out during the backup, for example because many files were added at the source, the backup ends with errors. The files written earlier stay, and the version is unfinished.

What to do

• Choose how many versions to keep. Retention rules delete old versions after every successful backup (see “Choosing how many versions to keep”). They only take effect after a successful backup, so they help if the backup still fits.
• Leave out unneeded files, for example disc images, installers or folders that can be rebuilt (see “Leaving out unneeded files”).
• Free up space on the backup drive by deleting other unneeded files from it. Do not delete the backup's version folders by hand: they may contain files that are in no other version.
• Use a larger drive. On the new drive, choose a new backup folder: a full backup will be made there. Keep the old drive as an archive of the older versions.
• Check the drive's file system. On a drive with the exFAT or FAT32 file system, every version takes up as much space as a full backup, and a large cluster increases the space small files take up. The “Where we write” field shows this information (see “Creating a backup without the wizard”).

After freeing up space, run the backup again. If the previous one was interrupted along the way, the program offers to finish it (see “Finishing an interrupted backup”).

If something goes wrong

• The backup does not fit even after these changes: the drive is too small for the first, full backup of the chosen folders. Choose a larger drive, or split the folders into two backups on two drives.