Solved Automatic Backup Failure--External Disk Full

I am using Vista Home Premium on an HP Pavilion a6250t desktop with a 300 GB internal hard drive and a 500 GB external hard drive for backups.

I have Backup and Restore Center set up to perform daily backups of my documents, pictures, e-mail, etc. The external hard disk is now full, preventing me from making any additional backups.

To free up space on the backup drive E, is it safe for me to (1) go to E:\My Computer Name\Backup Set 2009-02-04 163200, for example, (2) click on the + sign to expand that original backup folder, and (3) proceed to delete the backup sets created on 2009-02-05, 06, 07, 08, 09 & 10, leaving only one backup set for each of the weeks between February 4, 2009, and now?

I know that I would be losing the incremental backups for each of the days I delete. But is this procedure otherwise reasonable?

Welcome

You may find your answers here
Back Up Files - Reset Last Backup Listing
How to delete properly is shown at the beginning of the tutorial

Backup Files

Is the Backup & Restore Module scheduled back full or incremental?

To delete incorrectly would remove just the listing and not the backup itself.

I think that the best method to delete would be to delete all that your feel is outdated and then make a back up and restore back using the current date to make sure that a complete back up does exist, for the current date.

So, now I have given information which shows the correct way to delete and the fact that it is indeed incremental.

I hope that this helps.

Dear Richard,

Thanks so much for this speedy reply and for welcoming me to the forum. The title of the site you sent me to is how to "Reset the Last Backup Listing for Vista Backup Up Files." Alas, I don't really understand what that means. But I do understand when that same site goes on to say, "This only removes the backup from the list, not the backup files themself. To delete the backup files see below."

I need to delete the files themselves to create disk space for new backups. I believe I can just right-click on each incremental (i.e., daily) folder and click Delete to delete it. So it sounds like you think that will be safe?

J

I would recommend Not using the Backup and Restore Centre there have been a lot of reported Issues,

May I suggest Synctoy It is a Utility that syncs all your Files and folders in a 2 way Connection

Meaning if I update a File in Point a it will Update it on Point B

Same as if I updated it on point B it will Update it on Point A

Please See Download details: SyncToy 2.1 For More Information

You will need the x86 Version

If you do choose this Option then please Format the HDD You would like to backup Before Hand

Many Thanks,
Josh

The tut that you mentions (at the very beginning) gives you the information on how to delte correctly and that is why I presented it.

The applicable quote from the tut (to confirm that this is the correct method)

This only removes the backup from the list, not the backup files themself. To delete the backup files see below:


Backups are saved in this format: (backup location)\(computer name)\Backup Set (year-month-day) (time)

• If the backup was done on Local Disk D: at 9/7/2007 1:00:50 PM (It uses 24 hour time), then the full backup file path would be: D:\Computer\Backup Set 2007-09-07 130050
• You would right click the folder Backup Set 2007-09-07 130050 and click on Delete to delete that backup.
• To see what your computer name is, see: How to Change the Computer Name in Vista

Usisng this method to delete would only remove the incremental from that date. Nothing else should change.

Thanks again, Richard. I don't know what a "tut" is, but I get the general picture regarding the deletion of backups.

Does each daily incremental backup save the state of the files I have chosen to back up *on that day*? Or is there really only one "monster" backup that gets changed incrementally every day (which would result in my not being able to go back and look at Document X as it was on, say, February 28, 2009)?

J

Thank you too, Josh. I will definitely check out SyncToy. Perhaps that would work better for me.

But you advise me to format the hard drive I want to back up, which is the main drive on my computer. Wouldn't that destroy all the data on that drive?

J

Tut is the forum short way of saying tutorial.
Using Windows 7
I have a complete list of backups that I can choose from by date.
May I suggest, so that we are certain that your back ups are the same
Go through the steps of restoring a back up. If you get a choice, by date, that means that each back up can be restored as of that date. There is not one big back up, other than the first, which is the starting point for the back ups.

If you are trying to Backup a file on the Same drive the File is on then if you have a HDD Failure the Orginal file and the Backed up File is Worthless

Are you using an External HDD? or are you using a Partition?

If you are using a Windows HDD were vista is Installed then Please Delete the Backups and either buy a HDD or make a Partition for your backups

See http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/95398-disk-management-shrink-partition.html For More Information

This is also Handy http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/95418-disk-management-delete-extend.html


And Lastly Please See this http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/114767-drive-letter-add-change-remove.html


Hope This Helps,
Josh

Great idea, Richard! I'll try it now, but it will probably take me a while.

Take your time, the Forum will be here when you are done.
I have added to my last post, so be sure to read it again.

Josh, I'm using an external hard drive, 500 GB. I'm now going to try a restore just to see what's what, as Richard has suggested.

Rich is doing a Solution I am giving you a Last Resort Solution the Choice is yours

Hope This Helps,
Josh

Great, Richard--thanks.

J

Didn't take long after all. The Restore Files dialog box offers me the option of restoring backups from every single day since January 28, 2009, when I started using the Backup and Restore Center.

So it sounds to me like I should be able to go in there and delete, say, six out of every seven daily backups to create more space on my external hard drive.

That way I would still have weekly versions of a particular set of files that I have been creating over the course of the last couple of years.

Does that sound reasonable to you?

Just what I'm trying to avoid, Josh--getting into a last resort situation. I might actually be better off using SyncToy, though. The automatic backup and restore function of Vista Home Premium only lets you specify very general categories of files you want to include in each backup. I'm sure I'm backing up things that are taking up space but that I'm probably not interested in. For instance, Compressed Files and Additional Files. How do I know what files they're talking about here? How to know whether I want to back them up? It all seems very vague to me.

Information on incremental back ups
Incremental backup vs differential backup: difference and benefits of each one

From MS the correct way to delete. They correctly suggest do not delete the first back up as that is the master copy, the other are changes.
Back up and restore: frequently asked questions

Great, Richard--many thanks!

Jacqui

You are very welcome. Thanks for the kind words.