Backup job hangs on "before" task, can't cancel

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Rebeccah
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed May 12, 2010 4:23 am

Backup job hangs on "before" task, can't cancel

Post by Rebeccah »

I just installed version 5.2, build 632. I previously installed version 4 following a laptop migration, but haven't run any backups on it.

The first job I created includes a "before" task to run an executable, and then backs up Outlook files to a locally mapped drive on a server in our network. The job hung for several minutes running the "before" task, so I clicked Cancel, thinking I'd change the task to start the executable in another window rather than waiting for it to finish (its job is to make autorun files accessible, it runs invisibly, and the accessibility expires after a while). But clicking cancel isn't cancelling the job, it still shows as running, it still shows as 0% and now also as "Aborting backup." There are no files at the destination.

I've tried clicking Cancel repeatedly. I've tried clicking Stop. I've tried closing and opening the application. I've tried stopping and starting the service. Nothing is working. I can't edit the job because it shows it as running. I don't know how to close the tray icon. I have Windows 7 Enterprise.

What can I do?

Here is the log:

[11/21/2014 1:47:10 AM] Backup4all 5.2.632
[11/21/2014 1:47:10 AM] C:\Program Files\Softland\Backup4all 5\bBackup.exe /GUI {11111111-1111-1111-1111-222222222222} /JOB {C5059171-2B63-43EE-81E5-19F5E159DD23}
[11/21/2014 1:47:10 AM] Search for "Warning: " and "Error: " to locate warnings and errors in this log file
[11/21/2014 1:47:10 AM] Operating system: Windows 7 Enterprise Service Pack 1 (Build )
Processor[0] : Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU M 520 @ 2.40GHz
Processor[1] : Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU M 520 @ 2.40GHz
Processor[2] : Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU M 520 @ 2.40GHz
Processor[3] : Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU M 520 @ 2.40GHz
Physical memory (free/total) : 871 MB/2991 MB
Admin/BkPriv/RePriv : True/True/True
IsWOW64 : False
Locale : English (United States)

[11/21/2014 1:47:10 AM] Opening file "C:\Users\xxxxxxx\AppData\Roaming\Softland\Backup4all 5\Backup4all.hst"
[11/21/2014 1:47:18 AM] Starting backup for "Outlook Files (Differential)" at 11/21/2014 1:47:18 AM
[11/21/2014 1:47:18 AM] Name: Microsoft Outlook (by Softland) - ID: {44DBD7BF-5B74-42FF-B295-EA7449DB1532}
[11/21/2014 1:47:18 AM] Backup Summary:
General:
Name: Outlook Files (Differential)
Tags:
Description:
Ini file: C:\Users\xxxxxxxx\AppData\Roaming\Softland\Backup4all 5\Jobs\{C5059171-2B63-43EE-81E5-19F5E159DD23}.ini
Destination:
Destination type: Local hard drive
Drive: U:
Folder: U:\Win7\Outlook_Differential\
Catalog: U:\Win7\Outlook_Differential\
Source(s):
Predefined sources: Microsoft Outlook - Softland
<Microsoft Outlook>
[Local hard drive]
Filters:
Main:
Include filter:
Include all files.
Exclude filter:
Altiris Files - use as exclude
( Folder name = '*\Program Files\Altiris\')
OR
CREDANT Files - use as exclude
( Folder name = '*\Program Files\CREDANT\')
OR
ESI Files - use as exclude
( Folder name = '*\Program Files\ESI\|*\Program Files\ESIControls\')
OR
Hiberfil on System Drive - use as exclude
( File name = 'hiberfil.sys'
AND Folder name = '?:\')
OR
Internet Explorer Cache Files - use as exclude
( Folder name = '?:\Documents and Settings\*\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files|?:\Users\*\AppData?\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files')
OR
Pagefile on System Drive - use as exclude
( File name = 'pagefile.sys'
AND Folder name = '?:\')
OR
RSA Files - use as exclude
( Folder name = '*\Program Files\RSA\')
OR
SAM Files - use as exclude
( Folder name = '*\Program Files\SAM Direct\')
OR
Symantec Files - use as exclude
( Folder name = '*\Program Files\Symantec\')
OR
Temporary Files - use as exclude
( File name = '*.tmp|*.temp|*.bkc-journal')
OR
Windows Recycle Bin Files - use as exclude
( Folder name = '?:\Recycler|?:\Recycled|?:\$Recycle.Bin')
OR
Windows System Restore Files - use as exclude
( Folder name = '?:\System Volume Information')
OR
Windows Temporary Folders - use as exclude
( Folder name = '?:\Windows\Temp|?:\WINNT\Temp|?:\Documents and Settings\*\Local Settings\Temp|?:\Users\*\AppData?\Local\Temp')
Customize (overridden folders):
<Microsoft Outlook>\<Custom Forms>
Include filter:
CustomForms
( File name = '*.dat')
Exclude filter:
Exclude no files.
<Microsoft Outlook>\<Dictionaries>
Include filter:
Dictionaries
( File name = '*.dic')
Exclude filter:
Exclude no files.
<Microsoft Outlook>\<Personal Files and Data Folder>
Include filter:
PersonalFiles (2)
( File name = '*.oab|*.msnpst|extend.dat')
Exclude filter:
Exclude no files.
<Microsoft Outlook>\<Settings and Control Information>
Include filter:
SettingsAndControl (3)
( File name = '*.nk2|*.rwz|*.xml|*.nick|outlprnt|*.srs*.dat|VbaProject.otm|JunkSenders.txt|AdultSenders.txt')
Exclude filter:
Exclude no files.
<Microsoft Outlook>\<Templates>
Include filter:
Templates (4)
( File name = '*.oft|*.dotm')
Exclude filter:
Exclude no files.
<Microsoft Outlook>\<Profiles>
Include filter:
Include all files.
Exclude filter:
Ost Files (5)
( File name = '*.ost')
Backup type:
Type: Differential
Use block backup: No
Save storage space: Limit number of backups to 3
Merge Backups: No
Clear archive bit: No
Zip name prefix: OutlookFiles
Make full backup if the differential exceeds (%): 50% of full backup size
Make full backup if the differential exceeds (size): none
Compression:
Compression level: medium
Do not compress files of type: *.zip|*.rar|*.mp3|*.avi|*.7z|*.gif|*.png|*.jpeg|*.jpg|*.mpg|*.gz|*.gzip|*.mov|*.swf
Always use temporary folder to create zip files: No
Use alternate zipping mode: Yes
Password: no password
Zip split size: 4.7 GB (DVD)
Create independent splits: Yes
Advanced settings:
Backup:
Use local catalog: No
Compress catalog in destination: No
Test after backup: Yes
Delete sources after successful backup: No
Remove files with errors from catalog: Yes
Ask for backup label before execution: No
Backup open files: Yes
Store temporary catalog data in memory: Yes
Backup execution priority: Normal priority
Actions:
Action before backup: "C:\Program Files\xxxxx\SEP\SEP_AutoRun.exe"
Run only once: No
Abort backup when action fails: No
Action after backup: not enabled
Comparison:
Comparison criteria: [Size, Date modified, Date created, Read-Only, Archived, Hidden, System]
Sounds: not enabled
Emails: not enabled
Scheduler:
Abort backup when source drives are not available: No

[11/21/2014 1:47:19 AM] Execute before action: ""C:\Program Files\xxxxx\SEP\SEP_AutoRun.exe"". Run only once: "No"
[11/21/2014 1:56:06 AM] Stopping backup
[11/21/2014 1:58:04 AM] Ipc warning: Cannot reconnect to the IPC server. Action will run silent.
Cannot connect pipe client

Thanks,

Rebeccah

Rebeccah
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed May 12, 2010 4:23 am

Re: Backup job hangs on "before" task, can't cancel

Post by Rebeccah »

I went to bed with B4A running. It looks like the job finally finished cancelling 49 minutes later. That seems a bit extreme to me. I'm going to chalk it up to a combination of overloaded laptop, VPN, remote server destination, remote backup catalog, and "before" task that may not actually complete for some (unknown) amount of time. If I continue to have problems with some or all of those factors remediated, I'll write back.

[11/21/2014 1:47:19 AM] Execute before action: ""C:\Program Files\xxxxx\SEP\SEP_AutoRun.exe"". Run only once: "No"
[11/21/2014 1:56:06 AM] Stopping backup
[11/21/2014 1:58:04 AM] Ipc warning: Cannot reconnect to the IPC server. Action will run silent.
Cannot connect pipe client
[11/21/2014 2:47:22 AM] Checking backup destination (Local hard drive)
Backup aborted. Reason:
Next scheduled backup: Not scheduled
Backup aborted after 1:00:13 hour(s) at 11/21/2014 2:47:23 AM with 1 error(s), 0 warning(s)
[11/21/2014 2:47:23 AM] Error:

Adrian (Softland)
Posts: 1914
Joined: Wed Dec 16, 2009 12:46 pm

Re: Backup job hangs on "before" task, can't cancel

Post by Adrian (Softland) »

Hi,

You could also close the bbackup.exe process from Task Manager.

Rebeccah
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed May 12, 2010 4:23 am

Re: Backup job hangs on "before" task, can't cancel

Post by Rebeccah »

Can anyone tell from the log what the reason was why it was hanging (including the slow response to canceling the job)?

Thanks,

Rebeccah

Adrian (Softland)
Posts: 1914
Joined: Wed Dec 16, 2009 12:46 pm

Re: Backup job hangs on "before" task, can't cancel

Post by Adrian (Softland) »

Hi,

Backup4all is waiting for the run action before to finish before running the backup. There isn't enough information about the action you ran before the backup (SEP_AutoRun.exe). I cannot tell what that exe file does and if only Backup4all was affected.

Rebeccah
Posts: 16
Joined: Wed May 12, 2010 4:23 am

Re: Backup job hangs on "before" task, can't cancel

Post by Rebeccah »

Thank you. I don't know the details of how SEP_autorun.exe works. I think it is part of Symantec Endpoint Protection (SEP), which is Symantec's centrally-managed enterprise antivirus program, although it could be something that was written by our IT department to enable clients to temporarily bypass the centrally managed setting. By default, SEP doesn't allow autorun files to be executed or even copied, and so if I run B4A under normal conditions, it will skip the autorun.inf files, with warnings about not being able to access them. SEP_autorun.exe temporarily lifts SEP's block of access to the autorun.inf files.

If I run SEP_autorun.exe from the commandline, the command window closes right away, so I had hoped I could run it as a "before" task on my backup job, but apparently not. I also don't know for how long access to the autorun.inf files is enabled when I run SEP_autorun.exe, or whether the access might expire before my backup job is done. I guess if it took an hour for my job to get canceled, that suggests SEP_autorun.exe might have been running for close to an hour.

I may need to go back to my previous workaround, which is to have a separate (fairly short duration) job for backing up autorun files and run SEP_autorun.exe in a separate Windows Task Manager task every X minutes starting just before the backup is scheduled.

Rebeccah

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