How to Troubleshoot Missed Offsite Backup Schedules

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   Introduction
   Checking the Basics
   Advanced Troubleshooting
   MacOS X Specific Information

Introduction¶

If you are receiving an email from the offsite backup server regularly with the subject line "Reminder: Scheduled Backup Missed" then at least one of your offsite backup schedules are not running correctly. Because our data storage servers will monitor when your backups are expected to run, you will be notified by email of missed backups so that you can take corrective action. It is important to correct ongoing problems with missed backups, otherwise you will not have current data protection.

This tutorial will walk you through several ways to troubleshoot possible reasons why the Offsite Backup Manager client on your computer is not executing the backup procedure.

Checking the Basics¶

Make sure the offsite backup Manager (SecureOBM) client software is installed on your computer. In Microsoft Windows, you should be able to load the software by clicking Start, Program Files, Offsite Backup Manager, then SecureOBM. You should then be able to login to the backup server and see the offsite Backup Manager interface. You can then try running one of your backup sets manually by clicking on the Backup button and following the on screen prompts. If your manual backup appears to run correctly then you can stop the backup and start looking for other issues which may be preventing the computer from executing the backup at the scheduled time.

Check the backup set schedules and make sure your computer will be turned on and connected to the internet at the time the backup is supposed to run. Check your computer power settings (in Control Panel if using Windows) and make sure that your computer is NOT configured to shutdown, or go into a standby or hibernate mode when your computer is not in use. For backups scheduled to run late in the evening, you will need to choose an "Always On" power saving mode or adjust the power settings profile accordingly, so that your computer does not turn off before the backup can execute.

Check your computer timezone settings are correct. In Windows if you load the Date/Time control panel from the task bar. Click on the time zone settings and ensure both the GMT and daylight saving settings are correct for your state. If you are not currently residing in a state that is participating in yearly daylight savings, then you MUST untick the option "Automatically adjust clock for daylight saving changes". Failure to un-tick this option may mean your computer is running 1 hour ahead or behind of your currently configured timezone, which will affect your backup scheduler. Save your timezone changes, and ensure the clock is then set to the correct time. Reboot your computer if you have made any timezone or daylight saving changes.

Advanced Troubleshooting¶

If you have changed the name or WINS hostname of your computer recently your backup set procedures may not run correctly as they are no longer able to identify the correct computer for that backup set. To correct this problem you should delete your backup set and re-create a new one, or contact our support team with your new computer name and we can adjust your backup set profile accordingly.

In Windows, load the Control Panel, choose Administrative Tools, then click on Services. In the services list, right-click and choose stop on the service called "Online Backup Scheduler" or "Offsite Backup Manager". Sometimes this service is also called "SecureOBM". Then check to see if the following file on your computer still exists - C:\Program Files\SecureOBM\ipc\Scheduler\running - If it does, then delete the "running" file from the Scheduler folder and then restart the Offsite Backup Manager service in the list of services (or simply reboot). Schedule a test backup time-slot and wait and see if the backup schedule executes correctly.

Check the log files in the following Program Files folder on your computer - C:\Program Files\SecureOBM\log\ - You can normally view these .log files by loading then in Windows Notepad or a similar text editor. These files may contain clues or errors as to why the Offsite Backup Scheduler may not be running on your computer. The exact program files directory may differ slightly depending on the current version of the software you are running.

Check the running scheduler logs located in C:\Documents and Settings\Your Username\.obm\log\Scheduler (Or the equivalent C:\Users\ folder in Windows Vista+). The debug.log file located in this folder should contain the running log of backup profile downloads from the storage server and count down until the next scheduled backup time-slot. If this file does not contain a continuous stream of entries counting down to the next backup schedule, then your offsite backup scheduler service is not loading correctly.

Disable your antivirus program and then schedule a test backup procedure. Some Antivirus programs are over-protective of scripts and automated tasks that are running on your computer, and will wrongly intercept the execution of Java code. Depending on the antivirus software you are running, you may need to adjust the settings to disable "Script Protection" or Java filtering. You may even need to uninstall your Antivirus software and change to a different security software vendor. Reliable antivirus software should never prevent legitimate applications on your computer from operating correctly. Most of the AV products we have tested are fully compatible, however we have experienced some issues with certain versions of Avast Antivirus. If you have to uninstall your AV software, you can download a free and reliable replacement antivirus solution here - Grisoft AVG FREE Antvirus Software.

Run a "check disk" (or scan disk) of your computer hard disk drive. To do this in windows Right click your C:\Local Disk in My Computer, choose properties, click on the Tools Tab, click the Check Now button, and tick both the options and press start. When asked to schedule a disk check on next reboot, choose Yes, and then Reboot your PC. If your check disk procedure corrects a large number of software errors with your file storage system, then it may be necessary to download and reinstall the Offsite Backup Manager software.

MacOS X Specific Information¶

If you are running the Offsite Backup Manager on a Mac OS X machine, please also verify in the console.log file if there is any error message found. The console.log file can be found in /Applications/SecureOBM/log/Scheduler. The exact folder name may vary depending on the version of the software you are running.