Is there another program that can be used as a backup that can be used along with my N360 Back Up

8lmn.pngback up change 2.PNGback up change.PNGIs there another program that is user friendly that can be used along with the N360 back ups that I am using.

 

If you see from my history of questions, I had encrypted failures - which mainly was because I was trying to back up the external hard drive to the location that I was backing up to.

 

I felt very silly.

 

I also am very short of money and my allocated storage is now full.

 

Can anyone please suggest a user friendly free easy to use data storage that can be used safely. I know that there is a cloud method - but I find that quite hard. I am just putting this option out there.

 

I am also sorry  to ask if I have my settings correct

Hi Melissa_Confuse.

 

I'm not going to even try to answer your question at the moment as I am not sure exactly what you want to achieve.

 

Are you asking if there is another backup program that you could use instead of N360 backup?

 

May I also ask what it is that you think is taking up 910 GB on your expansion drive and how large the "Preview" option thinks your backup set should be?  

 

Finally, how many different backup sets do you have, is it just the one or do you have several?

 

I look forward to hearing back from you.

Yes I am after another program that can assist me with my back up  dilemma 

 

Are you asking if there is another backup program that you could use instead of N360 backup? - Yes

 

I only have limited space as you can observe from my summary report.

 

I have restored failed drives that the people that the service people told me I would have to remove then reinstall the N360 software. This was a technician online with Norton that is what is taking up most of the room. I just want to know my options.

 

I have two back up sets that do separate items - pictures, music and the C: basically, just in case my computer decides to go.

 

I am sorry for lack of information, I am sick with chemo and in hospital.BACK UP SETS.JPGVOLUME ON DISKS.JPG

 

 

Hello again Melissa_Confuse.

 

Thanks for answering the first and last questions, which were very helpful.  Could you please answer the other two which may provide an pointer to the answer to the problem.

 

The so far un-answered questions were -  what it is that you think is taking up 910 GB on your expansion drive and how large the "Preview" option thinks your backup set should be?  Given that you have now told me that you have two backup sets the answer to the Preview figure for both would be helpful.

 

I await your response.

what it is that you think is taking up 910 GB on your expansion drive and how large the "Preview" option thinks your backup set should be? - That would be my university work and previous large documents that where a back up from another 500GB External Hard Driive and also a restored set from a collapsed Norton Back done by the technician online.

 

As requested the two back up sets that I have.

 

I am sorry that I am not that great on computersFIRST SET BACK UP.JPGSECOND SET BACK UP.JPG

Thanks for the response Melissa_Confuse.

 

I suspect that there is stuff on the external drive that is no longer accessible and that it is taking up more space than is needed.  If we can clear that off then I think you are likely to have lots of space for the N360 backup to work without causing any problems, or for you to need to confuse things further with even more backup options.  To help confirm or disprove my suspicions it would be helpful if you could provide a little more information...

 

Can you look at the external drive using windows explorer and tell us the size of your N360_BACKUP folder and how many folders it has in it.  Also how many other folders (i.e. other than N360_BACKUP) are in the root directory of the external drive.

 

Do you still need to access your "university work and previous large documents"?  When you say they were "a backup" from another drive, do you mean copies or did you use a backup program, and if so which?

 

The "restored set from a collapsed Norton Back" - is this in the form of a Norton backup file or is it a full set of recovered files?  If the latter, why do you need it on your backup drive?  In either case, do you still need access to this data and can you actually read it if necessary?

 

If you need any help of clarification with the above - just ask.

To help confirm or disprove my suspicions it would be helpful if you could provide a little more information 

 

I have three licences all doing back ups - limited space - also the restored files from the external hard drive that failed - I wish to keep the information until I can afford to transfer the data to somewhere else. My computer is not running to great if I place on desktop. I have most things like the programs and Appdata being included - I loose lots of data on my MS Office products failing. That back up is not working at the moment and I can not figure out the error. It is on both lap tops that I currently use and using the forum for that support.

 

Can you look at the external drive using windows explorer and tell us the size of your N360_BACKUP folder and how many folders it has in it.  Also how many other folders (i.e. other than N360_BACKUP) are in the root directory of the external drive

 

Attached

 

 

Do you still need to access your "university work and previous large documents"?  When you say they were "a backup" from another drive, do you mean copies or did you use a backup program, and if so which?

 

I had the old version old N360 operating and the technician said that I would have to delete the complete set of restored files and therefore that is my only copy as he deleted the original copy of all my important documents prior to this event - I did not even have an online copy. I do require all documents - the other back up system came with my old external hard drive Western Digital/Seagate - Memeo

 

The "restored set from a collapsed Norton Back" - is this in the form of a Norton backup file or is it a full set of recovered files?  If the latter, why do you need it on your backup drive?  In either case, do you still need access to this data and can you actually read it if necessary? 

 

This is in the form of a folder on my external hard drive which is at capacity. It is a full set of recovered files. I also do not know how to access the back up data - I just know that it is at capacity and I just want to know my options and if I have it set correctly. I am so sorry to be silly. 

 

 

 

 

restored.JPGrestored1.JPGrestored2.JPG

 

 

 

 

 

restored3.JPG

Thanks for the update Melissa_Confuse.

 

I have to say that you are now communicating with Andmike_Confuse....  I am having some difficulty working out exactly what you have, where you have it and what you might be able to achieve.  This is not meant to be a criticism just a statement and an explanation of why I am currently unable to come up with a simple suggestion of how best to address your problem.  If anyone else thinks they can see a way through it, please join in!

 

A few comments.  

I think you are saying that your old university data etc is in the "Melissa & Grant_Backup" folder (a total of 15 GB with the data probably in the Memeo sub folder), and that the old Norton backup data (where you were helped by a Norton techie) is in some form or other, in the "Restored" folder (in all or some of the sub folders C_, D_, E_, F_).  These seem to sit on your external drive F (which has a capacity of 931 GB - around 23 GB is free, i.e around 908 GB used).  Then there are many other folders on your drive F one of which is N360_BACKUP but this alone is  692 GB in size.  So it is the current N360 backup that is taking up most of the space.  However, your previous "Preview" posts seem to show that your two backup sets should be taking less than 15 GB in total.  If you only have two Norton backup sets there should only be two folders in N360_BACKUP whereas you have 5.  I notice that three of these were created in April/May this year and two in December, does this give you any clues as to what they may be?

 

Just at the moment I think I need to mull this over a bit more, so please forgive me if I do not come back with any immediate solution.  If however you would like to comment on the previous paragraph please feel free to do so. 

 

All the best.

I am very confused regarding the back up sets – as my computer has been in the hands of the techies of Norton – sometimes they used the Norton Power eraser – this then made a default set when I had to reinstall the program –essentially the current  version. My Back Up sets were gone and I had to create others. The Norton Support techie gained access to my computer and advised the best option. I am not computer savvy – so went along with their suggestions.

 

May was when the Norton techie uninstalled the program and then reinstalled the program. – I had a very old version operating and they cleaned it up.

 

I also recollect that another laptop used the 1TB external hard drive to do one or two back ups – that may be also a theory.

 

I think looking at Google at Seagate / Memeo website that the back up will take on the name of the computer and the date. They give you a trail to use before using as a back up – therefore they are liable for data loss.

 

The F: volume indeed does fluctuate as I have been trying to psychically drag and paste to my desktop so that the back up sets that I have running do not have any room to go to.

 

 

So it is the current N360 backup that is taking up most of the space.  – Yes I think that it is the back up sets and a combination of my data – university and job searches, lots of PDF manuals etc. It is constantly indexing and with the failure of Windows – I am clutching at straws.

 

I temporarily used a external 8GB friends disk – Flash – and that holds pictures etc.

 

I just want to know if there are any other options – programs that are safe also and inexpensive.

 

If you require further screen shots – let me know

Hi Melissa_Confuse.

 

Thanks for the feedback.

 

First let me check that I am aiming in the right direction....

 

You want to be able to reliably backup key data from your computer onto your existing external drive that appears to be too full to take much more and you do not want to have to buy another external drive.  If I have misunderstood then please say so.

 

My belief is that there is a lot of wasted space in the N360_BACKUP folder (currently at around 690 GB) that if we can free it up, will give you all the space you need.

 

I am not going to worry about the Seagate-Memeo backup as that is not anything I have any expertise in, and should be unaffected by anything I am thinking of suggesting.

 

As for the old Norton backups that the Norton Techie dealt with - you might like to look in the sub folders of the "Restored" folder and see if the files you want are there.  If you do look, do let us know what you find.

 

Now if I was right in my assumption above I would ask you to do some research for me.  It will take a while but should be fairly easy.  If what I ask is unclear then please come back and I will try to clarify.

 

In your N360_BACKUP folder are 5 folders.  Can you use windows to find out the size of each one and note down the size against the folder name (you should not need to use the full folder name the first 3 characters should be enough to distinguish it).  Next open each folder in turn and look for the file DiscID.dat.  Open this file in a text editor such as Notepad.  What you see there should be something along the lines of -

Quote:-

[BackupSettings]
SetID={3B9E1E04-1CC7-4862-A0F6-43663A8D6C3F}
BackupDateTimeStamp=1387306310
VolumeNumber=1
MachineID={37G5077A-0CD6-433F-8CE1-A389D7EEF2CA}
BackupSetName=MELISSA MAY 2013

Unquote:  (Note- the text in red is an example that you should find in one of your folders and is the name of the backup set.)

 

Note down the name of each backup set as found above, against the folder name in which it is stored.  Then post back here for each of the five folders in N360_BACKUP the folder size and the name of the backup set associated with it.

 

This next step is not essential but may be useful - Open N360, select the Backup tab and then "Restore Files".  Under "1 Restore From" select "View All" and then choose "Refresh List" at the bottom left.  When you have done this you will probably have to wait for a while for it to finish refreshing file locations.  When it has done so either make a note of all data that it reports and post it here or post screen shots of the result. 

 

That is probably enough to ask you to be getting on with at the moment so I will wish you well and await your reply.   ;-)

Thank you so much for looking at the data and information that I have posted.

 

You want to be able to reliably backup key data from your computer onto your existing external drive that appears to be too full to take much more and you do not want to have to buy another external drive.  If I have misunderstood then please say so. - Correct -- Thank you.

 

Here are the requested shots - hope it is not too muchset1.JPGdat three.JPGset2.JPGset3.JPGset4.JPGlocation.JPGrestore.JPGrestore1.JPG

Hi Melissa_Confuse.

 

Thanks for the quick response but I have two problems.

 

The first it that you do not seem to have posted what the size of the 5 backup files were - this is vital.

 

The second is that your posts are too small to read reliably as most of the image is blank.  So can you either post edited images to make the relevant part of the picture larger or just type out the relevant facts?  Sorry to come back on this when you have acted so quickly.  :-(  

 

[Edit - I have now found another way to read your latest images so this is not as important any more - but I do need to know the folder sizes.]

A further point...  I have noticed that you did not wait until the Restore - Refresh List had finished before you posted your images.  If you look at the top right hand corner of the image it says "Refreshing Restore Locations".  It would be helpful if you could advise what it shows after it has finished....

 

At the moment the data provided does not seem to match and this may be because the data had not been fully refreshed.

I am sorry that I have not provided that much information as you requested.

 

I felt terrible that I did not follow all your instructions and what information you required.

 

I may overload you with information and screen shots as that is the only way I know how to transfer information at the moment.

 

I included the two Restore folders that I found on my External Hard Drive - just wondering if they would may a difference - they both have different dates - one back in May when my other external drive failed.

 

If you require any further information after the uploading of these - I will try my best. I have a brain tumour - so very tough.

 

I found a back up of all my drives in the Restored files - which was a pleasant surprise.

 

Thanks for your assistance and bearing with me.

 

set number one size.JPGset number two size.JPGset number three size.JPGset number four size.JPGset number five size.JPGrestore pic.JPGfull screen restored.JPGrestore pic -- screen one.JPGrestore pic -- screen two.JPGrestore pic -- screen three.JPGrestore pic -- screen four.JPGrestore pic -- screen fiveJPG.JPG

 

[BackupSettings]

SetID={2E59951E-7E8D-438F-A66A-5F112C56C509}

BackupDateTimeStamp=1364883077

VolumeNumber=1

MachineID={569DBDDB-DC30-429F-9D3B-B5DCECCFA74C}

BackupSetName=DefaultSet

 

 

[BackupSettings]

SetID={3D1268BB-67FD-4981-A088-171354CF09E3}

BackupDateTimeStamp=1366181663

VolumeNumber=1

MachineID={569DBDDB-DC30-429F-9D3B-B5DCECCFA74C}

BackupSetName=MELISSA

 

[BackupSettings]

SetID={91074732-1137-4815-B92B-8C14111B0633}

BackupDateTimeStamp=1367471065

VolumeNumber=1

MachineID={8E8A51E3-BBED-4518-8D4E-3CCCDFF1ADB0}

BackupSetName=MELISSA MAY - AFTER CRASH - MALW

 

 

[BackupSettings]

SetID={B3AF3C75-E880-4A93-AB1B-80786B71DBEE}

BackupDateTimeStamp=1387569933

VolumeNumber=1

MachineID={219DC3AE-DB3E-45C0-9261-F5A577DB61DA}

 

 

BackupSetName=MEISSA NEW

[BackupSettings]

SetID={C6629200-B92E-4168-B54E-E20D87B5CEA3}

BackupDateTimeStamp=1387508288

VolumeNumber=1

MachineID={219DC3AE-DB3E-45C0-9261-F5A577DB61DA}

BackupSetName=MELISSA MAY 2013

Hello Melissa_Confuse.

 

Thanks for the post. It is very informative, though I have to say that with all the information you have now given me I may have to be forgiven for not remembering it all.. :smileywink:

 

Sorry to hear of your other problem - I realize that the problem with the computer will not be your top priority.  So respond to my posts as and when you want to.  There is no pressure from me to speed through this.  I am here to help, if I can, when it helps you.

 

My first reaction on reviewing the assembled data is - WOW what a mess!!!!!!.  :smileysurprised:

 

My second reaction – to whether you need another backup program or a new backup drive is – NO!  :smileyhappy:

With a little thought and organization I am confident that this can be got running properly again.  But at some stage (not now) you should probably take some time to think carefully about what you want to keep, where and why.

 

To try and get things sorted out I am going to make a number of recommendations.  Please let me know whether you take them up or not and, if not, why not.  I will try to take things in measured steps to avoid putting to much in any one message.  If anything is unclear then please feel free to come back and I will try to clarify.

 

If you are happy with the above, then can you do the following...

 

1- IMPORTANT -Go into N360 Backup – Manage Backup Sets and check each of your current backup sets.
  Can you confirm the name of each set – I believe they are

 

  MEISSA NEW
  and
  MELISSA MAY 2013

 

  Are these correct and have you any others currently set up? If so what are they?

 

2- IMPORTANT – When checking each of the default sets, run “Preview” and post here (preferably in text rather than image) how many GB of storage each one thinks it needs.

 

3- IMPORTANT - For ALL backup sets (presumably just the two mentioned above) select the “When” tab and change the “Automatic” I think you have currently set, to “Manual Schedule” then select “Save Settings” and “Close”.  Note – you will probably have to go back into Manage Backup Sets after resetting each of the backup sets.

 

4- IMPORTANT - I note that you appear to have two expansion drives, F: which is full and E: which seems to have several hundred GB free.  Do you see any objection to putting anything temporarily onto the E: drive?

 

5- Possibly useful - Can you tell us anything about the large amount of Norton Online Backup that you seem have?  I do not use the Online backup myself and so am sadly rather ignorant about it.  Can you tell us when it was set up, if there were any special arrangements associated with it?  Why you seem to have more than usual and if it has been used for anything unusual?  I am not trying to pry into what you do or have done, just work out if we can make use of this space in the future.

 

Good luck.  I look forward to hearing back from you.

1- IMPORTANT -Go into N360 Backup – Manage Backup Sets and check each of your current backup sets.
  Can you confirm the name of each set – I believe they are

 

  MEISSA NEW
  and
  MELISSA MAY 2013

 

  Are these correct and have you any others currently set up? If so what are they?

 

These are the only two that are set up 

 

 

2- IMPORTANT – When checking each of the default sets, run “Preview” and post here (preferably in text rather than image) how many GB of storage each one thinks it needs.

 

 

  MEISSA NEW - 6369 Files - 1.3 GB

  MELISSA MAY 2013 37580 Files - 11.1 GB

 

3- IMPORTANT - For ALL backup sets (presumably just the two mentioned above) select the “When” tab and change the “Automatic” I think you have currently set, to “Manual Schedule” then select “Save Settings” and “Close”.  Note – you will probably have to go back into Manage Backup Sets after resetting each of the backup sets.

 

See my screen shots - I have it set up to Automatic 

 

4- IMPORTANT - I note that you appear to have two expansion drives, F: which is full and E: which seems to have several hundred GB free.  Do you see any objection to putting anything temporarily onto the E: drive?

 

E Drive has bad sectors and in the process of transferring to my desktop - hence asking if any other Back up programs

 

5- Possibly useful - Can you tell us anything about the large amount of Norton Online Backup that you seem have?  I do not use the Online backup myself and so am sadly rather ignorant about it.  Can you tell us when it was set up, if there were any special arrangements associated with it?  Why you seem to have more than usual and if it has been used for anything unusual?  I am not trying to pry into what you do or have done, just work out if we can make use of this space in the future.

 

The Online storage as seen on previous screen shots - I have three licences - Which means three devices. I only have 27GB left and it will be charged if I want any further space with Norton. I do not have any money - all goes on medication.

 

No special arrangements - Only that perhaps the other lap top is using the whole space - you can set Norton Back up to Online instead of a Hard Drive.

 

I also did wait for the refresh of the sets until I posted back - I think you have to look at bottom ones which are external drives.

 

MELISSA NEW.JPGMELISSA MAY 2013.JPGonline storage.JPG

 

 

 REFRESH ONE.JPGREFRESH TWO.JPGREFRESH THREE.JPGREFRESH FOUR.JPGREFRESH FIVE.JPG

 

 

Hello again Melissa_Confuse.

 

As I don't expect you will get this until tomorrow may I wish you a very Happy Christmas and hope that 2014 will go a bit better than it sounds as if 2013 has gone.

 

Thanks for the information you provided.  First can I apologize for not making my point 3 clear enough.  I thought that you had the sets scheduled to back up on Automatic.  My point was that just at the moment it is important that you change that to MANUAL.  So this is the first thing you need to do.  Go into Manage Backup Sets and set both sets to Manual backup.

 

Next:- I am going to suggest that you do a new backup (it will be a temporary one) to the E: drive.  I note what you say about bad sectors but unless it is totally shot it should give us a bit of protection while we clear some space on the F: drive.

 

At the moment the backup "MELISSA MAY 2013" should be around 11 KGB but due to some corruption the space it is taking on F: is around 376 GB!  So if we can clear off that corrupted set you should have plenty of space on F:.  However I want to create a safety backup to cover us while we delete it.  I hope that is clear and acceptable.

 

I will explain a little more of the principle of what I propose doing, and then will go through a detailed description which I hope will help guide you through the process.  

 

First I will get you to make a new "MELISSA MAY 2013" backup on the E: drive which will be checked as good.  Then you will remove the corrupt folder from the F: drive.  Once we have space back on that drive you will once again put a new copy of "MELISSA MAY 2013" back on the F: drive.  That should get you a good backup, and free up around 365 GB.  You will then be able to erase the backup temporarily created on the E: drive.  Even if the backup onto the E: drive does not work the length of time that you would be without one on F: should be minimal and a small risk.

 

If you are content with the above then, when you have some quiet time to spare, I suggest that you try the following:-

 

First print off these instructions - it will be easier to have them to hand and not have to keep changing windows on your machine.

 

Then open N360: Backup: Manage Backup Sets.  

Select the set "MELISSA MAY 2013".  

Select the "When" tab and make sure that it is set to Manual.

Select the "Where" tab and click on "Refresh List" at the middle towards the top.  Wait until it is finished, though it should not take long.  Then select the E: drive.

Next ensure that the "Verify Backup" (just above "Preview" box near the bottom of the screen) is ticked.

Then click on "Save Settings" and finally click on "Run Backup" and go and get a cup of coffee (or whatever seems appropriate!).  

This backup will be for the full 11 GB and will take some time, but keep an eye on the machine to make sure it does not go to sleep (all you need to do is move the mouse every now and again).  If all goes well (and hopefully in under 1 hr) it should report a successful backup.  If it does you will know that you now have a confirmed backup on E: and you may like to celebrate.  If it reports and problems then report back and do not do any more until we have considered what it is best to do.

 

The following assumes a successful backup to E:

Close the N360 screen.

Open Microsoft Explorer so that you can see your F: drive.  Look in the N360_BACKUP folder.  Select the folder with the name {C36629200-B92E-4168-B54E-E20D87B5CEA3} (make sure it is just the one folder you have selected) then press the delete button (normally - Del).  If asked, confirm that you wish to delete the folder and all the files in it.  Then leave it to complete the deletion.  With 376 GB of data this will take a while, you can just leave the machine alone until it thinks it has finished.  When it has finished have another look at the F: drive and you should now see lots of space on it.  Again if not report back.

 

If all is well you now need to make a new backup onto the F: drive.

Open N360: Backup: Manage Backup Sets.
Select the set "MELISSA MAY 2013".
Select the "Where" tab and click on "Refresh List". Wait until it is finished. Then select the F: drive.
Next click on "Save Settings" and finally click on "Run Backup" and go and do whatever you did last time or feel like doing this time around. 
Again this backup will be for the full 11 GB and will take some time, so again you should keep an eye on the machine to make sure it does not go to sleep.  If all goes well this also should report a successful backup.

 

Whatever it reports I suggest you come back here at that point and give us an update.  If it says it worked (as it should) I will be very happy and you should once again have a working system!

 

If anything is unclear then do not hesitate to come back and seek clarification.

 

Good luck.

Hello Andmike again,

 

Wishing you all the best for the the holidays and that you did not have a look at my complete disaster of my back up dilemma.

 

I have just received the message that I require my back up to be fixed and that my location is full.

 

Thank you for the step by step instructions as I would not know what set to delete physically from my external hard drive.

 

It is very risky and I have tried to move other folders prior to trying to fix the size of the back up. Some other folders that I accessed as not being that important if lost. I went to a physical store and have been informed that in fact that the E; drive is corrupt and to get another as soon as possible and try and get some of the FOUND.000 folders back as soon as humanly possible.

 

I did not receive a new external hard drive for the holidays - so I will try and follow your easy to follow instructions.

 

I have to keep most of the files on the F: drive as they are connected to my word documents that keep on crashing. If I move them I will loose everything. I mean over 500 page documents. Years of work.

 

Thank you so much for the wishes and time spent on my silly situation. I was going to ask to community if there was any other back up programs that they also use with the Norton products.

 

Changing it to Manual - will I have to remind myself to back up the program whenever I wish?

 

out of room.JPG

Hi Melissa_Confuse.

 

The reason for changing to manual was to avoid you getting the message that you just got, and will continue to get until we can sort things out.  Not changing to manual risks damaging the existing backups, by causing them to fail.  If the backup is set to manual then yes you do have to think about it but if you leave if for too long (around 14 days) Norton will remind you.  And at the moment there is nowhere for anything to back up to!

 

We knew that your disk was full.  With Norton or any other product that is not going to change and if you are  not going to get another external drive we have to create space on the current one.  That large 350+ GB backup file on disk F: is doing you little or no good, so getting it cleared out is going to do you nothing but good.  That is my thinking and why I have made the suggestions that I have.

 

I hope that is clearer now and that you will be content to try what I suggest.

Thank you for all you assistance.

 

I know that I can not change what is currently my situation and that most people will suggest that I go with a Norton product being on this forum.

 

I just want reliable perhaps third party back up in the interim.

 

I will try what you suggested. I am a bit hesitant about deleting the back up set off my F:, but you seem to be very knowledgeable about what to do and some troubleshooting for a person that is very ill. 

 

I wish I could buy another physical hard drive, but finances are extremely tight at the moment.

 

I will switch to manual.

 

Most people are afraid of data loss.

 

Having the E: drive tested has been a tough decision to move a couple of files. I also have some MS Word files that are linked to F: - so if I try and move them - I receive an error message. I have hundreds of pages.

 

I guess I am not not computer literate and also I get that my recycle bin is corrupt. Sorry to overload you with more information.

 

I also noted that on my other machine - There is a Check Current version. I have the old version - so  now I have to change that as well.

 

Thank you very, very much for looking at my issue. Can I post if I have any issues?

 

new  norton.PNG