Backup & Restore problem

Hi,

I have two m/cs, each running W7 Ultimate and both with the same (Trend Micro) Anti-Virus software. One of them is backing up fine and the other is no longer doing so.

The error message is "The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process". I have not found any way of finding out what the problem file is - I have looked in the event log, but no clues there as far as I can see. I have also disable my anti-virus softeware but that did not make any difference (and as said above the other m/c is ok). I have also made sure that no software applications are in use.

Can anyone give me some clue where to start looking or how I might resolve the issue.

Many Thanks

NormB

NormB, welcome to the forum! What you can do when you start to backup this computer, is type in "Task Manager" (w/o the quotes) in the Start Menu, and you will see the choice to "View running processes with Task Manager". From there, you'll have about five different options to view. You want to particularly check Processes & Services. That way, you can see what is consuming resources, and there's even the selection to "End Process", so that you can complete your backup.

Try that out and you'll probably find what's tying up the file. If you still have problems, post back, there may be other answers to your issue.

Best of Luck,
Cat

First off, I would reboot the computer - this should free any program locks on your files.

I would also run ccleaner, both the space option and the registry cleaning option - it would help remove any bad links to files you have moved or deleted.

Find links to ccleaner in our Freeware DB

BTW: you should really know what processes you are ending when you use "End Process" because it does not end them nicely - it forces them to terminate abruptly; no files are saved; everything is lost.

Thanks,
I took the advice to use ccleaner - found a few problems and fixed them.
Backup still failed.
I have since found the following..
User data backup working fine, problem is the systemimagebackup which fails right at the very end. Some 50Gb of files were written to the backup disk and then the error message - still no clue as to what problem is. Have looked at event log but does not seem to say.
Thanks
NormB

Just FYI, not everything ccleaner finds is really a major problem, broken links for example are simply skipped when encountered but it still helps a microsecond to just not have them there.

Is there and chance it is out of space?

and have you run a chkdsk c: /f to verify there are no drive issues?

One other thought that came to mind is libraries set up with criss-crossing paths. Like by default My Music has a library link under My Documents, if you were to create a library link under My Music which pointed to My Documents it can cause an infinite recursion problem. If you created any library links you want to make sure they are not chained this way.

Other than that I'm afraid I am at a loss and can only recommend trying other back-up software that is available, for example Macrium Reflect Free which is listed in our Freeware DB.

I agree with TM on this. Macrium Reflect Free is perhaps the best freeware backup on the market. Until I got Acronis, it was what I used for quite a while, and still do on my notebook. The default Windows backup, although better than nothing, is way too slow, and tends to hang at the slightest file/folder error. The only advantage the Windows backup has over Macrium, is that you can schedule backups. Other than that, Macrium wins hands down.

It's really easy to use, too. Just make sure that when you update it, you create a new recovery CD. The older version CD's won't work with the newer versions. Macrium offers an updated version on a regular basis.

Cat