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Backup Repair Results in All Backups Deleted - Any way to recover? RRS feed

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    Yesterday the WHS icon on my client PC's turned red/critical error.  I used WHS console to check network status which was "Critical - Backup database has errors".  I verified WHS is current at PP1 and tried server re-boot.  Same problem.  All disks are reported as "Healthy".  I then used the "Repair" option.  After it completed it reported that all backups had been deleted.

    Looking in the backup folder it appears they are still there but not recognized by WHS.  Is there anyway I can recover them?

    Config:
    AMD 3200+ single core
    ASUS A8N-SLI Deluxe mobo
    2GB RAM
    (4) WD 1TB disks
    No RAID

    WHS PP1

    Thanks in advance for any assistance/advice.

    Bill P
    Saturday, November 29, 2008 8:01 PM

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    Good new/bad news! 

    Good news is that I was able to get the previous backups recognized.  Bad news is that the fix also reinstated the problem that caused me to run the repair that deleted all the backups.  For anyone interested:

    Turns out the links in Colin's note contain part of the solution.  Steps that I took:

    To reinstate the missing backups:

    1. RDC to WHS
    2. Plugged external USB drive into Server.  Did NOT add it to server storage
    3. Stopped PDL and WHSBackup (from cmd box: net stop PDL & net stop WHSBackup)
    4. Copied all files in D:\folders\{0008086-058D-4C89-AB57-A7F909A47AB4} to the external drive
    5. Deleted all files from D:\folders\{0008086-058D-4C89-AB57-A7F909A47AB4}
    6. Started WHSBackup and PDL (from cmd box: net start WHSBackup & net start PDL)
    7. Uninstalled the connector from ALL client PC's
    8. Deleted the PC from the WHS Console Computers and Backups.  Warning...any data in the User folders must be copied to an external source before deleting them from the backups.  When the client is deleted the User folder will be removed
    9. Stopped PDL and WHSBackup (from cmd box: net stop PDL & net stop WHSBackup)
    10. Copied the files from the external drive back to D:\folders\{0008086-058D-4C89-AB57-A7F909A47AB4}
    11. Started WHSBackup and PDL (from cmd box: net start WHSBackup & net start PDL)
    12. Reinstalled the connector software on the clients.
    13. Bad news is that the problem that started this whole mess was also reinstated.  As soon as I turned WHSBackup on after the copy back I got the Network Critical message.

    From what I can see in the backup logs the problem occurred 11/27.  In the log the messages:
    8ac] Checker: Error: File Index.4096.dat contains out-of-order data near index 138843443
    8ac] Checker: Finished checking backup database consistency, 1 error(s) found.

    If repair is selected it will remove all backups from the catalog but leaves the datasets in the above folder.  All in all this is really a very bad and unacceptable problem.

    I'm marking this as closed/answered.  May try posting it as a backup database question tomorrow.

    Bill P

    • Marked as answer by gotfuzzy Sunday, November 30, 2008 4:12 AM
    Sunday, November 30, 2008 4:12 AM

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    Bill,
    While it reported them 'deleted', what does the Computers & Backups page say?
    If you have a spare drive, you could add this to the server, but designate it for use outside WHS. Then, using the manual method detailed in this document, copy off the appropriate files/folders. Them reboot the server and copy the files/folders back to the server in exactly the same place. It might trigger WHS into seeing them, it might not.

    Personally, I've lost my backups a couple of times, (user initiated), and instead of worrying about it, I just run a full set of Client Backups again. After all, the backups are just a disaster recovery aid, not a version of long term or versioning storage.

    Colin


    If anyone answers your query successfully, please mark it as 'Helpful', to guide other users.
    Saturday, November 29, 2008 8:14 PM
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    Colon,

    Thank you for the reply.  Sorry I forgot to include that Computers & Backups shows the same thing.  Four (4) clients, all showing "Not Backed Up".

    Unfortunatly I use the server for both methods, disaster recovery and versioning so if I lose them there will be a good deal of work lost.

    I am unable to view the document.  When I attempt to go to it I get "http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?Family-df20-4e19-92ca-6bda7bec3ecb&DisplayLang=en" cannot be found.  Any chance you can provide the document name?  I believe the reference is to stop the server backup service and copy the files to the external drive.  I am in the process of doing that now.

    I also remember seeing a reference that said to copy the files, uninstall the connector software from all client PC's and remove them from the server.  Then re-install the connector software on each PC as a way to get it to rebuild it's indexes, but I can't find it anymore.

    Bill P

    Saturday, November 29, 2008 8:29 PM
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    Bill,

    Try going to the WHS Documents  page, and then you need the Technical Brief for Backup & Restore.

    Also, have a read of this post by brubber, it's referring to database errors, but also includes the details of database restore.

    Colin


    If anyone answers your query successfully, please mark it as 'Helpful', to guide other users.
    Saturday, November 29, 2008 8:42 PM
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    Colon,

    I found it, thanks!  It's going to take me a while to digest that and the post.

    FYI the document link is now http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=196fe38c-df20-4e19-92ca-6bda7bec3ecb&DisplayLang=en

    And sorry about the long link, I haven't figured out how to make it a short reference...

    Thank you again for the assistance!

    Bill P

    Saturday, November 29, 2008 9:07 PM
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    Good new/bad news! 

    Good news is that I was able to get the previous backups recognized.  Bad news is that the fix also reinstated the problem that caused me to run the repair that deleted all the backups.  For anyone interested:

    Turns out the links in Colin's note contain part of the solution.  Steps that I took:

    To reinstate the missing backups:

    1. RDC to WHS
    2. Plugged external USB drive into Server.  Did NOT add it to server storage
    3. Stopped PDL and WHSBackup (from cmd box: net stop PDL & net stop WHSBackup)
    4. Copied all files in D:\folders\{0008086-058D-4C89-AB57-A7F909A47AB4} to the external drive
    5. Deleted all files from D:\folders\{0008086-058D-4C89-AB57-A7F909A47AB4}
    6. Started WHSBackup and PDL (from cmd box: net start WHSBackup & net start PDL)
    7. Uninstalled the connector from ALL client PC's
    8. Deleted the PC from the WHS Console Computers and Backups.  Warning...any data in the User folders must be copied to an external source before deleting them from the backups.  When the client is deleted the User folder will be removed
    9. Stopped PDL and WHSBackup (from cmd box: net stop PDL & net stop WHSBackup)
    10. Copied the files from the external drive back to D:\folders\{0008086-058D-4C89-AB57-A7F909A47AB4}
    11. Started WHSBackup and PDL (from cmd box: net start WHSBackup & net start PDL)
    12. Reinstalled the connector software on the clients.
    13. Bad news is that the problem that started this whole mess was also reinstated.  As soon as I turned WHSBackup on after the copy back I got the Network Critical message.

    From what I can see in the backup logs the problem occurred 11/27.  In the log the messages:
    8ac] Checker: Error: File Index.4096.dat contains out-of-order data near index 138843443
    8ac] Checker: Finished checking backup database consistency, 1 error(s) found.

    If repair is selected it will remove all backups from the catalog but leaves the datasets in the above folder.  All in all this is really a very bad and unacceptable problem.

    I'm marking this as closed/answered.  May try posting it as a backup database question tomorrow.

    Bill P

    • Marked as answer by gotfuzzy Sunday, November 30, 2008 4:12 AM
    Sunday, November 30, 2008 4:12 AM