Endless running backup after power failure (was: Back In Time Backup Issue After Power Failure)

[seohyunbae]

Hello,
I am a beginner Linux server administrator and recently encountered an issue while using Back In Time for backups. Here’s what happened:

1. During a backup process, the server's power was unexpectedly shut off, interrupting the backup.
2. A directory named new_snapshot was created, containing a save_to_continue file and some incomplete backup files.
3. I tried to delete new_snapshot using rm -rf new_snapshot, but it didn’t work.
4. As a temporary solution, I renamed the directory to dummy using mv new_snapshot dummy and attempted to restart the backup.
5. Normally, the backup process takes around 4 hours, but this time it has been running for over 10 hours and still hasn’t completed.

It seems like something has gone wrong, but I’ve been unable to find a solution even after extensive searching.

Could you please provide guidance on resolving this issue or suggest any relevant keywords that might help me investigate further?

Thank you for your time and assistance.

[buhtz]

Hello seohyunbae,

Thank you for taking the time to report the bug and providing the details. I appreciate your feedback, will investigate the issue, and work on a solution to the best of my ability.

Generally it is never a good idea to modify the backup folders manually.

3. I tried to delete new_snapshot using rm -rf new_snapshot, but it didn’t work.

What does "didn't work" mean? Was there an error message while executing rm?
That folder is a symlink to another folder. The names of the folders are created as timestamps. So you might be able to identify the folder related to the latest "broken" snapshot. Try to delete that folder, too.

5. Normally, the backup process takes around 4 hours, but this time it has been running for over 10 hours and still hasn’t completed.

It is hard to tell why this happens. If deleting the folder does not work...

• ..make sure there is on other instance of backintime running. Use ps -a | grep backintime. Kill them or reboot the whole machine.
• There could also be some orphaned lock files.
• It also might be that the hard disc is corrupt. Please check this, too.

For diagnostic reasons I would recommend to start the backup job on the shell using the --debug switch. The output then might give some evidence. If you have only one backup profile configured you can execute backintime backup --debug. If you have several profiles you need to specify its name with backintime backup --profile NAME --debug.

If you have any more details to share, feel free to reach out.

Please see the projects background information to get an idea about our workflow and priorities:

• Maintenance status
• The team
• Strategy outline / Roadmap

Best regards,
Christian

[buhtz]

Hello seohyunbae,
i need some feedback and response to my questions. Otherwise I am not able to work further on that issue and need to close it.
Regards,
Christian