#145 Suddenly unable to start backup (threadError)

[Patrick Proba]

Hi Andrew,

I've been using AnyBackup 1.1.8 for many years now and never had any issues with it.
Now I'm suddenly not able to start the backup process anymore. Maybe I've hit some kind of upper limit (number of files / total size ?), who knows.

2022-05-22 13:55:57,848 - ERROR - threadError - Traceback (most recent call last):
File "C:\Users\Andrew\PycharmProjects\AnyBackupSF\anybackup\common\threading.py", line 19, in run
File "C:\Users\Andrew\PycharmProjects\AnyBackupSF\anybackup\frames\anyframe.py", line 806, in threadedBackup
File "C:\Users\Andrew\PycharmProjects\AnyBackupSF\anybackup\backupmanager.py", line 1071, in backupNewFiles
File "C:\Users\Andrew\PycharmProjects\AnyBackupSF\anybackup\backupmanager.py", line 645, in getDuplicates
File "C:\Users\Andrew\PycharmProjects\AnyBackupSF\anybackup\backupmanager.py", line 590, in hashifyDuplicates
File "C:\Users\Andrew\PycharmProjects\AnyBackupSF\anybackup\backupmanager.py", line 597, in chooseFileCopy
File "C:\Users\Andrew\PycharmProjects\AnyBackupSF\anybackup\sql.py", line 321, in isLocked
TypeError: 'NoneType' object has no attribute 'getitem'

I've already tried deleting all the old files and copying the new ones manually, which didn't help.
Then I've re-indexed everything, didn't help either.
Then I even removed all backup and content drives, re-added and indexed them again, which also didn't help.

Do you have any ideas what it could be? Something on my end?

Best regards,
Patrick

[Andrew Hopkinson]

I'm not sure exactly what's going on, but it looks to be related to encountering one or more duplicate files on at least one backup drive. What backup mode are you running in, balanced or sticky? I can see a code path for sticky that would cause it to bomb out in this way with duplicate files, you could try switching to balanced if so. Another case I could see causing this is if all your backup drives are locked.

Files are considered duplicate if they have the same path, file name, modified time, and file size.

[Patrick Proba]

Thanks for the quick reply.
I've been running sticky mode since ages. I've tried to change to balanced and indeed it seems to be working. At least I'm now able to get to the first prompt to connect a backup drive. Also, i'm now able to look at the list of duplicates that AnyBackup found. However, none of these files in the list look like duplicates to me.
So maybe there's a bug in the duplicate detection?

How would I go about finding the responsible file which causes the exception in sticky mode? Or can you provide a fix?

[Andrew Hopkinson]

There's a bug in duplicate file handling I'd like to fix, but I believe it's after the duplicates are detected. The only obvious path I can see for duplicates being erroneously detected is if there is a hash collision for two different path + name + modified time + size combinations. It's possible, but seems unlikely.

How large is the list of files to remove from backup drives, would it be easy for you to spot check and see if any of them exist on multiple backup drives?

Failing that, if you're comfortable with it, would you be able to provide me with a copy of your AnyBackup database file (c:\users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\AnyBackup\anybackup.db) so I can investigate? I can try to recreate the scenario on my end, but it'll be based on what I think the issue is.</username>

[Andrew Hopkinson]

Looking a little closer, I'm guessing the confusion here is what you're seeing in "Duplicate Files" / Ctrl+D, this setup shows you the duplicate copies that are set to be removed. Every one of these entries should have a corresponding copy on another drive if you search. Let me know if that's not the case. (As a cheap option here you can hit Search, choose "File" and drive type "Backup" and then put the file name in the query.)

My working assumption at this point is that the duplicate file detection works, but the handling is broken and specifically causes sticky mode to bomb out. I'm working on a fix based on this, but let me know if you're seeing something that suggests you don't actually have duplicate files.

[Andrew Hopkinson]

I've added a 1.1.9 build which has a few fixes for duplicate file handling which should fix the sticky mode crash. I also added a context item "Find All Copies" so you can easily find all copies on all disks from the "Duplicate Files" results. Let me know if you're still seeing issues.

Note It's been a long time since I've done a build and I lost my previous installer config. This means you'll need to uninstall first and then reinstall since it'll register as a new application. Your data should be saved in the process.

[Patrick Proba]

Sorry for replying late.
I did a spot check and you're right. I was indeed confused that it only showed me the copies without the original (to-be-kept) files.

I'm going to try 1.1.9 to see if it works with the sticky mode. Thanks for the active support so far!

[Patrick Proba]

Maybe a stupid question, but I don't see an obvious way to uninstall AnyBackup.
Should I just delete the C:\ProgramData\AnyBackup directory?

[Andrew Hopkinson]

There should be an entry in the windows programs and apps list that you can select and click uninstall on. Deleting the files manually and then reinstalling will work, but you might end up with an orphaned, duplicate AnyBackup entry in the programs list.

[Patrick Proba]

I didn't have an entry for AnyBackup (anymore?). Neither in the new Apps and Features list nor in the legacy control panel. The uninstall button in the start menu just brought up the programs list in the legacy control panel without pre-selecting an entry.
I ended up deleting the folder manually.

The settings were kept, as promised.

I changed back to sticky mode, refreshed my source drive and started the backup. No exception this time! Thank you so much for the support!
You can close the ticket now :)

[Andrew Hopkinson]

Great, I’m glad everything is working now.