Support - Miscellaneous
Backup Server Items:
Client List is Empty at the Backup Server - BFW Version 5.0 and newer
DO NOT RE-TYPE OR RE-ENTER YOUR LIST OF BACKUP CLIENTS!
You DO NOT need to re-enter your Clients. If you find that your Client List is empty or has disappeared when you go to the
Backup Server, this is an indicator that there is a problem with the Database file
holding the client list. To fix this problem you need to run a rebuild
process that will recreate the account list.
Note - if you have recently reinstalled Backup for Workgroups or recently
changed storage drives, the problem could be the storage path is wrong. In
that case you will need to change the storage path.
If you have not reinstalled Backup for Workgroups and have not change storage
drives, then follow these steps to recreate the account list.
Step 1 - Stop the Backup for Workgroups Backup Service
- Right click on My Computer and select Manage
- At the Computer Management windows, expand "Services and
Application" and then highlight "Services".
- The right hand panel will now show all of the installed services.
Scroll the panel on the right until you see the service named "Backup
for Workgroups".
- Right click on the service and select Stop.
Step 2 - Download the Repair utility
Download the following file:
http://www.backup-for-workgroups.com/downloads/RebuildUserConfig.exe
Run this program it should display the path to the backup storage
location
– if this location is NOT correct, press the Browse button
and select the storage location that holds the file ServerConfig.hdb.
Press the Start button. It should complete almost
instantly. You should see entries for each client computer, if the
rebuild process does not show any entries and just says complete, then
you may have to close the utility run it again and look at the Path to
the storage. If it is not the correct path the backup storage,
press the BROWSE button, select the storage path and then press the
Start button.
Step 3. Start the Backup for Workgroups Service
Repeat step 1 above and chose to start the Backup for Workgroups service.
Step 4 - Go to the Backup for Workgroups Admin and edit the Client
list
When the rebuild utility recreates the client/user list it will reset
their password to “password” and it will clear any add-ons you have
selected. As a result, you will need to run Backup for Workgroups, go to the Clients panel and select each client name and press
modify. At each client you will need to check/tick any add-ons you may
have been using and you would also need to change the account's password to what
it had been in the past.
If you do not know what the client password was, then enter a new
password and save your changed. Then go to the Backup Client on the
computers that you are backing up and go to Tools -> Preferences. On the
Account Info screen enter the new password you assigned to that client.
Client List is Empty at the Data Repository - BFW Version 4.x and older
DO NOT RE-TYPE OR RE-ENTER YOUR LIST OF BACKUP CLIENTS!
You DO NOT need to re-enter your Clients. If you find that your Client List is empty or has disappeared when you go to the Data
Repository, this is an indicator that there is a problem with the Database file
holding the client list. To fix this problem you need to run a rebuild
process that will recreate the account list.
The rebuild process
Step 1 - Stop the Data Repository Manager
- Right click on My Computer and select Manage
- At the Computer Management windows, expand "Services and
Application" and then highlight "Services".
- The right hand panel will now show all of the installed services.
Scroll the panel on the right until you see the service named "Backup
for Workgroups Data Repository Manager".
- Right click on the service and select Stop.
Step 2 - Download the Repair utility
Download the following file:
http://www.backup-for-workgroups.com/downloads/RebuildUserConfig.exe
Run this program it should display the path to the Data Repository
storage location. Press the Start button. It should complete almost
instantly.
Step 3. Start the Data Repository Manager Service
Repeat step 1 above and chose to start the Data Repository service.
Step 4 - Go to the Data Repository Manager UI and edit the Client
list
When the rebuild utility recreates the client/user list it will reset
their password to “password” and it will clear any add-ons you have
selected. As a result, you will need to run the Data Repository Manager
UI, go to the Clients panel and select each client name and press
modify. At each client you will need to check/tick any add-ons you may
have been using and you would also need to change their password to what
they had been using.
If you do not know what the client password was, then enter a new
password and save your changed. Then go to the Backup Client on the
computers that you are backing up and go to Tools -> Preferences. On the
Account Info screen enter the new password you assigned to that client.
Preference settings are not retained
The Backup Server stores your preferences in a database file at the backup
storage drive and it also caches these settings in memory. If you make a
preference change the settings are written to the database file and to the
memory cache. The memory cache is used until the next time the Backup for
Workgroups Service is stopped and started. For example when the computer
is rebooted. At that time the database is read and loaded back into memory
cache.
If there is a problem writing to or reading from the file holding the
preferences, the Backup Server will revert to default settings.
If you find that the Backup Server settings are not being retained when the
Backup for Workgroups Backup Service is stopped / started, then the first item
to check is the backup storage drive.
Run Backup for Workgroups admin and go to the Storage panel.
See if the Storage panel lists the backup storage as "Active" or if there are
any problems listed. If the storage is exhibiting any problems fix the
problems then enter the preference settings again.
To test is your settings are being retained you can stop and start the Backup
for Workgroups service as follows:
- Right click on My Computer and select Manage
- At the Computer Management windows, expand "Services and
Application" and then highlight "Services".
- The right hand panel will now show all of the installed services.
Scroll the panel on the right until you see the service named "Backup
for Workgroups".
- Right click on the service and select Stop.
- Then repeat and choose Start.
Now open Backup for Workgroups and go to Tools -> Preferences and see
if your settings are retained. You can also test the settings by
making a change in a settings and save your changes. Then repeat
the process above of stopping and starting the Backup for Workgroups
service. Then open the Backup for Workgroups admin and go to Tools
-> Preferences and see if your change is retained.
Rotating Media
Do you rotate the backup media. Rotating the backup media is when you
change the drive that holds the backup data. If you change the backup drive
holding the backup data, then anytime you make a change to your preferences you
will have to repeat this change for each drive in the rotation. Since the
settings are stored with the backup storage drive, if you change the drive, the
settings will be based on the current backup drive that is in use. For
example if you have a two drive rotation, then any change to a preference would
need to be repeated per each of the two backup drives.
Reset Preferences to defaults
If the Storage location is fine and the settings keep resetting back to
defaults, you can force a rebuild of the configuration database as follows:
Step 1 - Stop the Backup for Workgroups Backup Service
- Right click on My Computer and select Manage
- At the Computer Management windows, expand "Services and
Application" and then highlight "Services".
- The right hand panel will now show all of the installed services.
Scroll the panel on the right until you see the service named "Backup
for Workgroups".
- Right click on the service and select Stop.
Step 2 - Remove the configuration file
Go to the primary storage location, this is the drive or folder that is
holding your backup data. You will see a file named
ServerConfig.hdb. Rename this file to something else to make it
appear as though it has been deleted. A good example would be to
rename the file from ServerConfig.hdb to ServerConfig.hdb.old.
Step 3. Start the Backup for Workgroups Service
Repeat step 1 above and chose to start the Backup for Workgroups service.
Step 4 - Go to the Backup for Workgroups Admin and edit the
Preferences and license keys
When you remove the ServerConfig.hdb all preferences will revert to
defaults. Go to Tools -> Preferences and re-enter your settings.
Press OK to save your changes. The license keys will also be lost, so go to
Tools -> Licensing and re-enter your license keys. Then you can perform the
test of stop and start the Backup for Workgroups Service to verify if the
settings are now retained.
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