Automatic backup is not working

ldylwyrva

The last time I tried to restore a file from my backup directory, I discovered that Quicken stopped doing automatic backups at some point. When I try to open the backup directory, I get a pop-up that says it doesn't exist, but will be created the first time a backup is done. However, I can find the backup file when I search for it through Windows, and the last automatic backup that appears to have been made was about two months ago. The manual backup feature is working fine.

Rich_M

@idylwyrva Quicken creates the Backup folder in the Quicken folder for you to save automatic backups.  If this folder is missing, it was either accidently deleted or moved somewhere.

I recommend using the Find Quicken Files feature to locate where all your data files and backups are.

Take a look at your Backup preferences to make sure that you have Automatic Backups checked.  Also, review the parameters that control how often Quicken creates a backup and the maximum number of backups it retains.

ps56k

Take a look at your Windows directory structure under the /Documents/Quicken/ folder -

There should be a folder called /Backup/

If not, then go find it..... also, you can update your Quicken backup settings to reflect whatever the current location or naming of that backup folder actually is...
Lastly, make sure it is checkmarked, and has a set of low numbers

-- Edit --> Preferences --> Backup

ldylwyrva

Thanks for the suggestion, but I had already taken those steps. The backup file folder is on my hard drive and Quicken is set up to automatically back up to that file, but the last automatic backup file I can find is from September, even though I have Automatic Backups set to run after running Quicken three times. I've been thinking about uninstalling and reinstalling the Quicken program, but I'm afraid to mess up my data files.

Rocket J Squirrel

ldylwyrva said:

I've been thinking about uninstalling and reinstalling the Quicken program, but I'm afraid to mess up my data files.

Uninstall/reinstall will not touch your data files. In any case, you can temporarily copy the files elsewhere if you remain concerned.

Sorry I don't know how to solve your problem with the backup folder.

Rich_M

@idylwyrva When you reinstall Quicken, your data files are not disturbed.

However, I would still recommend backing them up beforehand.

Boatnmaniac

@ldylwyrva - It is possible that something happened back in September that changed the location for the Backup folder, especially if you had done an unistall/reinstall.  You might want to go to File > Find Quicken Files.  If this is what happened, your "new" Backup folder files should show up during this search.  (Unfortunately, the search results screen cannot be expanded so it makes it difficult to see the entire file names and paths but they can be seen by hovering the cursor over them.)

ldylwyrva

Still no luck. I uninstalled and reinstalled Quicken, reset the automatic backup schedule, found where Quicken put my new backup directory, and then ran Quicken enough times to trigger an automatic backup, but still nothing happened. I used to get a pop up that told me Quicken was automatically backing up, but that doesn't happen anymore, either. My manual backup schedule is working fine. I'm mystified.

Boatnmaniac

ldylwyrva said:

Still no luck. I uninstalled and reinstalled Quicken, reset the automatic backup schedule, found where Quicken put my new backup directory, and then ran Quicken enough times to trigger an automatic backup, but still nothing happened. I used to get a pop up that told me Quicken was automatically backing up, but that doesn't happen anymore, either. My manual backup schedule is working fine. I'm mystified.

Me too.  Since you did an unistall and reinstall it seems even more odd that the auto backup is not working.  It makes me think that it really could be working but it's just not saving it in the expected Backup folder.  The default location for the Backup folder is in the same folder where the data file is located so if it's not there then where is it?  Of course, I could be wrong about this and there really is a problem with the installed program but it defies my understanding of what should be happening.

BTW, I don't recall ever getting a popup telling me that Quicken is automatically backing up the data file.  Maybe that is some preference that I never turned on.

Rocket J Squirrel

Boatnmaniac said:

BTW, I don't recall ever getting a popup telling me that Quicken is automatically backing up the data file.  Maybe that is some preference that I never turned on.

I see (or maybe saw) this from time to time. Maybe it's stopped appearing. It was never consistent. It also was a quick pop-up, so if you blinked, you'd miss it. No preference involved that I know of.

Sherlock

Rocket J Squirrel said:

Boatnmaniac said:

BTW, I don't recall ever getting a popup telling me that Quicken is automatically backing up the data file.  Maybe that is some preference that I never turned on.

I see (or maybe saw) this from time to time. Maybe it's stopped appearing. It was never consistent. It also was a quick pop-up, so if you blinked, you'd miss it. No preference involved that I know of.

I suspect the larger the Quicken file and the slower the disk write, the more likely it is you'll see the pop-up.

Rich_M

@idylwyrva As long as you have a Backup folder in your Quicken folder and see recent backups, then automatic backups are working, regardless of whether you catch the brief message that pops up when they are being created.

Rocket J Squirrel

Sherlock said:

I suspect the larger the Quicken file and the slower the disk write, the more likely it is you'll see the pop-up.

That is a perfectly reasonable theory, but seems not to be the case. My file isn't getting any smaller, my SSD isn't getting any slower, and I almost never see the pop-up even though I have auto-backup set to run every session. The backups do get written, though, so this is kind of a side issue.

Rich_M

@Rocket J Squirrel  If you have an SSD, you probably have a fast computer too, so I would agree with what @Sherlock said.

Rocket J Squirrel

Rich_M said:

@Rocket J Squirrel  If you have an SSD, you probably have a fast computer too, so I would agree with what @Sherlock said.

My point is that I do see the pop-up once in a while and it seems unpredictably random.

Rich_M

@Rocket J Squirrel I'm still using a 15 year old computer with a HD ... ... so I always see the message.

Rocket J Squirrel

@Rich_M didn't you mention in another post that you're using an older version of Quicken? Which version is that?

Rich_M

@Rocket J Squirrel Yes, it's in my signature.  I never had an issue with automatic backups with any version I've ever used.

We still haven't figured out why it's not working for this user.

d2ramsey

I have the same problem. I know where the backup files are and use Manual Backup often. Automatic backup does not work. Makes no difference if you see a popup, the backup folder does not include a backup file on my computer unless I do it manually. The auto backup is not on my computer anywhere, period, proven by using Windows explorer or Find Quicken Files in Quicken. This build R30.14 build 27.1.30.14 is buggy and should not have been released.

d2ramsey

I say it is buggy because this is not the only bug in the release. I have others.

UKR

Please take a look at the image posted earlier by @ps56k
Compare it with your settings.

For Automatic Backup and/or Manual Backup to work, it must be enabled ... that means, there must be a checkmark in the little boxes to the left of "Automatic ..." or "Manual ..."

I recommend you also set "Backup / Remind me after running Quicken [xx] times" to "1". One can never have enough backup copies. BTDTGTS!

If you suspect (or get messages about) "Backup failed", please perform all the steps in this document's Step (2) in the order specified:
Troubleshooting 101 - Fixing Software Installation and Data File Problems

thecreator

d2ramsey said:

I have the same problem. I know where the backup files are and use Manual Backup often. Automatic backup does not work. Makes no difference if you see a popup, the backup folder does not include a backup file on my computer unless I do it manually. The auto backup is not on my computer anywhere, period, proven by using Windows explorer or Find Quicken Files in Quicken. This build R30.14 build 27.1.30.14 is buggy and should not have been released.

Hi @d2ramsey ,

Automatic Backups, is done in a Sub-folder of your Quicken Data File.

J:\My Documents\Quicken\BACKUP

I have My Documents folder is its own partition.

Greg_the_Geek

@thecreator, FWIW you can now change the Automatic Backup Folder in Preferences.

Boatnmaniac

d2ramsey said:

I have the same problem. I know where the backup files are and use Manual Backup often. Automatic backup does not work. Makes no difference if you see a popup, the backup folder does not include a backup file on my computer unless I do it manually. The auto backup is not on my computer anywhere, period, proven by using Windows explorer or Find Quicken Files in Quicken. This build R30.14 build 27.1.30.14 is buggy and should not have been released.

I just noticed that of the 4 data files I'd opened and closed tonight, only the 1st one was backed up automatically.  After seeing that the other 3 did not do that I checked my preferences for auto backup and noted that the box for auto backup was checked in each file.  I then clicked on the blue link to open the backup folder which showed all the backup folders.  And then I clicked on the blue link for changing where to save the backups but did not change the backup location and instead simply confirmed that the correct location is already selected. After doing all this, I then opened and closed these 3 files again.  This time all 3 backed up automatically.  So, maybe if you haven't already done so, you might try the steps I took to see if your file will then backup.

I also checked the dates & times of all my backup files (I save 21 auto backups) and found no gaps for any of these 4 data files...until last night when, like tonight, only 1 of the 4 data files backed up automatically.  So for me this auto backup issue appears to be a very recent issue (just the last 2 nights) and was resolved by the steps noted above.  However, I will watch this over the next few days to see if there is recurrence. 

ldylwyrva

After mysteriously stopping automatic back ups a couple of months ago, Quicken just as mysteriously started automatic backups again a couple of days ago. The change appears to coincide with the installation of the most recent update.

Boatnmaniac

ldylwyrva said:

After mysteriously stopping automatic back ups a couple of months ago, Quicken just as mysteriously started automatic backups again a couple of days ago. The change appears to coincide with the installation of the most recent update.

You might want to keep an eye on this for a while, yet.  Over the last 2 days, of my 4 data files, only 3 automatically backed up without any prompting.  The other data file only automatically backed up after I'd unchecked and then rechecked the auto backup preference. 

Over the last few months it's been observed that installing Quicken updates has sometimes changed or deactivated some preferences requiring affected users to reset those preferences.  Maybe this is one of those situations but maybe it is something different.  Should know more by tomorrow.