Online Backup Failure

ALFAGold

I have reviewed most of the thread about this new feature but I am not finding my problem: First my version of Quicken is 59.35, Build 27.1.59.35, OS: Windows 10 Enterprise. I subscribed almost 4 weeks ago. There does appear to be backup versions visible in the "Restore" section. But they are not consistent with the dates I have recorded for when I executed the "Backup". There are gaps in dates and it doesn't record backups after the 10th one.

EVERY time I execute the Online backup the icon (cloud) in the top right side of the screen (left of transactions search dialog box) spins for a while, then I consistently get error message " Backup Failed" . It seems to NOT create a backup after 10 consecutive runs. I tried to run the online backup today 11/28/24 but when I look at the icon and view/restore feature it shows the last backup was 11/21/24.

So there are files showing a backup and some data (225.3 MB) in the View/Restore window per line. That volume of data is consistent with my local backups, so why is the feature showing "Backup Failed" every time I execute the Online Backup???

Quicken Kristina

Hello @ALFAGold,

To assist with this issue, I checked on our end, I can see that online backups are being created, with the most recent one being today. For the backup you did today (29 November), did you initiate that using the cloud icon, or did you initiate it through the Backup menu?

According to this FAQ on Online Backup, having only 10 backup files per Quicken file name is expected behavior. Once you hit that 10 file limit, what should happen is the oldest backup of that file will be removed and replaced with a new backup. You are able to lock a specific backup to prevent it from being removed. Due to the 10 backup limit per file, the maximum number of backups you can lock for a file is 9.

I look forward to your response!

Quicken Kristina

Hello @ALFAGold,

I haven't heard from you in a while. Do you still require assistance?

Thank you!

ALFAGold

Quicken Kristina, thank you for the replies above. I have been away and didn't check back here.

I did not understand that I was limited to 10 backups per Quicken file. I have continued to try to execute online backups without understanding that limitation. I haven't "locked" any backups so that is not an issue. As of tonight 1/19/25 at 2302 I have deleted ( or marked for deletion) every backup in the restore feature. There were only 9 in the list, but I have decided to start over and execute the Online Backup to see if "0" backups changes the behavior.

I used the AI agent chat, before coming here, and tried the suggestions about "Validating" the file and correcting any problems. There were a few minor ones but no statement of a corrupt file. I have saved the log file from that validation and am working with the new validated data file.

If I am limited to 10 backups, is there a recommended frequency, recommended time period over which the online backups are executed?

I do local backups daily because of the volume of transactions that occur in my files. I have had to rebuild a large amount of data in the past between backups files of 5 days or more and it's not fun.

I will return after a couple of online backups have executed.

Thank you

Quicken Kristina

Thank you for your reply,

To answer your question, there isn't really a recommended frequency, since not everyone uses Quicken the same way. If you use Quicken frequently and mostly update accounts through One Step Update downloading the information for you, then it would make sense to have the automatic backup trigger less often, since if you did need to restore a backup, most of the information could be quickly replaced by redownloading from the financial institutions (most financial institutions make approximately 90 days of transaction history available for automatic download into Quicken).

If you use the program infrequently, or tend to make a lot of manual entries, then it would make sense to have the automatic backup trigger more frequently, to save yourself work if restoring a backup is needed.

You can adjust the frequency of online backups by navigating in your Quicken program to Edit>Preferences>Backups.

I hope this helps!

ALFAGold

Thank you for your input and attention to my questions.

But, I have decided this feature isn't what I need. Backups every 5 days not comfortable to me. I will continue to backup my date locally on external drives more frequently so the recovery is not so onerous. I backup my entire computer online every day, and my Quicken files every day. That schedule is what gets me up and running in the minimal amount of time after a failure.

Quicken Kristina

Thank you for the follow-up,

While I'm sorry to hear the online backup feature doesn't meet your needs, I am glad that you found a resolution that does!

If you need further assistance, please feel free to reach out!