Back-up files are not updated when back-up is executed

WD External Drives External Drives for PC
1

I have made certain that the settings are correct, but the back-up files are not being updated. I have a mess in my folders /directory from the back-ups - and I may just be unable to find the latest back-up! i do get a message re: last back-up date/time, so apparently, it is happening.
I think maybe I should uninstall and reinstall WD Backup, and possibly may need to delete the earlier back-up files, but will lose some files which have since been eliminated from my computer.

Please answer these 2 questions!

1. Can I keep an earlier version of my back-up files and keep those safe if I create a new back up set of files, which will in future be where my files back-up?
2. If I can get this straightened out, can anyone tell me where I went wrong and why so many levels of folders were created?

This is some background:
my folders look like this:

WD Backup.swstor
my comp name
NkjdfaDfiojfajdfk a lot of random letters&few #
History
Volume (more random stuff)
users
my comp name
.oracle-IRE_USAGE
AppData
Documents
and the other folders you’d expect
Volume (same # as above) - but at the level of History folder above & with the same folder structure underneath – BUT the DOCUMENTS folder does not have the same number of files and folders!! The top set has unusable files, with the same name when matched up with later files, but with extensions to names (LAST appears in many) and represented by a blank icon (not Word or Xcel icon).

Laying this out has given me some ideas, but What the hell is going on??

Help!

2

Hi,

  1. Do not delete anything on the Backup drive. If you used WD Backup, then you may be able to Restore any files you deleted from your PC. Open WD Backup and select Help at the bottom left of the screen. Look at the Restore instructions. Go back to the main screen and select Restore at the top. See if you can find the files you need and restore them to your PC. Then, if you still need to, you can erase the WD disk and start all over.

  2. The problem is that you (and many others) try to use Windows to exam the contents of the backup drive (WD Backup.swstor). The organization there is very confusing. Keep out! The Restore function in WD BAckup is actually the place to go. You can even open any file of any dated backup.
    (The multiple folders probably represent the different dates/time of back up.)

I hope this helps.
Cliff

3

Cliff, I have a simpler problem I hope you can help with. I’ve been backing up with a 2 TB easystore since 2017 and now I’m told the drive is full. I deleted files dated between 10-22-17 to 6-18-18, as asked, but the drive is still full. I don’t have a need to restore at this time, and am willing to sacrifice all old files if I can capture the new ones. I thought my weekly backups were "smart’ and the old files were simply updated as we went along. Another user is on this disk, also not storing anything critical.
Do I need to format? How to proceed? Thanks.