Can anyone tell me how to get WD Software backup to delete files when I have deleted them from the original folder? Its not much use if it won’t delete files when I do!
Thank you
Is it backup software (WD Smartware) or sync software (WD sync)?
If the former then that’s what it’s supposed to do - backup software should by definition keep versions of stuff that is deleted or altered. The whole point is to be able to recover stuff later that you may have previously deleted, either in error or deliberately but you then find you need.
Thank you. It is WD Smartware. I thought the purpose was to mirror the data that is being backed up, not keep documents that have been deleted because they are no longer wanted. Given this situation, if I needed to recover all my files I would be recovering a heap of deleted files unnecessarily.
Re WD Sync. I have downloaded it but when I go to run it, nothing happens. It’s as if it isn’t there, but it certainly is. Just nothing happens. Any idea why?
I’ve never used sync as it’s not something I’m interested in. I don’t need a mirror of the files that would only be useful in case of a full drive failure. So I can’t help there, but it does sound more like what you want.
I use Smartware as I want back-up that I can use to recover either deleted files or older versions (which Smartware can do). You can also recover individual files, you don’t need to do an all or nothing recovery. That said you need to be a little careful or you can end up with a large back-up including stuff you don’t need. But setting up Smartware carefully can overcome that, and it also applies equally to sync.
Thanks so much Darren. I have been looking for a manual to help me set up smartware carefully as you advise but haven’t found one. Are you aware of any instructions that would help me with this? Cheers
@Brenda1 Here is the User Manual for SmartWare.
Thanks so much cat0w
But now I have another question. Hopefully I will get this all sorted out soon!
I have just manually updated the software on my WDMyCloud device and as a result had to log in again before I could access Backups under WD Smartware. Now I find that a file I have added to one of my folders hasn’t been backed up. Do I have to reset the whole backup after updating the software?
You shouldn’t need to, no.
But any file which is open won’t be able to be backed up by Smartware, and it may take a while for it to see and do the back-up after that. After the update it’s also worth going back into it and checking that the back-up is enabled.
In that same screen you should be able to see if there are any files pending back-up and why.
Thanks Darren.
I am still having problems, in that having added some files to my computer, there is no activity under Backup. I do note, however, that there is a blue symbol of some sort under Backup next to the folder that has been updated. Does this mean that a backup is pending and if so, why is the backup not happening immediately?
Thank you again.
If you open Smartware and go to the backup tab it should show you what is backed up and what hasn’t been from the list you have selected (either by file or category). That second list will also tell you why the files haven’t been backed up yet (usually that they’re open or in use - Smartware doesn’t seem to be smart enough to use shadow file system copies).
It’s also worth double-checking that the backup is actually enabled (the button in the lower right hand corner) as once or twice I’ve found it’s somehow disabled itself.
Yes, I have done all of that. The files in question are not included in the second list and backup is enabled. In fact the only files in the second list are 5 which have against them “Access is denied”. There is also a message saying “Partial backup completed. Remaining files will be added later”. I was thinking that maybe changes to my files weren’t being backed up because there were files sitting there that the system couldn’t access. But then I checked and found that although the folder in which the new files are contained was ticked (in fact it has a dash against it rather than a tick but I assumed this meant the same thing) the sub-folders were not ticked. Once I ticked them the new files were backed up. Is there some way of keeping those folders ticked where I have chosen continuous backup? _
A folder with a dash means it will be partially backed up, as in some files/folders are selected inside it and some are not. The tick means all of them are, and the whole folder content will be backed up.
Once they’re ticked, a file or folder should always be backed up when they are updated/changed. I think if a folder is ticked and a new file is added to it that file should also automatically be ticked, whereas if it’s only partial (the folder has the dash) I think the new file may also need to be manually selected (ticked) to be backed up. I’m not 100% sure on that last point though I have to admit.
Ah thank you - for some reason, each day when I log on and start up MyCloud device and then check WD Smartware the folder that I have set to be backed up consistently has a dash against it. The other thing that happens each time is that I get an email alert message saying that there has been some failure of the device.
So now my questions are:
- Why am I getting these email messages every time I start up the device and what can I do about it? Todays says: Event title:System Shutting Down
Event description:The system is shutting down.
Severity:critical
Event code:2020
- Is the appearance of the dash related to these email messages?
Many thanks for all your help. I really appreciate it.
The MyCloud is a networked device, and isn’t designed to be switched on and off. It’s designed to be always-on, and to be available over the network for any device that may need to write to it. There are settings in its dashboard concerning those alerts - if you are routinely switching it on and off for some reason then you can probably just turn them off.
Or just leave the MyCloud switched on, then you won’t get the alerts. They are more designed to let you know about issues like power supply failures and the device crashing.
