Missed backup causes on Server and Desktop

Why backups are missed

There are many reasons a scheduled backup can be missed. You will usually get an email warning first, and the portal shows the missed backup as a white bar in the timeline.

Common causes

• Permissions. By default, the backup scheduler service runs as the built-in Windows SYSTEM account, which can’t reach some data, such as network drives. A manual backup uses the logged-in user’s permissions instead, which is why manual backups often work when scheduled ones don’t. To fix this, run the service as a Windows account that can access the data.
• The service account has changed. If you set the service to run as a Windows user account, scheduled backups fail when that account is deleted or disabled, or its password changes.
• The backup scheduler service has stopped or won’t start. This is the most common cause on servers. See the steps below.
• The device is off or asleep. Desktops and laptops often miss backups because they were switched off or went into power-saving mode at the scheduled time.
• The time zone is wrong. The device’s time zone doesn’t match your region, so the backup runs at the wrong time.
• The backup software has been uninstalled.

Check the backup scheduler service

1. Press Windows key + R, type services.msc and press Enter. This opens Services. You can also search for Services from the Start menu.

   

2. Find Desktop Services (Desktop software) or Server Services (Server software).

   

   

3. If its status is Running, right-click it and click Restart to refresh its settings.
4. If it isn’t running, right-click it and click Start. Then right-click it, click Properties, and set Startup type to Automatic so it starts with Windows.
5. If the service won’t start, Windows shows the reason. If it runs as a Windows user account, open Properties → Log On and re-enter the account’s current password.

Devices that are off or travelling

Devices that are switched off at the scheduled time, or carried by staff working across time zones, miss fixed-time schedules. To make sure they still back up without relying on users to start them:

• Create a backup schedule that runs every 4 hours.

  

• Turn on Continuous Backup. Only do this on devices with plenty of resources, ideally with an SSD. Slower and older devices will see performance issues.

  

• Turn on a backup reminder when users sign out.

Check the logs

The logs show why a backup was missed or failed. The backup software keeps its settings and logs in these hidden folders:

Server: C:\Users\<username>\.obm
Desktop: C:\Users\<username>\.acb

The schedule didn’t run
The reason is in C:\Users\<username>\.obm\log\Scheduler\debug.log (desktop: .acb\log\Scheduler\debug.log). Logs for the previous nine days are kept here too.

The backup ran but failed
The reason is in C:\Users\<username>\.obm\log\<backup set ID>\Backup\ (desktop: the same path under .acb).

If you can’t resolve the issue, zip the whole .obm or .acb folder and attach it to a support ticket so we can check further.