Backing up Buffalo NAS drives keeps failing

I have 2 buffalo Linkstation drives. I am trying to get one to backup, daily, to the other. Some folders work ok, but other backup jobs, ie other folders keeps failing to backup. I can’t work out why. There is a log generated each time but it doesn’t help me.

Any ideas, it’s driving me nuts. (I don’t have very much IT knowledge)

C

Care to post some of the log that shows why something fails to get backed up? Doesn’t have to be a huge block, a few related lines might be all that’s required.

Often things like this come down to permissions.

This is the email notification that i get

Backup Report

– Backup task2 has completed.
Backup result: A Disk Backup error has occurred.

[LinkStationInformation]
LinkStationName: buffalo1 (LS421DE)
Time: 2017/08/14 18:43:46
Setting Screen: http://192.168.4.148/

This is the last few lines of the log (not specifically from the same failed job)

chris/Copy of Lenovo desktop Oct 2015/Chris/second copy of Seddons desktop Jan 14/
chris/Copy of Lenovo desktop Oct 2015/Chris/second copy of Seddons desktop Jan 14/2010_CE_EN_FINAL_SAM_lr.pdf
9,563,385 100% 10.38MB/s 0:00:00 (xfr#15351, ir-chk=1165/23531)
chris/Copy of Lenovo desktop Oct 2015/Chris/second copy of Seddons desktop Jan 14/20120819_095629.jpg
1,768,159 100% 1.78MB/s 0:00:00 (xfr#15352, ir-chk=1164/23531)
chris/Copy of Lenovo desktop Oct 2015/Chris/second copy of Seddons desktop Jan 14/20120819_100020.jpg
1,879,844 100% 1.73MB/s 0:00:01 (xfr#15353, ir-chk=1163/23531)
chris/Copy of Lenovo desktop Oct 2015/Chris/second copy of Seddons desktop Jan 14/A108A Notification of visit by the HSE.doc
82,432 100% 2.38MB/s 0:00:00 (xfr#15354, ir-chk=1162/23531)
chris/Copy of Lenovo desktop Oct 2015/Chris/second copy of Seddons desktop Jan 14/ABR Nov Dec.pdf
267,487 100% 5.67MB/s 0:00:00 (xfr#15355, ir-chk=1161/23531)
chris/Copy of Lenovo desktop Oct 2015/Chris/second copy of Seddons desktop Jan 14/ARMSTART_Datasheet___WEB_Jan_2013.pdf
549,980 100% 7.28MB/s 0:00:00 (xfr#15356, ir-chk=1160/23531)
chris/Copy of Lenovo desktop Oct 2015/Chris/second copy of Seddons desktop Jan 14/Address specific site programme.xls
753,152 100% 7.98MB/s 0:00:00 (xfr#15357, ir-chk=1159/23531)
chris/Copy of Lenovo desktop Oct 2015/Chris/second copy of Seddons desktop Jan 14/Archive 2010.pst
1,759,650,816 100% 26.09MB/s 0:01:04 (xfr#15358, ir-chk=1158/23531)
chris/Copy of Lenovo desktop Oct 2015/Chris/second copy of Seddons desktop Jan 14/Archive 2011.pst
4,347,929,600 100% 26.08MB/s 0:02:39 (xfr#15359, ir-chk=1157/23531)
chris/Copy of Lenovo desktop Oct 2015/Chris/second copy of Seddons desktop Jan 14/Archive 2012.pst
Can’t write to backup destination(target disk is broken?).
——– END BACKUP 2017/08/11 22:34:48 array1/chris -> Buffalo2@array1/backups_post_Aug17 ——–

OK, so it’s not a log file as such just a summary email.

Buffalo Linkstations use Linux as their OS, what OS are you using on your computer? Getting to the bottom of this might require a bit of command line work.

It’s Win7 on my PC, but this is backing up NAS to NAS and runs even when all the PCs are turned off

They all seem to be quite large files. How are the two stations linked to each other? Could be timing out the file transfer.

PST files are Outlook files, 4Gb isn’t big for an Outlook archive.

Are you able to manually initiate a transfer of just one of the problem folders? One possibility is that the folder contains a shortcut which the SW follows and ends up back at itself

I can copy them across no problems, but obviously I need it to run a NAS-to-NAS daily backup really.

C

PST files are Outlook files, 4Gb isn’t big for an Outlook archive.

The type of file and how big it can be is irrelevant. If it’s a slow network link then it could be timing out.

I take it the firmware on both devices is up to date ?

A search for the error string gives this thread as the fourth hit!

This is Buffalo’s tech document describing it. The indication there is that it’s due to USB issues.

Firmware is all up to date.

There is no USB involved. Both NAS drives are hard wired into my home network.

C

Might be worth asking on the Buffalo forums then.

are they the longest filenames/paths you have ?
is there any kind of odd character in the failed filenames that maybe the process doesn’t like ?
did you click your heels together 3 times and say I wish I was backing kansas ?

I’m not sure about that long filename thing. Many files are buried in sub_sub_sub_sub_folders.

Is there a way to check without opening every single one up? That would take me weeks to do.

C

I’m not sure about that long filename thing. Many files are buried in sub_sub_sub_sub_folders.

Is there a way to check without opening every single one up? That would take me weeks to do.

C

Oooh – that sub_sub_sub folder thing could be the issue. Some filesystems have a 256 character max “filename” which *includes* all of the folder names in the hierarchy above where the file lives. So the filename of sub1/sub2/sub3/foo.text would be counted as sub1sub2sub3foo.text possibly with other escape characters to show the hierarchy. If you blow through the 256 characters with folder names it’ll error. I vaguely remember something like that affecting me years ago when I had a NAS rather than my current cloudy setup..

That sounds helpful. Its bedtime now but sounds like a job for tomorrow.

Ta v much

C

Oooh – that sub_sub_sub folder thing could be the issue

yeah, that’s what I was trying to say with “name/path”. My freebie software fails with long paths even if the final name is short