Since this is the first report of this problem that I can recall, my first guess is that it is unrelated, but to try and point the spotlight our way - - Did the system backup fine until the WCG Agent was installed? Did it then begin failing immediately after installation? If the Agent is shut down (using Exit) before the backup begins, does the backup run to completion?

Also, are there similar systems running both the Agent and the backup successfully? If so, how similar are they?

As soon as I stop thinking about the CPU-intensive Agent and Rosetta program, a backup failure makes me wonder about:
A) Communications
B) Hard drive and file system

Since I am a network klutz, I would start by investigating the integrity of the file system and the drive. You might have done this already, so I will not embarass myself by giving detailed suggestions to someone who might be much more expert than myself. But I will give the link to our 'Useful Utilities' thread at: http://www.worldcommunitygrid.org/forums/wcg/viewthread?thread=2490

Do you have any more information that you can give us?

mycrofth

Additional information.
Server running XP Pro has the same problem when making a backup to an other system in the local network.

Hi SGI,
Your report really does make it sound as though the WCG Agent is implicated. Viktor's suggestion seems good to me:
The server is probably too important to use as a testbed, so you will probably want to stop the Agent on it while experimenting on the desktop. If Viktor's suggestion does not clear things up, then -- post back here in case somebody has a new idea. But if they do not, an additional step is to start playing with profiles. You can create profiles named Test1, Test2, etc. and force your Agent to download them by selecting the profile in My Grid, then using Task Manager on your desktop to stop WCGrid_Rosetta.exe. The Agent (UD.exe) interprets this as a catastrophic failure and downloads a new Work Unit, a new copy of WCGrid_Rosetta.exe, and any new profile that you have selected. Then you can check the Agent View to make sure that the Profile running is the new test profile that you selected. Examples of test profiles are a profile to run any time without a screensaver [be sure to select some other screensaver, such as blank on your desktop in this example] or to run only during hours when backup should not be running. Another profile possibility is disallowing communication during the backup period, but I do not think that this would be a regular problem such as you report, so I suggest ignoring it.

My general plan of action is to start by investigating Viktor's suggestion that regular check point writes to the hard disk in the WorldCommunityGrid directory are causing this problem [This really sounds like the solution.], but if that fails, go on to consider the possibility of some mysterious interaction with the screensaver.

mycrofth

Additional information:

The screensaver is NOT causing the trouble.

Hi SGI,
Thanks for trying. I think that you are right. The solution is likely to come from somebody who is running Microsoft Backup.

Some general info - most of the installation changes are in the Program Files\WorldCommunityGrid directory, where the temporary check point file is. We do not change the Registry, we just add a link to UD.exe in Startup, add a screensaver, add the uninstall routine and set up the menu choices. So even a simple delete of the startup link and changing the screensaver would effectively remove the program (though it would leave your disk cluttered with useless junk).

We will keep this problem with Microsoft Backup in mind. As I said before, it is an unfamiliar problem.

Best Wishes,
mycrofth