BT Cloud Won't Start

[RKM]

---

@jamieandangelawrote:
RKM post No 859

It seems to have alI (I think!) historic stuff as best as I can see, there are duplications so the new clearly is not clever enough to stop that.

---

Very strange.  I don't have any duplications (except for files that I have duplicated in different folders on my PC), however I only have extensive history on the cloud of files that have not been updated by the new app (ie. files that I have not created or modified since the update at the start of last December).

Sounds like there are still a few bugs, which have different user effects, to resolve.

[rperc13]

JTS1 Thanks for that full explanation. That means that I have never set out to sync, only to backup. Although I have other devices (tablet and smart phone) I don't use them for the things I do on my PC and don't have any files stored on them. So it seems that I don't need to sync and I don't think I ever intended to create a sync folder.

I am quite willing to wait for the new version of BT Cloud. I have ha direct email from BT promising that it will be issued soon. But do you think it would make a difference to the non-working back up if I deleted the sync folder?

Further update - another list of items has appeared in that box I just mentioned, apparently "uploaded" at some time yesterday. These are not TomTom files (I guess they couldn't be as I have now removed TomTom - mind you the others are still in that list, though not live). This time it is a number of pictures that I have on my PC, many of which at least are items I want to back up. I think they should have been uploaded already but I am not certain about that.

[JTS1]

---

@rperc13wrote:

JTS1 Thanks for that full explanation. That means that I have never set out to sync, only to backup. Although I have other devices (tablet and smart phone) I don't use them for the things I do on my PC and don't have any files stored on them. So it seems that I don't need to sync and I don't think I ever intended to create a sync folder.

I am quite willing to wait for the new version of BT Cloud. I have ha direct email from BT promising that it will be issued soon. But do you think it would make a difference to the non-working back up if I deleted the sync folder?

Further update - another list of items has appeared in that box I just mentioned, apparently "uploaded" at some time yesterday. These are not TomTom files (I guess they couldn't be as I have now removed TomTom - mind you the others are still in that list, though not live). This time it is a number of pictures that I have on my PC, many of which at least are items I want to back up. I think they should have been uploaded already but I am not certain about that.

---

It is possible that the list keeps adjusting adjusting as the syncing between your PC and the BT Cloud client has restarted.  This usually happens when files are added and/or removed.  If it keeps going, just let it happen by leaving you PC on. 

I would also be interested, when it does stop syncing, what happens if you move the BT Cloud Folder in File Explorer out of the "Document" folder up to the "Richard" level, which is where I believe it should be.  (It can always be moved back again if you choose to do so)

JTS1

[bpwatson]

Won't work on laptop (Windows 10) or phone and tablet (both Android).  After wasting hours of my time I find that this is a BT upgrade problem from early December.  They are a communications company so why can't they use modern communications to let us know there are problems. 

Fortunately my BT contract is up in the nect couple if weeks.  I've given them the benefit of the doubt too many times in the past but not this time  - I'm off.

[rperc13]

JTS1 The mystery to me is that, if it has started resyncing, why do I continue to get nothing when I click on the desktop icon, why do I continually get error messages all day, why does clicking on resume syncing do nothing, why do I have a red cloud on the pop up box? Is what it is dong "syncing" anyway by your definition?  It says the items in the list have been "uploaded". They may be items that weren't already in the cloud and that means it is doing back up, doesn't it?

I am very tempted to move the BT Cloud Sync folder up and see what happens.

[jamieandangela]

RKM Your post 885 said

Very strange.  I don't have any duplications (except for files that I have duplicated in different folders on my PC), however I only have extensive history on the cloud of files that have not been updated by the new app (ie. files that I have not created or modified since the update at the start of last December).

Sounds like there are still a few bugs, which have different user effects, to resolve.

Everything in the test version 21.1.1 has gone into the correct folders on the Cloud. So that is a positive, it is just disappointing that some photos and documents have duplicated. The other major positive is the test version working fine in the background with upsetting anything else on my Laptop. The last test version working fine for one day then on day two blocked up my computer so this version has passed that test.

Cheers

Jamie

[RKM]

---

@jamieandangelawrote:

RKM Your post 885 said

Very strange.  I don't have any duplications (except for files that I have duplicated in different folders on my PC), however I only have extensive history on the cloud of files that have not been updated by the new app (ie. files that I have not created or modified since the update at the start of last December).

Sounds like there are still a few bugs, which have different user effects, to resolve.

Everything in the test version 20.1.1 has gone into the correct folders on the Cloud. So that is a positive, it is just disapointing that some photos and documents have duplicated. The other major positive is the test version working fine in the background with upsetting anything else on my Laptop. The last test version working fine for one day then on day two blocked up my computer so this version has passed that test.

Cheers

Jamie

---

The last test version didn't work for me either after that first day, but at least it didn't lock up the computer and just quietly shut down or crashed within a second or so.  So, yes, this latest development is more reliable and stable, but some bugs do still remain.

It is quite possible, of course, that your file duplication and my loss of file history are both problems on the server side software, rather than the client app.  Either way, they are bugs that are unacceptable in a backup service so I would prefer then to be fixed rather than left to cause problems should emergency recovery be required.  A backup service that doesn't work reliably, or only does so with manual monitoring and intervention, is worse than useless: it is dangerous.

[Jules68]

I rather feel that the debacle of early December has forced many of us to look in more detail at the working of the BT Cloud (or not) such that many problems we are now discovering concerning what files are being backed up or synched (or not) and when, with how many copies, may have been inherent in the structure for some time. Other than those using synching to work on one file from multiple devices, for most of us Cloud backup is for disasters - and when these aren't happening we probably aren't worrying that much.

This strange process has forced us to.

I look forward to the new PC client app (although I ought to say that the old flawed 'first try' app isn't now working too badly for me, when I cleaned out old material and rebooted after initial load failures).

I hope the BT people involve are documenting issues well, to allow a proper drains-up and better processes for any future 'deep' changes - particularly as regards communicating with customers and proper notifications and warnings of changes upcoming.

[RKM]

---

@Jules68wrote:

I rather feel that the debacle of early December has forced many of us to look in more detail at the working of the BT Cloud (or not) such that many problems we are now discovering ... may have been inherent in the structure for some time.

---

Jules68, I completely agree.  I am certainly trying to give the new BTCloud app a thorough check-up now.  In fact I regard it as a responsibility to do so having been offered the opportunity to try out the new version before general release. I don't expect I will find all of the bugs, and certainly haven't found any of the file duplication that Jamie reported, but I am on the look out for problems much more than I normally would be.

Fortunately, the Web Interface shows exactly when each folder and file was uploaded, so it is relatively easy to which version of the App changed the behaviour.

Using the "All My Files" view, and prioritising the files and folders by "Date Last Modified", I can see that nothing was updated after 4th December 2020 (which is when I updated the Client App) until 17th December, when I was sent the test version that only worked for about 24hrs.  After that, nothing was updated until 15th January, when the latest pre-issue version completed its "metadata" generation.

Files that were last backed up BEFORE the 4th December 2020 update have full version history.

Files that were last backed up on 17th December 2020 and since 15th January (i.e. both of the test versions of the App that have not been generally released) only retain up to 4 history versions on the cloud.  In cases where the file has not been modified since 17th December, only the most recent version exists and all historical versions have been deleted.

This "Up to 4 versions" file limit is a significant reduction of backup robustness that has only appeared since the "upgrade".  

[JTS1]

---

@rperc13wrote:

JTS1 The mystery to me is that, if it has started resyncing, why do I continue to get nothing when I click on the desktop icon, why do I continually get error messages all day, why does clicking on resume syncing do nothing, why do I have a red cloud on the pop up box? Is what it is dong "syncing" anyway by your definition?  It says the items in the list have been "uploaded". They may be items that weren't already in the cloud and that means it is doing back up, doesn't it?

I am very tempted to move the BT Cloud Sync folder up and see what happens.

---

1. The mystery to me is that, if it has started re-syncing, why do I continue to get nothing when I click on the desktop icon?
   
   The Desktop icon is not directly associated with the syncing process.  You do (or did) get something when the desktop icon was/is clicked, the small cloud appears in your “Show hidden icons”, but the syncing cannot complete for a reason we have yet to establish and also you would not have a BT Cloud Folder on your PC if it hadn’t worked.
    
   The syncing process was initiated on the second Preference page, when you selected Enable BT Cloud sync, and also Make all BT Cloud content available on this computer.
   
   
2. Why do I continually get error messages all day
   
   You may be getting messages all day, believe this or not, because it is working correctly, or not.  The error messages are there to inform you of things you cannot see.  For example, if you see the words “initialising metadata”, that is normal (this is stated in the User Guide), and if it says that it “cannot find metadata”, it is still working, but the metadata cannot be found, because it is missing, or in the wrong place.
   
   
3. Is what it is doing "syncing" anyway by your definition?    It says the items in the list have been "uploaded"  
   
   It should be trying to sync, see para 1 above.  I don’t know where in the syncing process that this message appears, it is probably a Backup message; it is already known that there is an imminent fix for Backup folders.
   
   
4. Why do I have a red cloud on the pop up box?
   
   Probably because there is something stopping it from being Synced properly and/or completely due to an error (This type of Red cloud is not mentioned in the User Guide).
   
   
5. They may be items that weren't already in the cloud and that means it is doing back up, doesn't it?
   
   I don’t think so; we removed items and added none.  However, syncing is bi-directional. 

To keep your PC in Sync with the BT Cloud client, when you deleted files in your PC exactly the same deletion has to occur in the BT Cloud client to keep them in sync.  This may result in documents moving in the list you referred to.

I agree with your last line about MOVING (NOT COPYING) the BT Cloud up to the Richard folder, in its entirety, so long as you also have your Cloud contents backed up somewhere else, in case of an unexpected disastrous outcome.

JTS1