Error Code 31 and don't you have a list of codes?

[Mike DSM]

Hello,

After upgrading to version 9.3 from something really old like 5.x it broke my existing backup configurations so I'm starting from scratch. I created a backup and batch file, set it to wake the machine and run at 6:00 AM today but it failed with Error Code 31: A device attached to the system is not functioning. [FindFirstFile].

I should point out that I'm backing up to the same NAS box that I was successfully using with the previous version (call it my Z drive). And just before the error code 31 message was: Cannot read file attributes of "Z:\".

However, I then ran the sync manually with no problems (so during a manual run it talks to the Z drive just fine).

I looked on your site for a list of error codes but can't find one. I also did a search on the forum but can't get below 992 results because the search tool refuses to allow numbers so "31" is ignored (even using Advanced Search).

Thank you,

Mike

[Plerry]

Note that drive mappings (e.g. your Z:-drive) are user specific.
Make sure that your scheduled task is run under user credentials for which a Z-drive is defined
and mapped to the intended location. And has suitable read and/or write rights there.
Conversely, instead of using drive-letter mappings you can refer to the network address
(e.g. \\[IP-address]\[ShareName] ). This is user independent.
Obviously, the user under which the scheduled task is run still needs to have
suitable read and/or write rights in the respective locations.

[Mike DSM]

Thanks Plerry.

Does that error code sound to you like a credentials problem? It doesn't to me, but as I said, I can't find a list of error codes on the website.

Yes, I do have the Windows Task authored by myself as Admin, same as I did when things worked before the upgrade.

Also, if user credentials or read/write rights on the Z drive were an issue, wouldn't that mean that it would also fail when I attempted to run the batch file manually? I have run the config file manually from within FFS and ran the batch file by double-clicking it in Windows Explorer, both successfully.

[Gianni1962]

Running a scheduled task with the following option set

[x] Run with highest privileges

will cause similar credentials problem?

[Mike DSM]

Thank you for that tip Gianni1962.

Actually I might be a victim of the opposite: upon examination I find that my old backups were set to run with highest privileges but my new backups were not! I have set the new backups to run with highest privileges and will see what happens at the scheduled times (tomorrow at 6:00 AM and 7:00 AM).

I'll post back afterwards.

[Mike DSM]

Gianni1962 thank you for the tip. Setting the Task to "Run with highest privileges" seems to have fixed my problem.

Plerry, I must say that I'm puzzled that this has indeed turned out to be a credentials problem as you first suspected. I never would have gotten that from the error message. Thank you for the valuable information regarding drive mappings, credentials, etc. All of your information I either didn't know or hadn't thought of.

Resolved! Many thanks!

[Zenju]

I've added a new FAQ item with solutions to common network problems in combination with Windows Task Scheduler:
https://freefilesync.org/faq.php#task-scheduler-network