Incremental File Backup Too Big Hardlink Warnings Code 50

Server
1

My incremental file backups are way to big based on the small number of files that I have changed on the client machine. I searched thru the forums and found a few similar posts but no resolution. In the server log, I am seeing this warning hundreds of times during the incremental file backup:

Creating hardlink from “D:\Backups\urbackup\ClientName\210207-0418\FileName.pdf” to “D:\Backups\urbackup\ClientName\210208-0734\FileName.pdf” failed. The request is not supported. (code: 50). Loading file…

My assumption is that it was trying to create a symbolic link to this file from the previous backup, but this failed so it is copying over the physical file instead. Since this message is in there hundreds of times, this would explain why my incremental file backup is so big. This question is why is this happening and how do I prevent it so I can get my incremental file backups down to a reasonable size?

Server Version: 2.4.13
Client Version: 2.4.11
Both are installed on Windows 10 Machines (2 different machines)

Thanks,
Dan

P.S.: I am using Stabilebit Drivepool on the Server computer and the Backups are stored on the Drivepool drive, but are not duplicated. I hope this would not be causing the issue, but thought I would mention it just in case.

P.S.2: In the client log, I am getting hundreds of this warning. Don’t know if this is related or not:

2021-02-08 07:35:58: WARNING: Parent of file with FRN 263742053178067565 (Name “03A900000002CA6D1DF3006C”) with FRN 80220368362537085 not found. Searching via MFT as fallback.
2021-02-08 07:35:58: WARNING: Parent directory not found in MFT. Was probably deleted.

2

Any insight into this? Any further information I can provide to help track the issue down?

3

I’ve hesitated to try, I know nothing whatsoever about Stabilebit Drivepool, it may or may not be a contributing factor. I’d for certain be wanting to run chkdsk on that drive before anything else though.

4

Thanks for giving it a shot!

FYI, for anyone who encounters this issue, It turns out that I was correct that the inability to create hard links IS related to using Drivepool as a software RAID for my multiple hard disks. I found this on the Drivepool forum:

"We don’t support hardlinks on the pool, at all.

Hardlinks are an NTFS object, and not an actual file (like other reparse points).
This means that we cannot support them as we are emulating NTFS on a virtual disk, rather than supporting NTFS natively.

This is also why Hard links only work on the same volume and not across volumes.

You need to use symlinks, reparse points or junctions instead."

So this has to be the reason my incremental backups are so big, junctions and symbolic links work, but any file pointed to with a hard link fails and then the full file is saved again.

Anyone using some other RAID solution on Windows for combining drives into a big enough drive to handle backups? Anyone know if Windows Storage Spaces will work?

Thanks,
Dan

5

Storage Spaces or Dynamic Disks will. As would motherboard RAID (Intel RST) though nobody much recommends that.