Autoback is still brocken. Not accepteble!

Anonymous · ‎01-05-2017

Hellethere. The aoutoback funktion in 3ds max have been brocken for more than a decade now. Why does it not Work as it shoud and why have it not been fixed. It saves sometimes yes. It should be every 5 minute, but that NEVER happens! Sometimes it just stops completely working! For over 10 years it have been brocken in all versions of max! Its NOT my computer thats the problem IT IS 3ds max thats the problem. When will it be fixed? Why can i download plugins thats ALOT better than what the Autodesk 3ds developers can do. I am pissed. Its a very expencive Tool and aoutoback funktion should be working!

irishman_team_kilber · ‎01-05-2017

Sometimes it's the software and other time it's the user, the autoback is set to to 3 and you can increase that and you can change the amount of times you can have max autosave your files. i have been using max for 7 years and never had a problem with the backup....

you have been using max for 10 years and had a problem with every single version yes right, you would of spoken to us earlier and autodesk staff on here would of put a report in about the problem you have.

Edited by
Discussion_Admin

lightcube · ‎01-05-2017

I've never experienced this issue. But maybe it relates to having it set to 5 minutes. When I install a new version of Max the first thing I do is up that every 45 minutes instead. This is because auto-backup can slow you down if it's happening too frequently and the file is very complex--so if your scene takes 20 seconds to save, it seems like too much time is spent waiting for autobackup to finish if set to every 5 minutes. (In other words, over the course of an 8-hour work day, that turns into 32 minutes of waiting for Max to finish the autobackup).

So that brings me to two things to consider:

1) How long does it take for your scenes that fail to save? If those files take a long time, it may be that the save time overlaps the interval and causes it to skip. This is just an idea.

2) Is your autobackup folder writable?

Shawn Olson

Developer of Wall Worm

3ds Max 4/Gmax - 3ds Max 2027
Mudbox 2009-2022

Windows 11 x64
i9 11900K
128GB RAM
Geforce 3090

Alfred.DeFlaminis · ‎01-06-2017

Hello @Anonymous welcome to the community,

The only time I've seen autoback fail is when the drive is close to full and it doesn't have the space to write over the object. I see one bug listed for autoback in Max 2014 related to cloth modifiers in specific circumstances. Which version of Max are you using? You're not really giving a lot of information about the problem here, but if you go into greater detail about the problem I would appreciate it.

The biggest mistake people make is to arrange the autoback folder by 'date created' which is wrong because autoback will cycle over and rewrite the old files. You must organize the folder by 'date modified' and then your latest autoback file will be on the top of the list. I suspect it was being arranged by creation date rather than modified date and that's why it seems like it's not working. Or, maybe some of your autoback files are set to read-only. Thanks for any additional information.

Best Regards,

Anonymous · ‎01-10-2017

No my disk is not full. No i dont have a disk taht slows anything Down. The aoutoback Works somehow and sometime and sometimes perfekt... And then sometimes its just dont Work. The problem had been the same since I startet using max 13 years ago. If its not a problem, why is there a dosen of plugins that fixes the problem? Why use time on such a plugin? I make 10 aoutobacks and I know how to use the software!

Edited by
Discussion_Admin

irishman_team_kilber · ‎01-10-2017

If the backup files are broken then you can use the save as + on the bottom RT on the screen to the LT of the save icon

Edited by
Discussion_Admin

5vil · ‎01-10-2017

I haven't never got this problem on my own. But indeed, I got a question related to this function from a younger buddy at work. I come and check his 3ds max in his desk and autoback actually doesn't work in his PC. I haven't time to check on the problem but now reading this thread make me think that perhaps there's something wrong with his scene (such as cloth modifier in certain circumtance like you mentioned above).

When I check his PC, he has 3ds max auto-saving... and it clearly display in status bar below 3ds max viewport. But when navigate to autobackup folder on that user account, there's not any file created/modified that day (newest is 2 days backward from that moment). There're 2 different version of 3dsmax in his PC, but as I know, all versions share the same document for same Windows user account. His C Win OS drive have got enough free space. That's a little weird. But it's just that. I just think it's random happening then ignore it until today I read this thread. But very likely that'd be my part of mistake in checking his PC because I don't really keep focus that moment honestly (not so sure if it really about autoback malfunction or something else).

kris · ‎01-10-2017

Clearly the best option to see if it's the scene is to make a blank scene, add a few boxes, mess with it doing nothing in particular for a while. Check the autoback files, and make sure all is well. If they are, it's something you're adding to your scenes that's causing the problem. One thing is certain: just because one person has an issue, and another does not does not mean there isn't a real problem. Max is FULL of bugs that only show up in some cases.

I've got relatively complex scenes most of the time, and autoback works just fine. However, having used max for long enough, you can't expect autoback to catch changes... I CTRL+S constantly out of habit. I hate doing things twice.

Kris.

Alfred.DeFlaminis · ‎01-11-2017

Hello @Anonymous,

Are you a path of exile player? I used to have a rainbownuke/discharge build with some crazy mjolner hammer I got once... ok back to the issue. It's true that just because I haven't seen this doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I'd love to help and I just need a bit more information.

Can you please link to me one of these scripts? It might help me to understand the issue so I can help here. Thank you for doing so. It may be a problem that affects non-English versions of Max which might account for my lack of familiarity. Is it possible that your project folder is set somewhere else? I'd like to help but I need more information. Can you please tell me your Max version and current OS and service pack? Is it possible your Windows username has any special characters in it? (Non-English characters such as ó, ò, ñ?) Thank you very much @Anonymous for the information.

@5vil, I wonder if the autoback location it's saving too is not the default location. I know the windows search can be a bit strange if it hasn't indexed lately, but it might be worth doing a search for *.max created in the past 24 hours. I'd like to log this problem, I just need more information.

I have to confess two things here to everyone. First, I'm human and I don't know everything. I try my best to understand a problem work from there. I know I don't have a perfect 'spot the bug' record, but I am persistent and I want to help. The second thing is that when there is some hostility like this I find it very difficult to concentrate and I worry about the experience for users that are here to read or to get help. I sincerely hope we can all communicate in a way that makes people feel good at the end of the day. Thank you.

EDIT: make->makes.

Best Regards,

dgorsman · ‎01-11-2017

@Anonymous

@irishman_team_kilber

Please, settle down. For starters, you're both violating terms of use of the discussion boards. Flaming, swearing, etc. isn't permitted and doesn't help anyone let alone yourselves. For now I'm just posting this; if it continues I'll be flagging it for the moderators.

If you have to, walk away for a day or two and come back fresh.

----------------------------------
If you are going to fly by the seat of your pants, expect friction burns.
"I don't know" is the beginning of knowledge, not the end.

Discussion_Admin · ‎01-11-2017

@dgorsman wrote:

@Anonymous

@irishman_team_kilber
I'll be flagging it for the moderators.

Never mind @dgorsman moderation found it.

I did remove\edit some posts in this thread.

For some of you this is not the first time moderation has had to step in due to ground rule violations. a reminder that continued behavior of this type can cause additional actions by moderation.

When in doubt about if your tone is acceptable or not.

Please remember these are professional forums and as such deserve a professional decorum when participating.

Thanks
Discussion_Admin

Using the Autodesk community | Community Feedback | Expert Elite Program | Product Feedback

5vil · ‎01-11-2017

@Alfred.DeFlaminis wrote:
@5vil, I wonder if the autoback location it's saving too is not the default location. I know the windows search can be a bit strange if it hasn't indexed lately, but it might be worth doing a search for *.max created in the past 24 hours. I'd like to log this problem, I just need more information.

Today, I come and check Configure User Paths in the given PC and see the project folder has been changed (the user of that PC didn't change it and the project folder location was changed to a network drive where it has nothing to do with his project). I overlooked (missed) it, thanks for suggest the cause @Alfred.DeFlaminis. So the situation I mentioned above turns out not autoback problem but my mistake in checking 3dsmax setting.

Alfred.DeFlaminis · ‎01-11-2017

Thank you very much for the update @5vil, I appreciate it!

@Anonymous, please let me know if your issue is possibly related. Thanks very much!

Best Regards,

Alfred.DeFlaminis · ‎01-12-2017

Hello @Anonymous,

I just wanted to follow up here, any progress on this issue? Would it be possible to link one of these scripts that address your autoback issues for me, please?

Best Regards,

Anonymous · ‎02-22-2018

Hello. I had a very similar problem where my autobacks were unpredictable and not following my defined time (every 4 minutes).

I fixed the problem but changing my save location (under Customize> Configure User Paths) to the desktop. I saved my file and waited 5 mins. Then I changed the Autoback save location back to the original place. This fixed it!

(I found this solution on this forum post: https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/autocad-for-mac-forum/autosave-not-working/td-p/2934770)

Anonymous · ‎03-06-2018

I have also had problems with Autoback. It does not work too well / its not super reliable.

For example, it definitely does not save files at the specified interval. Lets say I set it to save every 10 minutes - that does not happen. It will save out at quite a random interval, and sometime with large gaps.

The other thing i dont like about it - i keep turning "OFF" the option to backup after every save - but it completely ignores this preference - it keeps saving a backup file after each save when i have ticked off the option. Just one of many annoying little things that dont work properly