Electronics

[SaRina]

I have a Windows 7 laptop set to automatically backup once a week to a disk in D: drive.  (I know, I should get an external drive, which I plan on doing.)  A couple of weeks ago, the backup failed, saying "Unsuccessful". I cleared my cache and cookies, did a virus scan, and rebooted.  When I then tried the backup manually, it appeared to be successful.

Same thing happened last week, but this time the message kept telling me that I needed to format the disk....but there was already the formatted disk I had used the week before, and only one time!  (I can usually get about 4 backups on a disk)  I removed that disk  and used a newly formatted disk.  Backup was successful.

This week, automatic backup failed again, but this time message said "computer can't find driver connection".  It's a pop-out disk drive.  I checked my Device settings, which indicated driver is working properly and has the most up-to-date install.

I have preliminarily checked Microsoft help sites, to no avail.  I can't find my specific problem and anything remotely similar is way too technical for me to understand.  I'll continue researching, but thought someone in the meantime may have experienced and solved this type of problem.  TIA.

[Nuttmeg]

You may want to use a new CD or DVD. I backup photo and contacts to a Google drive. You get 15GB of free storage using a Google drive, unlimited storage for photos with Google photos.

Google Drive Help https://support.google.com/drive/answer/2424384?hl=en

[SaRina]

@Nuttmeg, the CDs are new and I (formatted) and tried 4 of them with the same message about "no connection found".  

Thanks for the info and link, though!

[ChynnaBlue]

First, you are awesome for backing up so diligently!

Could be something wrong with the CD drive.  Are you able to play a music CD? Are you able to create anything manually on the same type of disc? Can you create a music CD? If not, it could be that the drive needs to be replaced. They're pretty cheap, but I think now sounds like a perfect time to get an external hard drive. They are SUPER easy to use and not very expensive. I love my external drive.

[ChynnaBlue]

I just realized  I said this all thinking of a desktop, not a laptop. If it's a laptop, I'd definitely get an external drive and not worry about replacing the drive in the computer.

I built my own desktop and have swapped out many parts in various desktops over the years, but the only things I've done to my laptops have been changing the battery pack and upgrading the RAM. Messing with anything else on a laptop scares me.

[Gokat]

I back up to an external drive here (Windows 7, 64 bit), @SaRina , so wouldn't experience your problem.  You don't mention any error codes (or whether Security Essentials is your virus protection of choice), but here's something I found that may help you out. 

http://www.pagestart.com/win7br0x8100003701.html

HTH's

[SaRina]

I just tried to back up again.  It proceeded, then stopped at 25%, then a message came on that the media in the drive is not formatted.  WTH?  Again, it was formatted from a successful manual back-up last week.  Then I took a brand new CD, formatted it successfully, and got the same message.  There were no "error messages" anywhere that I could find, even in the "Details" dialog box.

@Gokat -- I'm thinking in the back of my mind that my computer is somehow screwed up from the unpermissioned and automatic Win 10 updates my computer took, even though I downloaded the GWX Control to eliminate all Win 10 downloads.  The timing of this problem is very coincidental.  ;-)

Of course, my laptop is 6.5 years old and the driver could, indeed, be going (or gone).  But then why would my Devices info state that all is working properly?

Ok, I'm getting a bit frustrated with this, so does anyone have recs for an external drive, which I know virtually nothing about?  What should I be looking for in an external drive?  I don't need anything fancy.  

[SaRina]

A dialog box finally popped up that led me to the Error code, which I googled.  It says my error code can indicate a corrupted registry or corrupted files, but that there are numerous other possible reasons too.  This particular site suggested downloading a software "fix" for this particular error code, but I'm not about to do that.  

[Nuttmeg]

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@SaRina wrote:

I just tried to back up again.  It proceeded, then stopped at 25%, then a message came on that the media in the drive is not formatted.  WTH?  Again, it was formatted from a successful manual back-up last week.  Then I took a brand new CD, formatted it successfully, and got the same message.  There were no "error messages" anywhere that I could find, even in the "Details" dialog box.

@Gokat -- I'm thinking in the back of my mind that my computer is somehow screwed up from the unpermissioned and automatic Win 10 updates my computer took, even though I downloaded the GWX Control to eliminate all Win 10 downloads.  The timing of this problem is very coincidental.  ;-)

Of course, my laptop is 6.5 years old and the driver could, indeed, be going (or gone).  But then why would my Devices info state that all is working properly?

Ok, I'm getting a bit frustrated with this, so does anyone have recs for an external drive, which I know virtually nothing about?  What should I be looking for in an external drive?  I don't need anything fancy.  

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I buy a 1TB Western Digital 3.0 drive from Amazon. It is a "best seller" with a 3 year warranty. You can copy and paste your files from your computer to the HD.

[Gokat]

Lol!  I'm still using Clickfree here, @SaRina.  Creature of habit here and it works

As far as your thoughts on the Win 10 updates...Nothing would surprise me here.  One thing I would suggest, if you haven't already done so is to use CC Cleaner freebie to clean up your registry.  Mine needed it, after removing the Win 10 files with GWX.  I had been experiencing all kinds of problems with my computer not running correctly...from keys acting up to auto scrolling.  Yes, MS Win 10 updates can leave behind "goodies" that the GWX app doesn't tackle.

This wreaks of a software problem IMO.  I haven't experienced any issues with Device Manager mistakes with regard to drivers needing updating here...and I've checked many along the way.  Missing drivers...yes.  My network wireless adapter has always been a problem here...plays hide and seek occasionally. 

Hoping the fix comes to light for you soon, @SaRina .  Nothing's more frustrating than a computer utility acting up.