When looking at your backup selection, you may notice that some files are marked as "missing" or are not there at all. This might occur when you are attempting to download files to your computer or when you are checking for what is being backed up. There are several common reasons why this might occur.
Files are excluded by default
CrashPlan for Small Business is designed to back up your user files (pictures, music, documents, etc.), not your operating system or applications. For this reason, the CrashPlan app excludes certain temporary files and system files. Additionally, some metadata is unsupported. A summary of these excluded files is in the table below:
| File type | Examples |
|---|---|
| Application data |
/Users/<username>/Applications/ /Applications/ /Program Files/ /Program Files (x86)/ |
| Backup files | .bck, .bkf |
| Caches |
.cache, .qdat, .fcpcache, \AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Cache |
| Cookies | C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\INetCookies |
| Other | .part, .rbf, .tib |
| Temporary files | .tmp |
| Trash/Recycle bin | C:\$RECYCLE.BIN\ /Users/<username>/.Trash/ |
| System files |
.sys /srv/ |
| Virtual machines | .hdd, .hds, .pvm, .pvs, .vdi, .vfd, .vhd, .vmc, .vmdk, .vmem, .vmsd, .vmsn, .vmss, .vmtm, .vmwarevm, .vmx, .vmxf, .vsv, .nvram, .vud, .xva |
Note: These are global exclusions and cannot be overridden
Moved folders or files
Commonly, folders or files that display as missing have simply moved to a location outside your file selection. For example, if you were previously backing up files stored on an external drive, then the drive failed you and subsequently downloaded those files to a new location on your device, you may need to add the new location of the files to your backup file selection.
External drive
When the CrashPlan app reports an external drive as missing, it is most commonly a result of the drive letter or name changing. If the drive name or letter has not changed, try scanning the file selection using the steps below to see if the CrashPlan app detects the drive.
- From the Home screen of the application, select Settings.
- Click the Backup Sets tab.
- Click the options menu
next to the backup set name and select Scan for File Changes.
Please note: The CrashPlan app does not support Universal Naming Convention (UNC) file paths (for example, //SERVERNAME/shareddir/).
Deleted files
If the file or folder has been deleted from the device (and you didn't want it to be), you can download the deleted file to its original location using the steps below:
- From the Home screen of the application, select Restore Files.
- Click the options menu and select "Include deleted files".
For more information, see Why are files "missing" from my backup selection in CrashPlan for Small Business?