We understand how imperative it is for backups to be run on schedule and be able to restore your data at a moment's notice. In the case of a missing backup, there are a handful of scenarios that can cause this issue. Let’s look at some best practices and what to look out for to prevent a missed backup.

Check your scheduled backup time

In the Jungle Disk Configuration Menu, check the scheduled section of your Backup Vault job by selecting ‘Schedule’. Under the label prompt ‘When a scheduled backup is missed:’, be sure that ‘Backup as soon as possible' is selected on the dropdown menu. This will prevent any backups from being missed.

Your computer was off or in hibernation mode

This happens to the best of us, nonetheless, it occurs from time to time. Unfortunately, Jungle Disk will not run backups if your computer is shut down or in hibernation mode. However, backups can run during sleep mode and you may configure this in the ‘Schedule’ for your Backup Vault job by checking the ‘Wake my computer from sleep for scheduled backups’ box. The best case scenario would be running the backup while it’s active and connected to the internet. You may also check the status of the backup on the Activity Monitor.

Next scheduled backup

To verify, be sure to check the Activity Monitor to see if your backup was completed and/or if it’s scheduled to run by launching the Jungle Disk application.

However, if you see the status of the next scheduled backup to ‘None scheduled’, be sure to check two things. First, make sure that backups are enabled by clicking the Enable Backup button on the Activity Monitor.

We also recommend checking your Backup Vault job by clicking Configure on the Activity Monitor and selecting your job. Be sure the ‘Allow this backup job to run’ box is checked.

Antivirus / Firewall

Whether you are a Mac or Windows user, you most likely have been acquainted with new security features that have prevented an application from running its course. If your backup was missed, try whitelisting Jungle Disk on your antivirus software and add Jungle Disk as an exception to your firewall settings. For Windows, you may check to launch Windows Security and add those exclusions. Take a look at our detailed guide:

File is open

Leaving a file open when a backup is taking place may cause some issues. One of the most common is in the case where an Outlook file fails to backup due to its .pst file extension attribute to lock the file while it’s open. It would also be best practice to close any Office application of a file that’s being backed up as well. You may read more about this in greater detail in our support article:

~ Trouble backing up Outlook .OST Files

The service is off / restarting service

Ensure that the service is on while your scheduled backup is running. You can check that the service is running by launching the Services menu. Once you open up Services, check Jungle Disk’s status is running and the startup type is set to Automatic. You may change the startup type by right-clicking selecting Properties, selecting the General tab, and setting Automatic on the dropdown menu next to Startup type. Once this step is completed, run a manual backup by clicking on the Start Backup button on the Activity Monitor. Take a look at our article below:

~ Restarting the Jungle Disk Service