help

Troubleshooting V Stuff Backup

V Stuff - performance update July '09

We'd like to apologise to all our V Stuff customers who may have experienced a few performance related issues since V Stuff was launched. Just to let you know, that we are aware of the problems (mostly around logging in and speed of service) and have a team on the case working hard to get everything fixed as quickly as possible. Rest assured, everything you’ve stored on V Stuff is safe and sound, and we’ll keep tweaking and polishing to get everything working perfectly again.

What if I can’t remember my password?

If you’ve forgotten your password, you can reset it here.

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What if no backups are listed in V Stuff Online?

Have you downloaded and installed the V Stuff Backup software?

Have you logged in, selected what you want to back up, and started your initial backup?

Is V Stuff Backup running? There should be an icon in the notification area in the bottom right of your screen.

If you open the program for the first time, you will be asked to name your backup, and select files to be backed up.

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What happens if my initial backup is bigger than my allowance?

After selecting the folders and files you want to back up – and before you schedule an initial backup time - V Stuff Backup will carry out a scan of your selection, and will let you know whether you have enough space. You’ll see a progress bar counting the number of files you’re due to back up. If your selected files are bigger than your allowance, V Stuff Backup won’t let you proceed until you do one of the following:

  • change what you have selected to back up, and remove files or folders from your selection, e.g. large files like videos
  • upgrade to one of our higher broadband packages, which has a higher V Stuff Storage allowance
  • purchase a V Stuff Unlimited package for a small monthly fee

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What happens if I move to a broadband service with a lower storage allowance than the data I’ve already stored?

We’ll keep your data for you, but you won’t be able to run real time backup, upload any files, share files, or use your free prints allowance until you either clear out some unwanted data or upgrade your service.

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What happens to my data if I leave Virgin Media?

We will keep your data for 90 days from the day you disconnect, and you can download it any time within that period. However, your new files will not be backed up, and you will not be able to continue using the service to back up or upload files, even if the backup software is installed on your computer.

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What happens if I pause my initial backup?

No problem – you can start it again any time and it’ll pick up where it left off.

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How do I get my Windows Vista firewall to allow V Stuff Backup to access the internet?

To allow V Stuff Backup software to access the internet, go to:

  1. Start > Control panel
  2. Under Security click on Windows Firewall, and then click Allow a program through Windows firewall
  3. Then click on Add program...
  4. Choose virginmediabackup and confirm.

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How do I allow V Stuff Backup software to access my files and folders in Windows Vista?

  1. Right-click on the file or folder to which you want to allow access, e.g. My documents, and select “Properties” in the menu that appears.

  2. Click on the “Security” tab, and click on Edit. You may need to confirm this action.

  3. Click on the Add… button, and add your Windows account.

  4. Once you have added your account to the list, give yourself full access to the folder by ticking all the boxes.

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How do I start V Stuff Backup as an administrator on my computer?

  1. Right click on the shortcut to “Virgin Media Backup” on your desktop, and select “Properties” from the menu.

  2. Click on the “Compatibility” tab, and select checkbox “Run as administrator”.

  3. Click “OK” to confirm settings and quit the Properties menu.

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When I launch the software, it stops and restarts. How do I stop this from happening?

This problem can be caused by the User Account Control (UAC) function in Windows Vista. You can disable this by going through the following steps:

  1. Go to Start > Control Panel
  2. Select User Accounts and Family Safety
  3. Select User Accounts
  4. Switch off “User Account Control”
  5. Deselect the checkbox “Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer” and Click OK.

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My Outlook e-mail backup is blocked by Kaspersky. Why does this happen?

With Outlook 2003 or Outlook 2007, Kaspersky antivirus blocks V Stuff Backup access to e-mails and hence they cannot be backed up unless Kaspersky antivirus is temporarily disabled.

Versions of Outlook prior to Outlook 2003 are not supported by V Stuff.

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Real Time backups are not being carried out. Why does this happen?

Your real time backups cannot be performed if:

  • you switch off your computer
  • you are logged off.
  • You don’t have V Stuff Backup running
  • You are not connected to the internet
  • You have reached your maximum capacity.

Please try checking these points in order to fix the issue.

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How do I back up more than one version of edited files?

On the Advanced Settings tab, there is a Number of versions option. You can save from 1 to 7 versions of the same file.

The more versions you keep, the more space will be taken up.

Only one version of a file can be restored at a time. However, you can clear out several or all versions of a file at the same time.

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How do I restore a previous version of a file?

When you go to the Restore tab, you can choose to "Restore All versions”, and then select the version of your choice. Only one version of a file can be restored at a time.

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If you have only one e-mail program, e.g. Outlook Express, then you need to go through the following steps:

  • click on the files & folders button in the Restore tab to go to the directory tree in your storage area
  • browse the directory tree and select the emails you want to restore by ticking them – you can restore all of your email, particular folders (e.g. your Inbox or Sent Messages folder), or individual emails.
  • once you’ve selected the emails you want to restore, click the Restore now button.

Note that in Microsoft e-mail programs (Outlook Express, Outlook & Windows Mail), you will be able to see your restored e-mails immediately, whereas with others such as Thunderbird, you will have to restart your email program to see the restored emails.

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Why does backup stop on certain types of file?

There are 2 possible causes for this:

- your files are in use by another program, in which case you need to close other programs and allow the files to be backed up.

- your internet connection is unstable and you experience losses of connection, for example on a wireless connection. In this case, it’s worth trying again when your connection is more stable.

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What if I exceed my backup and storage limit?

V Stuff Backup will warn you that you are getting close to your backup and storage limit you’ll also be able to see how much space you’ve used and how much you’ve got left on the status bars in My Virgin Media and in V Stuff Online.

If you are getting close to using up your space you have a number of options:

  • Change what you have selected to back up, and remove files or folders from your selection, e.g. large files like videos
  • upgrade to one of our higher broadband packages, which has a higher V Stuff allowance
  • purchase V Stuff Unlimited for a small monthly fee.

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What if I can’t find my problem listed here?

If you still have a problem and can’t find the answer here, give us a call. You’ll find our number here.

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Backup support

Storage support

Photos support

23-03-2009