Cannot delete old Acronis backup files from external drive
I need to create more space on my external USB drive but I cannot delete old Acronis Backup files. I get an error message as follows.... "You'll need to provide administrator permission to delete this folder"
Hi FtrPilot
I cant believe how much time I have wasted trying to solve this and your advice was soooooo correct and soooo simple, I feel embarrassed to admit it. Why this wasn't clearly communicated by Acronis I will never know. But you solved it and I am very thankful to you for it.
In reply to Hi FtrPilot… by terry rimmer
How and where do I turn this off?
In reply to See KB 60190: Acronis True… by Steve Smith
Hi Steve
thank you for answering this further query from another Acronis user. Much appreciated.
regards
Yes this is an issue with the software. I am having the same problem. I do not have privilege to delete a back set / file from my USB drive! Active protection is not on (never has been) version 2019 14690 really doesn't matter if Active protection is turned on or not the service is installed during a upgrade or possibility new install. Try sorting the task manager in Windows and stop the activeprotectionservice worked for me. You would think turning it of would include stopping the service.
I don't have protection active. In the 2021 version that I have you have to open acronis and delete the backups from the drop down menu of each one. There are also other options such as move the backup to a different HD, etc.
With the 2022 version (at least) running on W10, Task Manager may not be able to stop the process. It may not even be possible to dynamically stop the service from within the Windows Services console. One workaround is to disable the associated service from starting, rebooting, doing the deletes, etc., you wanted to, re-enabling the service and rebooting.
To wit, in all its gory detail:
<Do the following at your own risk.>
a. Within Acronis turn off the protection service, if it isn't off already.
b. Start the Windows Services console and Disable the AcronisActiveProtectionService
i. To do the former in W10, type "services" in the w10 search bar and hit return; the Services console will come up.
ii. To do the Disabling, double-click the AcronisActiveProtectionService (it may well be the first one in the alphabetical list of services). In the window that comes up, make a note of what the "Startup type:" is; then set it to: "Disabled". Apply the change, click OK, and close the Services window.
c. Reboot.
d. Delete files and folders to your heart's delight. BUT BE CAREFUL, there's nothing protecting ANY of your backup files anymore.
e. Go back to Services and reset the Startup type to what it was before. You made a note of it in step 'b.ii'. If you forgot to, set it to "Automatic", and you'll probably be fine.
f. Reboot
g. Start Acronis and set the protection service to whatever you want.
h. END.
NOTE: It SEEMS that Acronis will still work (without active protection) after step 'd.' That is, one can leave the active protection service disabled permanently, although it might not be a safe thing for one to do, depending on how one uses Acronis.