Managed Machine Service Wipes Out settings

The night between 22-23 October suddenly all my (4 PC) e-mail notifications of backups was gone.
(The individual e-mail setting - not the global)
To get it working again has been a long story.
All my PC are Windows 10. All are updated and runs anti-virus software. 3 of them runs Avira and one of them runs the builtin from Microsoft. All of them are running Acronis Home version 2019.
The settings that had disappeared was: E-mail settings and Backup cleaning.
One PC I got started again just by correcting the settings and all was OK.
A second PC I fixed by uninstalling and before installing again using the cleanup tool provided by Acronis.
But the third and fourth PC was not so easy.
I finally found this url:
https://kb.acronis.com/content/60915
Which gave me some help to find the problem.
Complete uninstall (+ cleaning) and install did not solve the problem.
But the part where you rename the folders database to database.bak and script to script.bak led me to the solution. When I did this and after adjusted the settings they suddenly stayed.
(Also after doing a backup, which earlier wiped them out).
BUT - after restarting all services (alternative rebooting) the problem came back.
I now started to test the services one by one to see which one caused the problem.
And it was the Managed Machine Service.
Deactivating this has made my settings work (and stay) normally again.
So, now if I reboot the machines I check that the service is not running and I check my settings.
(So far the settings has stayed and service has stayed deactivated - so all is good for now)
In total I have spent around 15 hours to solve this problem.
It seems that something is not good with the service "Managed Machine Service" and I hope Acronis look into that. I can also mention that an upgrade to 2020 version did not solve the problem.
Only solution that worked was to deactivate the service after resetting by renaming folders database and script.
(I do believe it is the script folder that was the essential thing here)
If you find your settings wiped out by Acronis I hope the above can help.
P.S. My theory about this problem is that it is a so called "server side" problem.
Acronis probably changed something in the "dashboard" handling during October 22-23.
Which is connected to the "Managed Machine Service" that runs in Windows.
(Unless it is deactivated as I did to solve the problem)
I can also mention that in my first PC that was fixed just by adjusting the setting and no more fixing - This first PC actually has the "Managed Machine Service" activated.
The only difference between my 4 PC are that the 2 PC, that made most problems and now cannot have the service activated, I have earlier used the settings for "Notification" (global e-mail).
That has probably activated something in the installations so that backup-settings get lost when service is activated.
I guess that Acronis Home users (all of them) are hit by the problem if they:
a) Are running the service "Managed Machine Service"
b) Ever used or clicked the settings for "Notification" (Global e-mail)
At least that is my Theory ....

Steve Smith wrote:Erik, welcome to these public User Forums.
I have not had the issue where the settings kept changing after resetting them so thank you for sharing your finding here and in the ATI 2020 forum topic True Image 2020 -Backup option settings loss - where I have collated information from a number of other users hit by this issue, including myself.
Please can you submit Feedback direct to Acronis using the tool provided in the ATI GUI Help section along with a link to this forum topic, as this issue definitely needs further investigation by Acronis.
Hi Steve,
I have submitted a feedback from my GUI :-) as follows:
Hi Acronis,
As you might know there is a rather long discussion in your forum about settings that does not stick/stay. We are many customers who suffer from this problem and cannot use automatic cleanup of backups and cannot get (individual) e-mail reports. Both of them very important things in order to know that backups are performed as planned.
I have written about it here:
https://forum.acronis.com/forum/acronis-true-image-2019-forum/managed-m…
The rather long discussion is here:
https://forum.acronis.com/comment/518472#thread-top
I found, as you can read in my topic, a temporary fix by deactivate a service named "Managed Machine Service". But the problem needs a real solution. Hope you can work on that since this problem is a "major issue" for many users.
All the Best
Erik Linder
- Se connecter pour poster des commentaires

From this article it is also obvious that Acronis works with some cache:
https://kb.acronis.com/content/60915
Can it be that this cache is saved online? And handled by Acronis servers?
Communicated by the service "Managed Machine Service"?
In such case it can explain why so many of us lost settings at the same time (October 22-23).
(Maybe Acronis did something that emptied the cache in their servers)
And if the cache has priority over user settings it explains why settings disappear and does not stick.
(They do disappear after a backup if MMS service is active)
- Se connecter pour poster des commentaires

Erik, the cache mentioned in KB 60915 is really just dealing with the internal database stored on each computer wheren ATI is installed / used - this is not related to any cache that Acronis may keep in their own servers related to the MMS service or Cloud Dashboard feature etc.
Thanks for submitting Feedback to add to that from other users!
- Se connecter pour poster des commentaires
Acronis Links : Acronis Scheduler Manager : Acronis VSS Doctor : Backup Archive Compatibility : Cleanup Tool (All versions) : Cloning Disks : Contact Acronis Support : Difference between Backup and Disk Clone : Repair program / settings
MVP Assistant (Log Viewer) latest version see pinned topic in ACPHO forum page.
Acronis True Image User Guides available from Product Documentation page.
imTranslator for quick translation of language posts.
Please do NOT send private messages about urgent issues - open a forum topic instead where you will get a quicker response!!

Steve Smith wrote:Erik, the cache mentioned in KB 60915 is really just dealing with the internal database stored on each computer wheren ATI is installed / used - this is not related to any cache that Acronis may keep in their own servers related to the MMS service or Cloud Dashboard feature etc.
Thanks for submitting Feedback to add to that from other users!
Hi Steve,
Might be that you are correct about that.
But considering that several kb-articles says MMS service communicate with dashboard it is a real possibilety.
In dashboard it is possible to create and make settings for a backup.
So - they can obviously be communicated from Acronis servers towards individual PC.
So - why not the other way around?
Keep in mind that settings (with MMS service enabled) was erased again after making a backup (but stayed until backup performed). It strongly indicates that cache is not only local.
It would make sense and something caused this major outbreak of several PC's having settings wiped out.
I understand that Acronis has started to work on this problem and let's hope they solve it soon.
All the Best
- Se connecter pour poster des commentaires

Similar experience here on ATI 2020 and Windows 10. My backups had been running fine for quite some time, but when I checked the backup status the backups had stopped on 27th October. When I checked the settings my preferences had been replaced with "Do not schedule". I reset my preferences, and re-saved them, but on going back they revert to a "Custom scheme" which is different from my preferences.... my version of ATI 2020 is the latest one.
THIS IS VERY ANNOYING as I can't rely on Acronis' software. It is also potentially dangerous as I produce orchestral music and I can't risk losing my daily work backup.
It would be good practice for Acronis to inform users of major problems, along the lines of:
"Some users are currently experiencing a problem with their backups either not running or reverting to a default scheme. We are currently investigating the issue and will inform you of any progress"
either via the the application itself, or via email, which would be MUCH more useful than marketing emails.
Hopefully
Rudi
[edited for typo]
- Se connecter pour poster des commentaires

Rudi, please see topic True Image 2020 -Backup option settings loss - where Acronis are asking affected users to submit Feedback including an Acronis System Report and reference to that forum topic to enable better investigation of this issue.
- Se connecter pour poster des commentaires
Acronis Links : Acronis Scheduler Manager : Acronis VSS Doctor : Backup Archive Compatibility : Cleanup Tool (All versions) : Cloning Disks : Contact Acronis Support : Difference between Backup and Disk Clone : Repair program / settings
MVP Assistant (Log Viewer) latest version see pinned topic in ACPHO forum page.
Acronis True Image User Guides available from Product Documentation page.
imTranslator for quick translation of language posts.
Please do NOT send private messages about urgent issues - open a forum topic instead where you will get a quicker response!!

Erik thank you so much for your workaround for this problem. On 22/23 October 2019 all my machines stopped sending email notifications, stopped performing post-op commands, and changed from doing differential to incremental backups. I also found that the information reported about my backups in the Online Dashboard was completely messed up, showing random dates for the last backups and that my backups were still running at 99% complete, although they had in fact completed, albeit not according to my original settings. I am using ATI 2019.
I tried a repair install, clean install, and creating new backup schedules, but nothing fixed the problem. I thought I was going crazy until I read the forums and found that I am not alone with this problem.
As per your suggestion, stopping and disabling the Acronis Managed Machine Service Mini has worked for me, my settings now persist and everything is running to schedule. I hope Acronis fix this soon.
I have always found the underlying backup and recovery features of ATI to be excellent, the user interface meh but slowly improving, and the backup database and scheduling have unfortunately always been flaky. I still get orphaned backups as a result of ATI failures that I have to delete manually in File Explorer that the cleanup feature does not even detect.
This and past issues like the exclusion of Web browser favourites from backups have tried my patience and make me wonder about quality control at Acronis.
- Se connecter pour poster des commentaires

@Erik thank you too here - I tried your temp solution and my options no-longer reset themselves.
@Steve, thank you for the head-up, going through the thread now!
Let's hope a solution is forthcoming.
- Se connecter pour poster des commentaires

I just wanted to share that I too had all automated backups stop using ATI2019 after 23rd October.
It seems all personal settings have been reset on all backups:
- backup scheme
- wake up sleeping/hibernating computer
- notifications
- pre-post commands
- validation
- backup splitting
All this without updating ATI at all. It seems to have been a server side change.
I've yet to see if the settings will stick after resetting them. I only saw this thread after discovering the problem and setting back to my preference. Let's see!
By the way, I'm not convinced that having used the global email notification setting triggers the problem. I have been using the old-school email notification method for years and had never noticed the new global notification method. However, all my notifications stopped after 23rd October. Investigating this, I did then notice and set the new notification method and only noticed the problem with other backup settings after this. However, it seems the old-school email notification settings at least were cleared before I touched the new global email notification option.
By the way 2(!), so far I'm not convinced the new global email notification setting is reliable. It worked once on one machine when I set it. Since then I don't appear to get email notifications for any of my backups although the setting is set and the Acronis Online console shows the backups have been coimpleted. ???
- Se connecter pour poster des commentaires

Jon, please see topic True Image 2020 -Backup option settings loss - where Acronis are asking affected users to submit Feedback including an Acronis System Report and reference to that forum topic to enable better investigation of this issue.
- Se connecter pour poster des commentaires
Acronis Links : Acronis Scheduler Manager : Acronis VSS Doctor : Backup Archive Compatibility : Cleanup Tool (All versions) : Cloning Disks : Contact Acronis Support : Difference between Backup and Disk Clone : Repair program / settings
MVP Assistant (Log Viewer) latest version see pinned topic in ACPHO forum page.
Acronis True Image User Guides available from Product Documentation page.
imTranslator for quick translation of language posts.
Please do NOT send private messages about urgent issues - open a forum topic instead where you will get a quicker response!!
Acronis Links : Acronis Scheduler Manager : Acronis VSS Doctor : Backup Archive Compatibility : Cleanup Tool (All versions) : Cloning Disks : Contact Acronis Support : Difference between Backup and Disk Clone : Repair program / settings
MVP Assistant (Log Viewer) latest version see pinned topic in ACPHO forum page.
Acronis True Image User Guides available from Product Documentation page.
imTranslator for quick translation of language posts.
Please do NOT send private messages about urgent issues - open a forum topic instead where you will get a quicker response!!