Backup help needed - Seedvault gives strange error, no clue what to do

Using /e/OS Troubleshooting
1

**Hi All,
I wanted to make a backup of my well functioning Fairphone 6 with E/OS. So I can roll back to this moment when needed. Backup medium is a large USB disk (256) which is new. **

Backup to usb stick
Backup now >> “An error occured while running the backup”. No further information This happened for over 10 times. I did the following to solve it:

  1. tried again

  2. emptied cache Seedvault

  3. restarted phone

  4. Changed restore code

Settings:
Backup my apps >> yes
Backup my files >> no

When I checked backup medium:
Backup errors found
We checked 0B at an average speed of 0 B/s.
More info: “Backup errors found. We could not find any backups. Please run a successful back

up first and then try checking again.
java.io IOException: Unable to create directory: .SeedVaultAndroidBackup.org.calyxos.seedvault.core.backends.saf.SafRetryException: java.io.IOExcepetion: unable to create directory .SeedVaultAndroidBackup”

Note; for some reason can I make a backup to the old USB, but not to the new one (same type and size).

2

The first thing I would research is are these devices sold as OTG or are you using some sort of converter. As I understand it Android takes account of the “rather old” OTG specification. You describe both as “USB disk (256)” … and “usb stick”.

3

I have 2 identical usb drives of 256 GB. My idea was to make 2 backups of my phone on two separate devices. However, I can work on nr 1 but not on nr 2.

4

So when you set up backup #1 it would require the same device to continue to build the backup incrementally.

Backup #2 would be a fresh start but with same initial selections.

Ofc this should not preclude snapshots.

5

Which boils down to the question: how do I tell my phone I’d like to make two backups. I read the options in many ways but I haven’t found how to do that.

6

I think one simply starts a backup in a new location with a new recovery password. If in difficulties maybe the drive would need removal of some previous backup that failed. It will be in a hidden folder .SeedVaultAndroidBackup

7

Nope, that was exactly the problem I started with. I used a new USB-drive and it didn’t work while it works when I use the usb drive I used before.
So now I’m in a loop, see my first question.

9

The used before has files so SeedVault recognizes it as aibd mentiones, you might need to copy that to the other one

10

Sorry not to have been of more help. I should have probably referred you to this earlier.

Just to review. The first way you asked the question sounded like a problem with the new drive.

If we eliminated any “confusion” by Seedvault of what is required of it we are looking for why it cannot write to it.

Maybe you could experiment with file transfer to the drive to check for general compatibility? For instance Files app creating directories and copying some files to them.

Less likely the actual cause

When I start Seedvault with a “new_different” usb device connected > choose Backup location I see this view

1000018452
1000018452720×996 38.9 KB

For me this is readily identifiable as NEW.

If your two sticks / drives are identical it may be more difficult but can you tell one from another just by the free space?

This would indicate that Seedvault does see each device as “individual” and should confirm that you are setting up for a new instance.