Favourites and Auto_Backup

[Karl Harrison]

My box decided to retune itself this morning. When I went to restore the schedule and my favourite from the auto_backup I found that all the auto_backups did not have my favorites saved only my schedule?
After I had reset my favourite list I did a manual backup and this correctly lists both my schedule and favourite.

Is this how it is supposed to work?
Can the auto_backup be set up to include both?

Thanks

 

[Black Hole]

So far as I know, it is supposed to do that. Go to WebIF >> Scheduled Events >> Backup/Restore, select one of the existing auto-backups and then click View Backup. Post the result into a code tag.

Here's one of mine, but I don't use favourites:

Listing scheduled events from auto-2021-Sep-13-02:08...
Backup version 2
  EPG Refresh 1 (BBC ONE West - Mon Sep 13 04:00:00 BST 2021 - 04:20)
  EPG Refresh 2 (BBC Red Button - Mon Sep 13 04:20:00 BST 2021 - 04:40)
  Richard Osman's House of Games (BBC TWO - Mon Sep 13 18:00:00 BST 2021 - 18:30)
  New: Legendary: Strike a Pose (E4 - Mon Sep 13 22:00:00 BST 2021 - 23:05)
  Weather for the Week Ahead (BBC ONE West - Tue Sep 14 00:40:00 BST 2021 - 00:45)
  New: Coastal Devon & Cornwall... (Channel 5 HD - Wed Sep 15 20:00:00 BST 2021 - 21:00)
  Click (BBC NEWS - Sat Sep 18 15:30:00 BST 2021 - 16:00)
  Countryfile (BBC ONE West - Sun Sep 19 19:00:00 BST 2021 - 20:00)
  The Sky at Night (BBC FOUR - Sun Sep 19 22:00:00 BST 2021 - 23:00)
  The Great Northern Garden Build (BBC TWO HD - Thu Jun 17 20:00:00 BST 2021 - 21:00)
  Secrets of the Museum (BBC TWO HD - Tue Aug 24 21:00:00 BST 2021 - 22:00)
  Ladies of Letters (ITV3 - Fri Aug 27 22:30:00 BST 2021 - 23:00)
Favourites 1 'Favourite 1'
Favourites 2 'Favourite 2'
Favourites 3 'Favourite 3'
Favourites 4 'Favourite 4'
Favourites 5 'Favourite 5'

 

[MartinLiddle]

My box decided to retune itself this morning. When I went to restore the schedule and my favourite from the auto_backup I found that all the auto_backups did not have my favorites saved only my schedule?
After I had reset my favourite list I did a manual backup and this correctly lists both my schedule and favourite.

Is this how it is supposed to work?

Please could you say which version of the custom firmware you are using?

 

[Karl Harrison]

Web interface version: 1.4.9
Custom firmware version: 3.13 (build 4028)
Humax Version: 1.03.12 (kernel HDR_CFW_3.13)

 

[Karl Harrison]

Here is one before the system decided to retune itself

Listing scheduled events from auto-2021-Sep-13-02:08...
Backup version 2
  Disable OTA (Sky News - Mon Sep 13 04:20:00 BST 2021 - 04:40)
  Say Yes to the Dress Lancashire (Quest Red - Mon Sep 13 17:00:00 BST 2021 - 18:00)
  Richard Osman's House of Games (BBC TWO - Mon Sep 13 18:00:00 BST 2021 - 18:30)
  New: MacGyver (Pick - Mon Sep 13 20:00:00 BST 2021 - 21:00)
  New: Jamie Oliver: Together (Channel 4 - Mon Sep 13 20:00:00 BST 2021 - 21:00)
  Salvage Hunters (QUEST+1 - Mon Sep 13 21:00:00 BST 2021 - 22:00)
  New: The Secret Life of the Zoo (Channel 4 - Tue Sep 14 20:00:00 BST 2021 - 21:00)
  New: Love Your Garden (ITV +1 - Tue Sep 14 21:00:00 BST 2021 - 22:00)
  New: The Bad Skin... (Quest Red - Tue Sep 14 22:00:00 BST 2021 - 23:00)
  Jay's Yorkshire Workshop (BBC TWO - Wed Sep 15 21:00:00 BST 2021 - 22:00)
  New: Salvage Hunters: The... (QUEST+1 - Wed Sep 15 22:00:00 BST 2021 - 23:00)
  Gardeners' World (BBC TWO - Thu Sep 16 08:00:00 BST 2021 - 09:00)
  New: All Creatures Great and Small (Channel 5 - Thu Sep 16 21:00:00 BST 2021 - 22:00)
  New: The Brokenwood Mysteries (Drama - Sat Sep 18 18:00:00 BST 2021 - 20:00)
  The Hit List Strictly Special (BBC ONE South - Sat Sep 18 19:00:00 BST 2021 - 19:45)
  New: Family Fortunes (ITV - Sun Sep 19 19:00:00 BST 2021 - 20:00)
  New: Monkey Life (Pick - Sun Sep 19 19:00:00 BST 2021 - 19:30)
  New: Endeavour (ITV - Sun Sep 19 20:00:00 BST 2021 - 22:00)
  Antiques Roadshow (BBC ONE South - Sun Sep 19 20:00:00 BST 2021 - 21:00)
  Aussie Gold Hunters (QUEST - Sun Sep 19 23:00:00 BST 2021 - 00:00)
  Pointless (BBC TWO - Thu Aug 05 17:15:00 BST 2021 - 18:00)
  Michael McIntyre's The Wheel (BBC ONE South - Sat Aug 07 20:30:00 BST 2021 - 21:30)
  Richard Osman's House of Games (BBC TWO - Fri Aug 13 18:30:00 BST 2021 - 19:00)
  New: Jonnie's Blade Camp (Channel 4+1 - Tue Aug 17 23:00:00 BST 2021 - 00:05)
  New: Craig and Bruno's Great... (ITV - Wed Aug 18 20:00:00 BST 2021 - 20:30)
  Michael Johnson Meets Hannah... (Channel 4 - Sat Aug 21 17:00:00 BST 2021 - 17:35)
  New: Professor T (ITV - Sun Aug 22 21:00:00 BST 2021 - 22:00)
  New: Magnum P.I. (Pick - Fri Aug 27 21:00:00 BST 2021 - 22:00)
  Mastermind (BBC TWO - Mon Aug 30 19:30:00 BST 2021 - 20:00)
  Pointless (BBC ONE South - Fri Sep 03 17:15:00 BST 2021 - 18:00)
  New: Full Bloom (More 4 - Sun Sep 05 01:10:00 BST 2021 - 02:10)
  New: Rich House, Poor House (Channel 5 - Sun Sep 05 21:00:00 BST 2021 - 22:00)
  New: Secret Spenders (Channel 4 - Mon Sep 06 20:30:00 BST 2021 - 21:00)

 

[Karl Harrison]

This was at point of failure - I think

Listing scheduled events from auto-2021-Sep-13-12:23...
Backup version 2
Favourites 1 '0'
Favourites 2 '0'
Favourites 3 '0'
Favourites 4 '0'
Favourites 5 '0'

 

[Karl Harrison]

This is after restored first backup - from auto-2021-Sep-13-02:08

Listing scheduled events from auto-2021-Sep-13-12:45...
Backup version 2
  Say Yes to the Dress Lancashire (Quest Red - Mon Sep 13 17:00:00 BST 2021 - 18:00)
  Richard Osman's House of Games (BBC TWO - Mon Sep 13 18:00:00 BST 2021 - 18:30)
  New: MacGyver (Pick - Mon Sep 13 20:00:00 BST 2021 - 21:00)
  New: Jamie Oliver: Together (Channel 4 - Mon Sep 13 20:00:00 BST 2021 - 21:00)
  Salvage Hunters (QUEST+1 - Mon Sep 13 21:00:00 BST 2021 - 22:00)
  Disable OTA (Sky News - Tue Sep 14 04:20:00 BST 2021 - 04:40)
  New: The Secret Life of the Zoo (Channel 4 - Tue Sep 14 20:00:00 BST 2021 - 21:00)
  New: Love Your Garden (ITV +1 - Tue Sep 14 21:00:00 BST 2021 - 22:00)
  New: The Bad Skin... (Quest Red - Tue Sep 14 22:00:00 BST 2021 - 23:00)
  Jay's Yorkshire Workshop (BBC TWO - Wed Sep 15 21:00:00 BST 2021 - 22:00)
  New: Salvage Hunters: The... (QUEST+1 - Wed Sep 15 22:00:00 BST 2021 - 23:00)
  Gardeners' World (BBC TWO - Thu Sep 16 08:00:00 BST 2021 - 09:00)
  New: All Creatures Great and Small (Channel 5 - Thu Sep 16 21:00:00 BST 2021 - 22:00)
  New: The Brokenwood Mysteries (Drama - Sat Sep 18 18:00:00 BST 2021 - 20:00)
  The Hit List Strictly Special (BBC ONE South - Sat Sep 18 19:00:00 BST 2021 - 19:45)
  New: Family Fortunes (ITV - Sun Sep 19 19:00:00 BST 2021 - 20:00)
  New: Monkey Life (Pick - Sun Sep 19 19:00:00 BST 2021 - 19:30)
  New: Endeavour (ITV - Sun Sep 19 20:00:00 BST 2021 - 22:00)
  Antiques Roadshow (BBC ONE South - Sun Sep 19 20:00:00 BST 2021 - 21:00)
  Aussie Gold Hunters (QUEST - Sun Sep 19 23:00:00 BST 2021 - 00:00)
  Mastermind (BBC TWO - Mon Sep 20 19:30:00 BST 2021 - 20:00)
  Pointless (BBC TWO - Thu Aug 05 17:15:00 BST 2021 - 18:00)
  Michael McIntyre's The Wheel (BBC ONE South - Sat Aug 07 20:30:00 BST 2021 - 21:30)
  Richard Osman's House of Games (BBC TWO - Fri Aug 13 18:30:00 BST 2021 - 19:00)
  New: Jonnie's Blade Camp (Channel 4+1 - Tue Aug 17 23:00:00 BST 2021 - 00:05)
  New: Craig and Bruno's Great... (ITV - Wed Aug 18 20:00:00 BST 2021 - 20:30)
  Michael Johnson Meets Hannah... (Channel 4 - Sat Aug 21 17:00:00 BST 2021 - 17:35)
  New: Professor T (ITV - Sun Aug 22 21:00:00 BST 2021 - 22:00)
  New: Magnum P.I. (Pick - Fri Aug 27 21:00:00 BST 2021 - 22:00)
  Pointless (BBC ONE South - Fri Sep 03 17:15:00 BST 2021 - 18:00)
  New: Full Bloom (More 4 - Sun Sep 05 01:10:00 BST 2021 - 02:10)
  New: Rich House, Poor House (Channel 5 - Sun Sep 05 21:00:00 BST 2021 - 22:00)
  New: Secret Spenders (Channel 4 - Mon Sep 06 20:30:00 BST 2021 - 21:00)
Favourites 1 '0'
Favourites 2 '0'
Favourites 3 '0'
Favourites 4 '0'
Favourites 5 '0'

 

[Karl Harrison]

And finally this is from my manual backup -

Listing scheduled events from backup-2021-Sep-13-13:51...
Backup version 2
  Say Yes to the Dress Lancashire (Quest Red - Mon Sep 13 17:00:00 BST 2021 - 18:00)
  Richard Osman's House of Games (BBC TWO - Mon Sep 13 18:00:00 BST 2021 - 18:30)
  New: MacGyver (Pick - Mon Sep 13 20:00:00 BST 2021 - 21:00)
  New: Jamie Oliver: Together (Channel 4 - Mon Sep 13 20:00:00 BST 2021 - 21:00)
  Salvage Hunters (QUEST+1 - Mon Sep 13 21:00:00 BST 2021 - 22:00)
  Disable OTA (Sky News - Tue Sep 14 04:20:00 BST 2021 - 04:40)
  New: The Secret Life of the Zoo (Channel 4 - Tue Sep 14 20:00:00 BST 2021 - 21:00)
  New: Love Your Garden (ITV +1 - Tue Sep 14 21:00:00 BST 2021 - 22:00)
  New: The Bad Skin... (Quest Red - Tue Sep 14 22:00:00 BST 2021 - 23:00)
  Jay's Yorkshire Workshop (BBC TWO - Wed Sep 15 21:00:00 BST 2021 - 22:00)
  New: Salvage Hunters: The... (QUEST+1 - Wed Sep 15 22:00:00 BST 2021 - 23:00)
  Gardeners' World (BBC TWO - Thu Sep 16 08:00:00 BST 2021 - 09:00)
  New: All Creatures Great and Small (Channel 5 - Thu Sep 16 21:00:00 BST 2021 - 22:00)
  New: The Brokenwood Mysteries (Drama - Sat Sep 18 18:00:00 BST 2021 - 20:00)
  The Hit List Strictly Special (BBC ONE South - Sat Sep 18 19:00:00 BST 2021 - 19:45)
  New: Family Fortunes (ITV - Sun Sep 19 19:00:00 BST 2021 - 20:00)
  New: Monkey Life (Pick - Sun Sep 19 19:00:00 BST 2021 - 19:30)
  New: Endeavour (ITV - Sun Sep 19 20:00:00 BST 2021 - 22:00)
  Antiques Roadshow (BBC ONE South - Sun Sep 19 20:00:00 BST 2021 - 21:00)
  Aussie Gold Hunters (QUEST - Sun Sep 19 23:00:00 BST 2021 - 00:00)
  Mastermind (BBC TWO - Mon Sep 20 19:30:00 BST 2021 - 20:00)
  Pointless (BBC TWO - Thu Aug 05 17:15:00 BST 2021 - 18:00)
  Michael McIntyre's The Wheel (BBC ONE South - Sat Aug 07 20:30:00 BST 2021 - 21:30)
  Richard Osman's House of Games (BBC TWO - Fri Aug 13 18:30:00 BST 2021 - 19:00)
  New: Jonnie's Blade Camp (Channel 4+1 - Tue Aug 17 23:00:00 BST 2021 - 00:05)
  New: Craig and Bruno's Great... (ITV - Wed Aug 18 20:00:00 BST 2021 - 20:30)
  Michael Johnson Meets Hannah... (Channel 4 - Sat Aug 21 17:00:00 BST 2021 - 17:35)
  New: Professor T (ITV - Sun Aug 22 21:00:00 BST 2021 - 22:00)
  New: Magnum P.I. (Pick - Fri Aug 27 21:00:00 BST 2021 - 22:00)
  Pointless (BBC ONE South - Fri Sep 03 17:15:00 BST 2021 - 18:00)
  New: Full Bloom (More 4 - Sun Sep 05 01:10:00 BST 2021 - 02:10)
  New: Rich House, Poor House (Channel 5 - Sun Sep 05 21:00:00 BST 2021 - 22:00)
  New: Secret Spenders (Channel 4 - Mon Sep 06 20:30:00 BST 2021 - 21:00)
Favourites 1 '0'
Favourites 2 '0'
Favourites 3 '0'
Favourites 4 '0'
Favourites 5 '0'
Favourites (0)
  BBC ONE South
  BBC TWO
  BBC FOUR
  ITV
  ITV +1
  ITV2
  ITV2 +1
  ITV3
  ITV3+1
  ITV4
  ITV4+1
  Channel 4
  Channel 4+1
  4seven
  E4
  E4+1
  More 4
  Channel 5
  Channel 5+1
  5SELECT
  5STAR
  5 USA
  Film4
  Film4+1
  Blaze
  Blaze+1
  CBS Drama
  CBS Justice
  CBS Reality
  Challenge
  Dave
  Dave ja vu
  DMAX
  Drama
  Drama +1
  Food Network
  GREAT! movies
  GREAT! movies +1
  GREAT! movies action
  GREAT! movies classic
  GREAT! tv
  Horror Channel
  Paramount Network
  Pick
  QUEST
  QUEST+1
  Quest Red
  Really
  Sky Arts
  TalkingPictures TV
  That's TV
  Yesterday
  Yesterday+1
  BBC NEWS

 

[Black Hole]

Perhaps you could patch the favourites info you want into the schedule backup you want, and then restore that.

 

[MikeSh]

auto_backup I found that all the auto_backups did not have my favorites saved only my schedule?

On occasions, possibly due to an extra boot cycle, it seems to save a blankish version which the auto restore them uses as it's the newest.
So if auto restore comes up blank go back through the list of backups and you'll probably find what you actually need within one or two files - sort of last-known-good (which I used a lot back in my professional Windows days).

 

[Karl Harrison]

On occasions, possibly due to an extra boot cycle, it seems to save a blankish version which the auto restore them uses as it's the newest.
So if auto restore comes up blank go back through the list of backups and you'll probably find what you actually need within one or two files - sort of last-known-good (which I used a lot back in my professional Windows days).

I just looked back at the backups and you are right - I had to go back 10 days until I found a complete backup - then the backups only include the schedule and no list of favourites.

I will check the overnight automatic backup to check that it is functioning as expected.

Thank you all for your help. I hope this helps others too.

 

[/df]

Theoretically the backup and restore mechanism is the same for both auto-schedule-restore backups and manual and automatic backups from the Scheduled Events>Backup/Restore WebIf page.

There are issues both with auto-backup/restore and with restoring favourites from backups:

• a valid auto-schedule-restore backup may get overwritten and not restored;
• favourites aren't properly restored after a retune, whether from auto-schedule-restore or from Backup/Restore.

 

[MikeSh]

I had to go back 10 days until I found a complete backup

That's probably when things first went t1ts-up. From what I've seen and read the auto-backup actually works well, but can only backup what is there when the box goes into standby.

 

[Black Hole]

can only backup what is there when the box goes into standby.

That's not true - my boxes never go into standby, and last night's backup contains everything I would expect:

If there's a problem, it's with the restore process (but if all else fails at least the configuration is on record and can be reinstated manually).

Edit: I now realise I misread the intention of your statement. I read "only... when the box goes into standby" when I now believe you intention was "only... what is there". The importance of well constructed sentences!

Yes, if the content isn't what you want, the backups won't contain what you want either so if some kind of corruption occurs (eg a failed auto-restore) subsequent backups will record the failed restore and can be used (within the time limit) to diagnose the failure.

Also, apart from the defects linked to by /df in post 12 (post updated), if an auto-backup happens to occur immediately after the loss of the schedule (eg after an auto or manual retune), it will backup an empty schedule resulting in triggering an auto-restore of an empty schedule every reboot (presuming auto-schedule-restore is installed).

 

[/df]

In the typical loss of tuning event, it appears that the settop program carries on using its in-memory data even after some failure in its DB stack has caused the saved tuning data to be erased. Then, any backup activity will use the erased version but the failure only becomes visible when the settop program crashes or is manually stopped (eg, Standby) and then restarts.