Check that your backup is intact

Updated

How copies are checked when they're made

When CloudBak backs up a file, it works out a checksum of it: a short fingerprint of the file's contents that changes if even one byte changes. The copy is checked against it before it counts as backed up, and the checksum is recorded on your Mac.

Later, something outside CloudBak could remove or damage a copy on your NAS or drive. Verify Backup finds that.

Run a check

For a quick check, choose Backup › Verify Backup.

To choose the kind of check:

  1. Open Destination and go to Verify Backup.
  2. Choose one:
    • Quick: sizes and dates checks that every backed-up file is still in the backup folder, with the same size and date.
    • Full: read every copy and compare checksums reads every copy back and compares it with its checksum, so it also catches damage that doesn't change a file's size. It takes about as long as copying it did.
  3. Click Verify Now.

Click Stop Checking to stop early. While a check is running, Back Up Now is dimmed, and a scheduled backup waits until the check is done.

Copies made by an earlier version of CloudBak may have no checksum yet. A full check gives those the quick check instead, and says how many there were.

The result

The Verify Backup section shows when the last check ran and how many copies were OK. Anything missing or changed is listed in Issues as Missing From Backup or Changed in Backup, and is copied again in the next backup. Click Back Up Now in Issues to do that straight away.

CloudBak can also tell you with a notification. Turn on When a backup or a check of it finishes in Settings › General to hear when a check finds nothing wrong. When something needs attention, which is on unless you turn it off, covers checks that find problems.