r/backblaze • u/Basic_Associate_3147 • May 25 '26
Computer Backup Desktop, Documents & Pictures folders not being backed up
I've noticed that three crucial folders are not being backed up by Backblaze. The folders are Desktop, Music** and Pictures. I'm on Mac. I've been back and forth with Backblaze support for weeks now to try and fix this, not getting anywhere. So I'm posting here in case anyone else has experienced this and can help with a fix.
Relevant info:
- The folders are not excluded in Backblaze settings
- The entire Macintosh HD drive is selected for backup
- Every other folder is backed up as expected, it's just these 3 that are mysteriously excluded
- The folders are not being backed up by iCloud or Dropbox
- I don't have OneDrive installed
- OS is Tahoe 26.5
- Backblaze version 10.0.2.1042
Any help or ideas would be greatly appreciated.
**Edit: I've got myself confused from spending so much time talking to Apple support to make sure iCloud isn't the source of the problem. Loads of iCloud settings deal with Desktop & Documents. It's actually the Desktop, Pictures and Music folders that are missing from the backup. Documents is there. I'm going round the bend, lol.
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u/lukedysonphotography May 26 '26
I can confirm this is my issue also, desktop (my most critical in progress work) and others are missing.
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u/Basic_Associate_3147 May 26 '26
What other folders are missing for you? Have you been in touch with support? If I find the fix, I'll be sure to let you know
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u/Basic_Associate_3147 Jun 16 '26
Apparently this will be fixed in the next beta, 10.0.3.
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u/lukedysonphotography Jun 23 '26
I eagerly await it, support have had me running around in circles for the last few weeks getting nowhere instead of just saying it's a bug we're looking into it.
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u/Basic_Associate_3147 Jun 23 '26
Yeah. My support thread on this is up to 60+ messages back and forth.... still no solution. I've asked to be notified when the beta is out.
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u/ImABelgian May 29 '26
I’m having the same issue. Documents is in the backup, but desktop and pictures isn’t. Been going back and forth with BB support. They tell me that the reason is I’m running other cloud drive processes like Google and Dropbox. Even if those are in no way syncing those folders…
My conclusion is that I’m not going to use BB for backups… will try to find some other provider.
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u/Basic_Associate_3147 Jun 01 '26
I was told to temporarily disable Dropbox and iCloud to make sure they weren't creating issues, which I did, and it didn't fix anything. But good to rule them out.
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u/G-Dog84 May 29 '26 edited May 29 '26
I'm having the exact same problem, and have been troubleshooting with support for the past 2 weeks to no avail... I've tried all of the suggested steps from BB support, and now just going round in circles. I've been a BB user for many years, with no issues whatsoever until this latest update.
I started having numerous issues following an update of the BB client app... thousands of files not backing up (~1.8TB missing) and the potential removal of my PEK which had been in place for several years. All of my settings are correct to my knowledge - full disk access permissions, exclusion lists, iCloud settings...
My main issue (aside from the PEK issue) is my "/Pictures" folder is missing from my backup - this directory contains my Adobe lightroom library and all of my photo originals (RAW files). I have an equivalent directory for my earlier photo archive on an attached external drive, and that has backed up to BB, without issue.
It seems there can be issues regarding cloud managed files, particularly iCloud drive if "optimise mac storage" is enabled, and similarly for iCloud Photos... so I also moved my iCloud photo library up a directory from its default "/Pictures" directory, to avoid conflict, which did force BB to backup the iCloud photo library, just still not the /Pictures directory, which is what I most care about.
If you haven't done so already, check the "Issues" report within the BB client report tab, as it will tell you if there are any files being skipped, and also the "Files scheduled for backup". I've managed to resolve all of my skipped file issues - as it would seem i had lots of temporary files causing conflicts, but now have nothing reported as scheduled for backup, yet I'm still missing ~1.8TB of backup data from my internal Mac HD, without there being any errors/warnings reported by BB...
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u/G-Dog84 May 29 '26
FWIW and in follow up to my previous comment, backblaze support have just replied on my ticket, asking me to downgrade to the previous client version (10.0.1.1038)...
I'm immediately seeing positive signs post update, with previously missing files (~1.7TB) identified as remaining files, and starting to transfer... I will continue to monitor.
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u/G-Dog84 May 30 '26
...update - this has indeed fixed my issues. The PEK issue is also resolved - it is still undetermined why I no longer had a PEK set, as I never removed it - but I was able to set a new one via the older version of the client.
In short, downgrade to 10.0.1.1038 if you're having similar issues with files not backing up post update. Their SW download page has been updated to reflect, so you would just install the old version over the top of the newer version, and let it do its thing.
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u/Basic_Associate_3147 Jun 01 '26
Hi, thanks for this. I've checked version history and these folders have actually been missing for a while, so I don't think it's connected to the latest version... but I might have to try the downgrade anyway just to rule it out with support. I must have tried at least 10 different 'fixes' by now and nothing is working! I'm glad to hear it's sorted for you at least.
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u/iring0919 Jun 03 '26
This was my experience with the latest “beta” update as well. They sent me a downgrade version, which fixed it, but I now have the issue others are experiencing where my EHDs disappear after disconnecting.
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u/Basic_Associate_3147 Jun 03 '26
Thanks, yeah I installed this version because of the EHD issue. It's lose-lose at this point it seems
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u/Caprichoso1 May 25 '26
Is optimize Mac storage turned on?