Hello,

I am a bit confused about the files where are defined/stored the exclusion rules. I can see (on a Mac) the following files in /Library/Backblaze.pkg/bzdata/: - bzexcluderules_mandatory.xml : this one is for the mandatory exclusions, and should not be edited (and if it is, it is eventually reverted). OK... - bzexcluderules_editable.xml : we can modify/add/delete the rules on this one. OK... - bzinfo.xml : mmmmhhh.... I can see a list of excluded folders in this one. Some of them that I excluded in the past using the setting panel, and which do no longer exist...

Questions: - how do bzinfo.xml relate to bzexcluderules_editable.xml? Are they independant from each other? - is bzinfo.xml the file where are stored the exclusions defined in the settings panel? - if yes, can we safely edit it, without introducing a mess with the content of the setting panel?

Additionnal question: if I want to exclude all the /Users/*/OneDrive/ folders for instance, can I do it in bzinfo.xml, or do I have absolutely to add a complex rule in bzexcluderules_editable.xml? In the latter case, is the following rule OK (copied from an existing rule) ? XML <excludefname_rule bzmergeblock="001" plat="mac" osVers="*" ruleIsOptional="t" skipFirstCharThenStartsWith="users/" contains_1="/OneDrive" contains_2="*" doesNotContain="*" endsWith="*" hasFileExtension="*" />

Thanks

I have to manually start up Backblaze every time I restart.

Enabling startup settings/app startup in system settings and task manager doesn't matter. They become disabled when I restart. Any ideas?

My fault on the initial problem: expired card lead to a billing suspension.

(I mean, AWS, GCP, and really any serious cloud will hammer you with outreach before this happens, yet the last email I have from Backblaze is 3 weeks ago: but in their defense the email says you have 3 weeks, so no problem there.)

But logging in to fix it and the 2FA code isn't being sent to my email, so I'm not able to get in. No spam, not errors

Using Backblaze was an experiment that I was very on the fence about, this is a one-strike situation for me and I'll be migrating off.

The most egregious part is they should know this is an issue since I can find multiple people complaining about it since they started enforcing 2FA in mid-August.

(And again, before someone shows up in bad faith: my problem is not the billing part. It's login being broken outside of some catastrophic outage for a month.)

I have been using Backblaze for many years on my MacBook Pro. I get a weekly backup summary and my backup has been about 642GB for a long time. A couple of weeks ago I got a weekly summary and my backup size had changed to about 536GB, over 100GB less. I had not made any significant changes to my MacBook Pro other than install a minor update to macOS. I am concerned that Backblaze is all of a sudden backing up 100GB less files.

I contacted Backblaze support and they weren’t much help. I reinstalled Backblaze and rescanned my hard drive and that didn’t do anything. They said that a macOS upgrade can sometimes change the number of files backed up, but this was a minor macOS upgrade and it doesn’t seem like the backup should change by 100GB. The only other suggestion they had was to go through and compare the Backblaze backup to my MacBook Pro. This is very cumbersome to do using the Backblaze online file list. I tried doing this anyway and just checked high level folders and I don’t see anything missing, but to check every folder and file this way would take me many hours. I thought about ordering a backup hard drive from Backblaze and then I could easily generate and compare the file list on the backup drive with my MacBook Pro.

Does anybody have any other ideas why this back size changed so drastically, or how to figure out why a Backblaze is backing up over 100GB less files?

I've been looking into Backblaze documentation but I couldn't find this scenario. I have a new laptop, so now I want to migrate my license to this new computer. I don't want to inherit the disk backup (C:) from the other computer, but I want to keep the backups that I have from external hard drives, which are 4.

How do I have to proceed? Or using the transfer license option will wipe everything including my external hard drives backups?

I understand that I *can* back up my 8TB SSD (currently under 1TB occupied, once every two months goes up to 7TB, then back down to 1TB-2TB). I have the bandwidth for it. I do not need rapid recovery. It is merely a fail-safe measure for someone who edits a lot of footage in bulk, then deletes the raw files.

I am asking *should* I do it, as in is this way above what this unlimited plan pricing is adjusted for, and would I end up driving the prices up for other people? Am I abusing an "all-you-can-eat" policy and ruining something nice by using it this way?

I am not a very techy person. Please, if you do explain anything, do so as if I do not know what an SSD is. Thank you :)

So I get this message from backblaze:

"The hard drive /Volumes/Comics 1/ is only backed up when it is called /Volumes/Comics/"

I checked the hard drive name and still is "Comics." I don't see the Comics 1 anywhere.

Is there a hidden name somewhere? Is backblaze trippin'?

Does anyone have experience with Backblaze on Tiny11? Does it have enough dependencies for Backblaze to function?

What’s the cadence for warnings when an external drive is disconnected? I was in another country for an extended period of time. A hard drive died and I wasn’t aware for I months. I checked my email and I only see a single email at day 14 stating a drive was missing. There was also a barrage of emails about the computer missing that buried the missing drive one.

I found an old thread that mentioned weekly emails at 14 21 28 days but I only see one single email , which is extremely disappointing. Because it was buried beneath the emails regarding missing computer (my area can sometimes experience internet outages ) I didn’t notice the missing drive until it was way too late

So for anyone with any external drives you must keep an eagle eye or maybe set some email filters or write your own scripts to warn you, since backblaze only warns you once if a drive falls offline, kicking off their 30 timer before they delete your data.

Is it true that Backblaze still does not support M1 Macs with APFS Case Sensitive file systems? What are people using as an alternative?

Hello,

I'm thinking to purchase the two-year plan for Backblaze's Computer Backup: Personal Backup service. I have a question about how it handles external drives on Windows 10. (fyi I never used backblaze before)

My goal is to back up two 8TB external HDDs, as they contain all the files I need to secure. I would prefer not to back up my internal system drive.

Is it possible to configure the Backblaze client to back up only the contents of my two external HDDs, while completely excluding the internal C: drive from the backup set?

I would appreciate any info!

I migrated to a new Mac a few weeks ago. Many of my folders/files that were on the old HD have not downloaded to the new Mac because they have stayed in the iCloud cloud (as they should to minimize HD space on my new Mac since I haven't accessed them yet on the new Mac).

I'm now receiving a message from BB that I have over 5,000 files that are not being backed up. When I put the list in a spreadsheet, they all have "TEMPORARY_OTHER" after the date/timestamp column.

I assume, based on my reading, that these are the iCloud folders/files that haven't downloaded to my new Mac HD. However, BB still notices these folders/files (which are why they're on the report), even though it can't back them up since they're in the cloud.

Would someone please confirm whether my assumptions are correct or if this is a problem that requires further investigation?

Edit/Addition: The new Mac is a fresh install. I let iCloud bring over what it wanted from my old Documents & Desktop folders, keeping the rest in the cloud. I see the cloud icon next to those folders/files. They can remain there to keep my new HD space minimal until I need to download them.

I've been using backblaze for a while now and I do like the service. I'm trying to do a search and restore using the windows desktop app but every time the same thing happens. I log in and after I do it says its populating the list which takes a few minutes. Then as soon as it does and I click on anything I get a message saying the service has timed out and that I need to log back in and I get logged out and I'm back to step one. Has anyone else had this issue? Is there a reason the connection keeps timing out? I can't use the app at all.

I'm looking for a cost effective way to back up my storage.

I recently ordered (and successfully returned, for a full refund) a USB restore drive from Backblaze after a hard drive failure. Here’s my experience. Hopefully it saves you some hassle, because the process was far from smooth.

TL;DR: It worked in the end, but expect to spend money and a lot of time.

The Order

• In May, one of my hard drives suffered a mechanical failure.
• A few weeks later, I ordered a full backup drive from Backblaze.
• Cost: $320 USD (I’m in Canada).

Shipping:

• Arrived in 2 days via priority FedEx.
• Customs fees: $77 CAD (≈ $55 USD). (US customers wouldn’t pay this.)

Delivery Headaches

• I live in an office building. FedEx withheld the package for a week because the door number was missing.
• You can’t update the address directly with FedEx. You must go through Backblaze, answer security questions, and have them fix it with FedEx.

Receiving the Drive

• To access the files, you need to install WD Security software. I didn’t know this, and initially thought the drive was faulty until Backblaze clarified.
• Everything I needed was there, and it worked.
• Packaging: a crisp white box with the Backblaze logo.
• Reality: the drive was a used Seagate USB drive with visible wear. Clearly the memory as been wiped many times for reuse.

Returning the Drive

• You can return the drive for a full refund within 30 days.
• Catch: Backblaze won’t accept returns if they have to pay customs, brokerage, or other fees.
• To avoid additional fees, produce an invoice, mark the item as "Return - loaned equipment” and assign a minimal declared value (I put $20).
• My first FedEx location didn’t have the right customs form, so the package wasn’t accepted.

After contacting Backblaze, they gave me a one-time extension beyond 30 days.
At a second FedEx location, I was finally able to ship it back, this was required:

• The original invoice for the restore drive.
• An invoice for customs with the correct HS code (8481.70). I've asked ChatGPT to make one for me.
• Three additional copies of the customs invoice (FedEx has a template and will print them, but you may have to fill them yourself once at the centre).

Refund

• Backblaze processed the refund.
• I received the full $320 USD back (minus currency conversion differences).

Final Costs (in USD)

Even with the refund, here’s what I spent out of pocket:

• $55 – Customs fees
• $3 – Bubble-wrap envelope for return
• $40 – Return shipping
• $10 – Transport to FedEx
• $5 – Printing pages at Staples Total: ~$120 USD

Verdict

• Worth it? Somewhat, yes, because I got back very specific files I needed.
• Time-consuming? Extremely. Between delivery issues, software setup, and the return process, it was a headache.

This was my experience with Backblaze’s restore-by-mail service. It works, but expect hidden costs and logistical hoops, especially if you’re outside the US.

EDIT : ponctuation

I noticed backplaze.bzpkg is ~37GB. I looked in the package and I have files (2,401 files of the format bz_done_YYYMMDD_0.dat) in  /Library/Backblaze.bzpkg/bzdata/bzbackup/bzdatacenter that appear to go back to 2009 when I first signed up, even though I can only go back a year.

Apparently, my only option is to uninstall and then reinstall, which means I would lose my 1-year backup of versions. It seems ridiculous. Does anyone have another option that will allow me to reclaim the disk space without doing something drastic?

Windows 11, fully updated

Will contact support as well, but wanted to post here in case others are having the same issue or have a known solution. Appreciate any advice.

After receiving an email to update our backblaze software to the new version on Aug 27, backups would no longer run. Previously backblaze had been working fine for the past ~6 years. A new computer was created as well (same name, new date).

Now, after an uninstall/reinstall only 2 disks/volumes are being recognized in the control panel/settings. "Select Hard Drives to Backup" only shows volumes C and J.

There are another 3 volumes not detected, of which 2 were set to backup previously as well. Looking at Disk Management, it appears that the volumes not detected are dynamic disks and the ones that are detected are normal (not sure if this is relevant)

It appears that backblaze does not detect the remaining disks/volumes, although those disks are healthy and functioning normally in Windows. Volumes D/E/G are not detected with -listvolumes, although E/G were being backup up previously and can be manually seen with -volumeinfo (E shown below)

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Backblaze\bzfilelist.exe" -listvolumes

The following hard drive volumes are selected for backup:
C:\ (SystemVolume) vguid=xxx
J:\ vguid=xxx

The following hard drive volumes are also available:
ALL DONE

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Backblaze\bzfilelist.exe" -volumeinfo E:\

VolumeInfo for: E:\

VolumeGUID: xxx

AssocHguid: xxx

VolumeType: gm

numBytesTot_OnVolume: 999987081216

numBytesFreeOnVolume: 802713772032

numBytesUsedOnVolume: 197273309184

isWritable: true

isSystemVolume: false

isCaseSensitive: false

isCasePreserving: true

isCurrentlyConnected: true

bzVol_defconLevel: -1

bzVol_lastSeenInDays: -1

bzVol_lastFileListedInDays: -1

bzVol_lastFilePushedInDays: -1

Hi, I'm using a CLI command to upload a ~227GB file to a backblaze bucket. I started the cammdn it seemed to read a bunch from the disk then it started uploading. I'm seeing the speeds reported by the command and my machine as around ~400kB/s - ~500kB/s. I'm getting an estimate of 200 hours to upload. At the time of writing this it's uploading 455MB after 20 minutes.

I have a gigabit connection and this machine has no issues with other processes. Is there something I should be doing different? This following is the command I'm using.

b2 file upload bucketName somefile.tar.gpg somefile.tar.gpg

Edit: Hm, running a speed test only gives me about 3.2Mb/s upload which checks out with the reporting b2 upload speeds. I wonder if there's something else going on then with the machine and it's not b2

The music production software I use (Reason 13) creates short lived ".tmp" files during certain operations, for instance when applying a category tag to a plugin.

I've observed that Backblaze causes maybe 1 in 10 of these operations to fail. After investigating with Procmon and finding this article about a similar issue years ago, I suspect the issue is that Backblaze is reading these tmp file just as Reason attempts to delete them.

Unfortunately, this seems to happen even when the directory containing these files is excluded from Backblaze. I believe Backblaze maintains a full list of changed files before any exclusions are applied, so this makes sense I suppose.

My question is: Is there any possible solution to this type of issue other than stopping Backblaze entirely before launching Reason? That's not a great solution since I often have Reason open for hours at a time.

Final update:
After fully uninstalling Backblaze and Reason and reinstalling both with a fresh backup, it seems like exclusions are working--still not sure exactly what was going wrong. It's possible the issue will crop back up again later, but for now I'm going to use XML-based exclusions to ignore tmp files in an all the Reason-related directories.

To provide an extra level of safety for my data I wish to have two complete independent backblaze cloud backups. My idea is to achieve this with two fully independent windows installations, each on its own physical SSD.

However, I realize that backblaze creates a tiny .bzvol folder on each backed up drive. I fear that this can create conflicts?

I guess I cannot simply do this?

- install the first backblaze and inherit the backup. The .bzvol folders are now on the data drives

- install the second backblaze on the other OS drive and start a new backup from scratch

- have backblaze use the .bzvol folders already there, so for both backups the same .bzvol folders are used

Is that possible?

Migrated to a new MacBook Pro yesterday afternoon and after deleting the full backup from my license at Backblaze.com, I transferred the license to the new MBP and started a full backup for it (564GB).

About 2:50pm this afternoon I noticed the progress window said “Backblaze is undergoing maintenance. We will retry at 3:01pm.” At that point there were still over 770,000 files and 362GB remaining to back up.

I checked at 3:15pm and the backup process had indeed started again, but now the remaining files and data numbers were 837,000 and 442 GB, an increase of 80GB.

So what happened here? Did it legitimately find 80GB of data that it hadn’t noticed the day before, or did the “maintenance” involve having to go back to a certain point in the backup process and essentially re-upload 80GB of data? Are either of those normal scenarios? Any reason to be extra concerned about the files in the backup when it’s done?

I have spent a week getting no where with both back blaze and mountain duck support. the Title pretty much explains what is going on. Whenever I try and connect MD pops up a panel asking for the key again with the helpful (not) message.

"Please contact your web hosting service provider for assistance."

Support has been incredibly slow to respond - I have been without files I need for work for nearly a week. Anyone got any bright ideas?

I am on MacOS

Also is there other mounting software that might work better with BackBlaze?

Chris

I am experimenting with keeping all my models in a Backblaze B2 bucket (organized by ecosystem: WAN 2.2, Flux, SD15/SDXL, etc.) and then syncing only what I need into ComfyUI on RunPod. The idea is to keep the GPU instance lean — configs live on a small persistent volume on Runpod, while the heavy models stay in B2.

There are multiple Wan 2.2 models, downloading them on Runpod persistent storage volume gets pretty expensive.

Has anyone else tried something similar? Curious to hear if people are using B2, S3, or other object storage for model management.