I have 2 problems that are related:

The first is that at times the Sync Files task is failing due to some strange network issue. I can navigate to this path just fine, but when run from VisualCron, right now this is failing with:

Exception in Task: The network path was not found

It was working just a few minutes ago, now it's failing and I don't know why. Secondly, when I get that error, why can't it give me the path that is failing in the output? I'm creating this path using a loop and variable, so I don't know for certain what path it is trying.

Well, the first problem is related to this:

https://www.visualcron.c...ts&m=39871#post39871 

Even though https://www.visualcron.c...aspx?g=Posts&m=39876  and this issue are intrinsically linked somehow, I still have this issue. This works fine:

\\PRESENTLT03.pridedallas.com\c$

But in the VisualCron job it fails:

Task Error: Exception in Task: The network path was not found.
Loop Value: PRESENTLT03

The other values work just fine (once I revert the source).

I apologize for being confusing, but this is a very confusing issue. I was not correct in saying they don't all fail, but sometimes they and they are all failing right now (same "The network path was not found" error). However, I suspect that what is happening is not the destination, but the source - that even though it currently says it's using this:

E:\Files\PresentationLaptops\Current Laptop Slides

It's really using this:

\\PRESENTLT04.pridedallas.com\C$\Presentations

PRESENTLT04 is not currently on the network and so that is the network path it cannot find right now. Since it does not report what path can't be found I don't know for sure.

I am going to assume a few things...

the destination or source may no be available to the "user" that is trying to make the synchronization.

I would start there. Add your credentials (that you are using when you say you can get to the paths, E: and the C$ paths) to VC and then use that credential in the task. "You" being able to UNC to those places does not mean VC can.

Secondly, try to start small. Make a new simply job that copies from A to B and test it.

Regarding the reverting of the settings I would abandon the job you have made and make a new one. Test, Test and then test again. Make sure there are no other jobs that are changing the one you are having issues with or the new one you re-make.

the destination or source may no be available to the "user" that is trying to make the synchronization.

Not correct. I know for a fact that both locations are available to this user at the time this fails. I can reproduce the error right now.

Secondly, try to start small. Make a new simply job that copies from A to B and test it.

Again, works perfectly fine for most of the machines, most of the time, but this one almost always fails:

\\PRESENTLT03.pridedallas.com\c$

Regarding the reverting of the settings I would abandon the job you have made and make a new one. Test, Test and then test again. Make sure there are no other jobs that are changing the one you are having issues with or the new one you re-make.

I cloned the job, earlier today, but this does not usually happen until later in the day, so I will have to wait and see if cloning was sufficient.

Again, if the error would show me what is failing exactly, this would be much easier to debug.

https://www.visualcron.c...aspx?g=Posts&m=39876  just happened again. I literally just cloned the job (so the 3rd copy of this job), then simplified it to just manually specify the source and destination as such:





That worked. So I went back to clone #2 and test it again, and the source had reverted back!!!



So what I believe is happening is the network failure is the source (which is wrong) and not the destination. PRESENTLT04 is not online, so that makes sense.

I'm not crazy! I fixed the source again, then did Backup Settings, and in the jobs.xml is the incorrect source!



What is being used as the source is not what is being displayed in the UI, which is why right now, it's failing for ALL machines.

Oops, I was getting confused by the settings folder files and the backup. That is a screenshot from jobs.xml in settings, not from the backup.

When does jobs.xml get written? Not when the job is changed, as I can change the job and watch the modification time for that file and it takes a few minutes.

Ok, with debug logging enable for the task, I do see what paths are being tried in the logs and I was right! When I run the full job, the first 2 have this entry:

10/15/2020 5:19:19 PM Debug FileSyncItemm running: E:\Files\PresentationLaptops\Current Laptop Slides

Then the one that fails, has this entry!!

10/15/2020 5:19:25 PM Debug FileSyncItemm running: \\PRESENTLT04.pridedallas.com\C$\Presentations

Someone, in mid-loop, the source is being reverted to this invalid value!

However, if you look in the UI, still says the correct value:



But the jobs.xml now has the wrong value:

Sounds messed up

Delete all of the jobs related to your end goal and the ones you have used for testing. Make a new job AFTER you verify the jobs.xml file no longer shows any of the remains of these jobs.

I would find the job and task GUIDs before you delete anything then look in the xml for that

Alternatively, depending on your licensing, you could install the newest version of VC on another machine with no jobs and create the job there and run it.

If that works backup the job from the new machine and import into the machine not working and test again.

Good luck