Cobian Backup Not Deleting Old Files | Fixes and Alternative

Cobian Backup is a free backup software for Microsoft Windows. Read the article to get solutions when Cobian Backup not deleting old files and its alternative.

By @Maggie Last Updated May 17, 2023

User case: Cobian Backup 11 does not delete old backups

 

Recently we have encountered a problem with older backups not being automatically deleted. The problem started after we have (finally) upgraded our backup server from Win 7 to Win 10. It was a clean install of the OS. In the fresh environment, we have installed latest version of Cobian (11.2.0.582) and used task list with former backup jobs (15 jobs in total, if this matters any).

So the new backup jobs were identical to old ones, however the only difference we made was changing the compression type from 7zip to zip for all jobs. But changed our minds and reverted back to 7zip compression soon after.

After all this, backups are created normally, but old ones are not removed.”

Overview of Cobian Backup

Cobian Backup is a free system backup software supporting file and folder backups. It offers multiple backup options, including full backup, incremental and differential backup. It also provides encryption to protect your data from leaking or loss. Besides, Cobian Backup offers scheduled backup, which enables its users to set backup plans and execute backup tasks automatically. Frankly saying, this software is equipped with user-friendly, easy to use and quick backup speed and reliability.

However, the above question is not uncommon especially if you googled for an answer and find out so many similar situations like you. How to solve it if you encounter the same problem when you try to use Cobian Backup delete old files, let’s read then!

Quick fixes: Cobian Backup doesn’t delete old backups error

When you try to discard some old files but it’s hard for you to execute Cobian Backup delete old backups. There are several ways to deal with it.

Method 1. Check backup log

Review the backup log file generated by Cobian Backup. It can offer valuable information about any possible errors or issues encountered during the backup process. Then at this step, you need to look for any error messages or warnings related to deleting old backups.

Method 2. Check backup destination permissions

Ensure that the user account running Cobian Backup has enough permissions to delete files in the backup destinations folder. You can make it through choose Run as administrator when open Cobian Backup.

Method 3. Test manual deletion

You can attempt to delete an old file manually from the backup destination folder. If you encounter any errors or permissions issues, resolve them accordingly. This step will help determine if the problem is specific to Cobian Backup or if there are underlying issues with the file system or permissions.

Method 4. Disable backup compression

Compression sometimes may cause errors during deletion process. If you have enabled backup compression in Cobian Backup, try to disable it temporarily and check if the old backups are deleted properly.

Method 5. Update Cobian Backup

Check if your software is the latest one. Updates often include bug fixes and improvements that can address issues with backup deletion.

Method 6. Restart Cobian Backup services

Restart the Cobian Backup service or application to ensure that any temporary glitches or memory-related issues are resolved.

A flexible way to automatically delete old backups

It is really laborious and time-consuming to solve Cobian Backup 11 delete old files problem.  There are many other choices, for example, AOMEI Bakcupper Professional deserves to be the best alternative to Cobian Backup. Unlike Cobian Backup, it runs smoothly on Windows 11/10/8.1/8/7/Vista/XP without any errors.

❥Resourceful backup options: in addition to file and folder backup, AOMEI Backupper still supports disk backup, system backup and partition backup. ❥Schedule backup: it allows you to set custom schedule backups, and then it will automatically perform the backup in daily/weekly/monthly/ event triggers /USB plug-in modes. ❥Backup scheme: the shining point of this software is that it enables you to automatically delete image files based on the scheme you choose. It also offers 3 backup methods as full backup, incremental backup and differential backup per your needs.

How to automatically remove backups older than X days with AOMEI Backupper

Now firstly download AOMEI Backupper and launch it.

Download Free Trial Win 11/10/8.1/8/7/XP
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Step 1. Click Backup and then choose the item you want to backup. Here we take File Backup as an example.

Step 2. Choose Add File/ Add Folder as the source.

Step 3. Then choose the destination. You can choose to backup to your disk, a USB flash drive, network or a cloud drive.

Step 4. Set backup plan.

♦Here you can click Schedule Backup to set automatic backup. ♦To make it delete old backup automatically, please click Backup Scheme to enable the disk space management. There are optional backup scheme plans you can choose. If you want to let it delete backups automatically older than X days, you can firstly click Enable Automatic Backup Cleanup to make it. Then you can choose one of the four cleanup methods as you like.

Step 5. Confirm your settings and click Start Backup.

Conclusion

Now you know how to perform Cobian Backup delete old files with the provided methods. And luckily, there is the best alternative for you----AOMEI Backupper. Its function is powerful and resourceful as well, it can be a helper to free up disk space Windows 7 to save more space for you, besides, it can replace Cobian Backup perfectly with a user-friendly interface and settings.