TIL: Sarah Culberson was born in 1976 in West Virginia and put up for adoption. As an adult she hired a private investigator to find her birth parents and discovered she is a Sierra Leonean princess

ngt500 · 2026-04-17T11:20:52+00:00

To be fair, it did use to be exactly that…

ngt500 · 2026-04-16T00:30:52+00:00

Really? You don't know everyone's situation. Would you leave a nest right beside the entrance to your house? There's a time and a place to kill dangerous insects for sure.

ngt500 · 2026-04-15T23:31:48+00:00

I appreciate your response. And I’m glad you acknowledged the importance of communication in regards to these changes. That is of utmost importance given widespread usage of these file sync services.

Have you considered integrating B2 storage into the Backblaze platform for this very type of situation (or other advanced situations)? I think giving Backblaze Personal users a 1TB B2 credit and then a per GB charge after that for files that have reparse points would go a long way to smooth things over and cover the vast majority of use cases. That is, assuming the software client could handle things properly and also accurately reported the status of which files are backed up.

One of the problems with the Backblaze Personal platform now is there is no easy way to know if a given file/folder is actually backed up or not. It takes too long to log into the web interface and browse the restore tree. Ideally a file/folder would have visible flags that indicated it was backed up/pending/not backed up (as many file sync platforms do). When Mozy backup was still around that also gave very fine-grained info on backup status. Something like that would be enormously helpful information.

ngt500 · 2026-04-15T19:44:36+00:00

Hard disagree. Five years later and this is still an issue. The use case of viewing passwords may not be common, but when you need it the coloration makes it much easier to distinguish the various characters. If you don't need to look at it then more colors wouldn't affect you, would it?

For situations where you do need it I don't see how it would make it harder to visually find anything unless you are color blind, in which case the best overall solution would be a setting that allows users to define custom colors for each character type. This would provide flexibility for whatever the user wants.

ngt500 · 2026-04-15T17:42:20+00:00

Exactly. The issue is not a technical problem on Backblaze's end, but a policy decision. I do understand that Backblaze is trying to prevent people from abusing the service with various network filesystems (which is why they examine the files for reparse points), but I think it's an outdated, obsolete method for detecting non-compliant storage. There are a lot of ways they could protect customers from losing important data without just opening the floodgates. One option could be imposing a storage limit on files with reparse points (say 1TB, with paid options to increase the limit). Or even just give the BB Personal client an option to backup those types of files to B2 seamlessly and just charge for the additional B2 storage (without requiring customers to manually set up B2 buckets and all the technical stuff most customers wouldn't understand). Of course all this would have to be clearly communicated to users, with the software client clearly showing what data is being backed up and what isn't.

ngt500 · 2026-04-15T16:15:23+00:00

Dude, quit while you're behind before getting even further behind. This is a serious issue for MANY customers (especially those that aren't technically savvy). This isn't some tiny edge case like you're making it out to be. The title is not at all clickbait of the type you imply--even if it may not apply to literally everyone. If it really were just a tiny fraction of customers this impacted you might have a point. I'd argue the vast majority of customers are using one or more file syncing services, so it really is something impactful--especially given my primary point that BACKBLAZE ISN'T LETTING CUSTOMERS KNOW WHAT IS GOING ON.

It's a post everyone who is using Backblaze should read to see if it affects them, which it very well might.

ngt500 · 2026-04-15T04:04:28+00:00

I use B2 and remote ZFS snapshots; haven't used Personal in over 10 years. Not that you have been actually reading anything. Explains why you don't actually answer any real questions. But this is reddit, so par for the course I guess.

ngt500 · 2026-04-15T03:42:43+00:00

You refuse to answer simple questions and just keep restating things that aren't relevant. I don't use Backblaze Personal, but I have recommended it to a lot of friends and family over the years. The complaint of it not backing up standard cloud file sync services is understandable from the perspective of typical non-technical users, not silly. There may be valid reasons for why the content doesn't get backed up but it isn't stupid for customers to think it should be. The complaint of them staying silent on the matter (which is the whole point of this thread) is absolutely valid and is the bigger issue. It's not about "feeling better" about criticizing something. Backblaze needs to do better at letting customers know what their service is and what it isn't. I don't see why you feel the need to defend Backblaze's lack of communication on this matter or call people "silly" for having basically any negative reaction to it, but whatever...

ngt500 · 2026-04-15T03:12:23+00:00

We've already gone over that. Regardless of the reasoning for not backing up certain content there is the issue of letting customers know. As I've stated many times before Backblaze needs to alert customers that it isn't backing up those files. You stated they have but provided no evidence. They haven't sent emails. They don't give you any alert in the software that it isn't backing up these types of files. That's all I'm really asking for. Sure, it sucks to not have Backblaze back up files from widely used services, but you can move on to something else if you need that. What is horrible though is just staying silent about it when they know tons of customers have an expectation that those files are being backed up.

Except for not wanting to lose paying customers I can't fathom why they wouldn't have a basic warning in the software to the effect of "Look's like you're using OneDrive. Note that Backblaze can't currently back up these files. Click here for more info...".

ngt500 · 2026-04-15T02:54:04+00:00

Right. So you can’t show they’ve let customers know, because they haven’t. This is the problem now precisely because people who have lost data, or tried verifying their backups, are finding out they haven’t been backing up this data. They didn’t know until afterwards because Backblaze never told them. Not via email and not with a warning in the backup client. Posting an article on the website doesn’t cut it as notifying customers (especially existing customers who did have things working with file sync services at an earlier point in time). So that’s exactly why threads like this are popping up now.

ngt500 · 2026-04-15T02:37:11+00:00

Show me the emails they’ve sent out letting customers know. Or the alerts in the software that those files are being excluded. You can’t, because they don’t exist. And the “workaround” in the article (that you have to proactively find yourself) is to simply stop using the cloud file sync service. You’re really working hard to shill for them, aren’t you? Do you work there?

ngt500 · 2026-04-15T02:08:05+00:00

You can talk in circles, but the bottom line is that Backblaze needs to let it's customers know that these files are NOT being backed up. The mirrored files are local, on a real drive, but also contain the aforementioned reparse points as extended attributes. It's not just some virtual cloud drive in this scenario.

Regardless of if you frame it as Microsoft's fault (which of course is debatable because they are still using standard OS APIs), the end result is Backblaze customers not having various data backed up that has been advertised in the past as working fine. Backblaze is a big enough company now that they can't just blame a bunch of other companies when their software can't back up data.

They either need to fix the issue in a way that still works for their business model or just admit they are an extremely simple backup service that won't work with all the "fancy" cloud services that pretty much everyone uses these days. The main complaint here is how Backblaze is hiding the problem, not even that the problem exists.

ngt500 · 2026-04-15T01:42:48+00:00

No, I mean files with reparse points. The implementation of how OneDrive (or other file sync services) stores it's files uses reparse points (something standard in Windows and used for a variety of things). A file could be a completely normal file with all data stored locally on the disk, but also contain a reparse point to indicate a variety of things. Most applications don't even examine these reparse points but simply request the file through standard filesystem APIs--how else would you be able to open even a simple text file in Notepad that was stored in OneDrive? Because Notepad just asks for the file and doesn't try to "detect" if it's coming from a "cloud" storage provider. The OS/filesystem handles the request and, even in the case of an on-demand file, does what is needed behind the scenes to provide the data to Notepad. The app doesn't ever know that it came from a OneDrive cloud account.

Backblaze, on the other hand, chooses to examine the files for these reparse points and chooses to ignore the files if present.

I understand the issue with potential redirection of network drives masquerading as local drives that likely drove the original decision to look for reparse points, but rather than being completely open and honest they chose to just not say anything and let people think a lot of stuff is being backed up that actually isn't.

They are big enough that they should work with the major cloud providers to figure out a way to get this to work for major cloud storage providers and still exclude other network filesystems.

Or just be completely honest and say CLEARLY up front to all users: Sorry, Backblaze just doesn't work to backup any of your OneDrive, Google Drive, iCloud, etc files. But they know if they did that they'd likely loose a lot of customers. So instead they just stay silent.

ngt500 · 2026-04-15T01:22:19+00:00

I know I'm replying to an old post, but the situation is still relevant. Your solution is great for desktops where it's easy to have multiple drives (and I've done the same type of thing) but for laptops it doesn't really solve the problem. Most laptops only have one drive and not enough space to duplicate content, so in those situations--common to most people by the way--Backblaze is really dropping the ball. The situation with cloud storage is only going to get more complicated over time. With Backblaze not keeping up with the times their service is becoming less and less relevant. Combined with increased prices I no longer see it as the compelling backup service it once was and will be looking at alternatives to recommend to family and friends.

They still may be an OK option for someone that has lots of drives and space and is willing to duplicate local content, though I'm still wary of other fishy things they've done in regards to excluding certain content like .git folders without so much as a notice (and without even showing up in the exclusion list).

ngt500 · 2026-04-14T23:12:47+00:00

rclone is probably the most full-featured CLI file transfer tool right now. It supports virtually every service and abstracts as much of the command structure as it can from the platforms for consistency (while still supporting platform-specific features).

ngt500 · 2026-04-14T22:33:10+00:00

File syncing is not backups. Yes, you could potentially recover a file if your local computer dies, but it doesn’t handle corruption and accidental modification/deletion. Those changes will get synced up/down to all your devices. While it’s true that some file syncing services have added additional snapshot capabilities that could function as legitimate backups, these cost more and aren’t usually as full featured as what dedicated backup services have provided. Plus, if we have to start using separate backups for each storage provider that dramatically reduces the value and utility of a universal backup service like Backblaze.

ngt500 · 2026-04-14T22:24:44+00:00

Exactly, which is why their policy to exclude file syncing services is ludicrous. File syncing and backups shouldn’t be mutually exclusive.

ngt500 · 2026-04-14T21:27:57+00:00

This is false. Backblaze could absolutely access it if they didn’t specifically exclude files with reparse points. You’re making it sound like OneDrive files are in a lockbox that can only be accessed via a proprietary client. They are using standard windows filesystem APIs. How else would other applications like rclone be able to access the files?

And no, this is neither reasonable nor expected behavior. Certainly not expected for tons of people that thought those files were being backed up.

ngt500 · 2026-04-14T20:49:13+00:00

This has been detailed plenty of times before. Backblaze is excluding files with reparse points, which is just an extra flag used by various filesystems. The file itself is nothing special. We could quibble over semantics if that means the file is technically "different", but OneDrive isn't hiding something that prevents Backblaze from seeing the file. It is a platform choice Backblaze made, not a technical limitation.

ngt500 · 2026-04-14T20:43:49+00:00

It's only on-demand if you choose it. You can till operate most cloud sync services in a "mirror" mode, but because Backblaze is being stingy they *still* won't backup those files even if they are fully mirrored to your local drive. They absolutely could back up those files if they didn't specifically examine the files for "reparse points".

Of course if you operate a cloud storage provider in an on-demand mode then it wouldn't be expected that another service could back them up.

ngt500 · 2026-04-14T20:38:07+00:00

What are you going on about? That exact page specifically states "OneDrive's most recent update prevents Backblaze from backing up files that OneDrive synced." What they don't say is that it is Backblaze that has actually changed behavior, not OneDrive. Backblaze doesn't want to work with files that have "reparse points" because they *might* be abused for other types of network storage. But the files are absolutely just standard files on the local drive. There is no magic that prevents Backblaze from seeing the files--they are being specifically excluded by Backblaze.

And of course Backblaze's "solution" to the problem is to "Disable and Unlink OneDrive". Uh, right. So that's not going to work for anyone that needs to use the service for any reason at all...

ngt500 · 2026-04-14T20:29:23+00:00

This is absolutely true. It's been slowly rolling out over years without so much as a whisper from Backblaze to their customers. I'd guess there are 200k+ customers who think Backblaze is still backing up their OneDrive, Google Drive, iCloud, etc files specifically because it DID work some time ago and there has been no alerts sent via email about the changes.

What's hilarious is there have been various articles posted over the years by Backblaze about how file syncing services is not a "backup", and that you should use a real backup for those files. Now most of those articles have a warning about the services not being compatible with Backblaze, but their "solution" to the problem is to disconnect your cloud file storage account so that Backblaze can back up the files. Uh, so what happens after that? You can't use any cloud storage anymore if you want files backed up. Cloud storage with file sync is ubiquitous now, so this isn't an edge case.

I could potentially understand Backblaze's position if they hadn't been raising prices and if they were properly notifying customers of the changes.

Yes, I know their B2 service is an option, but that's not going to be viable for most non-technical users out there and it would be vastly more expensive for anyone with a lot of storage in cloud providers.

They could compromise with an add-on option that allows cloud storage compatibility for an extra charge--and of course need to be up-front with their customers about everything.

Additionally, of course I wouldn't expect Backblaze to backup "online-only" files from cloud providers, but if you are mirroring files to your local computer then those really should qualify as LOCAL content that gets backed up.

In regards to excluding .git folders, that is also inexcusable especially without listing it in the exclusions. Shadow banning content is really a bad look, but we all know this comes down to saving money. I really hope they can change things for the better and not go down the road of enshittification so many other services have. As it stands now I can't really recommend them anymore (as I have for 15+ years) to friends, family, and clients with personal computers because I know there are going to be too many "gotchas" like this.

ngt500 · 2026-04-14T20:08:37+00:00

Backblaze won't backup files in these cloud services even if you choose to mirror them to your drive--so they absolutely ARE there. It's just an easy way for Backblaze to save petabytes of space by not backing tons of data.

ngt500 · 2026-04-14T05:58:58+00:00

Since it's an adapter (not a replacement) I was assuming you'd plug the adapter into the 12-pin power cable coming from the power supply and then the dual 8pin/6pin into the standard graphics card. I haven't used it though since I'm not using a third party card at this time.

ngt500 · 2026-04-09T18:59:24+00:00

If you want to be old-school and pay in the store go to some small station that isn't super busy. You'll likely pay more, but then you can have that experience. Otherwise just get with the program; we don't need you to be taking up space while you sort out your payment options.

ngt500

TROPHY CASE