Neptune Apex backup useless.

[Tangdora]

Been deep cleaning my tank this weekend and had to unplug my apex for a few minutes. Sure enough with my luck the aquabus address on my eb decided to jump ship taking everything downstream with it. As luck would have it I just happened to save a backup last week. But why do I ever think I can ever get so lucky because it did nothing to fix the issue . In fact the backup made it worse by creating ghost outlets that could not be deleted. So here I am now having to recode everything after factory resetting the base

 

[petcellar]

I always suspected as much......

I made a backup for what it is worth.... but I also saved a pdf of all the code to try to help me put it back together if something happens.

This is probably my biggest worry with apex.... If it ever was to go kaput I don't think I'd ever get the programming the same again.... I'd never remember how/why I did things.

I guess it would be an opportunity to do it again better though :)

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

Backup, restore, or migration to a newer head unit have always been the downside of apex. Always keep current copies of the configuration report in a safe place to guide you along starting all over in case of emergency. Don’t unplug aquabus cables….and if you do, plug everything back in the order originally setup to keep the addresses the same.

I’m not sure why this is something they can’t get into the code (I’m not versed in coding architecture), but people have been wanting/expecting effortless local and cloud backup restore for eons. Even ten years ago, simple one click local or cloud backup was part of pretty much everything iot. From what I understand from all the posts on the Neptune forum going back years, is that it is impossible with the architecture they used. Apparently, they would have to start from scratch entirely….or so that’s what’s been portrayed by RussM over and over.

It’s a bummer, and bitten quite a few over the years. First time for me was devastating (upgrade from classic head and no config report as I just assumed a seamless restore), but I got through it. Two full days of setup just to get going and maybe a couple weeks or running into mistakes or something I forgot. Second and third time (sd card fails), it wasn’t so bad. Having the config report open, and copying and pasting as I went along. Only a few hours on each of those.

 

[maroun.c]

I've had it on couple of my Apex heads where for some reason they would just create new outlets and mess things up. I'll try to find the procedure from support where u can just reassign the powerboat number to what they were which makes it easier to restore once u know which powerbar became which one. A friend also experimented with backing up and restoring to a new apex brain in case one is lost. As far as u can tell the power bars nymbers and change the newly created ones to the correct number that solves it. In our case we run 5-6 EB8s on each Apex brain which makes this a very annoying incident. To make it worse when it happened to me the new power bars mess decided to run my ATO, turn.off my return pumps, heaters luckily had a redundant co trolley that saved the day.

 

[maroun.c]

Here's the guidance from Neptune support how to fix it

Hi Maroun, Sorry to hear about this issue. This behavior is typically caused by any time of power outage or flicker like a brown out or can be caused by a loose cable shorting by being corroded or sitting in water. If you have a power outage recently that would be the most likely culprit. A good way to protect against power outages causing this would be by getting battery backup units and plugging the EB832 (energy bars) into them. It's relatively easy to fix this issue by using the module replacement task to relocate the jumped modules back to their original addresses. About the Module Replacement Task This new Task makes it fast and easy to replace a removed or disconnected module (apart from a Trident) with a new or repaired one of the same model. Existing output names and programming of the original module will be retained and applied to the replacement module. To use this Task, the disconnected module must not have been deleted from the Apex. If the disconnected module has already been deleted, you cannot use this Task, and you will need to treat the new module as if it were a new addition to the system and configure/program it from scratch. When you connect a new module as part of performing this Task, the Apex will assign a new Aquabus address to the new module. The Task will move the new module to the Aquabus address of the original module. After the Task has been completed, the Modules List will show a now-disconnected module at the new Aquabus address. After you verify that all is well with the new module, you may then go to the Modules List and delete that disconnected module. APEX Fusion will not do this for you as part of running the Task. An example: You have an AFS which is at Aquabus address 5. You accidentally knocked it off the rim of your tank while vigorously using an algae scraper, and it fell into the tank. You disconnected the wet AFS You rushed to your favorite LFS and picked up a new AFS. You then run the Module Replacement Task, and the Task guides you through connecting the new AFS. The Apex assigns the new AFS the next available Aquabus address… let's say it comes in at address 10. After the Task has completed, the new AFS will be at address 5, and it will have the same programming as the original. The AFS which was temporarily at Aquabus address 10 is now disconnected; this is expected because the new AFS was moved to Address 5. Verify that the original programming is present on the original AFS output. Go to the Module List, select the AFS at address 10, which will have a pink bar indicating it is disconnected, then delete it. Additional info: The Module Replacement Task will transfer all output programming and input configuration to the new module. However, it does not and cannot transfer calibration values from a PM1, PM2, PM3, ASM, DOS, or COR. After you use the Task for one of these modules, you will need to re-calibrate the probe(s) of the PM1, PM2, PM3, or ASM, perform calibration of the new DOS' pumps, or in the case of the COR, you will need to perform IQ-Level adjustments using the COR Task. NOTE: If replacing a Trident, perhaps with one received as an exchange under the Trident Maintenance Program, use the Trident Replacement Task instead of the Module Replacement Task

 

[Tangdora]

The module replacement task is something I stumble across after the fact after I already jacked everything up trying to load the old bin file. May have worked. But all this time I have been under the impression that the back up would simply work like a Windows system restore. Definitly will now be saving a pdf copy of the summary page going forward.