Latest Adobe Creative Cloud Update Breaks Backblaze

Looking Out for Our Team, Customers, and Community

Adobe Systems recently pushed an update to their Adobe Suite of products and services. On the Mac platform, updating one of these services, Adobe Creative Cloud (version: 3.5.0.206), will disable Backblaze from backing up your primary computer drive. This occurs once you have updated to the latest version of Adobe Creative Cloud. This does not appear to happen on Windows systems. Backblaze has created a work-around to this problem which you can find on our Knowledge Base.

Update: 14 February 2016

We have tested the latest Adobe Creative Cloud release (3.5.1.209) and it appears to have fixed the original bug. We have published an analysis and timeline of the issue on our blog.

Update: 14 February 2016

Adobe has notified us that they have created and scheduled for update a new version of Adobe Creative Cloud (3.5.1.209) that fixes the bug noted in the post below. We will test their updated version and let you know what we find.

Update: 12 February 2016

Adobe has told us that they have pulled the Creative Cloud update (3.5.0.206) and they are actively working on a permanent solution. Stay tuned.

Original Post Is Below

Background

The updated version of Adobe Creative Cloud (3.5.0.206) can delete files that Backblaze stores on the Mac system to manage the backup of that system. These files are in a hidden folder named .bzvol located in the “root” directory on the Mac system. When the updated version of Adobe Creative Cloud is started, it deletes all the files located in the .bzvol folder. This disables Backblaze from backing up your primary hard drive and results in Backblaze displaying a pop-up similar to the following:

Backblaze Notifier

Here are two videos which show this in action: Video One and Video Two.

What This Means for Backblaze Users

If you have Adobe Creative Cloud on your Mac system and you have updated or will update to the latest version, it is highly likely that the Backblaze backup of your hard drive will stop. Any connected external hard drives will continue to be backed up. If you are a Windows user, this does not appear to be an issue.

The Backblaze Workaround

Backblaze has created a work-around that stops the Adobe Creative Cloud update from breaking your Backblaze backup. The instructions are located in our Knowledge Base. The instructions also cover what to do if you have already updated to Adobe Creative Cloud and have received the Backblaze pop-up noted above.

Should You Update Adobe Creative Cloud?

We have notified Adobe and the issue has been escalated within their organization. If you have not been auto-updated to Adobe Creative Cloud and have a choice to update manually, we recommend that you wait for a few days.

About Andy Klein

Andy Klein is the Principal Cloud Storage Storyteller at Backblaze. He has over 25 years of experience in technology marketing and during that time, he has shared his expertise in cloud storage and computer security at events, symposiums, and panels at RSA, SNIA SDC, MIT, the Federal Trade Commission, and hundreds more. He currently writes and rants about drive stats, Storage Pods, cloud storage, and more.