Symptoms:

If there are issues with the file system on the backup source, exclusions configured in backup options may not take effect. Files and folders are not excluded from the backup.

Cause:

Issues with file system prevent Acronis and any other software from reading and processing files and folders properly.

Solution

Check if Windows reported issues with file system and then run a command to correct them.

Step 1. Check Windows event log

See https://kb.acronis.com/content/61335

Step 2. Run chkdsk command

If any issues with the file system were found in Windows Event Log, run Check Disk utility to fix them:

1. Open Windows Start menu
2. Type cmd
3. Right-click on the found result: Command Prompt, and select Run as administrator, or select More - Run as administrator
4. Type following command: chkdsk <driveletter>: /r

   where <driveletter> is the letter of the drive that has errors. For example, chkdsk C: /r

5. If prompted to schedule the command execution at next computer startup, type Y and reboot the computer

6. Wait until the chkdsk command finishes. Depending on the selected disk size and speed, the operation may take up to several hours.

When the chkdsk completes, it will display a summary with statistics on the corrected issues with the selected drive volume.

Run the backup again with Acronis True Image and see if the newly created backup correctly excluded files and folders specified under the Exclusion tab.