Cannot Restore Proper Backup on new Roon Server running Docker via QNAP

[Alan_C]

Addendum to the above. When I used Win 11 File Explorer to transfer the Synology back up on my desktop, the folder appeared to be transferring to the QNAP. When I selected the new folder in the Roon app, I received the message, “No backups found. Please check your backup location.” However, the Roon app folder Roonbackup contained the folder 2f91535… and _roon_backup_root_. 2f91535 contained _roon_backup_. File f5b703… had not been copied. I added that to the QNAP folder. It included _roon_backup_. However, the error message persisted.

I don’t know whether this is related, but regarding the QNAP NAS, the Roon remote reads “Roon Server version 2.71 (build 1680) production - Read change log. There was an error checking for an update.”

[benjamin]

Hey @Alan_C,

These screenshots are the most useful thing we’ve had in weeks. They tell us something we didn’t know, and it’s better news than it looks.

On a new account, please don’t. It wouldn’t help, the problem is the folder structure, not your account, and it would cost you your license and history. Your backups are fine.

The message is InvalidRoot, and that’s different from the “missing file” problems we’ve been chasing since July. InvalidRoot means Roon found and read your marker files without trouble, it’s rejecting the folder for how it’s arranged, not because anything is unreadable or missing. So we can stop worrying about hidden files and permissions.

Look at your first screenshot. Inside RoonBackups you have:

• roon_backup_root
• 2f91535b-8a8a-cfd9-4d94-3141c020ecd8
• fda9354b-0e92-c016-06c8-76b804dd178b
• RoonBackups ← and your third screenshot shows this one has its own roon_backup_root inside it

That’s a backup root nested inside another backup root, and Roon won’t accept it. That’s the InvalidRoot.

Two things follow from this. First, 2f91535b… ,your old library, is already sitting in exactly the right place, right beside the container’s own folder. You got that part right. Second, this location used to work; Roon read the container’s backups from here happily before. So one added item broke it, and removing that item should un-break it.

1. In QNAP File Station, open /share/Container/roon-backups, then go into the inner RoonBackups folder.
2. Rename the roon_backup_root file in there to roon_backup_root.old. Just that one file, don’t delete or move anything.
3. In the Roon app: Settings → Backups → Find backups, browse to /RoonBackups, and select it.

The nested root disappears, and Roon should now list your April backup under your old server. Please tell me what you see, even if it’s another error.

If it still says InvalidRoot, the top-level roon_backup_root is the suspect, you mentioned moving one of those files by hand, and if the container’s original got replaced, that alone would do it. Don’t try to fix it by hand; tell me and I’ll have you let Roon build a clean one, which takes about two minutes.

One more thing: in Settings → Backups, please switch off the automatic backup schedule so the nightly job can’t run in the middle of this.

Independently of the QNAP, this is worth doing because it’s the fastest route back to your music:

1. On your Windows 11 PC, install Roon Server from Download Roon - Mac, Windows, iOS & Android Apps | Free Download. It runs in the background; nothing needs uninstalling.
2. Open Roon on the PC, connect to that new server.
3. Settings → Backups → Find backups, browse to \192.168.1.7\RoonCoreBackup\RoonBackups, and restore the April backup.

Your PC talks to the Synology directly, so none of the container’s limitations apply. If your library comes back there, you have it back, and we’ll then move it to wherever you want it to live long term.

Also, before anything else: can you confirm the Synology still has its original RoonBackups folder intact? Your note said you moved it with the hybrid mount rather than copied it, and I want to be sure our safety net is still there.

Last question, for planning: where do your 2,000 ripped CDs actually live, which NAS and which folder? I’d like to have that ready so your albums aren’t greyed out the moment your library returns.

Thank you

[Alan_C]

Hi Benjamin,

Thank you for your note. In QNAP file station, I went into the inner RoonBackups folder and renamed the file there to roon_backup_root.old, as seen below.

When I select this inner RoonBackups folder, I receive the message, “No backups found. Please check your backup location.” If I choose the RoonBackups folder containing the inner one, I see a list of backups from July 15 to August 13. I had turned off automatic backups.

On my windows PC, I downloaded the Roon Server and connected it to the new server. The server is the QNAP NAS112F59. When I select backups, the only way I can try to reach the Synology NAS is by adding a network share, which has never worked since we began trying to solve this issue. Please let me know if I, under General in the Roon app, I should logout of, or disconnect from, NASII2F59 and try to connect to Synology.

Synology still has its original RoonBackups folder intact.

I set up Roon years ago, and until now, everything has been automatic. I transferred many CD’s from Sooloos and set up a watched folder for new CD’s on Roon. My ripped CDs reside on the QNAP. AS best I can recall, the folder is Multimedia/RoonOn NAS/RoonServer, as seen below. (I am happy to share further screen shots if that will help.) I believe I mentioned that I alternated backups between the QNAP and Synology NAS’s.

Lastly, in the newly installed version of Roon on my PC, as on the iPad app, in the About section, the Roon Server shows version 2.71 (build 1680), and the message, “There was an error checking for an update.”

Thank you!

[benjamin]

Hey @Alan_C,

The 2f91535b… folder is already in the right place, directly inside the container’s /RoonBackups, next to the Docker backups. It doesn’t need to move. Roon rejects it for one reason:

could not read id file: /RoonBackups/2f91535b-8a8a-cfd9-4d94-3141c020ecd8/roon_backup: NotFound

That marker file tells Roon “this is a backup set.” It’s been missing from every scan since August 16, so Roon skips the folder and offers only the July 15–August 13 Docker backups, exactly the list you saw.

The pattern is clear in the logs: every folder copy dropped the marker; every file you moved by hand stuck. These markers are hidden files, and both File Station and Explorer skip them in bulk copies.

Also, renaming roon_backup_root in the inner folder means Roon no longer reads that folder at all, that’s your “No backups found.” Leave it; we don’t need that copy.

Quickest fix, one file. From the Synology’s original RoonBackups/2f91535b-8a8a-cfd9-4d94-3141c020ecd8/, copy just the roon_backup file into the same-named folder under /share/Container/roon-backups/ on the QNAP.

Copy that one file alone. Then Settings → Backups → Find backups → /RoonBackups, and April should appear under your old server. While you’re in there, can you tell me if you see one or more b_202604… folders inside 2f91535b…? If the copy dropped anything else, better to know before restoring.

If File Station gives you trouble: on your PC, right-click the Synology RoonBackups folder → Send to → Compressed (zipped) folder, copy the single .zip over, extract with File Station. A ZIP carries hidden files.

The route I’d recommend instead: finish the Windows setup. No copying at all, and it reads the Synology backup in its original state. The only thing wrong is which server you’re on, the app on your PC is currently controlling the QNAP, not your PC.

1. Settings → General → Disconnect.
2. On “Choose your Roon Server,” pick your PC’s name, not NAS112F59. (The Synology won’t be listed, it isn’t running Roon Server, it only stores the backup files.)
3. Roon will offer to unauthorize the QNAP. That’s expected and reversible.
4. Settings → Backups → Add network share: \192.168.1.7\RoonCoreBackup, with RoonBackupAccess and its password in the credential fields. Browse into RoonBackups and restore the April backup.

The container limitation that blocked network shares doesn’t apply on Windows. It also solves your next problem: your CDs on the QNAP can be added under Settings → Storage as a plain network path, with no container mapping needed.

Speaking of which, the logs show the container has no folder containing your music mapped in (the default /Music is empty). Multimedia/RoonOnNAS/RoonServer is the Roon program folder, not your albums. Could you find the folder with the actual music files, Multimedia/Sooloos looks likely, and send me the path?

One aside: “There was an error checking for an update” is normal for Roon Server in Docker. Containers can’t self-update.

[Alan_C]

Hi Benjamin,

Thank you for your note. Using my Windows PC, I copied the Synology roon_backup file into the same-named folder on the QNAP.

Unfortunately, I received the message, “No backups found.” The file I copied is only 21 bytes. I’m thinking I copied the incorrect file. Please let me know.

You asked what I see in 2f9153. Below is a photo.

I also tried to finish the Windows setup you recommended. I reached the point where I could restore the April backup if I chose to. However, I stopped there and reverted to the NAS112F59 server because I was concerned I would be able to access Roon only if my PC were running. Is this correct?

Finally, I believe my music is in the folder Native Export Destination/Artists. There is also a folder, Native Export Destination/Playlists, which has some of my playlists. There are a few imports under Roon/Roon Imports/Desktop-TO70J2C.

Thank you!

Alan

[benjamin]

Thanks for the photo @Alan_C! That’s exactly what we needed, and it explains the failure.

Good news first: the 21-byte file is the correct one. roon_backup is just a tiny marker file, and 21 bytes is what it should be. You copied the right thing.

The actual problem is that the folder copy never finished. Compare your two screenshots:

• On the Synology, 2f91535b-8a8a-cfd9-4d94-3141c020ecd8 contains folders 00 through ff, plus xx, 257 folders in total.
• On the QNAP, that same folder ends at 73. Everything from 74 to ff is missing.

So roughly half the backup data never made it across. That’s the same failure as the File Station “Failed to access the file” error from a couple of weeks ago, the transfer starts, then quietly stops. Roon sees the marker file, looks for the data, and reports “No backups found.”

Two things also worth correcting: in your screenshot, the selected folder is 2f91535b-8a8a-cfd9… itself. Find backups needs the folder above that , the one holding roon_backup_root. And that nested RoonBackups inside RoonBackups is what caused the earlier InvalidRoot error, which is why we asked you to rename the marker. Both of those go away with the approach below.

Our recommendation: finish the Windows route. To answer your question directly, yes, while your PC is the active Roon Server, Roon only runs when the PC is on. But we are not asking you to live that way. The PC is a bridge, used once, and here is why it solves this for good:

Roon Server on Windows can read the Synology share directly, with none of the container’s network restrictions. Once it has restored your April library, it can write a brand new backup over the network straight into the QNAP folder your container already reads, and because Roon Server writes that backup itself, every marker and every one of those 257 folders is created correctly. No manual copying, nothing to lose in transit.

The sequence:

1. On the PC, Settings → General → Disconnect, then choose the PC server (not NAS112F59).
2. Settings → Backups → Add network share → \192.168.1.7\RoonCoreBackup, username RoonBackupAccess and its password.
3. Browse into RoonBackups, select the folder containing roon_backup_root, and restore the April backup.
4. Once it restarts, confirm your ~2,000 CDs and your playlists are there (they’ll show as unavailable at this stage, that’s expected, the storage folder isn’t attached yet).
5. Settings → Backups → Back up now → Add network share → \192.168.1.45\Container\roon-backups and let it write a fresh backup there.
6. Disconnect, reconnect to NAS112F59, then Settings → Backups → Find backups → /RoonBackups and restore the backup you just made. It’s a local folder to the container, so nothing can go wrong with it.

You’ll be prompted to unauthorize the other server when you switch back and forth. That’s normal, just accept it.

If you would rather not use the PC at all, there is one copy method that does work reliably: on your PC, right-click the Synology RoonBackups folder → Send to → Compressed (zipped) folder, copy that single .zip to \192.168.1.45\Container\roon-backups, then extract it there with QNAP File Station. A zip preserves hidden files and can’t silently truncate. Then place the 2f91535b-8a8a-cfd9-4d94-3141c020ecd8 folder directly in /share/Container/roon-backups, not inside a second RoonBackups folder, so it sits alongside the Docker backups under the root marker that’s already there. Find backups → /RoonBackups will then list April together with the others.

On your music: thanks for tracking that down. Before we set up storage, we need to know which NAS Native Export Destination actually lives on. Your Synology screenshot shows a folder called “Native Export Destination Backup from Q…”, which suggests the working copy is on the QNAP, if so, we’ll add a volume mapping for it in Container Station and then add it as a storage location, and your CDs and playlists will re-link to it. Please confirm the full path and which NAS it’s on.

Let us know how the above goes!

[Alan_C]

Hi, Benjamin,

Thank you for your note.

I was not successful going the PC route. However, it looks like I was successful compressing the Synology RoonBackups folder, copying it to the roon-backups folder in the QNAP container, and unzipping it there.

I don’t see the 04/27/2026 backup, but I think 04/22 is close enough for me. Shall I select the 04/22 backup in the Roon app under Settings/Backups/Find backups?

Thank you!

[Alan_C]

Hi @Benjamin,

One other thing. The QNAP has a Native Export Destination folder (screen shot below), although the folder modification dates for Artists and Playlists are from 2021. (The folder below those two, Roon imports, contains only a couple of files, also from 2021.)

The Native Export Destination folder on the Synology NAS contains the same 3 folders with modification dates of 2021.

Thank you!

Alan