Note: This article was originally published in 2013. Some steps, commands, or software versions may have changed. Check the current Crashplan documentation for the latest information.

How to: Prevent CrashPlan Pro from shutting down abruptly

If you are using CrashPlan Pro as an offsite backup solution (especially for massive files like Microsoft Exchange Backup databases or large VHDs), you may run into a frustrating issue where the CrashPlan application closes itself unexpectedly.

You might launch the application and watch it remain open anywhere from a few seconds to a few minutes before abruptly crashing. The underlying background service might still be running, but the backup jobs silently stall, meaning your backups are not actually completing.

The Cause: Java Out of Memory

After troubleshooting with CrashPlan support, the root cause is almost always the same: the memory limit allocated for the CrashPlan Java engine is too small.

CrashPlan recommends at least 1GB of RAM allocation per Terabyte of storage you need to back up. If you are backing up a 3.5 TB Exchange Database, the default 512MB memory limit will cause the Java heap space to instantly run out of memory and crash the engine.

The Solution: Increase the Java Heap Size

To fix this, we need to modify the master configuration file and increase the Xmx parameter (the maximum Java heap size).

The configuration file is located at different paths depending on your OS:

  • Windows: C:\Program Files\CrashPlan\CrashPlanService.ini
  • Mac: /library/launchdaemons/com.crashplan.engine.plist
  • Linux/Ubuntu: /usr/local/crashplan/bin/run.conf

WARNING: It is vital you do not allocate more RAM to CrashPlan than your server actually has available. Always leave enough free physical memory for the OS and your actual applications (like Exchange or SQL).

Step-by-Step for Windows Servers

  1. Stop the CrashPlan Service: Open Services (services.msc), locate the CrashPlan service, right-click, and select Stop.
  2. Open the config file: Launch Notepad as an Administrator. Go to File > Open, navigate to C:\Program Files\CrashPlan\, select All Files, and open CrashPlanService.ini.
  3. Locate the memory tag: Search for the following line: 
    -Xmx512m
  4. Increase the value: Change 512m to 1024m (1GB), 2048m (2GB), or higher depending on your backup size. 
    -Xmx2048m
  5. Save the file and restart the CrashPlan service.

Step-by-Step for Mac / Linux Environments

If you are running CrashPlan on Unix-based systems, you’ll need terminal access.

  1. Stop the CrashPlan daemon: 
    # On Mac:
sudo launchctl unload /library/launchdaemons/com.crashplan.engine.plist
  2. Edit the configuration file: 
    sudo nano /library/launchdaemons/com.crashplan.engine.plist
  3. Locate the Xmx argument (you can use Ctrl + W in nano to search for -Xmx512m).
  4. Apply the increase: Update it to -Xmx1024m or -Xmx2048m.
  5. Save (Ctrl+O) and Exit (Ctrl+X).
  6. Relaunch the daemon: 
    sudo launchctl load /library/launchdaemons/com.crashplan.engine.plist

Your backups should now process large files without the engine shutting down.