Multisite backup issue

Depends on which plugins you used. Go look in wp-content The NORMAL folders are:

/uploads
/mu-plugins
/plugins
/themes

Anything else is probably a plugin. Most save in /backups/ or /uploads/backups/ type folders.

Thanks for the response. I have found two backup folders. One named __Backup and one named _Backup. The one with the leading double underscore is full of zip files, of which there are two types. Some are plain zips of about 600Mb. Most are monster files of 2 to 4.5Gb with an extension .zip followed by 6 random characters e.g. *.zipzN5GdJ.

I have found another __Backup folder nesting among one of my sub-domain directories containing more large files of the type with the zip + random characters (not the same files as in the other folder above). I am inclined to delete all these big guys (?), but how to work out what’s generating them? I tried to check ‘properties’ for these files in the hope of knowing where they are coming from but this function is apparently not available.

Sounds like you have installed & used more than 1 backup plugin at some time or another. In your shoes, I would be downloading the ones with the more recent timestamps & emptying the folders. Then, assuming that there is at last 1 backup plugin still activated, monitoring the folders over the next few weeks to see which folder is re-populated.

Any idea of the significance of the extension with the random characters might be (eg *.zipzN5GdJ)? I was running backwpup until I started backing up to the cloud. I need to check all the setting again. Thanks.

Any idea of the significance of the extension with the random characters might be

Could be an attempt to allow for multiple backup files to be created without any file over-writing.

All sorted thank you. Will review backup settings if and when needed. Your advice was invaluable. Jim.