Backing Up Files And Folders!

Backup lets you back up data to a file or to a tape. When you back up data to a file, you have to designate a file name and a location for the file to be saved. Backup files usually have the extension .bkf, but you can change it to any extension. A backup file can be saved to a hard disk, a floppy disk, or to any other removable or non-removable media on which you can save a file.

When you back up data to a tape, you must have a tape device connected to your computer. Tapes are managed by Removable Storage. Although Backup works together with Removable Storage, you might have to use Removable Storage to perform certain maintenance tasks, such as preparing and ejecting tapes.

The following four steps describe a simple backup operation:

Select files, folders, and drives for backup.

Backup provides you with a tree view of the drives, files, and folders that are on your computer, which you can use to select the files and folders that you want to back up. You can use this tree view the same way you use Windows Explorer to open drives and folders and select files.

Select storage media or file location for backed-up data.

Backup provides two options for selecting storage media:

You can back up your data to a file on a storage device. A storage device can be a hard disk, a Zip disk, or any type of removable or non-removable media to which you can save a file. This option is always available.

You can back up your data to a tape device. This option is available only if you have a tape device installed on your computer or connected to it. If you back up data to a tape device, the media will be managed by Removable Storage.

Set backup options.

Backup provides an Options dialog box, which you can use to customize your backup operations. Using the Options dialog box, you can:

Select the type of backup that you want to do. Backup types include: copy, daily, differential, incremental, and normal.

Select whether you want a log file to record your backup actions. If you select this option, you can also select whether you want a complete log file or summary log file.

Select whether you want to back up data that is stored on mounted drives.

Designate file types that you want to exclude from a backup operation.

Select whether you want to verify that the data was backed up correctly.

Start the backup.

When you start a backup operation, Backup will prompt you for information about the backup job and give you the opportunity to set advanced backup options. After you have provided the information or changed your backup options, Backup will start backing up the files and folders you selected.

If you have scheduled the backup to run unattended, you will still be prompted for information about the backup job. However, after you have provided the information, Backup will not start backing up files; rather, it will add the scheduled backup to the Task Scheduler.

Side Notes!
- You must be an administrator or a backup operator to back up all files and folders. If you are a member of the Users or Power Users group, you must be the owner of the files and folders you want to back up, or you must have one or more of the following permissions for the files and folders you want to back up: Read, Read and Execute, Modify, or Full Control.
- The registry, the directory service, and other key system components, are contained in the System State data. You must back up the System State data if you want to back up these components.
- You can only back up the System State data on a local computer. You cannot back up the System State data on a remote computer.
- You can schedule a backup so that it will run unattended at a specific time or frequency. You can schedule a backup after you click Start Backup.
- If you have Windows Media Services running on your computer, and you want to back up the files associated with these services, see "Running Backup with Windows Media Services" in the Windows Media Services online documentation. You must follow the procedures outlined in the Windows Media Services online documentation before you can back up or restore files associated with Windows Media Services.
- If you are using Removable Storage to manage media, or you are using Remote Storage to store data, you should regularly back up the files that are in the following folders:

Systemroot\System32\Ntmsdata
Systemroot\System32\Remotestorage
This will ensure that all of your Remote Storage and Removable Storage data can be restored.

Gary Chambers


To Restore Files From A File Or A Tape In Windows XP!

1. Open Backup.

The Backup Utility Wizard starts by default, unless it is disabled.

2. Click the Advanced Mode button in the Backup Utility Wizard.
3. Click the Restore and Manage Media tab, in Click to select the check box for any drive, folder, or file that you want to restore, select the files and folders you want to restore by clicking the check box to the left of a file or folder.
4. In Restore files to, do one of the following:

- Click Original location if you want the backed up files and folders to be restored to the folder or folders they were in when they were backed up. Skip to step 6.

- Click Alternate location if you want the backed up files and folders to be restored to a folder that you designate. This option will preserve the folder structure of the backed up data; all folders and subfolders will appear in the alternate folder you designate.

- Click Single folder if you want the backed up files and folders to be restored to a folder that you designate. This option will not preserve the folder structure of the backed up data; the files will appear only in the folder that you designate.

5. If you selected Alternate location or Single folder, type a path for the folder under Alternate location, or click the Browse button to find the folder.
6. On the Tools menu, click Options, click the Restore tab, and then do one of the following:

- Click Do not replace the file on my computer if you do not want the restore operation to copy over files that are already on your hard disk.

- Click Replace the file on disk only if the file on disk is older if you want the restore operation to replace older files on your disk with newer files from your backup.

- Click Always replace the file on my computer if you want the restore operation to replace files on your disk regardless of whether the backup files are newer or older.

7. Click OK to accept the restore options you have set.
8. Click Start Restore.
9. If you want to change any of the advanced restore options, such as restoring security settings, the Removable Storage database, and junction point data, click Advanced. When you are done setting advanced restore options click OK.
10. Click OK to start the restore operation.

Caution!!

- If you are restoring the System State data, and you do not designate an alternate location for the restored data, Backup will erase the System State data that is currently on your computer and replace it with the System State data you are restoring. Also, if you restore the System State data to an alternate location, only the registry files, SYSVOL directory files, Cluster database information files, and system boot files are restored to the alternate location. The Active Directory directory services database, Certificate Services database and Component Services Class Registration database are not restored if you designate an alternate location.
- Clicking Replace the file on disk only if the file on disk is older can change some or all of the files that are currently on your disk.
- Clicking Always replace the file on my computer can cause you to lose data if a file you are working on is contained in the backup.
- You can use Backup to back up and restore data on either FAT16, FAT32, or NTFS volumes. However, if you have backed up data from an NTFS volume used in Windows XP it is recommended that you restore the data to an NTFS volume used in Windows XP, or you could lose data as well as some file and folder features. Some file systems may not support all features of other file systems. For example, permissions, encrypting file system (EFS) settings, disk quota information, mounted drive information, and Remote Storage information will be lost if you back up data from an NTFS volume used in Windows XP and then restore it to a FAT volume or an NTFS volume used in Windows NT 4.0.
- To back up and restore Microsoft SQL Server database files, it is recommended that you use SQL's built-in backup and restore utilities. For more information, you should see the Microsoft SQL Server documentation.

Side Notes!

- You must be an administrator or a backup operator to restore files and folders.
- To start Backup, click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and then click Backup.
- If you are restoring data from a tape, you should update the on-media catalog for the tape before you perform the restore operation.
- You can also use the Restore Wizard to restore files by clicking the Tools menu, and then clicking Restore Wizard.
- In order to restore the System State data on a domain controller, you must first start your computer in Directory Services Restore Mode. This will allow you to restore the SYSVOL directory and the Active Directory directory service database.
- You can only restore the System State data on a local computer. You cannot restore the System State data on a remote computer.
- Backup operators and administrators can back up and restore encrypted files and folders without decrypting the files or folders.

Gary Chambers