Ntbackup

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Hi all.

I'm using Windows Ntbackup to backup my data (system state and office
documents) on DLT and Ultrium (with windows 2000 server and windows
server 2003) and all my test restores are always working perfectly.

Today, browsing the Internet I found this article:

http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/New-Improved-NTBACKUP-Program.html

where the author write:

"My point is that NTBACKUP has never been completely reliable. You can
use it to back up a system, but if you ever have to restore anything
other than a few individual files, you never know what you are going
to get."

Do you agree with this article or do you think that windows ntbackup
is a relaliable and professional solution?

Thanks a lot to all, Rosgiof.
 
Re: Ntbackup

I disagree that NT Backup is unrealiable. The article does not prove that
NT Backup was the cause of the MOM Agent problem, he just assumes it. I
actually went back to NT Backup because my BackupExec was too undependable
and too overly complicated to deal with and fight with.

NT Backup is simpler with less features,...but,...sometimes simpler *is*
more dependable,...and what good are features that I don't care about and/or
don't use to begin with?
Even NT Backup has more features than really I need when you combine it with
the Removeable Storage Service. NT Backup may not be "enough" for larger
application requirements, but that does not make it "unreliable".

He praises the Backup utility in Vista for having a simpler interface so we
may seem to be agreeing there. I haven't worked with the Backup Utility in
Vista, but the simpler interface he speaks of may be going too far to the
extreme in the other direction from complex ones like BackupExec by being so
simplified that the Admin or User doesn't have enough control over what is
being backed up of how it is being backed up.

I think many articles that are out there in Internet land need to be
approached cautously. Most writers are not neutral an unbiased. Even when
they are trying to be perfectly honest there is still a lot of personal
opinions that creep into what they write. So you just have to read them and
make you own judgement calls on them,...as I just did here.

--
Phillip Windell
www.wandtv.com

The views expressed, are my own and not those of my employer, or Microsoft,
or anyone else associated with me, including my cats.
-----------------------------------------------------


<rosgiof@hotmail.it> wrote in message
news:4d0651b9-cac4-4f94-aee2-6b4156a1fd7b@c58g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...
> Hi all.
>
> I'm using Windows Ntbackup to backup my data (system state and office
> documents) on DLT and Ultrium (with windows 2000 server and windows
> server 2003) and all my test restores are always working perfectly.
>
> Today, browsing the Internet I found this article:
>
> http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/New-Improved-NTBACKUP-Program.html
>
> where the author write:
>
> "My point is that NTBACKUP has never been completely reliable. You can
> use it to back up a system, but if you ever have to restore anything
> other than a few individual files, you never know what you are going
> to get."
>
> Do you agree with this article or do you think that windows ntbackup
> is a relaliable and professional solution?
>
> Thanks a lot to all, Rosgiof.
 
Re: Ntbackup

I don't totally agree with that statement but i would suggest you use
something like symantec because it gives you better reports

<rosgiof@hotmail.it> wrote in message
news:4d0651b9-cac4-4f94-aee2-6b4156a1fd7b@c58g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...
> Hi all.
>
> I'm using Windows Ntbackup to backup my data (system state and office
> documents) on DLT and Ultrium (with windows 2000 server and windows
> server 2003) and all my test restores are always working perfectly.
>
> Today, browsing the Internet I found this article:
>
> http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/New-Improved-NTBACKUP-Program.html
>
> where the author write:
>
> "My point is that NTBACKUP has never been completely reliable. You can
> use it to back up a system, but if you ever have to restore anything
> other than a few individual files, you never know what you are going
> to get."
>
> Do you agree with this article or do you think that windows ntbackup
> is a relaliable and professional solution?
>
> Thanks a lot to all, Rosgiof.
 
Re: Ntbackup


"David" <Wibble@wobble.com> wrote in message
news:ujGtUJv0IHA.3884@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>I don't totally agree with that statement but i would suggest you use
>something like symantec because it gives you better reports
>
> <rosgiof@hotmail.it> wrote in message
> news:4d0651b9-cac4-4f94-aee2-6b4156a1fd7b@c58g2000hsc.googlegroups.com...
>> Hi all.
>>
>> I'm using Windows Ntbackup to backup my data (system state and office
>> documents) on DLT and Ultrium (with windows 2000 server and windows
>> server 2003) and all my test restores are always working perfectly.
>>
>> Today, browsing the Internet I found this article:
>>
>> http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/New-Improved-NTBACKUP-Program.html
>>
>> where the author write:
>>
>> "My point is that NTBACKUP has never been completely reliable. You can
>> use it to back up a system, but if you ever have to restore anything
>> other than a few individual files, you never know what you are going
>> to get."
>>
>> Do you agree with this article or do you think that windows ntbackup
>> is a relaliable and professional solution?
>>
>> Thanks a lot to all, Rosgiof.

ntbackup is not the easiest of backup tools to use but I strongly
disagree with the statement "if you ever have to restore anything
other than a few individual files, you never know what you are
going to get." During my periodic tests I routinely recover folders
of a few hundred MBytes with hundreds or thousands of files
inside, without the slightest problem.

When you use ntbackup.exe (or any other backup tool!) then
it is mandatory to do three things:
a) Perform a full recovery right at the beginning so that you
know that you have configured it correctly.
b) Check the backup reports on a regular basis, e.g. once
a week for a server, preferably by emailing them to you
by an automatic process.
c) Perform a test recovery at regular intervals, e.g. twice a year.

I suspect that the author of the article you quote ignored all
three of these essential items, and paid the price.
 
Re: Ntbackup

On 20 Giu, 19:49, "Pegasus \(MVP\)" <I....@fly.com.oz> wrote:
> ntbackup is not the easiest of backup tools to use but I strongly
> disagree with the statement "if you ever have to restore anything
> other than a few individual files, you never know what you are
> going to get." During my periodic tests I routinely recover folders
> of a few hundred MBytes with hundreds or thousands of files
> inside, without the slightest problem.
>
> When you use ntbackup.exe (or any other backup tool!) then
> it is mandatory to do three things:
> a) Perform a full recovery right at the beginning so that you
>     know that you have configured it correctly.
> b) Check the backup reports on a regular basis, e.g. once
>     a week for a server, preferably by emailing them to you
>     by an automatic process.
> c) Perform a test recovery at regular intervals, e.g. twice a year.
>
> I suspect that the author of the article you quote ignored all
> three of these essential items, and paid the price.- Nascondi testo citato

Thanks to all for your posts, all you are very kind !

Pegasus, I use ntbackup to save more than 30 Gb of data with almost
100.000 files.
Also for all these data (and not only a few hundred Mb) is ntbackup
reliable?

Thanks again, Rosgiof.
 
Re: Ntbackup

"Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com.oz> wrote in message
news:u$6tN4v0IHA.1572@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> When you use ntbackup.exe (or any other backup tool!) then
> it is mandatory to do three things:
> a) Perform a full recovery right at the beginning so that you
> know that you have configured it correctly.
> b) Check the backup reports on a regular basis, e.g. once
> a week for a server, preferably by emailing them to you
> by an automatic process.
> c) Perform a test recovery at regular intervals, e.g. twice a year.

I have to confess to not following that myself, particularly A and C. But
the problem is how do I do that? If I do that on a live server and it fails
then I just [possibly] trashed my server and have no backups because the
backup I just made has just been proven to be a failure. But if I do the
restore to other hardware I cannot use System State unless the hardware is
identical, and we won't have the hardware because we were barely able to
purchase what we have, let alone an identical "spare" set of everything.

Now just doing files from file storage wouldn't be a problem and I could
restore them to a different location as a test.

Maybe all backup products (even NT Backup) should have a test mode where it
goes through the motions of a Restore with fully reading the tape
(verifying) but without actually writing them to the HD. Now, I do
usually have NT Backup do a "verification" immediately after the backup
:-),..of course my backups take twice as long because of it.

--
Phillip Windell
www.wandtv.com

The views expressed, are my own and not those of my employer, or Microsoft,
or anyone else associated with me, including my cats.
-----------------------------------------------------
 
Re: Ntbackup


"Phillip Windell" <philwindell@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:%23lJjMJw0IHA.4336@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> "Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com.oz> wrote in message
> news:u$6tN4v0IHA.1572@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
>> When you use ntbackup.exe (or any other backup tool!) then
>> it is mandatory to do three things:
>> a) Perform a full recovery right at the beginning so that you
>> know that you have configured it correctly.
>> b) Check the backup reports on a regular basis, e.g. once
>> a week for a server, preferably by emailing them to you
>> by an automatic process.
>> c) Perform a test recovery at regular intervals, e.g. twice a year.
>
> I have to confess to not following that myself, particularly A and C. But
> the problem is how do I do that? If I do that on a live server and it
> fails then I just [possibly] trashed my server and have no backups because
> the backup I just made has just been proven to be a failure. But if I do
> the restore to other hardware I cannot use System State unless the
> hardware is identical, and we won't have the hardware because we were
> barely able to purchase what we have, let alone an identical "spare" set
> of everything.
>
> Now just doing files from file storage wouldn't be a problem and I could
> restore them to a different location as a test.
>
> Maybe all backup products (even NT Backup) should have a test mode where
> it goes through the motions of a Restore with fully reading the tape
> (verifying) but without actually writing them to the HD. Now, I do
> usually have NT Backup do a "verification" immediately after the backup
> :-),..of course my backups take twice as long because of it.
>
> --
> Phillip Windell
> www.wandtv.com
>
> The views expressed, are my own and not those of my employer, or
> Microsoft,
> or anyone else associated with me, including my cats.
> -----------------------------------------------------

I'll answer the easy question first, which is item c) in my list.
The test recovery I perform relates to data folders only, not
to a system recovery. The target for this recovery can be
anything: A spare partition on a server disk, or even a folder
on some PC with a large disk. Remember - disks are cheap!

About question a): IMHO the cost of a spare disk (or a
spare RAID set) is trivial when compared to the cost
of the downtime caused by a server that has to be rebuilt.
My clients would not accept a line such as "I backed up
your system every night but for some technical reason I am
unable to restore the server. Please come back in two
days and get off my back now!". In other words: I only
sleep well if I KNOW that I can restore a system from
backup. This implies that I must perform a full restoration,
preferably right at the start when I have plenty of time and
when there is no pressure. Backing up without a full test
recovery may give me a warm feeling inside but it may leave
me gulping for air when the crunch comes.
 
Re: Ntbackup

"Pegasus (MVP)" <I.can@fly.com.oz> wrote in message
news:OttlY7w0IHA.6096@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> About question a): IMHO the cost of a spare disk (or a
> spare RAID set) is trivial when compared to the cost
> of the downtime caused by a server that has to be rebuilt.

That's true.
But non-technical executives often make the decisions. In my case I'd have
to buy a complete identical server,..my arrays are internal, not external
with the only exception being our video-out server that sends the broadcast
to the air. I'd also have to buy one of each type I have here. We're a TV
Station packed with various shades of hardware from one end of the building
to the other, there's no way to buy enough spare hardware to cover
everything. So I just have to depend on RAID Arrays not loosing the whole
array and the few mirrored servers not losing both members. The rest will
be hoping the Tapes do their job.

My biggest fear is a building fire if we loose the building. Having good
backups is a long way from putting the whole place back together. This
discussion has got me thinking today just how much would be involved if such
a thing happened. There is another TV Station in the next town that doesn't
use their Studio except for storage,...which we might be able to "borrow"
from them, but there is still an overwhelming amount of almost miracles that
would have to happen to get the whole thing functioning again.

--
Phillip Windell
www.wandtv.com

The views expressed, are my own and not those of my employer, or Microsoft,
or anyone else associated with me, including my cats.
-----------------------------------------------------
 
Re: Ntbackup

On 20 Giu, 21:50, "Pegasus \(MVP\)" <I....@fly.com.oz> wrote:
> I'll answer the easy question first, which is item c) in my list.
> The test recovery I perform relates to data folders only, not
> to a system recovery. The target for this recovery can be
> anything: A spare partition on a server disk, or even a folder
> on some PC with a large disk. Remember - disks are cheap!

I totally agree with you, Pegasus, it's mandatory a test restore to be
sure that all it's working well.

I have 2 answer for you:

- how do you test the system state restore with w2k3 srv?
- and my last question that probably you haven't read in my last post:
I use ntbackup to save more than 30 Gb of data with almost
100.000 files.
Also for all these data (and not only a few hundred Mb) is ntbackup
reliable?

Thanks a lot for the help
Bye, Rosgiof.
 
Re: Ntbackup


<rosgiof@hotmail.it> wrote in message
news:f2fc8c2f-ace4-4295-84f1-95f1a54b6427@m36g2000hse.googlegroups.com...
> On 20 Giu, 21:50, "Pegasus \(MVP\)" <I....@fly.com.oz> wrote:
>> I'll answer the easy question first, which is item c) in my list.
>> The test recovery I perform relates to data folders only, not
>> to a system recovery. The target for this recovery can be
>> anything: A spare partition on a server disk, or even a folder
>> on some PC with a large disk. Remember - disks are cheap!
>
> I totally agree with you, Pegasus, it's mandatory a test restore to be
> sure that all it's working well.
>
> I have 2 answer [questions?] for you:
>
> - how do you test the system state restore with w2k3 srv?
> - and my last question that probably you haven't read in my last post:
> I use ntbackup to save more than 30 Gb of data with almost
> 100.000 files.
> Also for all these data (and not only a few hundred Mb) is ntbackup
> reliable?
>
> Thanks a lot for the help
> Bye, Rosgiof.

Here is a detailed tutorial on how to perform a system restore
in case of a disaster:
http://www.datamills.com/Tutorials/systemstate/tutorial.htm#How can I restore a
I actually find this method too tedious, hence I use a disk imaging
product such as Acronis True Image to create an imago of the
system partition shortly after the initial installation. Restoration is
then a two-step process:
1. Restore the image (which will take some 30 minutes)
2. Perform a System Restore as per http://support.microsoft.com/kb/240363.

About backing up / restoring 100,000 files: I wouldn't because
that's too many eggs in the one basket. When something goes
wrong then you lose the lot. I would limit the number of files to
20,000 .. 30,000 per backup set. For the same reason I won't
use multi-volume tapes (in fact I try to avoid tapes altogether).
 
Re: Ntbackup

On 20 Giu, 23:40, "Pegasus \(MVP\)" <I....@fly.com.oz> wrote:
> Here is a detailed tutorial on how to perform a system restore
> in case of a disaster:http://www.datamills.com/Tutorials/systemstate/tutorial.htm#How can...
> I actually find this method too tedious, hence I use a disk imaging
> product such as Acronis True Image to create an imago of the
> system partition shortly after the initial installation. Restoration is
> then a two-step process:
> 1. Restore the image (which will take some 30 minutes)
> 2. Perform a System Restore as per http://support.microsoft.com/kb/240363.
>

Thank you very very much Pegasus for your suggestion and your links,
your procedure is very interesting.
I'll do your method ASAP, thanks!

> About backing up / restoring 100,000 files: I wouldn't because
> that's too many eggs in the one basket. When something goes
> wrong then you lose the lot. I would limit the number of files to
> 20,000 .. 30,000 per backup set. For the same reason I won't
> use multi-volume tapes (in fact I try to avoid tapes altogether).

I never thought about the problem you write (funny the eggs and basket
comparison! :-), and actually I agree with you.
So, please, help me another time again:

I do my backups on 40 Gbytes (not compressed, 80 compressed) DLT HP
cassette: 5 DLTs have one backup set of 20 Gbytes (around 50000
files), 5 DLTs have one backup set of 32 Gbytes (around 98000 files).
If I do a backup (and write one backup set) on a DLT cassette, this
backup overwrite the previous backup that was on that DLT cassette.

My question:
how could I divide my two backup sets using the same quantity of DLT
(10) and follow your suggestion to divide the existing backup sets to
more and small backup sets?

And again:
sorry, but I don't understand (I'm italian) what you mean with: "multi-
volume tapes (in fact I try to avoid tapes altogether)"
Maybe with "multi-volume tapes" do you mean "one big backup set on
more than one DLT cassette" ?

Thanks again very very much for your patience and your kind help.
Bye bye, Rosgiof.
 
Re: Ntbackup

See below.

<rosgiof@hotmail.it> wrote in message
news:dc82fa12-4c52-4041-8445-51cb63f1f6bb@p25g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
> On 20 Giu, 23:40, "Pegasus \(MVP\)" <I....@fly.com.oz> wrote:
>> Here is a detailed tutorial on how to perform a system restore
>> in case of a
>> disaster:http://www.datamills.com/Tutorials/systemstate/tutorial.htm#How can...
>> I actually find this method too tedious, hence I use a disk imaging
>> product such as Acronis True Image to create an imago of the
>> system partition shortly after the initial installation. Restoration is
>> then a two-step process:
>> 1. Restore the image (which will take some 30 minutes)
>> 2. Perform a System Restore as per
>> http://support.microsoft.com/kb/240363.
>>
>
> Thank you very very much Pegasus for your suggestion and your links,
> your procedure is very interesting.
> I'll do your method ASAP, thanks!
>
>> About backing up / restoring 100,000 files: I wouldn't because
>> that's too many eggs in the one basket. When something goes
>> wrong then you lose the lot. I would limit the number of files to
>> 20,000 .. 30,000 per backup set. For the same reason I won't
>> use multi-volume tapes (in fact I try to avoid tapes altogether).
>
> I never thought about the problem you write (funny the eggs and basket
> comparison! :-),
*** "Don't put all your eggs into one basket" is a figure of speech
*** often used in the English language, especially when it comes
*** to money matters.

> and actually I agree with you.
> So, please, help me another time again:
>
> I do my backups on 40 Gbytes (not compressed, 80 compressed) DLT HP
> cassette: 5 DLTs have one backup set of 20 Gbytes (around 50000
> files), 5 DLTs have one backup set of 32 Gbytes (around 98000 files).
> If I do a backup (and write one backup set) on a DLT cassette, this
> backup overwrite the previous backup that was on that DLT cassette.
>
> My question:
> how could I divide my two backup sets using the same quantity of DLT
> (10) and follow your suggestion to divide the existing backup sets to
> more and small backup sets?
*** You could create two .bks files, thus splitting the backup job
*** into two parcels.

> And again:
> sorry, but I don't understand (I'm italian) what you mean with: "multi-
> volume tapes (in fact I try to avoid tapes altogether)"
> Maybe with "multi-volume tapes" do you mean "one big backup set on
> more than one DLT cassette" ?
*** Yes, when I refer to a multi-volume backup tape then I'm
*** thinking of a backup job that spans more than one tape.
*** When restoring data that is located on Tape #2 then you must
*** first process Tape #1. If Tape #1 has a flaw then all other
*** tapes become unreadable. Too many eggs . . .
>
> Thanks again very very much for your patience and your kind help.
> Bye bye, Rosgiof.
*** You're welcome.
 
Re: Ntbackup

Hi Pegasus, and thanks very much for your answer.

> *** "Don't put all your eggs into one basket" is a figure of speech
> *** often used in the English language, especially when it comes
> *** to money matters.

Thanks for your language lesson :-) , it's very interesting to learn
new phrase in english for me!

> *** You could create two .bks files, thus splitting the backup job
> *** into two parcels.

Ok, I understand that I have to do 2 .bks.
But how could I make a job that save on 1 DLT the 2 .bks?

Now I'm using this job (that is in a .CMD file):

start /wait rsm.exe refresh /lf"hp StorageWorks DLT VS80 Drive"
C:\WINNT\system32\ntbackup.exe backup "@C:\Documents and Settings
\Administrator\Impostazioni locali\Dati applicazioni\Microsoft
\Windows
NT\NTBackup\data\BackupdiscoDcompletoV2bis.bks" /d "Backup disco D
completo V2 bis" /v:yes /r:no /rs:no /hc:on /m normal /j "Backup
disco
D completo V2 bis" /l:s /p "DLT" /um

The "BackupdiscoDcompletoV2bis.bks" file contains:

D:\pubblica\backupclientrete\
SystemState

Could you suggest me how to modify my job to do your method, please?

> *** Yes, when I refer to a multi-volume backup tape then I'm
> *** thinking of a backup job that spans more than one tape.
> *** When restoring data that is located on Tape #2 then you must
> *** first process Tape #1. If Tape #1 has a flaw then all other
> *** tapes become unreadable. Too many eggs . . .

Ok, I agree perfectly with you!

> *** You're welcome.

Thanks very much again for your help.
Bye bye, Rosgiof.
 
Re: Ntbackup


<rosgiof@hotmail.it> wrote in message
news:01e30d2a-7b66-41e4-afe4-c5483c4f5944@f36g2000hsa.googlegroups.com...
> Hi Pegasus, and thanks very much for your answer.
>
>> *** "Don't put all your eggs into one basket" is a figure of speech
>> *** often used in the English language, especially when it comes
>> *** to money matters.
>
> Thanks for your language lesson :-) , it's very interesting to learn
> new phrase in english for me!
>
>> *** You could create two .bks files, thus splitting the backup job
>> *** into two parcels.
>
> Ok, I understand that I have to do 2 .bks.
> But how could I make a job that save on 1 DLT the 2 .bks?
>
> Now I'm using this job (that is in a .CMD file):
>
> start /wait rsm.exe refresh /lf"hp StorageWorks DLT VS80 Drive"
> C:\WINNT\system32\ntbackup.exe backup "@C:\Documents and Settings
> \Administrator\Impostazioni locali\Dati applicazioni\Microsoft
> \Windows
> NT\NTBackup\data\BackupdiscoDcompletoV2bis.bks" /d "Backup disco D
> completo V2 bis" /v:yes /r:no /rs:no /hc:on /m normal /j "Backup
> disco
> D completo V2 bis" /l:s /p "DLT" /um
>
> The "BackupdiscoDcompletoV2bis.bks" file contains:
>
> D:\pubblica\backupclientrete\
> SystemState
>
> Could you suggest me how to modify my job to do your method, please?
>
>> *** Yes, when I refer to a multi-volume backup tape then I'm
>> *** thinking of a backup job that spans more than one tape.
>> *** When restoring data that is located on Tape #2 then you must
>> *** first process Tape #1. If Tape #1 has a flaw then all other
>> *** tapes become unreadable. Too many eggs . . .
>
> Ok, I agree perfectly with you!
>
>> *** You're welcome.
>
> Thanks very much again for your help.
> Bye bye, Rosgiof.

Sorry, it's a long, long time since I used a DLT tape library. I simply
cannot remember all the switches needed to perform this task.
 
Re: Ntbackup

On 23 Giu, 21:29, "Pegasus \(MVP\)" <I....@fly.com.oz> wrote:
>.......
> Sorry, it's a long, long time since I used a DLT tape library. I simply
> cannot remember all the switches needed to perform this task.
>


Ok, no problem, don't worry, now I'll search with google how to do
this.

Thanks again for your very kind help and patience!
Bye bye, Rosgiof.
 
Re: Ntbackup


<rosgiof@hotmail.it> wrote in message
news:1f6b7b84-632b-430f-81c1-97862a7b975e@f63g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
> On 23 Giu, 21:29, "Pegasus \(MVP\)" <I....@fly.com.oz> wrote:
>>.......
>> Sorry, it's a long, long time since I used a DLT tape library. I simply
>> cannot remember all the switches needed to perform this task.
>>
>
>
> Ok, no problem, don't worry, now I'll search with google how to do
> this.
>
> Thanks again for your very kind help and patience!
> Bye bye, Rosgiof.

Thanks for the feedback.
 
Re: Ntbackup

Hi Rosgiof...

<rosgiof@hotmail.it> wrote in message news:01e30d2a-7b66-41e4-afe4-
> C:\WINNT\system32\ntbackup.exe backup "@C:\Documents and Settings
> \Administrator\Impostazioni locali\Dati applicazioni\Microsoft
> \Windows
> NT\NTBackup\data\BackupdiscoDcompletoV2bis.bks" /d "Backup disco D
> completo V2 bis" /v:yes /r:no /rs:no /hc:on /m normal /j "Backup
> disco
> D completo V2 bis" /l:s /p "DLT" /um

What does the /um switch do? None of the documentation I have seen on
ntbackup mentions this switch...

Gareth
 
Re: Ntbackup


"Gareth Howells" <gareth@gforce-industries.co.uk> wrote in message
news:%23wdWYHy8IHA.5044@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
> Hi Rosgiof...
>
> <rosgiof@hotmail.it> wrote in message news:01e30d2a-7b66-41e4-afe4-
>> C:\WINNT\system32\ntbackup.exe backup "@C:\Documents and Settings
>> \Administrator\Impostazioni locali\Dati applicazioni\Microsoft
>> \Windows
>> NT\NTBackup\data\BackupdiscoDcompletoV2bis.bks" /d "Backup disco D
>> completo V2 bis" /v:yes /r:no /rs:no /hc:on /m normal /j "Backup
>> disco
>> D completo V2 bis" /l:s /p "DLT" /um
>
> What does the /um switch do? None of the documentation I have seen on
> ntbackup mentions this switch...
>
> Gareth

Microsoft chose to omit all references to the /UM switch in the server
versions of ntbackup.exe, even though it is still available. Here is what
non-server versions say:

/UM
Finds the first available media, formats it, and uses it for the current
backup operation. You must use the /P switch to designate a device-type
media pool when you use the /UM switch so that Backup searches for the
appropriate type of media (for example, 4mm DDS). When you use the /UM
switch, Backup will search the following media pools for available media:
Free pool, Import pool, Unrecognized pool, and Backup pool. When available
media is found, the search will stop and the media will be formatted and
used without prompting you for input. This command is not applicable to tape
loaders and should only be used if you have a stand-alone tape device.

See also here:
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=239892
http://windowsitpro.com/article/art...ilure-to-insert-a-tape-in-the-tape-drive.html
 
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