Help: WinXP Backup Question

[Andrew]

Hi,

I have been installing a new external hard rive this weekend, a Maxtor One
Touch, and don't like the supplied backup software called Retrospect
Express.

So I have used the backup Facility provided in WinXP Pro, and it appears to
do what I want, and I have done a full system back, plus an incremental
backup.

In the Restore Tab it shows a Tree structure of the files backed up, but a
couple of the folders have a red exclamation mark (!) over them ,and I
cannot find out what that means.

Can anyone enlighten me and tell me what is going on, and do I need to be
worried about this?

Many thanks

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP\)]

Usually, the backup creates a report and asks if you wish to view it when
you close the current backup. Under options, it may be under "Job" on the
toolbar, go to the report tab and select "List all files that were backed
up." Then, run the backup again and see if there's a notation in the
report.

You may have to hunt a bit for this option as I'm using the retail version
of the backup app that ships with XP Pro and it is a bit more robust and may
differ a bit from yours.

The most likely explanation is it couldn't open the file. If the file was
System Volume Information, that is a system folder that contains the System
Restore information and the system usually won't let you backup and restore
that nor should it be necessary as a backup is usually used to restore
specific user files that might accidentally have been lost or used in a full
restore of user files after a format and clean install.

 

[Andrew]

Hi Michael,

Thanks for the info regarding this problem, it is most appreciated. I have
not replied before now, as I have been aware on holiday, and only got back
home last night!

Regarding the report files for the backup, they indicate a couple of
things, for example some files were in use and could not be backed up, also
some were cookies and temp files so that answers that bit, but I did find
this entry in all of the reports made so far:

"...Error returned while creating the volume shadow copy:80042301
Reverting to non-shadow copy backup mode..."

I am not a technical person by profession, but I have been using computers
since the 1980's and have found my ware round MS-Dos, and hard drive
partitioning etc, which thankfully to day is so much easier and quicker than
then, but to be honest I am not sure what this message means.

Is it particularly important or can I just carry on as normal?

I have my system set to do a daily Incremental backup and am quite happy as
long as all my data such as Word Doc's, Web files, graphics files and the
like are safely backed up. To be honest if my system was at a stage that it
needed a 'full system restore' from Backup, I think I would be ok with
starting from scratch and reinstalling WinXP Pro on a freshly formatted hard
drive, and then just restore my data files etc.

I was interested in your comment regarding the fact that you are using a
'retail' version of backup as provided in Win XP Pro.

Where do you get it from, and how much is it, and do I really need it?

I hope you don't mind my asking.

Kind Regards

Andrew

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP\)]

Are you using FAT32 or NTFS? If you are not sure, open Windows Explorer or
My Computer, right click the C drive or any other drive being backed up,
select properties, the General tab will tell you which file system you are
using. If FAT32, Volume Shadow Copy is not supported and would be the
reason for the error. If that is the case, check the options or preferences
in the backup applet to see if you can turn off shadow copy. If you can't
do worry about it, the message, it's simply related to the fact the option
is not supported but this shouldn't effect your ability to backup or
restore.

The backup applet supplied with XP is a lite version of a product formerly
known as Backup Exec and was developed by Veritas. Veritas no longer
distributes through retail channels and turned distribution of the product
over to Stomp which has rebranded the product as Backup MyPC and all
information including price can be found at the following link:
http://www.stompsoft.com/backupmypc.html

Whether or not you need it depends upon your needs. It is more robust than
the XP version and offers far more compatibility with backup devices as the
applet in XP is quite limited in that regard. One bit of advice, if you
decide this is something you need, they offer the option of buying by
download or purchasing the CD. My advice is to buy the CD even though it is
$10 more and before buying directly from stomp, you might want to check
various retailers to see if they have it and for what price as you might get
a discount from a retailer.

I purchased the download and it's a bit of a pain when they have upgrades.
Instead of just pointing setup to the media and installing the upgrade, I
have to install each upgrade and its a pain in the behind.

 

[Andrew]

Michael,

Yes my system is NTFS, in fact both my internal C:\ drive and my Maxtor 'One
Touch external drive are formatted that way. When I first installed the
Maxtor One Touch drive, it was originally formatted as Fat32, but the
supplied manual recommended converting it to NTFS if using Win 2000 or XP,
which I did before I put any data on it.

So it looks like for some reason the backup applet cant or wont perform
Volume Shadow Copy, any further suggestions?

I will take a look at Stompsoft and see what the latest prices and product
info is, and if happy will try and locate a copy as you suggest.

Thanks again,

Kind regards

Andrew

 

[Michael Solomon \(MS-MVP\)]

Stompsoft usually offers a trial version so you might want to download and
test it.

It's possible the following Knowledge Base Article addresses the issue of
the error you are seeing:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;839090