Is there a Version of NTBackup for Vista?

  • Thread starter Thread starter hammerhead13
  • Start date Start date
hammerhead13 said:
Is there a Version of NTBackup for Vista with Write Capabities?

I saw this on the net but is it real:
http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/New-Improved-NTBACKUP-Program.html
Click to expand...

hammerhead13,

That article was written while Vista was in beta. More important, the
author's choice of terminology is not very precise and might be misleading.
You will recall that ntbackup.exe was the filename for the built-in backup
and restore applet for Windows NT, Windows 2000 and Windows XP. The author
should not have referred to Vista's Backup and Restore function as NTbackup.

I found conflicting info about using the ntbackup.exe file and its related
..dll files on Vista, but I had always used ntbackup, and learned to like it.
I eventually found a method of using ntbackup.exe on Vista that appears to
work, but without the ability to schedule a backup job. I was never
comfortable with the reliability of using this method, no longer use it, and
do not recommend it.

I want to back up by folder, and I want to include executables and sometimes
inactive "system" files as part of what I call my software library, so
Vista's backup applet was never sufficient for me.

I worked with the Windows Live OneCare betas and RTMs just to use its
similar but more customizable backup component. It worked well, and
reliably, and I have no complaints about it except that you can't install
just the backup portion of OneCare-- you get the whole suite or nothing.
When OneCare version 2.0 surprised and disappointed many users by suddenly
reverting to a less customizable (Vista-like) backup scheme, where you could
no longer choose folders or include executable files, I knew I could no
longer use OneCare, for backups, at least.

Along came Microsoft's SyncToy. I had ignored it for years, based solely on
its silly name. (I didn't want a "toy!") As it turns out, SyncToy 2 (beta)
is JUST what I've been wanting all along. I use it to "contribute" copies of
my files to a separate internal or external HD. It doesn't catalog or
compress the files, which is my preference. It's customizable to the degree
I need, and can be scheduled using the Windows Task Manager (which I do not
need to do). It's fast and seems very reliable. I like the simple but modern
interface.

I recommend that you try it and see if it suits you. Let us know.

Brian

(If Microsoft if "listening," please consider changing its name from SyncToy
to SyncTool, or similar.)
 
Thank you for the reply. My main concern is because I have 1000's of Archived
..BKFs & need something going forward for backing up network drives with ease.
Any suggestions?
 
hammerhead13 said:
Thank you for the reply. My main concern is because I have 1000's of
Archived
.BKFs & need something going forward for backing up network drives with
ease.
Any suggestions?
Click to expand...

None of the back up solutions for Vista can import the .bkf files. You CAN
however use NTBackup from XP. Grab these files from the \system32 folder in
your XP load.

ntbackup.chm
ntbackup.chw
ntbackup.exe
ntbackup.hlp
ntmsapi.dll
vssapi.dll

Make a folder on your drive somewhere. I made mine under Program Files, and
put the above files in there. You can make a short cut for your start menu
or desktop if you wish. It runs perfectly, and you can even run scheduled
B/U's.

(note: to make the help files work, you need to grab this file from
MS...Windows6.0-KB917607-x86.msu...the old help file structure does not work
under Vista)

I have tested everything and it all works. Now for ongoing BU solutions, you
can use what is in Vista, the SyncToy that Brian mentioned, or others...this
one shipped with my system...

http://www.ntius.com/

HTH
 
Brian, I believe you could schedule NTBackups on Vista using the Vista
equivalent of Scheduled Tasks. You first have to create a command
(*.bat) file using NTBackup's command line facility and creating the
files/folders list (*.bks file) to be included using NTBackup's Backup
tab. You then schedule the *.bat file. I know this works on XP.
However, I have yet to try it on Vista.

My problem with NTBackup on Vista is that Differential backups don't
seem to work. Full backups get created even though Differential was
specified.
 
Thanks, System Administrator.

I'll keep your post handy for next time I try ntbackup.exe on Vista. I read
once that ntbackup.exe's own job scheduler did indeed work, but I can't find
that reference again.

I recall that my backups grew quite large using ntbackup.exe on Vista. I
don't recall whether, at the time, I thought I knew why, or if I even
thought it was irregular, such as getting fulls instead of incrementals.

On subtopic, I recently began to suspect that SyncToy 2.0 (beta) touches
file attributes in such a way as to cause them to display the date
"restored" instead of their creation date, so I need to investigate that and
possibly retract my earlier glowing recommendation. (I've decided to never
recommend a beta product -- but not because of SyncToy beta 2's possible
bug.)
 

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