Backup Tools and Settings

Applies To: Windows Server 2003, Windows Server 2003 R2, Windows Server 2003 with SP1, Windows Server 2003 with SP2

Backup Tools and Settings

In this section

  • Backup Tools

  • Backup Registry Entries

  • Related Information

Backup Tools

The following tools are associated with Backup.

Ntbackup.exe: Backup

Category

Windows Server 2003 operating system tool

Version compatibility

Runs on computers running the Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 operating systems.

Performs backup operations at a command prompt or through a batch file.

For more information about Ntbackup.exe, see the Windows Server 2003 online Help.

VSSadmin.exe: Volume Shadow Copy Service Administrative Tool

Category

Windows Server 2003 operating system tool

Version compatibility

Runs on computers running the Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 operating systems.

Displays current volume shadow copies and all installed shadow copy writers and providers in the command window. The Windows Server 2003 version of this command contains more parameters than the one that is in Windows XP.

To find more information about VSSadmin.exe, see “Command Line References” in the Tools and Settings Collection.

Backup Registry Entries

The following registry entries are associated with Backup.

The information here is provided as a reference for use in troubleshooting or verifying that the required settings are applied. It is recommended that you do not directly edit the registry unless there is no other alternative. Modifications to the registry are not validated by the registry editor or by Windows before they are applied, and as a result, incorrect values can be stored. This can result in unrecoverable errors in the system. When possible, use Group Policy or other Windows tools, such as Microsoft Management Console (MMC), to accomplish tasks rather than editing the registry directly. If you must edit the registry, use extreme caution.

Control

The following registry entry is located under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control.

BackupRestore

Registry path

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\BackupRestore

Version

Windows Server 2003

Contains subkeys that determine which files the system does not back up and which registry subkeys and entries the system does not restore.

Control

The following registry entry is located under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control.

BackupRestore

Registry path

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\BackupRestore

Version

Windows Server 2003

Lists the files that are owned by the current user that should not be backed up.

Microsoft

The following registry entry is located under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft.

Ntbackup

Registry path

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Ntbackup

Version

Windows Server 2003

Contains subkeys that store configuration data for Windows Backup.

The following resources contain additional information that is relevant to this section.