The Basics of the Windows NT Backup Program
Unfortunately, the Windows NT backup program will not backup data to disks. You will have to use tapes if you’re running this backup program.
There are several different formats of backing up data available with the the Windows NT program. Every file you backup can be given what is called an “archive attribute” that you need to be aware of for purposes of location and recall when the need arises. If a file gets archived, then it receives a mark letting you know that it has been archived.
There is the “Normal” format, in which you select the files to back up and give them their archive attributes, or “marks”. In the “Copy” format, you select files for backup but do not “mark” them. This format is highly useful if you need to make tape backups, as it won’t interfere with your other archives. There is the “Incremental” format, in which the archive attributes are marked and the only archives that are backed up are those that have had changes to them since the previous backup. In the related “Differential” format, you do not mark the archive attributes and the backing up protocol is the same as that for the incremental format. Finally, in the “Daily” format, any files that have changed within a defined 24-hour period get backed up, but without the archive marking.
You go into Administrative Tools in order to run the NT Backup program. When you choose Backup, you pick a tape name and then select from one of several program options. In “Append”, you add a new backup set to existing backup sets. You can also “Replace” a file (the name speaks for itself), “Verify” that a file has been backed up, check the “Backup Registry” to see what is contained there, enact “Hardware Compression” in order to save storage space, or choose “Log Information” in which you choose the name and parameters of a log file that you are going to store in systemroot.