NTBackup

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NTBackup is the built-in backup command of Microsoft Windows, introduced in Windows NT around 1997 and part of all subsequent versions up to and including Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003. It uses a proprietary backup format (BKF) to back up files. Files can be backed up to tape, ZIP drives and floppy disks. It also features integration with Task Scheduler and has several command line switches for scheduled automated backups.[1]

[edit] Features

NTBackup supports several operating system features including backing up the computer's System State. On computers that are not domain-controllers, this includes the Windows Registry, boot files, files protected by Windows File Protection, Performance counter configuration information, COM+ class registration database, IIS metabase, replicated data sets, Exchange Server data, Cluster service information, and Certificate Services database. On domain controllers, NTBackup can back up Active Directory, including the SYSVOL directory share.

NTBackup supports Encrypting File System, NTFS hard links and junction points, alternate data streams, disk quota information, mounted drive and remote storage information. It saves NTFS permissions, audit entries and ownership settings, respects the Archive bit attribute on files and folders and can create differential and incremental backups, backup catalogs, as well as Automated System Recovery.

NTBackup can use removable media devices that are supported natively by the Removable Storage Manager (RSM) component of Windows. However, RSM supports only those tape devices which have RSM-aware WDM drivers and unless the tape device or other removable media device is recognized by RSM, it is not fully supported by NTBackup.[2]

NTBackup from Windows XP and later includes Volume Shadow Copy (VSS) support and thus can back up locked files. In case of Windows XP Home Edition, NTBackup is not installed by default but is available on the Windows XP installation disc. [3]

In Windows Vista and later operating systems, NTBackup was replaced by Windows Backup, which uses the Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) file format and can back up to modern media such as CDs and DVDs. For reading older backups, Microsoft has made available the NTBackup Restore utility which can only read BKF files.[4]

A third-party addon known as Firestreamer-RM extends the Removable Storage component in Microsoft Windows to support modern storage media such as external hard disks, flash memory, optical media such as CD, DVD and Blu-Ray and network file systems exposing the pieces of media as virtual tape to NTBackup which is based on Removable Storage.[5]

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