Immediate Operations Part 1

Immediate Operations

Immediate operations are ones that you initiate manually and that execute immediately. Types of immediate operations are: backup, archive, restore, duplicate, and two types of transfer. This section describes each of these operations in detail.

If you are a casual user needing only occasional backups, you will be satisfied with immediate operations. However, if you are a network administrator who frequently backs up multiple volumes, you are better off automating these tasks with scripts. Whether you plan to do immediate or scripted operations, this section is a good introduction to Retrospect.

Backup

This section describes how to perform an immediate backup with Retrospect. The backup procedures described here include all the information you need to know to effectively back up all of your files.

Before you attempt to back up files with Retrospect, ensure that your backup device is properly connected to the computer and that your backup medium (tape, disk, or disc) does not contain valuable data that should not be overwritten.

There are two ways to set up an immediate backup. You can use Retrospect’s Backup Wizard, which walks you through the process of setting up a backup, or you can set up the backup on your own in Advanced Mode. Advanced Mode has options that are unavailable in the wizard. For more information see:

• Backing Up in Wizard Mode
• Switching from Wizard to Advanced Mode
• Backing Up in Advanced Mode
• Switching from Advanced to Wizard Mode

In both Wizard Mode and Advanced Mode, Retrospect backs up all selected files during the first backup. In subsequent backups (unless you indicate otherwise), Retrospect backs up only those files that do not already exist in the destination Backup Set (i.e., files that are new or have changed since the last backup). Retrospect calls this Progressive Backup. This means that if you back up frequently, fewer files need to be copied in each backup session and backups will require less time and media.

Backing Up in Wizard Mode

The Backup Wizard provides an easy way to set up and edit immediate backup operations. To start the Backup Wizard, click Backup from the navigation bar, then click the Backup button.

If you have never backed up before (or have previously set up an immediate backup using the wizard), the Backup Wizard welcome screen displays.

• If the Advanced Mode Backup Summary screen displays, click Switch to Wizard Mode.
• Welcome Screen
• Choosing What to Back Up
• Adding Retrospect Clients
• Choosing Specific Drives or Folders
• Choosing File Types to Back Up
• Choosing the Backup Destination Device
• Choosing When to Back Up
• Naming the Backup Set
• Setting the Compression Option
• Setting Backup Set Security Options
• Recycling Options for Tape Drive Backups
• Reviewing the Backup Settings
• Monitoring the Backup
• Editing the Backup Settings

Welcome Screen

If this is the first time you are setting up a backup, click Next to continue set up using the Backup Wizard. To set up the backup in Advanced Mode, click Switch to Advanced Mode. See Backing Up in Advanced Mode for more information.

If you have previously set up a backup, the welcome screen displays your current settings. See Editing the Backup Settings for more information.

Backup vs. Duplicate (Replication)

Retrospect can perform both backups and duplicates/replications. Select “Progressive Backup” to set up or modify your backup settings. Select “Duplicate” to set up or modify your duplicate settings.

• Progressive Backup: Backing up your computer on a regular basis is the best way to protect your files. When you back up, Retrospect creates a restore point and saves it on your disk drive. A restore point contains all the files and folders you selected to back up, as they existed at the time of the backup.

Each time you back up, Retrospect adds a new restore point to the drive; thereby preserving copies of backed up files and folders from multiple points in time. If there is not enough free disk space to add a new restore point, Retrospect automatically deletes older restore points to make room for the new one.

You can restore individual files and folders from any restore point back to your computer. You can also restore your entire computer to its state at the time a restore point was created.

Once you set up a backup, you can initiate it at any time by pressing the button on your disk drive. You can also schedule backups to run automatically on specified days of the week.

• Duplicate/Replication: When you duplicate, Retrospect copies the selected files and folders from your computer to the “Retrospect Duplicates” folder on your disk drive.

Each time you duplicate, Retrospect replaces the entire contents of “Retrospect Duplicates”. The only files and folders available are those from the most recent duplicate. If you modified a file since the last duplicate, the older version will be lost. If you deleted a file from your computer, it will be deleted from your disk drive when you duplicate.

Duplicates are saved in the standard Windows file format, so you can view and interact with them just like any other file (using Windows Explorer, for example).

Once you set up a duplicate, you can initiate it at any time by pressing the button on your disk drive. You cannot schedule duplicates to run automatically.

Choosing What to Back Up

Click the option button that describes what you want to back up. The options vary slightly depending on what edition of Retrospect you are running.

• Documents and Settings, (only available for Retrospect Desktop) backs up the Documents and Settings folder, which contains every users’ folders, including My Documents, Pictures, Music, Favorites, and Desktop.
• My Computer, backs up the local computer.
• My Computer and computers on my network, backs up the local computer and all logged in Retrospect Client computers.
• Only computers on my network, (not available for Retrospect Desktop) backs up all logged in Retrospect Client computers.
• Let me choose, allows you to select the drives and folders you want to back up from the local computer, logged in Retrospect Client computers, and network volumes.

Adding Retrospect Clients

If you chose to back up “My Computer and computers on my network” or “Only computers on my network”, Retrospect will back up data from all Retrospect Client computers logged in at the time of the backup.

To log in Retrospect Clients now, click Add Clients. For more information on installing, configuring, and logging in clients, see Networked Clients.

Choosing Specific Drives or Folders

If you selected “Let me choose” in the “What do you want to back up?” screen, you can now select one or more specific drives or folders to back up.

Click a drive or folder to select it. This deselects any other selected drive or folder. Press and hold the Control key and click a drive or folder to select it without deselecting any current selections. Press and hold the Shift key and click a drive or folder to select all drives and folders listed from the current selection to the Shift-clicked selection.

You can select drives and folders from any of the containers listed in this screen: My Computer, My Network Places, Backup Clients, and Source Groups. You can also select one or more of the containers themselves to back up everything inside.

• To add Retrospect Clients to the Backup Clients container, click Add Clients.
• To add network volumes to the My Network Places container, click Add Network Volumes.
• To display the folders on a drive, select the drive and click Show Folders.

See Containers for more information.

Choosing File Types to Back Up

Select the check box for each type of file you want to back up. If you select all the check boxes, all files (except cache files) will be backed up.

Some of these options function differently with Windows, Mac OS, and Linux computers. The descriptions below focus on how these options interact with Windows computers. To learn how these options work with other operating systems, see Built-in Selectors.

• Documents and Settings backs up files in the Documents and Settings folder, which contains every user’s My Documents, Favorites, Application Data, and Desktop folders.
• Operating System and Applications backs up system files, including the Windows folder and the System State. Also backs up application files, including everything in the Program Files folder, as well as files with known application extensions (like .exe and .dll) anywhere on the source.
• If you choose not to back up “Operating System and Applications”, Retrospect modifies some of its default execution options. Retrospect turns off both the “Back Up System State” and “Back up folder security information for workstations” options. See Windows System Options and Windows Security Options for more information.
• Pictures backs up all files in the My Documents\My Pictures folder for all users. It also backs up files with common picture file extensions (.jpg, for example) anywhere on the source, except the Windows and Program Files folders.
• Music backs up all files in the My Documents\My Music folder for all users. It also backs up files with common music file extensions (.wma and .mp3, for example) anywhere on the source, except the Windows and Program Files folders.
• Movies backs up all files in the My Documents\My Videos folder for all users. It also backs up files with common movie file extensions (.mov, for example) anywhere on the source, except the Windows and Program Files folders.
• Office Documents backs up Microsoft Office Documents, Microsoft Outlook data, and Adobe PDF files anywhere on the source, except the Windows and Program Files folders.
• All Other Files, backs up all files not selected by the other options.
• The Documents and Settings and Operating System and Applications options are not available if you are backing up a folder.

Choosing the Backup Destination Device

You can store your backup on any device supported by Retrospect, including tape drives, CD/DVD drives, and hard drives. Select one of the following options:

• Tape, CD, DVD
• Hard drives on the local computer or on the network

For Tape/CD/DVD, Retrospect displays the available devices. Select the device to which you want to back up and click Next.

For hard drives, Retrospect displays local hard drives and any network volumes listed in the My Network Places container.

To add a network volume, double-click My Network Places, then navigate to the volume you want to add, select it, and click the Add button. If the volume requires it, enter a login and password and click OK.

If you set up Retrospect to log in as a user with privileges to the network volume, you will not be prompted to log in again. See Security Preferences for more information.

To specify a folder on a local drive or network volume, select it, then click the Browse button. Navigate to the folder you want to back up to and click OK.

Choosing When to Back Up

For immediate backups, select Now.

If you want to set up a backup to run on a schedule, select Later.

The steps to set up a backup to run later are described in Creating a Backup Script in Wizard Mode, starting with Choosing When to Back Up.

Naming the Backup Set

A Backup Set is a group of one or more disks, tapes, or CD/DVD discs on which your backed up data is stored. When the first piece of media in a Backup Set fills up with data, Retrospect asks for a new one and adds it as a new member of the Backup Set.

Enter a Backup Set name, or use the default name provided by Retrospect. If you have already created any Backup Sets, you can select the “Use Existing” check box and choose a Backup Set from the list box.

The “Use Existing” check box only appears if you have existing Backup Sets.

Setting the Compression Option

Click the “Yes” option button to turn on software data compression for this backup.

Data compression saves space in the Backup Set by compressing files before copying them into the Backup Set. Files are automatically decompressed back to their original state when restored.

The amount of compression savings you can expect depends on the types of files you are compressing. Text files compress substantially; application and system files do not.

Backups (and restores) from Backup Sets using data compression are slower than those that do not.

When copying to a tape device that has built-in hardware data compression, Retrospect automatically turns off software compression and always uses hardware compression for best performance.

Setting Backup Set Security Options

This screen allows you to specify a password to restrict access to the Backup Set. You can also choose to encrypt the Backup Set data to provide additional security.

Using encryption increases backup time.

Choose an option from the Backup Set Security list box.

• None: provides no password protection for the Backup Set and does not encrypt the Backup Set data.
• Password only: provides password protection for the Backup Set. Stored data is not encrypted.
• SimpleCrypt: provides password protection and encrypts Backup Set data using Retrospect’s proprietary encryption format.
• DES: provides password protection and encrypts Backup Set data using the Data Encryption Standard.
• AES-128: provides password protection and encrypts Backup Set data using the Advanced Encryption Standard (128 bit).
• AES-256: provides password protection and encrypts Backup Set data using the Advanced Encryption Standard (256 bit). AES-256 provides the best combination of security and performance.
• Once a Backup Set is password-protected or encrypted, you cannot change these settings. In addition, if you forget your password, you will not be able access the Backup Set.

If you set a password and want Retrospect to remember it under certain circumstances, select an option from the remember password list box.

• Remember password for any access: saves the password for use with all immediate and automated operations.
• Remember password for scripted access (default): saves the password for use with automated operations only. For example, if the Backup Set is the destination for an overnight backup script, Retrospect will not require the password to be entered manually.
• Do not remember password for any access: requires you to enter the password to access the Backup Set in any way. For example, you cannot back up to it or view its properties without entering the password. After you enter the password once, you do not have to enter it again until you quit and restart Retrospect.
• You can change the remember password setting at a later time by modifying the Backup Set’s properties. See Configuring Backup Sets for more information.

Grooming Options for Hard Drive Backups

If you are backing up to a new disk Backup Set that uses a hard drive as its destination, you can tell Retrospect what to do when the hard drive becomes full.

You can change or turn off a disk Backup Set’s grooming options at any time. See "The Options tab" on page 256 for more information.

• Ask for a new disk: When the backup drive fills up, Retrospect asks for another hard drive on which to store additional backups. All of your backups on the original hard drive are preserved.
• Keep only the last n backups: Specify the number of backups you want to preserve for each source when the backup drive fills up. Retrospect then automatically “grooms” (i.e., deletes) all the other, older backups on the hard drive to make room for new data.
• Keep according to Retrospect’s defined policy: When the backup drive fills up, Retrospect uses its own grooming policy to delete old backups. At a minimum, Retrospect’s policy retains two backups for each source. Retrospect keeps the last backup of the day for each source from the two most recent days on which each source was backed up. If the disk has enough space available, Retrospect keeps a backup of each source for every day in the last week, a backup for each week in the last month, and a backup for each previous month.

Grooming deletes files and folders. These files and folders cannot be recovered. Before enabling grooming, make sure you have a backup policy that protects your critical files and folders.

Recycling Options for Tape Drive Backups

If you are backing up to a tape drive, you can tell Retrospect to “recycle” the destination tape Backup Set before backing up to it. Recycling enables you to reuse the tapes in a Backup Set, however all data on those tapes is lost.

Before recycling a tape Backup Set make sure the data on its tapes exists elsewhere or that you can really afford to lose the data.

• No, I want to keep my existing backup data: Choose this option to preserve all existing backup data in the tape Backup Set. Retrospect backs up only new and changed files since the last backup to this Backup Set. If the current tape member fills up, Retrospect asks for a new tape.
• Yes, OK to overwrite: Choose this option to recycle the tape Backup Set before backing up. When Retrospect performs a recycle backup, it clears the Backup Set’s Catalog File contents (if any), so it appears that no files are backed up. Then it looks for the first tape member in the Backup Set and erases it if it is available. If the first member is not available, Retrospect uses any available new or erased tape. All selected files are backed up.
• In Advanced Mode, you can recycle a tape Backup Set by enabling the Recycle backup execution option.

Each time you start an immediate backup to a tape Backup Set, Retrospect asks if you want to recycle the Backup Set first.

Reviewing the Backup Settings

The Backup Summary screen displays the backup settings you specified in the wizard.

• Source lists the drives/folders to back up
• Selecting lists the file types to back up
• Destination lists the name of the Backup Set to which data will be copied
• Some options specified in the wizard are not listed in the summary screen (e.g., compression), but they are implemented during backup.

To change any of the backup settings, click Back.

To start the backup, click Start Now

Monitoring the Backup

Once you click Start Now, Retrospect exits the Backup Wizard and displays the Activity Monitor. See Monitoring the Backup for more information.

Editing the Backup Settings

Retrospect automatically remembers the most recent settings you specified for an immediate backup. To view and edit those settings choose Backup>Backup from the navigation bar.

If the Advanced Mode Backup Summary screen displays, click Switch to Wizard Mode.

To back up again with the same settings, click Start Now.

To edit the settings, select “Let me change these settings” and click Next. Editing the settings in Wizard Mode is much the same as creating them the first time. See Backing Up in Wizard Mode for more information.

To edit the settings in Advanced Mode, click “Switch to Advanced Mode”. See Switching from Wizard to Advanced Mode for more information.

You can also get to this screen using shortcut keys that you specify from the Retrospect system tray icon. See The System Tray Icon.

Switching from Wizard to Advanced Mode

To access to advanced options that are not available in Wizard Mode, click “Switch to Advanced Mode” from the Welcome screen.

If you have not previously set up a backup, you can proceed as described in Backing Up in Advanced Mode.

If you have previously set up a backup, Retrospect remembers your settings and displays them in the Advanced Mode summary window.

• All of the Wizard Mode options are available in Advanced Mode. If you switch from Wizard to Advanced Mode, those options are mapped directly to equivalent options.

Backing Up in Advanced Mode

Backing up in Advanced Mode provides access to some powerful Retrospect options that are not available in Wizard Mode. In Advanced Mode you can:

• Access more built-in selectors
• Create and apply custom selectors
• Preview and select specific files to back up
• Set many additional options not available in Wizard Mode

To set up an Immediate Backup in Advanced Mode, click Backup from the navigation bar, then click the Backup button.

If the Backup Wizard welcome screen displays, click Switch to Advanced Mode. The Immediate Backup summary window displays.

Click the buttons on the summary screen to specify the source, destination, and other backup options.

• Choosing Source Volumes
• Choosing the Backup Set
• Setting Additional Options
• Executing the Backup
• Monitoring the Backup
• Editing the Backup Settings
• Scripting the Backup

Choosing Source Volumes

In the Immediate Backup summary window, click the Sources button to display the Source Selection window.

It lists all volumes currently available to be backed up, including your internal hard disk, any mounted removable disks or hard disks, any logged-in client volumes, and any connected network volumes from file servers.

If you have the SQL Server Agent and/or Exchange Agent add-on, SQL and/or Exchange servers and mailboxes are also listed. See SQL Server Agent and Exchange Server Agent for more information.

In the volume list, click a volume to select it. To back up more than one volume, Shift-click or Control-click other volumes.

When you have made your source selection, click OK to continue setting up the immediate backup. The source selection window closes and Retrospect returns to the Immediate Backup window.

Choosing the Backup Set

In the Immediate Backup summary window, click the Destination button to display the Backup Set selection window, which lists available Backup Sets.

Select the destination Backup Set and click OK to continue setting up the backup. If no Backup Sets are listed in the Backup Set selection window, or if you do not wish to use any of those listed, click Create New to create a new Backup Set. See Creating Backup Sets for more information.

Setting Additional Options

After you have specified the source volume to back up and the destination Backup Set to which it will be copied, use the Immediate Backup summary window to verify your choices and set additional options.

To makes changes, click the appropriate button.

Sources lets you add or remove source volumes.

Destination lets you choose a different Backup Set as a destination.

Selecting lets you choose a selector, a kind of filter for selecting files and folders to be backed up. (Selectors are explained in detail in Using Selectors.) The default selector is “All Files Except Cache Files” which marks all files (except cache files) on the source for backup.

Preview scans the source volume (or volumes) and determines which files need to be backed up by comparing the source files against the list of files in the Backup Set Catalog. When the scan is complete, Retrospect opens a browser window to display a list of the files on the source volume marked for backup. You can use it to mark and unmark individual files and folders to be backed up.

Browsers are explained in Browsing. When you close the browser, the summary window shows figures for the selected files.

Options displays the basic options window in which you can specify the backup action (Normal or Recycle), choose a verification method, and turn software data compression on or off.

Click the More Choices button to access many more options.

Backup actions are explained in Backup Actions, and options are explained in detail under Backup Execution Options.

Executing the Backup

If Retrospect has the information it needs, it says “Ready to Execute” at the top of the Immediate Backup summary window. If the information is incomplete, it says “Not Ready to Execute” and you must change one or more parts of the information, as described at the top of the window.

If your edition of Retrospect is capable of running multiple simultaneous executions, you can specify which execution unit to use for this operation (or choose “Any Execution unit’). Make your selection in the summary window’s combo box. See Assigning Execution Units for more information.

When you are ready, click Backup. Retrospect scans the source volume, then displays the Activity Monitor window.

Monitoring the Backup

The Activity Monitor displays the progress of the operation and the names of files as they are copied to the destination Backup Set. The Activity Monitor window also has Pause and Stop buttons for suspending or cancelling the backup.

If the destination Backup Set does not have any members, or if the backup device does not have the correct media loaded, Retrospect displays a media request window. The window varies slightly depending on the type of Backup Set you are using.

Insert a blank tape or CD/DVD, or one with unwanted data, because any files on it will be permanently removed. Select the new media in the window, then click Proceed.

When the execution is complete, click the History tab to see performance data for the backup. If any errors occurred you get more information by clicking the Errors button. To view the Operations Log for this execution, click the Log button.

This log is described in Viewing the Operations Log.

Editing the Backup Settings

Retrospect automatically remembers the most recent settings you specified for an immediate backup. To view and edit those settings choose Backup>Backup from the navigation bar.

If the Wizard Mode backup summary screen displays, click Switch to Advanced Mode.

To back up again with the same settings, click Backup

To edit the settings, click the buttons to change the sources, destination, file selection criteria, and options. Editing the settings in Advanced Mode is the same as creating them the first time. See Backing Up in Advanced Mode for more information.

To edit the settings in Wizard Mode, click “Switch to Wizard Mode”. See Switching from Advanced to Wizard Mode for more information.

Scripting the Backup

If you want to automate your backups so they can be performed while your computer is unattended (e.g., when you go home at night), you can use Retrospect’s scripting feature to set up and schedule backups.

From the Immediate Backup summary window, click the Schedule button to save the immediate backup information and settings as a script. You can then add a schedule to the script to accomplish automatic, unattended backup operations.

See Scheduling Scripts.

Switching from Advanced to Wizard Mode

In general, Retrospect recommends editing immediate backups in the same mode you created them. Of course, you can switch between the modes and if you do, it’s important to know how Retrospect handles advanced options that are not available in Wizard Mode.

To return to Wizard Mode at any time, click “Switch to Wizard Mode” from the Advanced Mode summary window.

If you have made any changes to your backup settings, Retrospect asks if you want to save those changes before switching modes.

If you have not made any changes, Retrospect displays the Wizard Mode Welcome screen with a summary of the current backup settings.

Since Advanced Mode includes options not available in Wizard Mode, Retrospect must either keep those settings, or discard them. There are a few important options to consider:

• Selectors
• Execution Options
• Backup Sets
• Manual File Selection
• Execution Unit

Selectors

Advanced Mode includes a number of built-in selectors that are not available in Wizard Mode. In addition, you can create and use custom selectors in Advanced Mode.

If you choose a selector that is not available in Wizard Mode, then click “Switch to Wizard Mode”, Retrospect keeps the advanced selector and applies it when you run the backup.

In these situations, the Wizard Mode Welcome screen displays (Created in Advanced Mode) in the Selecting field.

In addition, if you edit your backup settings, a new option appears in the “What type of files do you want to back up?” screen.

• Choose “Keep my advanced mode selection” to keep your advanced selector.
• Choose “Select the following” and select a new option to discard the advanced selector and use a new one.

Execution Options

Advanced Mode includes many execution options that are not available in Wizard Mode, such as verification and backup action.

The compression execution option is available in both Wizard and Advanced Mode. If you change the option in one mode, it will be reflected in the other.

If you choose an execution option that is not available in Wizard Mode, then click “Switch to Wizard Mode”, Retrospect keeps the advanced execution option and applies it when you run the backup.

The Wizard Mode Welcome screen does not indicate whether the backup includes advanced execution options or not. The only way to check is to switch to Advanced Mode and review the Options settings.

Backup Sets

In Advanced Mode, you can choose a file Backup Set as the destination. File Backup Sets are not available from Wizard Mode.

File Backup Sets are most useful for backing up a single file, otherwise, disk Backup Sets offer many more benefits.

If you choose a file Backup Set as the destination, then click “Switch to Wizard Mode”, Retrospect discards the destination.

In these situations, the Wizard Mode Welcome screen displays (No destination selected) in the Destination field.

If you click Next, the wizard discards the destination and forces you to select a new one. Click “Switch to Advanced Mode” to continue using the file Backup Set as the destination.

Manual File Selection

In Advanced mode, you can click the Preview button and select specific files and folders to back up. If you do this, the Advanced Mode summary window displays (Manual selection) in the Selecting field.

If you apply a manual selection, then click “Switch to Wizard Mode”, Retrospect discards the selection. There is no way to perform manual selection in Wizard Mode.

Execution Unit

If your edition of Retrospect is capable of running multiple simultaneous executions, you can specify which execution unit to use for a backup operation in Advanced Mode only.

If you choose a specific execution unit (not “Any Execution unit”), then click “Switch to Wizard Mode”, Retrospect keeps the execution unit information and uses the specific execution unit when you run the backup.

The Wizard Mode Welcome screen does not indicate whether the backup specifies an execution unit or not. The only way to check is to switch to Advanced Mode and review the settings.

Archive

Archiving lets you copy files from a volume to a Backup Set for off-line storage. To set up an archive operation, first click Tools from the navigation bar, then click Archive Files. The archive summary window displays.

As with backups, there are three basic steps in archiving:

• Choosing the source volumes to archive
• Choosing the Backup Set in which to store the files (or creating a new Backup Set)
• Executing the archive
• Be sure to read Archiving Tips for important information about archiving.

Choosing the Source Volumes

In the archive summary window, click the Sources button to display the Source Selection window.

It lists all volumes currently available to be archived, including your internal hard disk, any mounted removable disks or hard disks, any logged-in client volumes, and any connected network volumes from file servers.

You cannot archive SQL or Exchange databases, nor can you archive Exchange mailboxes or Public Folders.

In the volume list, click a volume to select it. To archive more than one volume, Shift-click or Control-click other volumes.

When you have made your source selection, click OK to continue setting up the immediate archive. The Source Selection window closes and Retrospect returns to the archive summary window.

Choosing the Backup Set

In the archive summary window, click the Destination button to display the Backup Set selection window, which lists available Backup Sets.

Select the destination Backup Set and click OK to continue setting up the archive. If no Backup Sets are listed in the Backup Set Selection window, or if you do not wish to use any of those listed, you can create a new Backup Set. See Creating Backup Sets for more information.

Do not archive files to a disk Backup Set that has grooming enabled. Since grooming deletes older Snapshots to make room on the disk for new ones, it defeats the purpose of creating a permanent archive.

Setting Additional Options

After you have specified the source volume to archive and the destination Backup Set to which it will be copied, use the archive summary window to verify your choices and set additional options.

To makes changes, click the appropriate button.

Sources lets you add or remove source volumes.

Destination lets you choose a different Backup Set as a destination.

Selecting lets you choose a selector, a kind of filter for selecting files and folders to be archived. (Selectors are explained in detail in Using Selectors.) The default selector is “All Files” which marks all files on the source for archive.

Preview scans the source volume (or volumes) and opens a browser window to display a list of the files on the source volume. You can mark and unmark individual files and folders to be archived.

Unlike backing up, archiving, by default, does not match source and destination. That is, Retrospect does not compare source files to files in the destination Backup Set. Therefore, it is possible that Retrospect will copy files that already exist in the destination Backup Set. In this case, Retrospect is foregoing ultimate efficiency for the sake of archive integrity.

Browsers are explained in Browsing. When you close the browser, the summary window shows figures for the selected files.

Options displays the basic options window in which you can set the verification, software data compression, and move files options.

If you enable the “Move files” option, Retrospect deletes the original files from the source after copying them to the destination and verifying that they were copied correctly. This frees space on the volume.

Before you use the Move files option, first archive to a different Backup Set by copying without moving. This provides an extra measure of safety should one Backup Set become unusable.

The verification and software data compression options are explained in detail in Backup Execution Options.

Click the More Choices button to access many more options. See Execution Options for more information about these options.

See Archiving Tips for more information about using archiving options.

Executing the Archive

If Retrospect has the information it needs, it says “Ready to Execute” at the top of the archive summary window. If the information is incomplete, it says “Not Ready to Execute” and you must change one or more parts of the information, as described at the top of the window.

If your edition of Retrospect is capable of running multiple simultaneous executions, you can specify which execution unit to use for this operation (or choose “Any Execution unit’). Make your selection in the summary window’s combo box. See Assigning Execution Units for more information.

When you are ready, click Archive. Retrospect scans the source volume, then displays the Activity Monitor window.

At this point, the archive operation is just like a backup operation. See Executing the Backup for more information.

Scripting an Archive

When an archive summary window is active, you can click the Schedule button to save the archive information and settings as a script.

See Automated Operations.

Archiving Tips

Media: Plan for the long term. Archive to two or more Backup Sets and maintain an off-site copy of your archived data. Always store media according to manufacturer’s guidelines. See Media Longevity and Storage for further information.

Periodically transfer your data to new media to ensure storage integrity. Do not use device-specific options such as hardware compression, because your next backup device may not support features of an older model.

Planning: Define an archiving system and follow it every time. Only archive files in specific folders, or modified within a specific date range. Force users to make a decision on what is to be archived by moving data to a specific location. Never archive data without telling users what was removed.

Before you use the Move files (delete after copy) option, first archive to a different Backup Set by copying without moving. This provides an extra measure of safety should one Backup Set become unusable. If you have only a single archive medium and it is lost or damaged, you will have lost all of your data. Be sure not to recycle, groom, lose, or damage your archive media.

Verification: Always use verification. If you do not use verification and hardware problems occur when archiving, your data may not be correctly copied to the media. When archiving with the “Move files” option on, you should use Thorough verification (not Media verification).

On-line Archiving: To archive documents in place, compress them in a disk Backup Set that you store on your hard disk. This way they take up less room, but are still on-line.

Grooming: Do not archive files to a Backup Set that has grooming enabled. Since grooming deletes older Snapshots to make room on the disk for new ones, it defeats the purpose of creating a permanent archive.

Restore

Retrospect allows you to restore an entire volume or restore selected files and folders from the most recent backup or any previous backup. Retrospect can restore selected files and folders, entire volumes, or just the System State and registry. You can restore either by selecting a Snapshot from a Backup Set, or by searching through one or more Backup Sets for files that meet specified criteria. This section focuses on those two methods of restoring files with Retrospect.

If you have experienced disastrous data loss in which the computing environment required to restore data is not available, see Disaster Recovery, which includes an overview of different situations and points you to restore instructions.

To restore files that were backed up with Open File Backup, make sure to close or stop the application that uses the open files on the destination volume.

For information on how to restore a SQL database, or an Exchange mailbox or database, see SQL Server Agent and Exchange Server Agent.

Restoring Databases

For information on restoring SQL databases, see Restoring a SQL Database.

For information on restoring Exchange databases, see Restoring an Exchange Storage Group or Database.

Snapshots

Retrospect’s Snapshots make it easy to restore an entire volume or a selected file to its exact state as of a given date and time. A Snapshot is like a picture of the contents of a volume at a point in time. It contains a list of all of the files and folders on a volume and the sessions during which they were backed up. Each time you back up a volume, its Snapshot is updated in the Backup Set Catalog and the Snapshot is added to the backup medium.

To restore an entire volume, simply choose the Snapshot you want to restore and Retrospect will automatically locate and retrieve the necessary files, even if they were backed up in different sessions. A Snapshot allows Retrospect to restore the files from a Backup Set in a single pass through the media, rather than having to restore each incremental session individually and in a specific order.

You can also restore individual files from a Snapshot. This is the easiest way to retrieve files that you know were on a volume at a specific time. If you are not sure which Snapshot or even which Backup Set contains the files you want to retrieve, you can define search criteria to help find the files. See Restoring by Search for more information.

You can restore by Snapshot in either Wizard Mode or Advanced Mode.

Restoring In Wizard Mode

The Restore Wizard provides an easy way to set up and edit immediate restore operations. To start the Restore Wizard, click Restore from the navigation bar, then click the Restore button.

The Restore Wizard welcome screen displays.

• Welcome Screen
• Selecting a Backup Set
• Selecting a Snapshot
• Choosing the Destination
• Choosing the Type of Restore
• Selecting the Files to Restore
• Setting the Matching Option
• Reviewing the Restore Settings
• Monitoring the Restore
• Successful Restores
• Restores with Errors

Welcome Screen

When you choose Restore>Restore from the navigation bar, Retrospect always opens the Restore Wizard. Click Next to continue set up using the Restore Wizard.

To set up the restore in Advanced Mode, click Switch to Advanced Mode. See Restoring in Advanced Mode for more information.

Selecting a Backup Set

Select the Backup Set that contains the files you want to restore and click Next.

The Backup Set list displays all current Backup Sets by name and includes information on when each Backup Set was last modified. The icons next to the Backup Set names indicate the Backup Set type (e.g., disk, tape, etc.).

If the Backup Set containing your files is not displayed, click More Backup Sets, browse to the location of the Backup Set’s Catalog File (by default, ..My Documents\Retrospect Catalog Files), select a Backup Set, and click Open.

If you cannot find the Backup Set’s Catalog File, click Recreate to recreate it from the backup media. See Recreating a Catalog or Repairing a File Backup Set for more information.

Selecting a Snapshot

Select the Snapshot that contains the files you want to restore and click Next.

The Snapshot list displays all the active Snapshots for the selected Backup Set by name and includes information on the date and time each Snapshot was made. The icons next to the Snapshot names indicate what was backed up (e.g., a drive, a folder, etc.).

If the Snapshot you want to use is not listed, click the More Snapshots button to display a list of all Snapshots in the Backup Set.

To restore files from a backup other than the most recent one you will most likely need to click More Snapshots.

In the Snapshot Retrieval window, select a Snapshot and click Retrieve. Since Retrospect retrieves older Snapshots from the Backup Set media, you may be required to insert the media into your backup drive.

The Retrieve button is disabled when you select a Snapshot that is already available.

Choosing the Destination

You can restore files either to their original location or to a new location.

The Original location option is only available if the location still exists and is accessible to Retrospect.

To restore to a new location, choose New location, then specify a destination. Click a drive or folder to select it. This deselects any other selected drive or folder. You can select a drive or folder from any of the containers listed in this screen: My Computer, My Network Places, or Backup Clients.

• To add Retrospect Clients to the Backup Clients container, click Add Clients.
• To add network volumes to the My Network Places container, click My Network.
• To display the folders on a drive, select the drive and click Add Folders.
• The My Network button and My Network Places container are not displayed if your Snapshot contains a full system backup.

Choosing the Type of Restore

Depending on the selections you made earlier in the wizard, this screen offers some combination of the following options:

• Restore files and folders allows you to select specific files to restore to the destination.
• Restore everything…deleting all other contents deletes all the existing files on the destination, then restores all the files in the Snapshot to the destination.
• Rollback everything… deletes all the existing files on the destination, then restores all the files in the Snapshot to the destination. This option also restores the registry and System State information from the source Snapshot.
• Rollback just the registry and system state does not restore any files from the Snapshot or delete any files from the destination. This option restores only the registry and System State information from the source Snapshot.

Select an option and click Next.

Selecting the Files to Restore

This screen offers different options depending on the selection you made in the previous screen of the wizard.

If you chose “Restore files and folders”, click Select Files to display a list of the files available to restore from the Snapshot. Select the check box next to each file you want to restore (by default, all files are selected). Selecting the check box for a folder selects all files in that folder.

If you chose “Restore everything…” or “Rollback everything…”, Retrospect selects all files. Click Preview Files to display a list of the files that will be restored from the Snapshot. Clear the check box next to files that you do not want to restore. Clearing the check box for a folder clears the check boxes for all files in that folder.

Setting the Matching Option

When the restore destination already contains files you selected to restore, you can choose to replace those “matching” files with the ones from the source Backup Set’s Snapshot.

• Never matching files on the destination are left untouched. This option restores all selected files from the Snapshot that do not exist on the destination, but does not overwrite any files on the destination. It is useful if you want to make sure you don’t restore an older version of a file you have updated since the Snapshot was taken.
• Only if Backup Set is newer, matching files on the destination are replaced by the selected files from the Snapshot only if the Snapshot files are newer. This option restores all selected files from the Snapshot that do not exist on the destination and overwrites matching files on the destination if Snapshot file is newer than the destination file.
• Always, matching files on the destination are always replaced by the selected files from the Snapshot. This option restores all selected files from the Snapshot that do not exist on the destination and overwrites matching files on the destination. The Always option replaces matching destination files with files from the Snapshot regardless of whether the Snapshot file is newer or older than the destination file. This option is most useful if you want to restore an older version of a file that has been corrupted since the Snapshot was taken.

Reviewing the Restore Settings

The Restore Summary screen displays the restore settings you specified in the wizard.

• Restore lists the number of files that will be restored
• From lists the volume name and date and time of the Snapshot, as well as the name of the Backup Set that contains the Snapshot. If the Backup Set is stored on removable media, make sure it is loaded in your backup device.
• To lists the destination to which data will be restored.
• Some options specified in the wizard are not listed in the summary screen (e.g., matching and type of restore), but they are implemented during the restore.

To change any of the restore settings, click Back.

To start the restore, click Start.

Monitoring the Restore

This screen includes information on the restore destination and information about the progress of the restore operation.

• Remaining lists the number of files that need to be restored and their combined size.
• Completed lists the number of files already restored and their combined size.
• Time Remaining provides an estimate of the time remaining until the restore is complete.

Click Stop to halt the restore operation. Click Yes in the confirmation dialog to stop the operation and exit the wizard.

Retrospect’s Activity Monitor runs in the background and includes more information about the restore operation. See Activity Monitor for more information.

Successful Restores

If Retrospect restores the selected files without encountering any errors, it displays the Congratulations screen. Browse to the destination to see the restored files.

Your selected files have been successfully restored to the destination. Browse to the destination to see the restored files.

Click Close to exit the wizard.

If you performed a system restore (i.e. “rollback”) you must reboot the destination computer.

Restores with Errors

If Retrospect encounters errors during the restore, it displays a warning screen.

Retrospect encountered errors during the restore.

Click Open Log to display the Operations Log for the restore operation. The log includes information on the errors Retrospect encountered, as well as information about the number of files (if any) that were successfully restored before the errors.

Click Cancel to exit the wizard.

See more information in Part 2