Windows – ntbackup workalike for adhoc full backups in Windows 7 thats free and preferably open source

backupntbackupwindows 7

On windows 2000 and XP machines I used to be able to do the following:

ntbackup backup systemstate c: /f e:\backups\machineName\machineName-full+systemstate_200101206.bkf

This gave me a full backup of the system that I could use to do a system restore, after doing a barebones OS install. Windows 7 has a great utility for regular backups with alerting and all that stuff. It does not seem to have command line support. I'd like a backup solution for my Windwos 7 systems that has the following features:

Is free
Is open source (preferebly)
Works while the system is booted and leaves the system functional (clonezilla is great for offline backups, and I use that too)
Gives me a backup that is suited for a full system restore or partial system restore (ruling out most imaging software even if they could work while the system is booted via some sort of shadow copy voodoo)
Can work via the command line
Compression would be nice, the ability to pipe output would be better.

Best Answer

Windows Backup and Restore can do a full image backup while the machine is running. The images can be restored using the Windows installation disk's repair tools. Backups are compressed, and you can select a local disk or a network share to back up to.

The backup tool can be controlled from the command line using wbadmin.exe. This works both for client operating systems (Windows 7, Windows Vista) and server OSes (Server 2008, Server 2008 R2). The basic commands are as follows:

START BACKUP              -- Runs a one-time backup.
STOP JOB                  -- Stops the currently running backup or recovery
                             operation.
GET VERSIONS              -- List details of backups recoverable from a
                             specified location.
GET ITEMS                 -- Lists items contained in a backup.
GET STATUS                -- Reports the status of the currently running
                             operation.

Related Solutions

Mac – Time Machine does not recognize the MacBook Pro

Each backup disk is associated with your MacBook through both your computer name and the MAC Address of the first network port. When you get a new logic board then that MAC Address will have changed, even if you use the very same internal hard disk (and hence the same computer name).

If you would still have used the same internal hard disk, then you could have followed the instructions on 10.5: Repair Time Machine after logic board changes and 10.5: A script to fix Time Machine after hardware repairs from macosxhints.com (be sure to browse through the comments on that site as well).

However, as you restored some settings, it seems you also have a new internal disk. In that case, I think it is not a good idea to try to associate your old backup with the new hardware. See How do you re-associate an Airport Time Machine backup after migrating to a new mac?

Note that holding down Option while clicking the Time Machine icon will make "Enter Time Machine" change into "Browse Other Time Machine Disks", wich allows you to restore from any backup.

Windows 8.1 – Insufficient Storage for Shadow Copy

Burned an MSDN tech support incident and just got off the phone with the support engineer. He reproduced this problem on a UEFI system with Windows 8.1 installed. It turns out that the -AllCritical qualifier to the wbAdmin command does not work on a UEFI system because Volume Shadow Service (VSS) can not create a shadow copy of the FAT32 EFI partition.

The solution is to explicitly back up the C partition (without the -allCritical option):

wbAdmin start backup -backupTarget:E: -include:C:

You can ignore the warning that "this backup cannot be used to perform a system recovery". Both the Recovery and EFI partitions are restored during the system restore operation. (Makes sense... they were created during the initial system installation, so Windows obviously knows how to create them again.)

Some notes related to this issue:

Note that the "Recovery" partition is a misnomer. That partition is actually the boot partition. In a legacy (non-UEFI) system, the "System reserved" partition serves the same purpose.
To manage the files on the "backup" drive, use the vssadmin command line tool. Specifically:
- vssadmin list shadows shows the show copies (i.e. "backups") stored on your backup drive. Note that, while a backup is in progress, the shadow copy is listed as being on the drive being backed up. The backup operation first creates a volume shadow copy on the volume being backed up, and them moves the shadow copy to the backup drive.
- vssadmin delete shadows lets you selectively delete old shadow copies from your backup drive.
To restore a partition, attach the backup disk and boot from the Windows 8.1 distribution media. Select "Repair your computer", then "System image recovery". When the restoration process is done, your EFI and Backup partitions are also restored. (Or at least so claims the Microsoft engineer. I have not verified that this is correct.)
Here are some links (courtesy of the Microsoft tech support guy) that may be helpful:

Edit:

I've discovered that System Image Backup is, in fact present in Windows 8.1; bring up Control Panel/File History, and the link is at the bottom left corner of the window. Scott Hanselman has a blog entry on the subject.

Best Answer

Related Solutions

Mac – Time Machine does not recognize the MacBook Pro

Windows 8.1 – Insufficient Storage for Shadow Copy

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