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Data In Shares: Restoring From Prior Date? RRS feed

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    I think I already know the answer: "No"...

    Buy that seems counter-intuitive enough that I'll ask.

    If I have a WHS share called "Data", and within that share a file becomes corrupted, is there a way within WHS to restore it as it was, for instance, two days ago?

    Or is it on me to be running an incremental backup utility that backs those files up to some external repository?
    Sunday, August 23, 2009 3:34 PM

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    I think I already know the answer: "No"...

    Buy that seems counter-intuitive enough that I'll ask.

    If I have a WHS share called "Data", and within that share a file becomes corrupted, is there a way within WHS to restore it as it was, for instance, two days ago?

    The short answer is no.  The long (unsupported) answer is it might be possible, depending on several factors.  See How to regain access to previous version of files in WHS shares for details.

    Or is it on me to be running an incremental backup utility that backs those files up to some external repository?
    That is the only supported method (and more reliable than the link I posted above).  Having said that, I still use Shadow Copies on my server (and periodically double check to make they still work).
    Sunday, August 23, 2009 3:45 PM
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    Or is it on me to be running an incremental backup utility that backs those files up to some external repository?

    That is the only supported method (and more reliable than the link I posted above).  Having said that, I still use Shadow Copies on my server (and periodically double check to make they still work).

    Does anybody have a reason not to run that backup utility (I'm thinking SecondCopy - which I've used for awhile before going to WHS) on the WHS box?

    My knee-jerk reaction is to run it on the WSH server.... OTOH, running applications there somehow seems un-serverlike.... and maybe there are issues.

    ?
    Monday, August 24, 2009 1:21 AM
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    Does anybody have a reason not to run that backup utility (I'm thinking SecondCopy - which I've used for awhile before going to WHS) on the WHS box?

    My knee-jerk reaction is to run it on the WSH server.... OTOH, running applications there somehow seems un-serverlike.... and maybe there are issues.

    ?

    Installing any app on the server is unsupported.  Why not just use the backup tool that comes with WHS?
    Monday, August 24, 2009 2:51 AM
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    Installing any app on the server is unsupported.  Why not just use the backup tool that comes with WHS?

    Clueless noob that I am, I was unaware of anything that would do incremental backups to external media on a schedule.

    Can somebody put a name on it?
    Monday, August 24, 2009 12:48 PM
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    Clueless noob that I am, I was unaware of anything that would do incremental backups to external media on a schedule.

    Can somebody put a name on it?

    Oh, you want it on a set schedule?  In that case, the WHS backup tool won't help you.  (You have to manually run it whenever you want to backup your shares.)
    Monday, August 24, 2009 6:20 PM
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    Clueless noob that I am, I was unaware of anything that would do incremental backups to external media on a schedule.

    Can somebody put a name on it?

    Oh, you want it on a set schedule?  In that case, the WHS backup tool won't help you.  (You have to manually run it whenever you want to backup your shares.)

    Is it a menu choice within the WHS console?

    Or is it a separate utility that comes with WHS?
    Monday, August 24, 2009 8:12 PM
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    I'm going to recommend you consult the help file for the console, where (oddly enough) you will find information on this tool under the heading of "Home Server Backup". You might want to read all the help files, and any other documentation you may have received, in addition to looking over the entire Windows Home Server minisite. Who know what other interesting tidbits you might find?
    I'm not on the WHS team, I just post a lot. :)
    Monday, August 24, 2009 9:30 PM
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    Here's my solution -- it's not orginal with me.  I bought two Western Digital Passport external hard drives.  I keep one at work, locked in a desk drawer.  I keep the other at home.  On Saturday, I use the WHSDBB add-in program to make a backup of my backup database.  I use the WHS Console to make a backup of the shared folders.  Then I swap the two drives, so the newly-minted backup I take to work on Monday, and I bring the one-week-old backup home with me.  The manual process of making incremental backups of the shared folders is not really tedious to do, but the incrementals are done only weekly, not nightly like what's happening with all my networked computers.  Still, I wanted access to a backup file in case I manage to corrupt one of the shared folder files.  As long as the file is at least a week old, there's an excellent chance I can do a restore of the corrupted file.

    I suspect that Microsoft will one day improve WHS so you can create automatic backups or shadow copies or something on the shared folders.  Until then, I'm happy enough I've got some sort of a safety net in place.
    Tuesday, August 25, 2009 4:03 AM
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    Here's my solution -- it's not orginal with me.  I bought two Western Digital Passport external hard drives.  I keep one at work, locked in a desk drawer.  I keep the other at home.  On Saturday, I use the WHSDBB add-in program to make a backup of my backup database.  I use the WHS Console to make a backup of the shared folders.  Then I swap the two drives, so the newly-minted backup I take to work on Monday, and I bring the one-week-old backup home with me.  The manual process of making incremental backups of the shared folders is not really tedious to do, but the incrementals are done only weekly, not nightly like what's happening with all my networked computers.  Still, I wanted access to a backup file in case I manage to corrupt one of the shared folder files.  As long as the file is at least a week old, there's an excellent chance I can do a restore of the corrupted file.

    I suspect that Microsoft will one day improve WHS so you can create automatic backups or shadow copies or something on the shared folders.  Until then, I'm happy enough I've got some sort of a safety net in place.
    That's pretty close to where I chose to go.

    Only diff is that I'm using an application called "Second Copy" that also can run as a service under WHS.

    *Seems* tb working as advertised: Various backups are kicking off at the scheduled times and the resulting files look correct.

    I am currently cycling four "MyBook" USB-wrapped hard drives between work and home.   One sits on top of the server, the other three in my desk at work.

    I'm also scheduling backups on other PCs to their respective "Work" drives - just in case.... in case of what, I don't know..... but the price is right so I'm doing it.
    Wednesday, August 26, 2009 3:44 PM