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I need to perform weekly backup of the whole Windows Server 2008 R1 to a Windows Network Share. I cannot put services off. I have used the Task Scheduler and this, small bat file:

c:
cd \Windows\system32
wbadmin.exe START BACKUP -backupTarget:{network_share} -include:d:,c: -user:{user} -password:{password} -quiet

Unfortunately, it is not reliable: sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. I don't know why and when.

The only thing I have found in logs is "Login failure: unknown user or wrong password.". However, it doesn't make sense for me. The version with drive d: only (much less data) works fine. There should be enough free space too. Running script by hand doesn't help too, I've done it at many different times.

What should I do? Is there a good software I can buy? Have I done something wrong?

P.S. This kind of backup is too complicated for built in GUI. It's not R2.

Michas
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  • you have an inverted comma at the end of the wbadmin command. Is that on purpose (I cannot find the starting inverted comma in it) ? – natxo asenjo Aug 24 '10 at 09:25
  • It was only a typo. – Michas Aug 24 '10 at 09:38
  • When you say sometimes works, sometimes doesn't, have you determined any reason *why*? Is the server doing something where open files would interfere, is your network dropping connections, is it happening at the same time every night, what happens if you run the backup by hand...? – Bart Silverstrim Aug 24 '10 at 11:14
  • (I saw the part about "don't know why and when", but I was wondering if there was *any* pattern to it, general timeframe, something in the logs...) – Bart Silverstrim Aug 24 '10 at 11:15
  • I have extended part "I don't know why and when." in my question. – Michas Aug 24 '10 at 11:43
  • Who does the job run as? An admin account? Are you backing up to UNC or Mapped Drive? Does it work anytime an admin account is logged in, but not when logged out? – Chris S Aug 24 '10 at 12:44
  • The job runs as me, I am a local administrator for this server. The backup is done to UNC. The problem is independent of the fact I am logged or not. – Michas Aug 24 '10 at 13:05

1 Answers1

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Mount the network location as a "net use Y: \\server\share /user:domain/user", adding the password if it doesn't work (though I hate having to add passwords to scripts; it is to be avoided whenever possible) before line 3, and changing the path that your backup script points to. Then add "net use Y: /d" to the end of the script.

(Where "Y" is a drive letter that is consistently not in use in your situation.)

Alternately, you could save the file locally and then copy it off to the network share. That's going to be much more reliable than trying to write on-the-fly over the network.

gWaldo
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  • I don't have a local drive or partition for a backup. I cannot avoid adding password in the script too. However I can try with mapped drive. – Michas Aug 24 '10 at 13:09