Root C Backup file cannot be found

Andrew Kennard 1 Reputation point
2022-05-19T08:12:57.63+00:00

Hi

I made a backup of an SQL database using SSMS on a remote to me SQL server

The backup seemed to go OK

It was called C:MyBackup.bak

However it is nowhere to be found on the server

I know C: is not the same as C:\

But any ideas where it might be ?

I need to find it to be able to delete it

Thanks

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  1. Olaf Helper 40,656 Reputation points
    2022-05-19T08:37:07.507+00:00

    I know C: is not the same as C:\ But any ideas where it might be ?

    If you backup a database on a remote server then the drice like C is the drive on the remote server, not on your local machine.

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  2. Bjoern Peters 8,781 Reputation points
    2022-05-19T08:37:50.403+00:00

    If you do not name the backup file correctly, it may be interpreted as a filename like your example... I would expect that file in the default backup directory

    https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sql/relational-databases/backup-restore/backup-devices-sql-server?view=sql-server-ver15#BackupFileDiskPath

    When you are specifying a backup file, you should enter its full path and file name. If you specify only the file name or a relative path when you are backing up to a file, the backup file is put in the default backup directory. The default backup directory is C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL.n\MSSQL\Backup, where n is the number of the server instance. Therefore, for the default server instance, the default backup directory is: C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL13.MSSQLSERVER\MSSQL\Backup.

    Not just C:\ but the instance root folder, which could be, e.g., D:\MSSQL13.MSSQLSERVER\MSSQL\Backup

    https://www.mssqltips.com/sqlservertip/1583/changing-the-default-sql-server-backup-folder/

    Edit: And - of cause - what Olaf said... on the server, not on your workstation

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  3. Tom Phillips 17,716 Reputation points
    2022-05-19T13:18:32.147+00:00

    Using "C:MyBackup.bak" would have put the backup in the "current" directory. This is likely C:\Program Files\Microsoft SQL Server\MSSQL##.MSSQLSERVER{instancename} or somewhere under it on the remote server.

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  4. YufeiShao-msft 7,051 Reputation points
    2022-05-20T07:29:00.693+00:00

    Hi @Andrew Kennard ,

    C: means the file in whatever the current directory is on dirve C, while C:\ means the file in the root directory of the drive C, so you may find the backup file on your remote

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