Perform a Manual Backup

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Applies To: Windows Server 2008

You can create a backup by using the Backup Once Wizard, which is available in the Windows Server Backup snap-in—or by using the Wbadmin start backup command.

Using the Backup Once Wizard to perform a manual backup

Important

This wizard is intended for you to use to create backups that supplement regularly scheduled backups. We recommend that you do not use the Backup Once Wizard as the only means of creating backups (see Configure Automatic Backups).

To supplement your regular backups, you can use the Backup Once Wizard to:

  • Back up volumes that are not included in regular backups.

  • Back up volumes that contain important items before making changes such as installing updates or new features.

  • Create a backup of regularly scheduled items in a different location than where scheduled backups are stored.

Use the following procedures to create a manual backup using this wizard.

Using the 'Wbadmin start backup' command to perform a manual backup

You can also create a single backup using the Wbadmin start backup command. Or, if you want to create a schedule to run backups at different times on different days, for example, you can use Task Scheduler to create a series of tasks to run this command on the desired schedule or to launch a batch file. However, if you do this, you should make sure that backups that are run as part of the custom schedule do not overlap with backups that are run as part of the regular backup schedule. If there are conflicts, one of the backup operations will fail.

To use Task Scheduler and Wbadmin to schedule tasks to run backups

  1. Click Start, click Administrative Tools, and then click Task Scheduler.

  2. In Task Scheduler, in the Actions pane, click Create Tasks.

  3. Follow the instructions in the Task Scheduler help for scheduling a task.

  4. On the Actions tab, click New, and then do the following:

    1. In the Actions drop-down list, click Start a program.

    2. In Program/script, type: %windir%\System32\wbadmin.exe

    3. In Add arguments, type:

      start backup [-backupTarget:{<TargetVolume> | <TargetNetworkShare>}][-include:<VolumesToInclude>][-allCritical][-vssFull][-noVerify][-user:<UserName>][-password:<Password>][-noInheritAcl][-quiet]

    To view help for this command, at a command line, type:

    wbadmin start backup /?

  5. Repeat step 4 for each backup that you want to add.

Additional considerations

  • To use Windows Server Backup, you must be a member of the Backup Operators or Administrators group, or you must have been delegated the appropriate authority. As a security best practice, consider using Run as to perform this procedure.

Additional references