Windows Server data archiving system via task scheduler. Archiving programs and file archives Data archiving and retrieval system

Good afternoon, dear blog readers, I have already shown you many times how the Windows operating system is repaired and restored, but almost all of these articles were about client versions, today I want to correct myself and finally cover the question of how Windows server systems are backed up, since If a server goes down, it is fraught with financial losses for a business, unlike the downtime of a regular office computer. I’ll tell you my real-life examples in which archiving Windows Server 2012 r2 would help me a lot.

Archiving windows server 2012 r2

As you probably already guessed, Windows server systems are backed up using the built-in component Windows Server 2012 r2 data archiving system. I would like to immediately note that it is also available in 2008 R2, but I will talk using the example of a more modern version, although everything stated above is also suitable for the previous version. If you are still back in the days of Windows Server 2003, then you are probably familiar with the NTBackup component; it was with it that everyone backed up the system, and it even knew how to write to tapes. Then 2008 came to replace it, without R2, and showed a poor and redesigned windows archiving component, from which a bunch of functionality was removed; I still don’t understand the logic of the people who released this component in this form. A year passed and R2 was released, which has already returned most of the functions that were in NTBackup and made Windows server backup very simple and convenient.

If anyone doesn’t know, unlike client versions of Windows, server versions do not have a system protection mechanism by default, and if the bootloader or other system files are damaged, you won’t be able to quickly recover from the previous version, and it’s all about the architecture of the server OS , since by default it uses the minimum of everything, for greater protection and less load. The system administrator himself will decide what he needs and this is correct, but the protection could have been enabled.

I’ll tell you an example from life, like all administrators, most of the server fleet has long been virtual machines, although there is a small part of the servers that are not virtualized, simply because it is not rational and will not produce any profit, I’m talking about servers with 300 GB of RAM and MS SQL server. One fine day there was a power failure and UPS couldn’t handle it. As a result, the servers shut down, not quite correctly. While restoring services, one of the servers did not boot and had the error an error occurred while attempting when loading Windows. It was possible to defeat it, but after 5-6 hours, which you will agree is not very fast, but if there was a backup copy of the system and a recovery tool, then everything would have passed in a couple of minutes.

If possible, always back up the OS on physical servers, then you will save a lot of time and effort

If you go to System Properties, you will not find the System Protection tab on Windows Server 2012 R2.

Why the Windows Server 2012 r2 data archiving system?

I understand perfectly well that there are a number of other software products for backing up server OSes, for example from:

• Veeam
• Acronis

But the Windows Server 2012 r2 data archiving system is already under the hood in the system itself, and the biggest shock is that most system administrators simply do not know about it, so they are forced to use third-party products. Someone told me that he doesn’t understand how it all works, which prompted me to write this article so that people could see all this in practice.

Where can I make a backup copy?

The Windows server data archiving system can create backup copies to the following storages:

• Ideally, the system should have a separate disk, which is marked by the archiving system and hidden from the user, for further creation of recovery points. Microsoft itself recommends this option. By the way, if anyone is familiar with Microsoft System Center Data Protection Manager, then that’s how the backup system worked there.
• You can use already marked sections
• Network folders
• iSCSI drives

The Windows Server 2012 R2 data archiving system can create a full copy and a differential (additional) one, and it itself manages the storage period. Its operating principle is very simple, it will record and store as many copies as disk space allows, then it will cyclically rewrite, newer to older, very similar to video surveillance.

So after setting up the backup storage, the Windows Server Backup service will do everything itself and organize the data storage space. This is a huge plus for novice system administrators, since not everyone is immediately able to estimate the required amount of storage and the amount of data, many do not know that the data in backup copies is compressed, and if you also know such a word as Windows deduplication, you can get the most out of your disk space.

Let's talk a little about the mechanism of operation of the Windows server archiving system, there is nothing new here, it uses the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS), its task is to allow the archiving tool to work with open and system files, and not just work, but also not interfere system to work, the service simply makes a certain snapshot of the state, this is very similar to virtual machines. On the Windows Server 2012 R2 engine, you can thus archive virtual machines on Hyper-V 3.0 without stopping their operation.

The capabilities of VSS also extend to databases; I can say with one hundred percent certainty that you will not have any problems with Exchange or MS SQL, but PostgreSQL can create certain difficulties. If we are talking about MS SQL, then it perfectly understands the VSS service and transfers the database to a consistent state before creating a shadow copy; VSS itself does not even think about checking the logical integrity of the data, it does not need this, since its task is to take a snapshot. If, for example, we make a PostgreSQL backup in this way, then when restoring we will receive a slice of the database for a certain state of time in an inconsistent state and it will not contain all the pending transactions at the time the backup was created. So, there is some kind of proprietary approach to their products.

Where is the best place to copy?

It’s not easy to answer this question, since everyone’s backup situation is different and their infrastructure is different. Let's look at the pros and cons of different storage options. Let me remind you that we have several of them. Firstly, if you put a backup copy locally on the server, then you will make it faster and be able to recover faster if necessary, but on the other hand, the server may break down locally, and even worse if it is RAID, then everything will be sad. The second example is that you are making a backup on ISCSI disks, it’s good that it is stored remotely from the server, you can quickly reconnect to another server if necessary, but the speed of creating a backup and the speed of recovery are slower, and the servers and disks from which you are doing may also fail iSCSI disks. To summarize, you should ideally have copies in several places, it is clear that this is not always possible, but you need to strive for this, here you need to understand the criticality of the data and implement the system based on this.

Installing a windows server archiving system

Let's look at how the Windows Server 2012 r2 data archiving system is installed. Since 2008, it has been a component of the system and it is logical that you need to look for it in the server manager. Select Manage > Add Roles and Features

leave the option to install roles and components

Select Windows Server Backup System

and click install.

In a couple of moments, you will have the required component installed.

Setting up a Windows server archiving system

After installing the archiving component, you need to configure it, let's get started. Open Server Manager > Tools and find the Windows Server Backup System item.

You can also call this snap-in by pressing WIN+R and entering wbadmin.msc, see the full link. Once you open the snap-in, you will immediately see that you are strongly recommended to set up the first schedule. This can be done through the action menu:

1. Archiving schedule
2. One-time archiving
3. Recovery

I click on the archiving schedule, you will see a setup wizard window, in the first step you will have a choice whether to backup the entire server or a custom backup. I always recommend going with the Custom option since you'll explicitly specify what needs to be backed up and what doesn't.

in the archiving objects window, the windows server data archiving system will ask you to add elements using the corresponding button.

Among the elements you will have:

• Restoring the system to its original state
• System Status
• Local disks
• Hyper-V role, if installed.

As a result, the objects for archiving will be added to the list. I would like to note that if you click the Additional parameters button, you can set the VSS parameters:

• Full VSS archiving > is suitable if you do not use third-party backup applications.
• Copy VSS archive > if another program is used to archive applications on volumes included in the archive.

For example, if you are using Exchange or MS SQL, then select the Copy VSS archive option for normal interaction with the shadow copy service.

Also on the exceptions tab, you can add folders that do not need to be copied; for example, they may contain temporary files, which is convenient when you have previously added a full copy of the C: drive.

Now, in order to back up the windows server, you need to set a schedule, here either once a day or more often, we set it at our discretion.

• Archiving to a hard drive for archives > here the physical HDD is completely given over, formatted and hidden from the user, such foolproof protection so that playful hands don’t spoil everything.
• Archiving on a volume > the same is very common, you take an existing volume (it can be part of a RAID or another physical disk) and put it there, the same thing also applies to an ISCSI disk, which is seen in the system as local.
• Well, the shared share is very convenient, everything is located outside the physical server.

If you select Backup to hard drive for archives, then in the next step you will be required to specify the drive that will be used for Windows server backup.

From my point of view, you should have a local backup of the system and a backup on ISCSI disks that are not tied to a physical server

If you select archiving to a shared network folder, you will see a warning window that when you specify a remote shared folder as a destination for scheduled archiving, only the latest archive will be available; in simple terms, it will simply be constantly overwritten, convenient for quick backups, so that it is on a remote storage.

If you select Backup to volume, then you need to specify the destination volume to which the windows server will be backed up.

We look at the summary information and confirm the schedule.

We see that the Windows server archiving system has successfully created a schedule.

Recovering Windows Server 2012 R2

Once you have a backup, let's consider a situation in which you will need to perform the Windows Server 2012 R2 recovery procedure. Firstly, you can view the Windows Server backup details (size, date)

How to recover a single file or folder

If you need to restore, for example, a single file, then there is no point in restoring it through a snap-in, since a backup copy is a virtual disk that can be attached to the system. Let's look at the file structure itself; they are located in the WindowsImageBackup folder.

Here is an example of my virtual disk, by right-clicking on it, you can click Connect.

You will be warned that the disk image is not initialized, contains unrecognized partitions, or volumes that do not have drive letters assigned to them. Use Disk Management to verify that the disks, partitions, and volumes are usable.

Here we just go to the Disk Management snap-in, right-click on the start button.

We see our under mounted disk, right-click on it and select change drive letter or disk path.

We assign the desired letter, for me it is the letter E.

We all open my computer and see a new local disk.

When you are finished working with the disk, use the Disk Management snap-in to mount it. As you can see, virtual disks are a very useful thing.

Recovery in case of operating system failure

No one is immune from this, I have seen many times in my practice that the Windows Server system failed, and restoring it without a backup took much more time than simply reinstalling the system and further reconfiguring it, an example would be an error occurred while attempting to read the boot configuration data. Therefore, a couple of times when you get burned, you will understand that the Windows Server 2012 R2 data archiving system is a great thing that allows you to backup a Windows server in a matter of minutes and restore from it at the right time.

We go to the Windows server archiving system and in the right corner select the Restore item. You will have two options to choose from:

1. This server > means that the backup is local
2. The archive is located in a different location.

First, let's select the second item "The archive is in a different location"

There are two options, either you slip in a cd-rom or external drive, or specify a UNC path in the format \\folder

The main thing is that the system has rights to read it.

If you select This server at the beginning, you will see a list of available Windows Server backups; you just need to select a rollback date.

• Files and folders
• Hyper-V
• Applications
• System Status

By selecting the first option "Files and folders" you can restore individual files or folders from a backup.

If you select Hyper-V, you will be offered:

• Restore to original location > this is essentially an overwrite
• Restore to another location
• Copy to folder

The application item is a little specific, since it does not work for all applications, but for those who know how to work with the archiving service API and support VSS. Well, system recovery:

• Original location > will be rolled back to the state that was at the time of the Windows Server backup
• Another placement > will essentially create a folder with a set of files.

Click restore

It will calculate how many files can be recovered and the process will begin.

After reboot you will see the message:

The system state restore operation started on 02/08/2017 was completed successfully

An alternative to a system state restore is a volume-level restore, which will destroy all data and return the volume to the state it was in on the specified date. This can be useful in the event of a virus incident, where you want to ensure that no malware remains on the system, or in cases where the original volume has been damaged. In general, the tool itself is very good and is not inferior to its competitors, like Acronis, so use it and make your life easier.

Surely every Windows or mobile gadget user has come across the concept of “archiving”. What this is, now we will try to clarify. Let us especially touch upon the issue concerning the role of this process in data recovery.

Archiving: what is it?

Firstly, when starting to study this issue, it should be said right away that many users often confuse archiving with archiving. In fact, the process is somewhat similar to archiving, but has a more complex algorithm regarding reserving space for storing data on disk space.

Actually, if you look at it, archiving is creating a copy of an object/objects, a system image, the state of settings, or everything that is located on the hard drive or in logical partitions.

Archiving and Archiving: Similarities and Differences

For those who do not see the difference between these two processes, it is worth making some comparison.

There are a lot of similarities, but there are also plenty of differences. For example, an archive in which some data is placed is created only for the purpose of reducing its size. Some modern archivers allow you to compress data by two or more times.

But the archiving system works on a slightly different principle, although it also involves data compression (but not at the physical level). So, archiving programs like WinRAR create an archive from which data can then be extracted, and archiving is more likely what is called a backup copy. Do you feel the difference? This is not compressed data (although compressed in some sense), but images containing information about all installed applications, user files and settings. After all, many people have probably encountered the problem of restoring data and settings, for example, on Android systems. But more on this a little later.

Archiving: general operating principles

Now let's see what archiving is. This is, in essence, a system for creating “backup” copies of the contents of a computer or mobile device, reserving space to save it, and the ability to restore it in the event of system damage or critical failures. In this case, we are dealing with a virtual copy rather than a physical one.

Windows systems

On Windows systems, in some ways, this is similar to the work of programs that allow you to restore data after deletion. The point is that files on the hard drive are not destroyed even after being deleted from the Recycle Bin.

They are assigned a specific index, most often consisting of the “$” symbol, replacing the initial letter of the name. So it is here - archiving documents of any type is carried out not only with volume compression, but also with. It is impossible to open copies created by using such a process.

Mobile systems

Quite often in the settings of mobile devices you can find sections for archiving and recovery. Essentially, archiving in them is the same as in computer systems. But here, when creating a copy, slightly different methods are used.

Firstly, compared to Windows systems, which offer to save the image exclusively on the hard drive, mobile systems work in a more advanced version. For example, the same operating systems like iOS or Android offer the user the choice of saving information. So, you can choose either the device itself, or a removable card (in the case of Android, since Apple gadgets do not support removable media), or even a remote server in the form of “cloud” storage (Google Drive, for example).

Data archiving and recovery: how does it work?

As for the operation of the archiving system, this is a separate issue. The fact is that the created virtual copy of a particular file comes down to not copying it in full size, but reducing it tens of times.

In general, if anyone has noticed, the image of the system or hard drive itself takes up almost the same disk space as the original files. For example, when specifying archiving with a disk with 200 GB of memory, filled with user files and heavy programs (for example, sound banks of virtual synthesizers such as Kontakt, which are not compressed at all), the system will offer to reserve about 140-150 GB (in the best case) . It is clear that using even DVD discs in this case is absolutely impractical (after all, there are 31 of them).

When creating only a system image without copying user files, the space required may be three times less. This will take 60-70 GB (minimum 40-45 GB for Windows 7, 8 or 10 versions). In any case, in terms of using hard drive memory, you will have to, as they say, fork out the cash to create a copy. Please note that the size of the copy is absolutely independent of the size of the hard drive. Whether you want it or not, the system itself will reserve the necessary space.

As for mobile gadgets, this function is also provided. In this understanding, archiving is the same as in stationary systems, but much less space is required to save data, compared to the same Windows. At the same time, saving an image of the system and all files located, say, on a removable memory card is very simple. On the same card, you can save a system image that will not significantly affect the disk space of the removable media.

Copies of system images and disks: how to create and restore?

Both in Windows and in mobile systems, the data recovery function is built in from the very beginning. True, archiving Windows 10 makes you think. The system reserves so much space that it is impossible to imagine.

On the other hand, don't let users yell. The appearance of the same blue screen of death with an error says a lot.

Maybe that's right. After all, when problems begin with restoring the functionality of the system and everything that was on the hard drive or in the logical partitions, it will be no laughing matter. And the “ten” apparently makes two copies: one is responsible for the operating system parameters, the second is for user programs and files. So, before deleting directories with recovery data, think a hundred times.

What's the result?

In general, I think it is already clear that archiving is the backup storage of data. The concepts of archiving and archiving should not be confused, although in some ways they are very similar. However, you should clearly understand the fact that backups in any system are almost key, when in the future (after unexpected failures) you may need to restore the system, and even more so user files that may have been erased.

This review did not cover some specialized information recovery utilities. However, I think this is not necessary within the scope of the topic. Well, you can find as many programs as you like to perform processes such as archiving and recovery. Take, for example, the Acronis Disc Image utility, and everything will become clear. It's easy to work with in one or two clicks. And this is not the only program that allows you to perform actions of this kind.

Today's solutions for reliable and long-term data archiving can be used in various combinations with the concepts of hierarchical storage and information lifecycle management. The range of available options ranges from simple write-once tape archiving to complex analytics systems for “meaningful data management.”

To avoid being buried under an ever-increasing volume of information, enterprises are implementing new intelligent solutions for data management and archiving. At the moment, the most significant growth is observed in the segment of unstructured data, such as text documents, emails, graphics, as well as audio and video files. According to experts, their volume increases annually by approximately 80%. The amount of structured data is also growing - by 20–30% per year. IT departments are challenged to cost-effectively store an ever-increasing volume of data while complying with the directives and regulations that apply to their enterprises.

LONG-TERM ARCHIVING

When planning a data archiving solution, one important question to answer is whether access to archived data should still be fast, or whether you can spend a minute or two waiting for the required file to download. If the latter is acceptable, then tape libraries are the most cost-effective solution for long-term archiving. In addition, you should decide on the mechanisms for recording information in the archive. Small businesses that only need to store data for a few years often use backup software to do so. However, such a budget archiving method does not allow searching for the necessary information in the archived data. If a separate, specialized solution is used, the administrator must decide whether archived data requires additional protection. With this option, archived files can be excluded from the overall backup process.

To move files to the archive as quickly as possible, powerful specialized solutions support the parallel data transfer function. Such systems can split overly large files into several parts or combine many small files into several large parallel streams. Professional archiving solutions have extensive search capabilities to help you find the information you need. Thus, effective indexing and searching engines have long existed for text documents, while receipts and invoices can be equipped with barcodes to facilitate their further retrieval. Some manufacturers have already developed solutions that allow indexing of audio and video files.

Another important feature of long-term archiving systems is the ability to migrate stored files to new hardware platforms. Ideally, such a solution should support automatic data migration, allowing you to copy information from old media to new ones without interrupting the operation process. To ensure the integrity of stored files, powerful archiving solutions check data stored on disk or tape drives at regular intervals and create a new copy if errors are detected. Most archiving solutions store at least two copies.

The effort involved in switching archiving system vendors also depends on whether the data is stored in an open file system format or using technologies developed by one of the vendors, such as proprietary hashing algorithms. In the case of a standard file system, migration to another platform is quite simple, but with very large volumes of data this process can take a long time.

To ensure compliance with legal requirements, businesses must retain documents such as receipts, invoices or email correspondence for a specified period of time. At the same time, it is necessary to prevent the possibility of their subsequent editing and ensure round-the-clock availability of data, for example, in the event of a tax audit.

Previously, optical storage media such as CDs, DVDs, and magneto-optical (MO) disks were often used to protect against changes. Disk-based and tape-based WORM solutions provide significantly greater flexibility and scalability than optical libraries, while WORM technology ensures that recorded files cannot be modified later. Many vendors have integrated WORM functionality into their own archiving solutions, but some use third-party WORM systems.

HSM AND ILM

Hierarchical Storage Management (HSM), a standard feature of many archiving systems, automatically moves data to lower-cost media (see Figure 1). Such archiving is performed based on certain criteria, and the most common parameter is the frequency of access to data. The criterion for moving files to the archive can be their age. In addition, some rules use thresholds - files are moved as soon as the hard drive's capacity exceeds a specified limit.

Most HSM solutions support tiered architectures that place frequently accessed data on fast storage systems. Files that are less frequently needed are automatically moved to secondary drives (Nearline) and subsequently transferred to low-cost tape drives. Typically, a marker is stored in the original location of the file that points to the new location, and if the user needs the file from the archive, the HSM system returns it back.

The so-called information lifecycle management (ILM) concept offers significantly broader functionality than HSM. Through a comprehensive set of rules, ILM clearly defines how files should be handled throughout their lifecycle. Most Document Management Systems (DMS) and Enterprise Content Management (ECM) systems support ILM functionality.

Typically, the first step in using ILM solutions is to classify new files and assign them to a specific category - for example, invoices and receipts with a ten-year retention period. In addition, files can be classified according to their importance. When choosing a data archiving solution, an enterprise should pay attention to the availability of reliable mechanisms for removing data from the system at the end of its life cycle. Below we will look at the features of the various archiving solutions on the market.

BACKUP SOLUTIONS WITH ARCHIVING FUNCTION

CommVault's Simpana is a modular data backup solution with HSM support, archiving, and full-text indexing with search capabilities (see Figure 2). To archive data, Simpana first backs up and then restores it to the index server. Archived data is deduplicated and encrypted. Simpana can write them to disk systems, tape drives, or forward them to a cloud system. For archiving using WORM technology, integration with solutions from other manufacturers is supported.

IBM's Tivoli Storage Manager (TSM) backup software solution, when combined with Tivoli System Storage Archive Manager (SSAM), provides a powerful archiving system with integrated HSM capabilities and WORM support. This system is capable of writing files directly to WORM tapes. To speed up data access, it is possible to connect disk buffers.

Grau Archive Manager (GAM) from Grau Data is a powerful multi-user archiving system designed for large enterprises. Since GAM is implemented as a file system, all applications can use this archive without any additional settings. Integrated HSM functions are responsible for automatically transferring data from disk drives to the tape library. This software supports WORM technology. For small businesses, Grau Data offers the Filelock tool, a simple solution for implementing WORM functionality on Windows. GAM also has an open source version - Open Archive.

SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS FOR ARCHIVING

Symantec offers a variety of archiving products. The vendor has expanded its Enterprise Vault solution so much that it can now provide tamper-proof archiving not only for email, but also for file systems and SharePoint servers. Archived data is subject to deduplication, and the final storage location can be chosen arbitrarily. The Symantec Storage Foundation solution is equipped with HSM functionality. The eDiscovery module allows you to search through data in the archive. Additionally, with the acquisition of Clearwell, Symantec now has a high-performance eDiscovery solution for structured and unstructured data.

Solutions that work without hardware connection include Quantum's StorNext. This program is implemented as a file system and is capable of archiving data based on specified rules. Like many other products, it supports WORM technology. When StorNext is used in conjunction with a Quantum tape library, the latter can automatically check tapes for errors and - if necessary - overwrite files. The system supports multiple clients and provides a migration feature that allows you to copy data to next-generation tape drives without interrupting production.

Following its acquisition of Sun, Oracle became the owner of the SAM-FS archiving solution, which it combined with the Oracle Web Center (OWC) content management solution to manage unstructured data. OWC stores all files in the Unix-based SAM-FS file system and allows you to administer file permissions and rules. The SAM-FS multi-user application manages information archiving using integrated HSM and WORM functions. This solution saves data in the open TAR format.

HARDWARE SOLUTIONS FOR ARCHIVING

One of the pioneers in the field of hard drive-based archiving systems with WORM functionality is EMC with its Centera solution (see Figure 3). This is an object-oriented system that does not require logical units (LUNs), RAID structures or file systems, which greatly simplifies the administration process. EMC has developed a hashing mechanism for Centera to ensure the integrity of stored data. Migration of archived data from old hardware to new systems is carried out using appropriate tools. The system supports the data removal method (Shredding) in seven stages. For small businesses, EMC offers the VNX-E series disk systems with WORM support.

The Hitachi Data Systems (HDS) product portfolio includes an object-oriented data storage system for archiving with change protection - Hitachi Content Platform (HCP). HCP uses CIFS, NFS, Webday, HTTP and FTP interfaces. The HCP 300 system consists of HDS servers with local hard drives and RAID controllers. The older model HCP 500, in turn, uses HDS storage systems. HCP does not directly write data to tape drives; this function can be implemented using the HSM support software package - Hitachi Data Protection Suite, which hides the OEM version of the CommVault Simpana solution.

IBM offers its Information Archive (IA) disk system to provide archiving in compliance with regulations and legal requirements (Compliance). IA supports integration with WORM tape libraries and the HSB functions of TSM's own SSAM solution (see Figure 4). Archiving of IA file systems is performed using NFS and CIFS interfaces. Indexing and search functions are also available. In addition, IA has an automatic mechanism for migrating archived data to new media without interrupting operations. After some time, IBM promises to release a NAS solution (Sonas), which, in addition to the General Parallel File System (GPFS), will implement ILM and HSM functions. To meet the highest requirements, the manufacturer has a high-performance storage system (High Performance Storage System, HPSS) with GPFS support. Very soon, IBM plans to release the V7000 data archiving solution aimed at small businesses.

HP acquired expertise in information lifecycle management for unstructured data through its acquisition of Autonomy. HP's legacy ILM products will be integrated into the Autonomy portfolio. The latter specializes in the analysis of unstructured data, its automatic classification and preparation for subsequent search, which is made possible thanks to the Intelligent Data Operating Layer (IDOL), capable of recognizing and indexing not only texts, but also audio and video files created by in 70 languages. IDOL allows you to implement the so-called Meaning Based Data Management, when the value of any file types is determined based on statistical analysis of information. As a result, it becomes possible to automatically recognize important and less important documents, which are then processed based on specified rules. HP offers three pre-installed hardware archiving solutions, eDiscovery and Enterprise Search, and Autonomy as a cloud solution. For small enterprises, the iCAS disk system with support for WORM technology is available.

Christophe Lange- Freelance journalist and IT consultant.

Archiving is the most effective and best tool for ensuring data safety. Timely backup of information can not only protect you from losing important files, but also allow you to restore your computer after serious failures.

Introduction

Purely theoretically, modern Windows operating systems should be able to run on computers without failures for a very long time. To do this, the OS integrates many software mechanisms that are responsible for the security and reliability of the system, designed to independently resolve various problems that arise during the operation of a PC. The same applies to the hardware component of the computer, the components of which, under normal operating conditions, should serve the user for at least several years.

But in practice everything looks a little different. In some situations, the stability of Windows is not as flawless as the developers claim, and PC parts can fail after only a few days of operation. At the same time, all this can happen, as always, at the most inopportune moment. So sooner or later, an unpleasant situation may happen to any of you, as a result of which the operating system will become inoperable or important data will be lost. It is possible that both will happen at the same time.

In order to help users avoid serious troubles associated with the loss of information and the occurrence of failures in the operation of the OS, there are several tools in Windows that allow you to archive the necessary data, as well as create system restore checkpoints, a system image or a system recovery disk. In the future, the created copies can be used to resuscitate certain information or the entire system as a whole.

All recovery and archiving mechanisms can be found in Control panels system.

If in the computer settings window you have set browsing by category (by default), then you need to find the link Backing up computer data in section System and security. If you have set to view all panel elements, then look for the option Archive or restore.

After launching it, a window will open in front of you containing links to various tools for archiving and restoring data.

Data archiving

Data archiving is the periodic creation of copies of the files and folders that you work with most often, as well as your account settings. If at point Archiving you will see the inscription Data archiving is not configured, this means that archiving was not previously performed in this system and if data is damaged, you risk losing it once and for all.

To correct this situation, click on the link Set up backup, after which the Archiving Setup Wizard will launch.

At the first stage, the utility will scan and identify all storage devices that are connected to your computer and display a list of them (except for the system drive) in a new window. From this list, you should select the disk on which you plan to store the created archives.

The most optimal storage for backups is an external (removable) hard drive, which can be stored separately from the computer. At the same time, portable magnetic drives, essentially being ordinary HDDs housed in a housing with a controller, can store the same large volumes of information as their internal storage. This means that, if necessary, in many cases you can make a complete copy of your disk and transfer all its contents, for example, to another computer. In cases where the data being archived is small in size, you can select USB flash drives, memory cards or recordable optical discs (CD, DVD) as storage objects.

In addition to external drives, you can store archived copies of files on any non-system partitions of internal hard drives. For example, this is advisable in the case when several hard drives are installed in the computer at once. If, however, a logical partition physically located on it is selected as the location for storing a backup copy of data from the disk, then if the hard drive fails, you will still say goodbye to all your information. So it is better to store data and their backups on different physical media.

Windows also provides the ability to save archived files on a local network on remote computers.

Having selected the location to save the archive copy, press the button Next, after which a window will open in front of you.

Here we are asked to choose between automatic and manual selection of archiving objects. In the first case, the system itself will archive files from key user libraries and folders. In the second, you can make the choice yourself.

• Data files saved in folders and libraries: Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos, AppData, Contacts, Desktop, Downloads, Favorites, Links, Saved Games and Searches.
• A system image, which is an exact copy of the system disk partition and includes the system itself and all its parameters, user settings and files, as well as installed programs.

Of course, many users (especially beginners) will find this type of backup simpler, but it still has its drawbacks. First of all, this concerns the automatic creation of a system image archive, which can be very voluminous and lead to rapid overflow of the drive intended for storing backup copies. At the same time, it is impossible to select individual elements from the system image during data recovery, for example, only a library with documents, and therefore it is not well suited for restoring individual files or folders. So it is better to take the process of preparing a planned archive under your own control, and create an image of the system partition manually, as needed.

After selecting the item Give me a choice A window will open in front of you where you can independently mark the necessary objects for archiving using checkboxes.

Particular attention should be paid to the fact that the system separates data from different accounts, as well as data on hard drives. That is, you can choose to archive both the libraries of all computer users at once, or individually. Each user also has the opportunity to select the desired components to be archived. In addition, you can add the necessary files and folders located on hard drive partitions to the backup copy. To do this, simply expand the desired section (click on the triangle on the left) and select the necessary objects. If you want to create a complete copy of a logical drive, check the box next to it without opening it.

Under the list of libraries and components for archiving, at the bottom of the window there is a separate item for creating a system disk image. At the same time, if several operating systems are installed on your computer in different partitions, then Windows will include all of them in the created image. This can be clearly seen from our screenshot, which was taken on a computer with two operating systems installed.

True, we agreed that in this example we will not create an image of the system, but will leave this matter for later. So for now, let’s uncheck the box Include a disk system image.

After you select the required components and click the button Next, a control window will open in which you will be asked to once again check all the main archiving parameters.

Here you can change archiving schedule by clicking on the link with the self-explanatory title.

In the schedule settings window, you can select the frequency, days of the week and time of archiving in automatic mode. When choosing a time, do not forget that the computer should be turned on at that moment and it is better not to be used by you, since the archiving procedure can seriously slow down the work process. In addition, in this window you can completely disable automatic creation of scheduled backups and subsequently do it only manually.

Finally, when all the parameters are specified and the settings are completed, to start the archiving procedure of the selected objects, click the button Save settings and start archiving. Windows will immediately begin the backup process according to the created rules. At this moment, you will be able to clearly monitor the progress of archiving using the indicator located in the window.

To view more detailed information, you can click on the View information button, after which an additional window will open in front of you, which will reflect the progress of the running procedure.

The duration of the archiving process directly depends on the number of objects you specified, as well as their total volume, and can take from several minutes to several hours.

After the backup is created, information about the size of the created archive and its contents, the time of creation of the next copy, as well as the date of the last archiving will appear in the already familiar archiving window.

Here you can also change or disable the schedule, perform unscheduled archiving (the Archive button), create a system image or an optical bootable system recovery disk, as well as manage archiving disk space.

From the same window you can access the general list of backup copies by clicking on the button View archives, as well as change the system image parameters.

In order to free up disk space if it is full, in the archive list display window you can delete unnecessary (irrelevant) copies by highlighting the required entry and pressing the button Delete.

So, we have just looked at planned and manual archiving of information, which allows you to systematically save the necessary data, including personal files and folders, on selected media, thereby ensuring the possibility of their quick recovery. But we should not forget about the operating system, which is the main and most important tool for the user when working with a computer.

There are often cases when, under the influence of various external factors, the normal operation of the system is disrupted. For example, this can happen when the computer becomes infected with a virus or there is a sudden power outage. In certain situations, in the event of serious failures, restoring Windows functionality can be very difficult, and sometimes it is completely impossible to do. In this case, users have to not only completely reinstall the system, but also configure its settings, reinstall device drivers, as well as all programs and applications.

To avoid such unpleasant troubles and make your life easier in the event of an OS crash, Windows has a standard tool that allows you to create exact copies of the partitions in which the system is installed. By creating an image of the system partition, in the future you will be able to restore from it the entire operating system with already configured settings, personal libraries and applications you have installed in a matter of minutes.

As you probably already guessed, the same tool is used to create a disk image in Windows Backup and recovery, which we discussed above when studying the data archiving procedure. Having opened this component, in the left column of the window, you can see a link with a self-explanatory name, clicking on which will launch the mechanism for creating a copy of the system disk.

First, as in the case of regular data archiving, you will be asked to select a location to store the created image. The most preferable option here is On hard drive. In this case, it is better to store the system image on a separate internal or external drive, and not on another logical partition of the hard drive with the system installed. Only then will you be able to restore the OS in the event of a mechanical failure of the HDD.

The option of storing the image on DVDs is also not bad. But here everything will depend on how much space your backup copy of the system partition takes up. For example, in our case, archiving two system partitions may require about 145 GB. This means that to record such an image you will need 31 regular (single-layer) DVD discs.

If the system image does not exceed 30-40 GB, then optical disks can be used to store the system. Although fiddling with 8-10 media will also seem like a burden to many users.

The last alternative option for storing system images is network storage. To be honest, this option cannot be called optimal. After all, in order to pull a backup copy from a remote resource, it is necessary to connect the computer to the network, which without a fully installed operating system can be very problematic or simply impossible.

After selecting the location of the system image, a window will open in front of you in which you will need to select the disks to be included in the backup.

In fact, the figure clearly shows that in addition to system partitions, images of other logical drives can also be included in the backup. However, there is one condition here - you cannot include a disk image in the archive if it is selected as the system copy storage.

Having selected the sections required for archiving, click Next. Finally, a control window appears before us confirming the archiving parameters. The most important thing here is to pay attention to the size of the required archive space. If the predicted volume is at least slightly higher than the amount of free space on the media or almost equal to it, then it is better not to start archiving. Otherwise, you risk wasting a lot of time.

After making sure that the selected parameters are correct, click on the button Archive, to directly launch the procedure for creating a system image. If something doesn’t suit you during the archiving process, you can click the button Cancel and configure all settings again.

After completing the backup of the system partition, the wizard will prompt you to create system recovery disk. This disk will be very useful to you in cases where you need to restore the system from an image, but in this case it will be impossible to launch a previously installed copy of Windows, and therefore it will be impossible to launch the built-in standard recovery tool. Please note that when crashes or virus infections occur, it is often the boot area of ​​the system or the components responsible for starting the OS that are damaged. So the likelihood that you will encounter just such a situation is very high.

What is a recovery disk? Essentially, this is a boot disk (you can boot your computer from it) containing basic Windows diagnostic and recovery tools that can be used to revive your computer after serious failures, including from a previously created system image.

If, after completing the system image creation procedure, you do not have a blank optical disk, then creating a recovery disk can be postponed until later. Subsequently, this can be done from a component of the system already familiar to us - Backup and recovery by clicking on the link in the left column Create a system repair disk.

The process of creating this disc is very simple. In the window that opens, you select the desired drive (if you have several of them), insert a blank DVD into it and press the button Create disk. The system will do the rest automatically for you.

Conclusion

Remember that regular archiving of data that is very important to you is the key to the fact that one day you will not have to mourn the irretrievably lost personal documents, photographs, family videos and other unique files.

Also, do not forget about your main working tool - the operating system. After all, having a backup copy of the system partition, in the event of critical Windows failures or even a hard drive failure, you can always quickly restore not only the working state of the computer, but also all your personal libraries, installed applications and system settings.

Hello Friends! Today we’ll look at what it is Windows 7 data archiving and how it can make life easier for users without having to resort to . Data recovery is a topic that is more relevant for new computer users. Experienced users and those who have already experienced the loss of data in connection with and those who saw how their friends tried in vain to bring it back to life know that backup is the first thing to do to minimize moral and material losses. There are a lot of programs on the Internet, both paid and freely distributed, for performing automatic data archiving or backup. And there is a powerful tool - Archiving and Restoring Files, which we will consider in this article.

In order to open the Backup and Restore Files utility, you can use. Open it and write archiving in the search field. Select Backup and Restore

If you do not have archiving configured, you will see the picture below. Click Configure backup

In the next window, select the location of the archive. The system tells us that it is better to store your backups on . I don’t have a free hard drive yet, so we’ll select another partition of the existing HDD. Select Local drive E, which is recommended and click next

Choosing what to archive. You can let the operating system choose, or you can make the choice yourself. It will copy files located in libraries, on the desktop and in standard folders - “AppData”, “Contacts”, “Downloads”, “Favorites”, “Links”, “Saved Games” and “Searches”.

If you changed part of the document, for example, deleted part of the file. To restore, right-click on the file and select Restore previous version

In the File versions section, select the one you need. If you select from, you will not have the option to save a current copy of the document. Save it if necessary before restoring

When restoring from an archive, you will have the option to either replace the file or save the file being restored under a different name.

Everything about file recovery.

In order to be able to return or restore the entire system, you need to make an image of it. This can be done using , and can be done using built-in tools. Let's look at the latter in more detail.

Open the Archive and Restore window. On the left select Create a system image

Select a location to save the archive. You can choose on (there is no option yet to try saving on), on DVDs or in a network location. In a network location this is a bit far, but on a DVD it’s not realistic, since you need a lot of disks and don’t have a drive.

Open the Action menu and select Attach virtual hard disk

In the window that opens, use the Browse... button to select a file with the VHD extension. Click OK

The attached virtual disk looks like this

Information can be accessed using Windows Explorer or any file manager. You can copy any file or folder to your main .

Space management is also carried out from the Archiving and Restore window. To do this, click Manage space. In the window that opens, the Change settings button becomes active... and click it

We have two options. Either delete all system images or keep the last one

And we continue to frantically press F8.

A window appears with a choice of download options. Here you can get to. We are interested in the topmost point Troubleshooting your computer

The recovery environment is loading. Select the desired language and click Next.

If you have many users, enter the administrator name and password. I have one user and one without a password, so I just clicked Next. (How to reset the Administrator password - )

A window opens asking you to select a recovery tool. You can try Startup Recovery, then (maybe you can still find a point at which the computer is stable). If all else fails, select System Image Restore

The wizard will start following the instructions and you will successfully restore the system from the image.

Conclusion

In this article, we figured out a little bit about what Windows 7 data archiving is and how to use it. I’ll give you a few important points about archiving capabilities that I spied on Vadim Sterkin’s website

Important! It will not be possible to archive files located on the same disk where the archive will be located. That is, if your libraries (like mine) include folders that are located on the same disk where the archive is stored, then they will not be copied.

If you have any questions, ask us, we’ll sort it out.