Setting Backup Options | Running Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional

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Before you execute your backup job, you should choose Options from the Tools menu and review the settings shown in the Options dialog box. Settings in the Options dialog box are program options; they aren't saved as part of a backup selections file. But by making appropriate default settings in the Options dialog box, you can sometimes avoid visiting the Advanced Backup Options dialog box. For information about the Advanced Backup Options dialog box, see "Executing a Backup."

Choosing a Default Backup Type

On the Backup Type tab of the Options dialog box, select the type of backup you want to use by default. You can always override this setting when you execute a backup job. For information about the five backup types, see "Understanding Backup Types and Strategies."

Selecting a Detail Level for Reports

After every backup session, Backup creates a text file detailing its operations. You can view this report on the screen or print it. (The report is a plain text file, suitable for printing via Notepad.) You can use the Backup Log tab of the Options dialog box to tell Backup what it should and shouldn't include in the report. (See Figure 29-6.)

Choose one of three options:

Detailed. Reports include all the information that appears in the Summary report, plus a list of every file backed up.

Summary. Reports include a summary of the entire operation (including when it started and completed, and the number of files that were backed up), a list of all files that were scheduled to be backed up but weren't backed up (for example, scheduled files that were in use when Backup tried to copy them), and any errors and warnings encountered during the backup process.

None. Backup doesn't create any report.

Figure 29-6. The Backup Log tab lets you specify a level of detail for Backup reports.

Excluding Particular Files and File Types

On the Exclude Files tab of the Options dialog box (see Figure 29-7), you can tell Backup not to back up particular types of files, even if those files are stored on selected disks or within selected folders. The top list shows files that will be excluded (that is, not backed up), regardless of who owns them. The bottom list shows files that will be excluded if you own them. For information about file ownership, see "Taking Ownership of a File or Folder."

Figure 29-7. On the Exclude Files tab, you specify which files in selected folders you don't want to back up.

To add to either list of excluded files and file types:

In the Options dialog box, click the Exclude Files tab.

Click the Add New button adjacent to the list you want to change.

The Add Excluded Files dialog box appears.

To exclude all files of a certain type (that is, with a certain filename extension), select the type in the Registered File Type list.

Alternatively, type a filename in the Custom File Mask box. To exclude a particular file, type its complete name. You can use the ? (any single character) and * (any group of characters) wildcard characters to exclude groups of similarly named files.

In the Applies To Path box, specify the folder that contains the files you want to exclude. (Click Browse to navigate to the folder instead of typing its path.) If you want your selection to apply to files in the subfolders of the folder you specify in Applies To Path, select the Applies To All Subfolders check box.

Setting Other Backup Options

The General tab of the Options dialog box, shown in Figure 29-8, contains assorted options. To get detailed information about any of these options, click the Help button (the question mark in the title bar), and then click an option.

Figure 29-8. The General tab offers a number of choices about how Backup operates.

Selecting the third option, Verify Data After The Backup Completes, causes Backup to read the data it has backed up and compare it to the original files. Be aware that the verify operation effectively doubles the time required to complete a backup. If you trust your backup media, you can save a great deal of time by omitting this step by default. However, you should verify backups occasionally just to ensure that your backup device is working correctly. You can override the default behavior you set here in the Advanced Options dialog box, which is available when you execute a backup.

The last four options control Backup's interaction with Removable Storage, and they're effective only if you use tape backup devices. (Removable Storage manages the tape devices and the tape library.) If you normally back up to a file on disk, clear these check boxes.