Selecting the Destination for a Backup

Before you proceed with a backup, select a destination for the files you want to back up. You can back up the files to a hard disk, a tape device, or a variety of other supported devices. For detailed instructions, see How to Select a Destination for a Backup.

Backup will not back up to a CD device such as CD-RW, CD-R, or DVD-R drives. To back up your data to these devices, you must first back up the data to a file. Next, archive the .bkf file to the CD. From this point onward, you can restore your data from that CD-R, CD-RW, or DVD-R.

If you are performing a backup, and the backup utility (Backup) in Windows Server 2003 indicates that unused media is not available, you might have to use the Removable Storage Management console to add your tape device to the Backup media pool. For more information, see "Removable Storage" in the Windows Server 2003, Standard Edition online Help.

During a backup, Backup creates a catalog of the files that are being backed up in each backup job. You can use this catalog to select the files that you want to restore from the backup media. The computer on which the backup occurs stores the catalog. However, the catalog can be re-created from the backup media if you restore data on a different or rebuilt computer. For more information about re-creating the catalog, see "How to Rebuild a Catalog."