NTBACKUP (NT 4)

Backup drives / folders to tape.
This page is for Windows NT 4 only - the Syntax for Windows 2000 and XP is here

syntax

   NTBACKUP /nopoll
   Erase the tape (Requires user confirmation)

   NTBACKUP /missingtape
   Convert tape to single unit rather than part of a set
                            (Requires user confirmation)

   NTBACKUP EJECT [/tape:{n}]

   NTBACKUP BACKUP path [/a] [options] [/t {type}] [/l "logfile"] [/tape:{n}]

options:
   /a         Append rather than overwrite backup sets onto the tape
              (required if more then one drive is to be backed up)
   /b         Backup the local registry
   /d "text"  Description of the backup
   /e         Include only exceptions in the backup log 
   /hc:on     Hardware compression on
   /hc:off    Hardware compression off
/l "logfile"  The filename for the backup log
   path       One or more paths to be backed up
   /r         Restrict access
   /tape:{n}  The tape drive 'n' is a number from 0 to 9
              (assigned during tape drive installation)
   /t {type}  Backup type, can be one of the following:
                  normal, copy, incremental
                  differential, daily	
   /v         Verify the operation.

The GUI command 'Operations, Backup' allows Logging options to be set:

Full Detail : Log all operations, including the names of files and folders that are backed up.
Summary Only : Log only major operations, such as loading a tape, starting the backup, and failing to open a file.
Don't Log : Nothing is logged.

To restore a full backup from tape will require the NTBACKUP program itself to be available, in other words you either need to be able to boot NT or reinstall it from the original media. There are no command line options for running a restore - you have to use the GUI.

"A hundred times I have thought that New York is a catastrophe...it is a beautiful catastrophe" - Le Corbusier

Related Commands:

Q237310 - Manually Edit Ntbackup.exe Selection Script Files
Q300439 - List of NT Backup KB Articles
Undocumented Registry keys for NT Backup
AT - Schedule a command to run at a later time
COPY - Copy one or more files to another location
VERIFY - Verify that files have been saved
XCOPY - Copy files and folders

Equivalent Linux BASH command:

tar - Tape ARchiver