Hi Guys
Anyone know how often the native windows backup and restore creates a new backup set or even what prompts this to occur. My current backup is created daily and is at 104 days in the same backup set. I thought on occasion it would automatically create a new set so the older sets could be deleted to recover space but this appears not to be the case.
Thanks Guys and Gals
We have asked this question before and no one was able to come up with an answer. In my case it seems to be when the backup set reaches about 20GB or if there are big changes to the included files.
Yes. I've looked for that thread but can't locate it at the moment, it was some time ago. If I locate it I'll post a link.
The only 2 situations I know when a full backup set is created are:
1) After a reimage
2) After a change of default backup location. This probably the easiest way to force a full (file/folder) backup if that is what you want.
I don't know what prompts Windows to decide to do a new full backup on an existing backup set. Run late for an appointment and decide to do a quick incremental could prompt it.
Have just been playing with it a little. A system restore to 4 days ago forced a full new backup set to be created and like you say mjf a change in location forces it too. Strange no one has a definitive answer with this yet though, after all if it never created a new backup set they would never have included the option to clean up previous sets!
Danny
It will obviously create a new set if you go in and use the delete option all existing sets. I don't think you would consider this! A button which says "Start a new set" would have been useful.
Yes but why make things that easy lol
FYI- It does also create a new set if a large amount of data is removed. I've been testing with 10 gig of files backed up, deleted around 5 gigs worth and bingo a new set. Not that this is of use but the fact that windows will automatically do it itself means there must be some fixed parameters for this to occur.
What they are I'm sure we will never know.
Danny
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