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    Rotating backup scheme using external drives

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    Jul 26, 2019


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    In this article we will show you how to set Backup4all to backup on two external drives using the backup destination rotation scheme, in case Windows assigns different drive letters for each external drive, even if they are not connected at the same time.

    Summary

    Backup4all will verify which removable/external drive is connected at the backup time. If one of the correct drive is connected, the backup will run; otherwise the backup will abort.
    The solution is to mount the external drives to the same local folder and run the backup to that folder. When running the backup, a script will be executed before the backup, so the connected external drive will be mounted to that folder. After the mount is made, the backup will run.

    On this page:

    How to create the script

    You need to create script and run it before the backup. That will check the existence of the volumeID of the backup drives and after that it will run (or abort) the backup.
    Steps to follow:
    1. Create a folder where we want to map the disks. The backup job will back up to this folder.
      In this tutorial we will use C:\DiskMount
    2. Get the volume GUID for each external disk.
      Plugin both disks. Start cmd.exe and type this command:
      mountvol c:\DiskMount
      Note the volume for the drive letter associated with each external drive letter.
      It should look like:
      \\?\Volume{964ee7c8-dbfd-11e3-82cd-74d02b7dfc4e}\
    3. Create a small batch script containing these lines:
      > REM unmount first
    > mountvol C:\DiskMount /D
    > REM try mount first drive (it will mount label W); fails if disk is not online
    > mountvol C:\DiskMount \?\Volume{301547fa-2c57-11e4-8317-f2b8544bc870}\
    > REM try mount second drive (it will mount label V); fails if disk is not online
    > mountvol C:\DiskMount \?\Volume{aeb73438-7f5c-11e3-8283-74d02b7dfc4e}\
    • Save the script as C:\scripts\mount.bat

    How to create the backup job

    1. Open Backup4all and select File -> New (Ctrl+N).
    2. In the Where do you want to save the backup? section, select a backup destination.
    3. On the What do you want to backup page, add the backup sources. Press Next.
    4. On the Filter the backup sources page, you can set include/exclude filters for backup sources. Then press Next.
    5. On the How do you want to backup page, you can choose the backup type and the encryption. Press Next.
    6. On the When do you want to backup page, you can set the backup job to automatically run on the specified time and days. Press Next.
    7. On the Personalize your backup job page, enter a name for the backup in the Backup name field.
    8. Press Advanced mode.
    9. Go to Advanced page. Select the “Run program or action” in the Run action before backup section.
    10. Type the path or select the script you just created as action to be executed before the backup.
    11. Select the “Abort backup if action fails”
    12. In the top of the same page, make sure you uncheck the Use local catalogs option.
    13. Press Save and run.