backup

Locate Symantec Backup Server

Posted on by Imran Rashid
Reading Time: < 1 minute

You are logged onto a Windows server and want to know the backup server to where the server is being backed up to due to having multiple backup servers on your network. You can check this through the remote agent. Instructions below.

If you are using Symantec Backup Exec, you should have a Symantec backup exec remote agent running on the server. Check services or Start > Programs.

To locate your backup server:

1) Click Start
2) Programs
3) Symantec Backup Exec for Windows Server
4) Click the ‘publishing tab’
5) Backup server should listed

Backup fails with error E00084F4 (V-79-57344-34036).

Posted on by Imran Rashid
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Error:

A job failed with systems error e00084f4 unknown error (V-79-57344-34036)

Problem description:

There have been multiple instances in which a setting called the RetryBusyCount setting is set too low and this leads to the failure of the backup jobs.  See below for instructions in order to make the registry change on the backup server.  The original setting calls for a value set at 75 decimal,  but it is recommended to change it to 100 decimal or 64 hex,  as is needed in the registry entry.

NOTE:  Please back up the current registry before making this change to preserve the original version. Be careful when making any registry changes as this can cause serious problems.

If the backup jobs continue to fail, then it is recommended to set this value higher,   It is feasible to have this configuration setting set as high as 250, until the issue is resolved.  If issue persists at max value of 250,  then further troubleshooting steps would be in order to determine the source,  causing the failure. Your registry entry would be under the LTO-4 and not the LTO-3 as shown below.

Solution:  To resolve the media write errors, the following steps were taken to modify the registry in Windows on the media server.
1)  Launch regedit by click start, run and type regedit, click ok

2) Browse to  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\SCSI\[device identifier name for the tape LTO-3 tape device]\[numeric device instance id for the LTO-3 tape device]\Device Parameters\

3) Add a key named Storport under Device Parameters (if one does not already exist).

4) Add a key name called BusyRetryCount. The key type is REG_DWORD, and the value should be set to 4b hex (75 decimal).

5) Close regedit

6) Reboot the server

Should do the trick. Worked perfectly when we experienced the issue.

Source: Symantec

The importance of online backup

Posted on by Imran Rashid
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Unless you have been living in a cave, almost everyone has heard of the cloud and some of you may already be using it. Examples such a Flickr and Google Docs spring to mind, but there is one area where cloud computing is very good for – online backup. With the widespread adoption of fast broadband, online backup has become
increasingly popular.

So what is online backup exactly? Online backup essentially sends your files and folders offsite to a secure server over the Internet. Everyone knows they
should backup, but why is online backup better?

Online backups have many advantages over traditional backup methods. Firstly the data is sent offsite, protecting data from physical threats such as fire, flood and viruses.

Online backups are completely automatic – you do not need to remember to backup every Friday – the software will do it for you – every day without fail.

Typically an online backup service keeps around 30 days of backups so you can easily roll back to a specific point in time – something that is very difficult to do with tape backup.

Online backup companies such as http://www.backupvault.co.uk/ ensure that your data is encrypted before it leaves your computer and is held encrypted on their servers to complete privacy.

Restoring data is also very easy. Just a couple of mouse clicks and a file can be restored and sent back to your computer.

As the data is stored in the cloud the amount of storage is essentially infinite – so an online backup solution will grow as your storage requirements increase. There is also no hardware or media to buy.

With broadband speeds increasing year on year, online backup is a technology that is here to stay.

Backing It Up With A CD Rom

Posted on by Imran Rashid
Reading Time: 2 minutes

With the technical age upon us, computers are far more important now than they have ever been in the past.  A lot is done on the computer these days, from paying bills to earning a living.  Therefore, the data that you have on your computer is very important.

Among the data found on your computer, you may have precious pictures and memories that you wouldn’t dream of losing.  No matter how sophisticated computers get, they will still crash, or encounter other problems that can result in a loss of data.  For that reason, a backup of your data is very important.

While there are several ways that you can go about backing up your data, a CD Rom is by far the easiest and quickly becoming the most popular as well.  Like other backup methods, the CD Rom does have it’s faults, although it has more pros to offer you than cons.

One of the best facts about CD Rom backups are the fact that your disc will be stored on CDs.  The standard CD-R data disc can hold up to 700 MB of data, which is a lot of files.  You can store pictures, documents, software, programs, and virtually anything else that you can think of to a CD – including entire folders that are full of files and data.

If you use CD-RW media, which are also known as re-writable discs, you’ll be able to continue adding data until the disc is full.  You can also re-write over existing data on these discs as well, which makes them ideal for those who constantly update documents that they need to hold onto.

If you are using the standard CD-R data disks, you won’t be able to add more data to them.  Once you have added the information to your disk, that’s it.  This is a great choice if you want to keep the data as is, and know without a shadow of a doubt that it is going to be backed up whenever you need it.

With the prices of CD burners and CDs being so cheap these days, anyone can afford them.  They don’t cost near as much as they did years ago, which is why they are so popular when it comes to backing up your data.  If you own a newer computer, chances are that a CD burner was included with it.  If you have an older computer, you can buy a CD burner and some discs for a little of nothing.

The best thing about backing up data with CDs is the fact that they are more reliable than floppy discs, easier to access than an online backup, and they will last you a lifetime.  If you have important data that needs to be backed up, you can rest assured that a CD-Rom is an excellent way to back up your information.