NTBACKUP - Verify Option Does Not Verify the Windows NT Registry Files.
Article ID: 172698
Article Last Modified on 11/1/2006
APPLIES TO
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.5
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 3.51
- Microsoft Windows NT Workstation 4.0 Developer Edition
- Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.5
- Microsoft Windows NT Server 3.51
- Microsoft Windows NT Server 4.0 Standard Edition
This article was previously published under Q172698
SYMPTOMS
When you use NTBackup.exe, the verify after backup option does not verify
the files in the %SystemRoot%\System32\Config directory on your hard drive
by comparing them to the files in the %SystemRoot%\System32\Config
directory against those backed up to tape.
CAUSE
The verify operation for the files in the %SystemRoot%\System32\Config
directory is skipped by design. This is because this directory contains the
Windows NT registry and event log files which are always open and
continuously changing when Windows NT is running. It is therefore,
irrelevant to perform the compare and report discrepancies for these files
in the backup log because they are open during the backup process and are
bound to be different by the end of the backup process. For example, the
event log may collect several event messages and the Windows NT registry is
dynamically changing for many reasons (for example, passwords between
computers, user passwords, and many other processes and programs that store
information in the registry).
RESOLUTION
Even though no compare is performed, all open files in
\%SystemRoot%\System32\Config directory are backed up to tape.
To ensure higher reliability of the backup data you can use a high-end tape
drive with Error Correction Control (ECC). These drives actually verify the
reliability of the data on the tape. Lower-end tape drives without ECC,
typically IDE QIC157 drives or drives with only one Read/Write head, do not
check for errors.
Keywords: kbinfo KB172698