[Revised Nov 05]
Backups are normally made up onto Zip disks or CDs. These come pre-formatted and usually require no attention.
If a particular disk becomes unreliable, check this by trying another disk and if confirmed replace the faulty disk immediately... the data is much more valuable than a disk.
MESSAGES DURING BACKUP;
'Write protect'
'Temp file unable to copy'
'Access denied',
'Disk Full',
'DOS' error
'Cannot backup to this drive, as it is the swap drive. Please select correct drive'
Backup disks can give one of these messages if
- the backup is being done to the wrong drive, or
- no drive is specified, or
- the media requires reformatting, or
- the media is password protected
- or faulty.
- OR, the HARD disk is nearly full and so does not have enough space to make up the backup. Empty recycle bin.
Immediately before the backup starts, look at the white box labelled 'Backup to"... If this is blank or points somewhere other than the backup disk or CD writer which is usually on D: or E:.
It will be blanked by Windows if the disk was not in the drive the last time someone tried to backup.
- If you have confirmed that it IS the correct drive, then it can often be fixed by reformatting, (below).
WARNING; Do NOT format a disk in any drive other than A: unless you are certain that it is the correct drive on your particular computer. You could format part of the hard drive by mistake. Unfortunately a partition on the hard drive could also be D: or E: and if you format by mistake serious data loss will occur.
To format a Compact Disk
Put the CD in the computer then from the Windows desktop, double-click on the 'My Computer' icon then right-click the required drive... E: for the Compact Disk. Select InCD Format then click Start.
To do the Reformat:
- Go into Windows Explorer (from Windows Start Button, up to Programs, then Windows Explorer)
- Right-click on the drive ( Often labeled Removable Disk)
- Select Format
- Select Full
- Start
(- Turn down any 'passwords' if asked.)
Slow backups
Can be caused by lack of regular compacting of the database, or by use of an external ZIP which is slower than the more recent internal type (though external drive do have the advantage of being able to be moved between computers).
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