Win2k Backup feature - backing up to network drive problem

[ame540]

yep.. i dunno if anyone is going to be able to answer this one.

so ive been struggling with this one for the whole week. Its VERY simple.

1) i am using the built in backup program on win2k server standard edition to backup selected files each night. into <filename>.bkf format

2) I want the files saved onto a network drive.

3) dumbass win2k box wont start the scheduled backup because it says
" Backup Status
The operation was not performed because the specified media cannot be found."

Its not backing up to tape, its just a file. but for some reason it cannot do it to a shared / mapped directory. My NTFS file permissions / security settings appear correct. It will do the scheduled backup fine, so long as its on one of the local volumes.

i cant figure it out. its pissing me off. microsoft knowledge base didnt come back with anything. Thanks in advance.

 

[Davetoo]

Have you tried to manually run the job as a test?

Alternately, you could backup to the local drive, then move the backup to the network drive.

I'm Certifiable, not certified.
It just means my answers are from experience, not a book.

 

[ame540]

Yes! im sorry i think theres alot that i did not include.

1) i am MANUALLY able to do that backup to a remote / shared drive.

2) I want to avoid doing the backups directly on the same volume for lack of disk space and redundancy. For now i will probably do this...

Certifiable, not certified... hahah i like that. any more insight? i think its just a glitch in the way the scheduled portion works since i can do it manually. i find it hard to believe that no one else has run into this... with so many people using NAS, etc. these days.

 

[karlisi]

If you are logged off in time when scheduled backup is running, use UNC path for target media, not the mapped drive. Your drive mappings are gone when you log off. If your backup job is running under another account, not yours, check share and folder permissions for that account.

===
Karlis
ECDL; MCP

 

[ame540]

Well, about the logging off. I have tried it two different ways with the UNC name.
1) i stayed logged in on both computers and attempted to watch the backup logs start automatically when the scheduled job is supposed to take place, I still get the error message.

2) I disconnect my terminal services session to the remote computer ( that has the network share configured) but the session is supposed to stay active on that machine, even though i close my terminal connection.

So what i have been doing for now is just letting the scheduled backup run to a local directory, then manually copying the *.bkf file over to the remote computer ( where the share is located). This will have to do for now, but is cumbersome. I will be looking to Veritas Backup Exec 9 as i hear it does alot of the things i am looking for. Stupid windows should be able to do something this simple in my opinion...

 

[oisnds]

My understanding -
The backup works when you are logged in to the source PC.
The backup does not work when you are not logged in.

Sound like the backup process does not have the rights to put the file on the remote system. When you are logged in the process uses your credentials.

 

[ame540]

The backup works if im logged into both computers if i start the backup manually.

the backup fails if it is scheduled, even if im still logged into each machine.

the backup works scheduled if it is being backed up to a local drive on the server.

 

[oisnds]

Okay, the scheudled task is having a rights problem. Backup scheduled task is probably using the System account on the source machine. You will probably need to create a backup account on both machines with the necessary rights and associate it with your scheduled task.

 

[ame540]

Alright well im going to give it a shot. I will create an identical account on the remote computer as what I am logged in on the server with.

However, the backup program asks what user / password profile that the backup is going to run with, and with these credentials i am able to access this network resource via network neighborhood.

very strange.