Freeing space on a differential backup
So a differential back up consists of the original file and the new file created right?
That's it only 2 files correct?
Therefore if you have done say 100 differential back ups all you need is the very first file which is the original and whicever file that you want to restore the system to am i correct here?
Lately my differential back ups have started to reach 3GB of space each. Sooner or later i would need to del some files hence you know i really want to play it safe here.
The picture graph shown mentiones incremental back ups require the entire chain but not differential back ups but they are not very specific if it's simply 2 files to restore the entire system.
I hope everyone understand what i am asking and happy new year everyone.
You might want to consider creating a new task with the proper consolidation options and let the program handle the deletion or retentions.
In the past when a differential file was deleted, the backup and diff could be restore but it would fail validation every time due to the missing files. This was supposed to have been fixed but I have not tested the newest version to determine its current status.
This is one sample of how to let the program control the number of files.
Hi groverH i'll check out the link.
You are correct.
If you go to explore the versions of your backup using ATI, you will be able to delete any differential version after the last full backup without compromising the chain.
I recommend you use the ATI interface to do so, instead of deleting them from windows explorer, so that the internal database that keeps track of the versions gets updated properly.
Opps i really apologise how do i go about using the ATI interface to check out which back ups don't affect it and are hence unwanted?
Eugene,
Choose the explore button to see the various versions of your backup. From there, in 2011, you right click on one version (date of backup) and choose delete.
I'm using ver 2009 and how do u find the explore button?
There's a consolidate option though. Yet it doesn't really advise me which back up to del.
There's another problem.
The link groverH is ok but then u see you don't really know which back up you should keep or shouldn't keep. If not you might restore the pc to a state that you don't like.
Eugene,
Grover is right, if you delete a differential intermediary backup, the chain will not validate any longer, although it should. I tested it a couple of days ago and it fails. With an incremental backup, it works, but of course it deletes the incremental backup and every incremental backup afterwards.
So here is the thing: you should not delete any differential backup.
The best thing to do at this point, if you have enough space, is:
- copy all the backup files you want to keep to another directory for safekeeping,
- delete your backup from within ATI,
- set up a new backup following Grover's link with any adjustment you like,
- once you have enough history, you will be able to come back and delete the TIB files you copied for safekeeping earlier.