Help with Windows Server Backup, Server Essentials 2012

[DocGreen]

Hey, guys! I'm hoping someone has a quick answer to this one...

I have a tiny 64GB USB drive that I keep plugged into my server at all times. (it holds a special shared folder)
I would like to include this drive in my server backup, but for whatever reason it doesn't show in my list of "items to backup." It shows USB hard drives, but not the USB flash drive. (Yes, it's mounted and accessible in file manager.)

Is there some kind of hidden tweak I can modify to include USB flash drives in my backup? Tried Googling, but all I could find was about using the USB as the backup destination.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Metanis]

Create a folder on your data drive and use DFS Replication to 'mirror' the flash drive to it? Backup the mirrored folder.

 

[Markverhyden]

How was the drive formatted to begin with? Maybe reformat and specify sharing as a folder?

 

[DocGreen]

Create a folder on your data drive and use DFS Replication to 'mirror' the flash drive to it? Backup the mirrored folder.

They're on a flash drive because I specifically wanted to keep them off the data drive. Good suggestion though.

How was the drive formatted to begin with? Maybe reformat and specify sharing as a folder?

NTFS. Folder in the root drive shared and accessible on the network.

 

[cyabro]

USB Flash drives do appear as different devices to USB hard drives in Windows so perhaps Win2012 Essentials backup just doesn't support flash drives.
Can you put the data onto a USB hard drive instead?
Or there possibly is a way to make Windows see the flash drive as a hard drive instead?

 

[DocGreen]

USB Flash drives do appear as different devices to USB hard drives in Windows so perhaps Win2012 Essentials backup just doesn't support flash drives.
Can you put the data onto a USB hard drive instead?
Or there possibly is a way to make Windows see the flash drive as a hard drive instead?

I'm pretty sure this is it. WSE2012 doesn't show the flash drive as a location suitable as a backup destination. There it only shows hard drives (both internal and external.) WSE2102 knows the difference between the USB flash drive and USB hard drives apparently, and I'm guessing it considers the flash drives temporary, which is why it's not letting me back it up. "flipping the removable bit" sounds like the right answer... I guess the only question now is does anyone know of a reliable utility?

 

[oldtech]

Neither Server 2008 or 2012 will natively backup to a drive marked as removable (including tape drives). Is there a reason you cannot use a 3rd party backup program as I suspect it will be simpler than trying to mark a flash drive as a fixed disk.

 

[DocGreen]

Neither Server 2008 or 2012 will natively backup to a drive marked as removable (including tape drives). Is there a reason you cannot use a 3rd party backup program as I suspect it will be simpler than trying to mark a flash drive as a fixed disk.

No, not particularly. I could probably accomplish it with CrashPlan if Windows Server Backup just won't do it.

 

[MobileTechie]

I had this recently and had to manually add it as a backup target with a command or two. I wish I'd kept some notes on as I can't remember the details.

My situation was that their native backup to USB just stoppped working all of a sudden having been working for many months (so I'm not convinced by the suggestion that 2012 Essentials won't backup to USB drives, because it does in my experience). I discovered that a new, manual backup using new settings (not the scheduled ones) would work but then from then on out, the schedule would fail. Once I added their disk as a backup target it's been working perfectly ever since.

Hopefully this will be enough for you to google it. If I remember I'll get back.

 

[MobileTechie]

I had this recently and had to manually add it as a backup target with a command or two. I wish I'd kept some notes on as I can't remember the details.

My situation was that their native backup to USB just stoppped working all of a sudden having been working for many months (so I'm not convinced by the suggestion that 2012 Essentials won't backup to USB drives, because it does in my experience). I discovered that a new, manual backup using new settings (not the scheduled ones) would work but then from then on out, the schedule would fail. Once I added their disk as a backup target it's been working perfectly ever since.

Hopefully this will be enough for you to google it. If I remember I'll get back.

EDIT:

Gone back through my history and I'm pretty sure it was from this discussion: https://serverfault.com/questions/445881/multiple-usb-backup-targets-with-windows-server-backup

and I don't remember doing all the GUID stuff. Fairly sure it was this:

"Given that you have now got a volume with no letter but with a label of something like SERVER_2013_10_11 12:34 Disk_02 (after trying and failing to add a volume via the gui or command line) just

• open the Disk manager tool
• Assign a letter to the volume ( lets say its D: )
• This will mean that you can see it from the OS once again.
• From the command line do WBADMIN ENABLE BACKUP -addtarget:

it won't reformat the disk but should include it and, hopefully, just work on the next pass."

Maybe your problem isn't precisely the same but I imagine the thread is relevant.

 

[Pixelated Tech]

Have you considered using "mklink" and making reference to the linked folder that points to your USB Flash Drive? I'm not sure how Windows Server will handle this junction, but it may work for you. I have used it many times to avoid disk space issues.