Server 2003, NTBackup and Scheduled Tasks

[OutToLunch]

Just a quickie (hopefully) - I must be being thick somewhere but I can't think where.

Server 2003, USB HDD attached, trying to schedule a daily differential backup of user areas to it... Created a scheduled task for the backup then modified to add the date to the backup file as a parameter. If I run the following from the server command line

C:\WINDOWS\system32\ntbackup.exe backup "@C:\Documents and Settings\Administrator.AHS1\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Windows NT\NTBackup\data\Daily Diff Backup.bks" /a /d "Set created %date:/=-%" /v:yes /r:no /rs:no /hcff /m differential /j "Daily Diff Backup" /l:s /f "F:\BK\backup%date:/=-%.bkf"

it works perfectly, backs up as expected (for anyone wondering, the %date:/=-% inserts the date but with / substituted by -) and logs to the correct file.

If I use Run from scheduled tasks to try and check that it's going to work ok, ntbackup flashes up and disappears. A blank backup log file is created, no errors logged in the event log. Is this normal behaviour? Am I missing something obvious? Will it not work when Run manually but work ok on schedule, or is running manually an ok way to verify it will work when scheduled?

Argh.

[Geoff]

Ah ha, yes. Been here, fixed this. The trick is to put your backup command in a batch file and run that from your scheduled tasks.

[OutToLunch]

Gah. Moved to .bat and sorted. Cheers!

Why on earth does the backup wizard add it as a scheduled task if it's not going to work?

[plexer]

Dunno but if you want to configure ntbackup and have flexability buy backupassist.

Ben

[OutToLunch]

Does it add anything beyond being a clever GUI for creating backup jobs? Looking at the website and I don't see much beyond what I can already do with a bit of hacking around. Once it's up and running with my normal/diffs scheduled, I won't need to touch it again so it seems an odd thing to have an app for. Ta for the suggestion though!

[Luiz]

Ok,

I understud about the /um at the end of command line to backups in tapes devices. But i have daily automated backups in diferent tasks (one task for each day of week) to generate monday.bkf, tuesday.bkaf, etc...

The tasks are identical and was created with the same user, using the same user for the job. Some days work, some days not. In my schedule tasks the status is the same for all jobs (0x0) and in schedule log the task run for just few seconds (5 or 6 seconds).

Any sugestions?

Sorry about my bad english, i'm from Brasil and it's my first post.

Thanks everybody