PST backup with Volume Shadow Copy Service

Posted by NoMadMan on Server Fault See other posts from Server Fault or by NoMadMan
Published on 2009-12-30T01:45:59Z Indexed on 2010/05/11 9:14 UTC
Read the original article Hit count: 245

Filed under:

windows-server-2003

|

backup

|

shadow-copy

|

scripting

|

pst

I was asked to implement the task of backing up 35 PST files ranging from 800Mb to 2000Mb. Windows XP and Windows 2000 workstations are assigned to the users and we have a Windows 2000 domain controller we use to back up files on 3x 500Gb external hard drives.

I found several methods from applications to scripts. Local or remote applications would be my last resort. I came across this script based on Volume Shadow Copy Service.

I wanted to know if there would be a problem if the path had spaces. Would mounting the destination path of each PST folder with a drive letter be more practical? My concern with mounting option is that i would eventually run out of letters since I have 35 and possibly more workstations to back up.

Lastly, can someone give me an example of CopyWithVss if it were run on a production network? The script is a bit cryptic even after reading several times. Where in the script do I enter the source and the destination?

I'm a Mac user so please excuse my ignorance with Windows platform.

© Server Fault or respective owner

Related posts about windows-server-2003

Rotate monitor to portrait on Windows Server 2003 with ATI card

as seen on Super User - Search for 'Super User'
Does anyone know if it is possible to rotate a monitor from landscape to portrait mode on Windows Server 2003 32-bit with an ATI video card? According to Dell's site, I should be able to rotate my Dell P2310H monitor by installing drivers from their website, but they don't have drivers for Windows… >>> More
Windows Server 2003 Trial Activation Issue

as seen on Server Fault - Search for 'Server Fault'
I have a Windows Server 2003 (R2 Enterprise with SP2) VM, originally installed with a trial license. We forgot about the server, and now more than 120 days has passed, and I can't do anything with the server. I seem to be at a dead end with the existing installation. When I log in, I get: The… >>> More
Windows Server 2003 can't see Vista machine

as seen on Server Fault - Search for 'Server Fault'
Hi there, I've got a real PITA problem that I'm sure has a really simple solution. I have a Windows Server 2003 machine that needs to be able to see the network name of a Vista box - but refuses to. It can see the Vista box (and even access its shared folder) if I enter the Vista box's IP address… >>> More
Windows server 2003 default administrator password

as seen on Stack Overflow - Search for 'Stack Overflow'
Sorry if this is an overly simplistic question, but I'm a bit stuck here. :) I need a windows machine for me to do some programming for class. Since I have my Macbook with me everywhere I go, I figured that it would be easiest to install a vm. And since I can get a copy of Windows server 2k3 for… >>> More
Windows Server 2003 - Handling hundreds of simultaneous downloads

as seen on Server Fault - Search for 'Server Fault'
At the moment I have a single server with 4 1TB hard disks, daily I haver over 150 MP3 music files uploaded (around 80mb each). At busy periods there is over 300 people streaming / downloading these mixes all at once, 75% of the activity is on the most recently uploaded stuff which is all on a single… >>> More

Related posts about backup

backup exec - backup to disk offline

as seen on Server Fault - Search for 'Server Fault'
Hi We are running backup exec 9.1 doing a backup to disk to portable hard disk drives. When we run the backup manually it works fine. But when the backup is setup to run in the evening on a schedule it does not run as the backup to disk folders goes offline and therefore has to be switched back… >>> More
Ideal backup appliance for backup software like Bacula?

as seen on Server Fault - Search for 'Server Fault'
I'm at a small company and we (the IT department of two) manage <100 client computers and a handful of servers. Currently we're using a company's appliance to handle backup; it does a small backup every night and a full backup every weekend, and a guy comes on Wednesday to take an offsite backup… >>> More
Symantec Backup Exec Error on backup

as seen on Server Fault - Search for 'Server Fault'
Recently we have moved some of servers from real servers- into virtual servers. Since then, we are getting errors like the following: Error category : Resource ErrorsError : e000fed1 - A failure occurred querying the Writer status. For additional information regarding this error refer… >>> More
Windows Server Backup - Recover only shows the latest backup

as seen on Server Fault - Search for 'Server Fault'
We're having quite some trouble at work using Windows Server Backup. We have a HyperV server (Win 2008) running 8 virtual web servers, these are running a variety of OS'es: Win 2003, Win 2008 and a lone Debian. Each virtual server has a separate partition on the physical HyperV server, so e.g. E:… >>> More
Failed Backup Job With Backup Exec 12 and AOFO

as seen on Server Fault - Search for 'Server Fault'
I am backing up a Windows 2003 Small Business Server with SP2. We are running Backup Exec 12 with SP4. Recently the backup job started failing on backing up the system state with the following error: V-79-57344-34110 - AOFO: Initialization failure on: "System?State". Advanced Open File Option… >>> More