This is an explanation on how to use WinRAR to backup critical or important files that are stored on the Windows Home Server. It is very important to make a backup of files that are stored in the WHS' shared folders because there is no backup solution other than file duplication. The following explains how to use WinRAR to backup shared folders on the home server or on any computer.
WinRAR can be downloaded and evaluated for 40 days. After the expiration of the evaluation period you need to purchase a license. The cost is only $29USD and licensing it is well worth the cost.
To have an effective backup solution, one must create a copy of files and store those files on another device. For example, the WHS Backup creates a backup of every computer that is connected to the WHS Network and stores the backup on the home server.
I recently added a removable disk back plane to my WHS. I put in a 250GB SATA II drive but did not add it to the WHS drive pool. My intention is to save backup archives of files stored in the shared folders to this drive. When the drive becomes full, I can swap in another drive. The following shows the Server Storage tab in the Windows Home Server Console.
This is a snapshot of the drive that I will use to store the backup archive files. I created a share for the E:\ drive named "Removable-1" and gave "Everyone" full permissions. Lastly, I created a folder on the E:\ drive named "Backup". The folder must be created manually because a DOS program cannot create a folder in the Root Directory.
There are two files that are needed for WinRAR. A batch file for the command and a list file that contains a list of folders you want to include in the archive. Both of these files must be located in your user account folder on your local drive. In my case, my user account folder is displayed as "Chuck" in the "My Computer". This is the same folder that is associated with the "UserProfiles" environment variable which is "C:\Users\Chuck". I explain environment variables in Part 12.
Create a new text file In Notepad. Type the following in the new file.
"c:\program files\winrar\rar" a -k -ag-yyyymmdd "\\earth\removable-1\backup\SharedFolder" @%userprofile%\SharedFolder.lst
I named my file "SharedFolderBackup.bat". Make sure you type the entire file name including the ".bat". This tells Windows that this is a batch file that contains a DOS executable command.
The SharedFolder.lst file contains the file paths that are to be included in the archive file. In my case I only wanted the shared folders of two users to be included. The following displays the paths. Earth is the name of my WHS so change the computer name to your WHS name.
Make sure the "SharedFolderBackup.bat" and SharedFolder.lst files have been saved in your user account folder.
Next, create a task in Task Scheduler and schedule the backup to run every day. Part 12 of Securing Your WHS & Network explains how to create a scheduled task.
The following shows the backup archive files that have been automatically created by the scheduled tasks.
If you want all the user's folders in the Users shared folder to be included in the archive file, then a list file is not needed. The command would be changed as follows.
"c:\program files\winrar\rar" a -k -ag-yyyymmdd "\\earth\removable-1\backup\SharedFolder" \\Earth\Users
You will end up with a daily version of all your critical files should you ever need to recover a file. To recover a file, open the archive file with WinRAR, locate the file or files, and save them.