GUI Search would find your NTBackup log files if...

....you specifically tell it to search 'Hidden Files and Folders' under 'More Advanced Options', using the criteria of "backup*" without the quotes. I had this same problem, and I thought when I specified that it search ALL files and folders on C: that it would actually include ALL files and folders on C: in the search... silly me. So the reason you or I couldn't originally find this log file seems to be because of a collusion of stupid design decisions on MS's part. As usual.



Will wrote:

Location of Windows Backup Logfile?
09-Apr-07

Where does Windows Server 2003 store the Backup program's logfile each time
you run Backup from the command line? I thought it was ntbackup.log,
but I am not locating any file with such a name anywhere on the file system

--
Will

Previous Posts In This Thread:

On Monday, April 09, 2007 8:49 PM
Will wrote:

Location of Windows Backup Logfile?
Where does Windows Server 2003 store the Backup program's logfile each time
you run Backup from the command line? I thought it was ntbackup.log,
but I am not locating any file with such a name anywhere on the file system

--
Will

On Monday, April 09, 2007 10:13 PM
Pegasus \(MVP\) wrote:

Re: Location of Windows Backup Logfile?
"Will" <westes-> wrote in messag
news: ..
tim
system

It's backup??.log and they are kept deep inside your profile folder
When you do a search then it pays not to be too specific. Whe
you look for ntbackup.* then you won't find anything. However
when you look for file names containing "backup" then you wil
find then immediately.

On Monday, April 09, 2007 10:38 PM
Will wrote:

So in that case the backup job is being run as SYSTEM, and the system's
So in that case the backup job is being run as SYSTEM, and the system's
profile is i

C:\WINDOWS\system32\config\systemprofil

I don't see any logfile in any subdirectory under that. Is there some
other place SYSTEM scheduled tasks might put their output

I don't find any file backup*.log located on the boot device. I found many
items when searching on string "backup" but nont of those appear to be
Backup logfiles. There is a c:\windows\security\logs\backup.log, but that
appears to be an unrelated application

--
Wil

"Pegasus (MVP)" <> wrote in message
news:...

On Monday, April 09, 2007 10:44 PM
Will wrote:

Perhaps it would help to post the actual command line that is used to create
Perhaps it would help to post the actual command line that is used to create
the backup. The following when executed is apparently NOT creating a
logfile

ntbackup backup "@c:\test\select-c-system.bks" /J "Local Backup" /F
"%backup-target%\%COMPUTERNAME%_1.bkf" /v:yes /L:f /m copy /snap

--
Wil

"Pegasus (MVP)" <> wrote in message
news:...

On Monday, April 09, 2007 10:59 PM
Pegasus \(MVP\) wrote:

It seems you are still too restrictive.
It seems you are still too restrictive. First you looked onl
for files called "ntbackup.*', and now you're looking fo
the right files but only in the Windows folder. If you canno
find a file then you must RELAX your criteria

Profile folders are usually kept in c:\Documents and Settings
not in C:\Windows. A small amount of nosing about reveal
that backup jobs running under the System account will leav
their log files under the "Default User" profile

Start digging, but be serious this time

"Will" <westes-> wrote in messag
news: ..
man
tha
ntbackup.log,

On Monday, April 09, 2007 11:00 PM
Pegasus \(MVP\) wrote:

The command line has nothing to do with the log file.
The command line has nothing to do with the log file
Furthermore, it WILL create a log file. Be a little mor
persistent in your search

creat
ntbackup.log,

On Monday, April 09, 2007 11:07 PM
Will wrote:

Re: Location of Windows Backup Logfile?
"Pegasus (MVP)" <> wrote in message
news:OX$...

Sorry I wasn't clearer, but I searched for all files with backup anywhere in
the filename across the entire C: drive. The logfile doesn't appear to be
getting created.



I understand regarding standard location of profiles in c:\Documents and
Settings. But for whatever reason I have also noticed on some machines
that the system profile appears to have a special reserved location that is
completely different.

C:\WINDOWS\system32\config\systemprofile

Does that folder have some special purpose and it is not the actual profile
directory?

To the extent I could not locate the logfile with backup in its filename on
the entire file system, it is not in Default Users either.

--
Will

On Monday, April 09, 2007 11:09 PM
cristalink wrote:

Re: Location of Windows Backup Logfile?
C:\Documents and Settings\<UserName>\Local Settings\Application
Data\Microsoft\Windows NT\NTBackup\data

On Monday, April 09, 2007 11:09 PM
Will wrote:

Re: Location of Windows Backup Logfile?
"Pegasus (MVP)" <> wrote in message
news:...

The command certainly does control whether a logfile is created. The
argument /L to ntbackup.exe is defined as:

/L:{f | s | n}
Specifies the type of log file: f=full, s=summary, n=none (no log file is
created).

Perhaps default filename is being altered from one that contains the word
backup.

--
Will

On Monday, April 09, 2007 11:18 PM
leew [MVP] wrote:

You are likely running the backup job under a specific user account.
You are likely running the backup job under a specific user account.
Look in that user account's profile. Determine which user the job is
running under then look in:
C:\Documents and Settings\<USERNAME>\Local Settings\Application
Data\Microsoft\Windows NT\NTBackup

Pegasus (MVP) wrote:

On Monday, April 09, 2007 11:44 PM
Will wrote:

Re: Location of Windows Backup Logfile?
"leew [MVP]" <> wrote in message
news:cmDSh.284$...

That was enough to get me going in the right direction. The default
Windows search "advanced options" does NOT search in hidden files and
folders, and Local Settings is hidden. Once I selected the option to
search hidden folders I found the logfiles.

Very strange, but the scheduled task is being run in the security context of
SYSTEM, yet it creates logfiles in a specific user's NTBACKUP folder. Why
would that happen?

--
Will

On Tuesday, April 10, 2007 12:23 AM
Pegasus \(MVP\) wrote:

As a system administrator you need to find tools that will locateany file for
As a system administrator you need to find tools that will locate
any file for you, regardless of its attributes. If the GUI file finder
won't do it then this command certainly will:

attrib /s c:\backup*.*
or perhaps
attrib /s c:\*.* | find /i "backup"

The second command will find any file on drive C: that has
the word "backup" in it, spelt in upper, lower or mixed case.


"Will" <westes-> wrote in message
news: ...
Look
of
Why
a
each

On Tuesday, April 10, 2007 12:43 AM
Will wrote:

Re: Location of Windows Backup Logfile?
Ordinarily I would use the command line:

dir backup*.log /s

from the root of c: and that does find the files.

In this case I decided to "save some time" and use the GUI.

--
Will

On Tuesday, April 10, 2007 1:12 AM
Pegasus \(MVP\) wrote:

Re: Location of Windows Backup Logfile?
"Will" <westes-> wrote in message
news: ...

That's fine. However, your persistent complaint was that you
could not find the file, even though we all knew that it was there.
In these cases you need to use stronger ammunition such as
one of the commands I suggested, or find out how the GUI
can deliver what you want.


Submitted via EggHeadCafe - Software Developer Portal of Choice
Producer/Consumer Queue and BlockingCollection in C# 4.0
http://www.eggheadcafe.com/tutorials...r-queue-a.aspx