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Understanding the Limitations of the Microsoft Backup Tool
If you are working with Windows Server, you are probably fully aware of the power and convenience of using the Windows Backup and Restore tool. For this purpose, you might be depending to a very large extent on the 'Archive' attribute of various files and folders. This attribute if selected indicates that the particular file or folder has been modified since the last normal backup and may require backing up. On the other hand, if the archive attribute has not been selected, it means that there has been no change in the file since the last backup and it may be ignore during a differential or incremental backup. Despite the great versatility of this backup tool and the ease with which you can use it, there are some limitations to it.
The first limitation is that at times the Backup tool suddenly removes the archive bit information. This can not only cause great confusion amongst users since you do not now know whether the file has been backed up and hence is not showing the 'Archive' attribute or whether it is the software bug that has caused it to disappear. Further, sudden modifications in the archive bit may cause corruption in the backups and lead to damaged bkf files.
The other limitation is that the Backup tool, while great in restoring files from backups, fails to work if the backups themselves are damaged. It is not hard to visualize situations wherein backup files become corrupted because of software malfunctions, damaged bkf file header, sudden hard disk failures, virus attacks, CRC errors in the bkf file and many more. When the backup files become corrupted, they become inaccessible and so does the data contained in them. It is then almost impossible to restore any original file from these backups. And what makes matters worse is that you may not even realize that your backup files are having any problems till such a time as one of your original files becomes corrupted and you need to desperately restore it! Rather than be stuck with damaged bkf files, you should be well prepared with a recovery tool that will help you restore all the data from the damaged bkf files without any loss of data.
The first limitation can be easily overcome using a hotfix provided by Microsoft. You can download the hotfix from their site, install it and restart the computer. The Backup tool should now be able to take backups without any problem.
The second limitation too can be overcome equally easily by turning to third-party recovery software like say Advanced BKF Repair from DataNumen. These tools are designed to efficiently and speedily restore the data from inaccessible backup files. While some are more powerful than others, they will certainly make the task of recovering important files and folders from damaged bkf files a whole lot easier. Advanced BKF Repair is a very comprehensive tool, providing restoration services for backups taken across a variety of platforms using a variety of backup tools and certainly many versions of Windows.
Using the hotfix recommended by Windows and with the help of BKF recovery software, you can make use of the full power of the Microsoft Backup tool.