Hi,

in Windows Server Backup GUI it shows a list of all the backups run under the messages section (along with any which have failed), and in the status section under all backups it shows that a number of copies are backed up. How do I wipe these messages and the details of the backups (but not delete the actual backups off the disk) and also, some of those copies simply dont exist anymore so how can I make sure it reflects what backups are actually stored on the backup disks?

This is running on a Windows Server 2008 system

thank you

Hi,
Use this command.

Wbadmin delete catalog

Deletes the backup catalog on the local computer. Use this subcommand only if the backup catalog on this computer is corrupted and you have no backups stored at another location that you can use to restore the catalog.

This subcommand applies only to Windows Server2008.

(from Technet library)

Rukshan.

• Proposed as answer by Rukshan Devendra Wednesday, December 02, 2009 9:17 PM

this did not solve the problem I am experiencing. the old backups including messages of failed and successful backups are still listed in the Windows Server Backup GUI

Sorry, I wasnt patient enough to wait for the GUI to update, this has solved half of the problem - the messages remain but the status of how many backups are online and available is correct. will this automatically remove backups which are no longer available in the future or will I have to run this command to clean it out on a regular basis. I like to be able to see at a glance what backups are there for me to restore and not be giving me false information

thanks

Hi,

This command is used only when the backup catalog is currupted. You do not need to do this regular basis.

Rukshan.

The next successful backup will clean up the backups that are no more valid. Windows Server Backup UI reads the backup(s) information from the events logged in the Application channel uder Microsoft\Windows\Backup. If you do not want to see those messages then you need to delete them.

Thanks
Bikash Agrawala [MSFT]

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights

• Proposed as answer by Bikash AgrawalaMicrosoft employee Friday, December 04, 2009 11:38 AM
• Marked as answer by Steve Mills Friday, December 04, 2009 7:15 PM

Bikash -

What is the "Appplication channel"? I've googled a bit but don't seem to be coming up with anything relevant.

- Bill

Bikash -

What is the "Appplication channel"? I've googled a bit but don't seem to be coming up with anything relevant.

- Bill

Open Event Viewer on the server in question and expand to Application and Services\Microsoft\Windows\Backup\Operational and press Clear Log in the action pane to delete backup history info.

Hello,

As mentioned by you what I meant was clear the logs from the eventvwr under the path "Application and Services Logs\Microsoft\Windows\Backup\Operational"

I'm having a similar problem. WSB shows there are 985 backups under "All Backups" dating back 6 months. I would like to reset the counter and history because these backups no longer exist, the destination drive has been formated recently and a new schedule started.

I don't want to try "wbadmin delete catalog" in case it impacts on the current backups.

 

by running the command wbadmin delete catalog and clearing the event logs you will remove all previous information relating to out of date backups. when the next backup runs if there are already backups on that destination device (such as USB hard drive) the catalog will rebuild, it will also add more data into the catalog for every destination drive you run a backup onto if there were already backups existing. dont worry, ive done this loads of times, its not a problem.

Thanks Steve. I deleted the catalog but it also deleted the schedule! I've set it up again and started from scratch with a clean history. Perhaps Windows 2014 will provide a few more options via the GUI for housekeeping etc. ;-)

 

by running the command wbadmin delete catalog and clearing the event logs you will remove all previous information relating to out of date backups. when the next backup runs if there are already backups on that destination device (such as USB hard drive) the catalog will rebuild, it will also add more data into the catalog for every destination drive you run a backup onto if there were already backups existing. dont worry, ive done this loads of times, its not a problem.

This command still deletes all the history and the scheduled backup.

So even in 2015 no updates have fixed this.  The warning message does say (kind of) that it is going to do it.

C:\Users\Administrator>wbadmin delete catalog
wbadmin 1.0 - Backup command-line tool
(C) Copyright 2004 Microsoft Corp.

Are you sure that you want to delete the backup catalog? If you delete the
catalog, you will need to create a new set of backups.
[Y] Yes [N] No y

The backup catalog has been successfully deleted.

I think my catalog was either corrupted or just junked up with 18 months of backups and was giving me unknown failures.  Probably time to wipe it out and start again anyway.