Windows – Help for creating a bat file to schedule a backup

The filename portion of the backup is the worst part to create. You need to be able to create a new file everyday without too much hassle. So here's what I use:

If you combine two of these answers (mine and a previous one) you get this gem:

set mydate=%date:~10,4%_%date:~4,2%_%date:~7,2%
xcopy "%ProgramFiles%\ApplicationName\filename.mdb" C:\Backup\%mydate%_filename.mdb /H /K /O /Y

Doing it this way will give you a file for ever day its run, named with the date.

A complete backup script would look like this

@echo off
:: Yes this looks bad, but it works, it sets the file veriable mydate to YYYY_MM_DAY
set mydate=%date:~10,4%_%date:~4,2%_%date:~7,2%
echo Backing up DC1:
:: start a new backup session, the /M switch is for the type of bakcup being performed, type ntbackup /? for more info
start /wait ntbackup backup \\DC1\c$ /j "DC1 Backup" /f "C:\BAK\DC1\DC1_%mydate%.bkf" /M incremental
echo DC1 is Done
echo Backing up EXCH:
start /wait ntbackup backup \\EXCH\c$ /j "EXCH Backup" /f "C:\BAK\EXCH\EXCH_%mydate%.bkf" /M incremental
echo EXCH is Done
echo Backing up FS1:
start /wait ntbackup backup \\FS1\c$ /j "FS1 Backup" /f "C:\BAK\FS1\FS1_%mydate%.bkf" /M incremental
echo FS1 is Done
echo Backup was completed %date% %time%
pause

This is a complete interactive solution. But the real power is in the set mydate line. Being able to slice a string is a forgotten art in DOS;

set mydate=%date:~10,4%_%date:~4,2%_%date:~7,2%

I take the command output of date, then cut it up, and spit out something that can be used as a filename. That way a new file is created everyday, and you can have a "real" backup system.

Just edit the servernames, DC1, FS1, EXCH and put in your own, or just use drive paths.