Version History

• Enhanced: Installer now works properly on Vista and the other new OS's
• Enhanced: The Activation form now has a Manual button enabling users to choose this option directly if they don't have an Internet connection
• Enhanced: The ASR option is no longer available for users running Windows 2000 (where there is no ASR capability)
• Fixed: NTBackup advanced option Additional Command Line Parameters now working
• Fixed: Annoying domain handling when setting up the Backup User Identity
• Fixed: The SQL restore wizard won't complete if no databases have been selected
• Enhanced: schedules that allow selection of days of the week in a checkbox list now start with the culture-specific first day of the week
• Fixed: Multiple minor validation issues and other UI issues
• Fixed: When network authentication fails, the domain is now retained instead of being reset to the default
• Enhanced: If the console is started when the service isn't running, the user is asked if they want the service to be started
• Enhanced: ntbackup log file handling has been improved such that delays in the file showing up and temporary locks on the file (eg. antivirus software) don't prevent BackupAssist from being able to locate and read the log file
• NEW: All jobs may now be cancelled via the Monitor window during the main engine execution stage. The remaining steps of cancelled jobs are skipped, and the job list shows the job status as Cancelled
• Enhanced: The Exmerge and SQL engines now display more information during the backups via the Monitor window.
• Fixed: SQL backup filenames are no longer formatted using the local sql pseudonyms "." and "(local)", so that restores to the server don't have to be performed from the local server, but pre-existing filenames are still valid for SQL Restore
• Enhanced: If the Exmerge engine fails for a given period, it will no longer try to backup further periods
• NEW: The Exmerge engine offers a number of configurable options, including whether to delete original messages off the server during the export, whether to exclude specific directories from the export, whether or not to attempt to set mailbox rights before the backup, and how to handle setting the optional Domain parameter passed to Exmerge.
• Fixed: The scheduling conflict causing ntbackup jobs to fail if another job finishes during execution has been resolved by forcing ntbackup jobs to only run .one-at-a-time for the entirety of the job, and by executing jobs for other engine types without using DesktopRights.exe
• Fixed: The conventional file copy how uses an entirely new subdirectory of the user-specified working directory in order to avoid accidentally removing user files and/or backing up incidental user files.
• Fixed: NTBackup verify failure messages such as "Difference encountered in alternate file data." are now handled properly.
• Fixed: The should no longer fault when editing email addresses from the dropdown list.
• NEW: Now support sending emails via secure (SSL/TLS) smtp servers such as gmail (smtp.gmail.com) using a secondary mail component.
• Enhanced: Those experiencing issues with the default mail component may find that selecting to use the secondary mail component gives better results.
• Fixed: Configuration file saving has been improved, such that the rare issue where files are corrupted causing the service to fail should no longer occur.
• Fixed: The KnowledgeBase link for failure conditions is once again visible in emailed reports.
• Fixed: Network connections are how handled sensibly when running a job, such that the network path is tested before and after attempting to connect, thus avoiding failures from trying to connect to an already-available connection.
• Enhanced: Failures during RSM functions caused by system changes performed during installation of certain other backup software are now detected and reported specifically.
• NEW: Burning of discs can now be performed using an alternate burning component that can be used if the default component is not giving good results.
• Fixed: In rare cases the scheduler has been known to suddenly halt and hence fail to start scheduled jobs, while the remainder of the functionality was unaffected. The scheduler now includes code to detect this condition and recover silently.
• Fixed: Sometimes temporary files are left behind after a Destination Check. This problem has been fixed.
• Fixed: Out of range figures should no longer end up in the Media Usage Report.
• Fixed: System State only backups are now detected properly during the selection check.
• Fixed: The bug where the Destination Check could fail, but in some circumstances not show what the problem was, has now been fixed.
• Fixed: International characters now show up correctly in script logs.
• Fixed: Bug where large amounts of script output could cause the backup to hang.
• Fixed: System State-only jobs (with no other selections) now pass the selection check on the monitor screen (used to show Error)
• Enhanced: Added logging to assist with debugging errors with the RSM service
• Fixed: Bug where ordinals were showing up incorrectly in the monthly scheduling for maintenance notifications
• Script exit codes (using “exit <num>”) are now taken into account, zero is success, anything else failure
• The RSM service status check now assumes (hopes) unknown failures (like unauthorized access) won’t cause problems with detect

• Fixed: Scheduler now executes jobs correctly on the long and short days created by daylight savings changeover
• Fixed: Reports and other configuration data can now include text containing control characters, such as those present in some malicious email subject lines that fail to backup using Exmerge
• Fixed: SQL backup filename format now handles server/instance names containing dash characters
• Fixed: Increased timeout on email server "test ping"
• Fixed: Bug causing jobs that hadn't been run in a while to show in the job list as Cancelled
• Fixed: Input of email addresses now supports adding a new email address by editing an entry from the dropdown list
• Fixed: Issues in adding Net send notifications now resolved
• Fixed: Standalone LicenseManager now works correctly (from Windows Start menu)
• Fixed: Bug when searching for ntbackup in the PATH when it contains an empty entry (XP Home, Vista, Server 2008)
• Enhanced: Logging added to aid debugging issues with cache file deletion, job reporting and scheduling

• Fixed: Major printing issue now resolved
• Emailing through an SMTP server that does not respond no longer causes 100% CPU usage
• Fixed: Issue causing service problems during/after job execution has been resolved
• Fixed: Incorrect formatting of "original ntbackup log" from the report
• Fixed: Special characters now come through properly in the subject and address fields for emails
• Fixed: Conventional file copy can now handle long file names.
• Fixed: Bug in notification section of wizard that caused it to incorrectly show a warning about invalid emails.
• Added: BackupAssist now supports Active FTP
• Improved: Printing now handles printer and share naming better
• Improved: Uninstaller has "keep my settings" on by default
• Improved: BackupAssist will now try harder to open RSM sessions
• Improved: Report will only list the first 50 messages that couldn't be exported, to avoid excessively long reports
• Improved: Customize scheme button removed from schemes that don't support it
• Improved: Help link in reports is now much more visible
• Improved: New FTP component added, support for large files improved
  

New features/fixes include:

• NEW: Single build now supports both 32 and 64 bit OS, reducing the size of the download from 15MB to about 9MB.
• NEW: Added 'Copy' button to jobs list to allow jobs to be duplicated.
• NEW: Right clicking on a day in the Calendar allows you to cancel the backup for that day, allowing the user to skip backups on holidays. Right clicking again will allow the user to reactivate the backup.
• NEW: If a future backup is 'run now' and the user elects not to run at the scheduled time as well, that day will be marked in the calendar. Those days can now be reactivated.
• NEW: The Exchange mailbox add-on can export mailboxes of users who are disabled and hidden from the AD
• NEW: The user can explicitly select the language that the NTBackup log is in, so operating systems that run MUI packs over will still work.
• Improved: Handling of queued jobs - the service will automatically queue jobs that depend on NTBackup, and start them when it can. Also detects and handles situations where BackupAssist Executor is killed manually from Task Manager
• Improved: Handling of cancelled jobs
• Improved: Memory usage of service
• Improved: Net disconnects no longer showing in the report
• Improved: Reset service option in Troubleshooting tools is now more thorough and will clear queued jobs.
• Improved: DVD burning component updated and improved.
• Improved: Estimate size function on files and folders has been optimized for faster performance.
• Improved: Improvement to editing of Network path information and the effect on job selections.
• Improved: Report now displays a warning if there are no mailboxes to back up.
• Improved: if Exmerge directory path doesn't exist BackupAssist will attempt to create it.
• Improved: list of Exchange mailboxes messages that can't be exported for BA1791 condition are displayed in backup report.
• Improved: if SQL directory path doesn't exist BackupAssist will attempt to create it.
• Improved: added loading message to jobs list
• Improved: Printing the Calendar will now include the calendar key, job name and server name on the printout
• Improved: network paths added when NTBackup jobs are present will now detect IP addresses and suggest the NETBIOS name as a replacement
• Improved: IP addresses in NTBackup jobs now show up in the report as skipped
• Improved UI: Jobs list, calendar, files and folders tab, contact support section, icon appearance
• Improved: detect for attempts to enter a version 3 key for activation and provide appropriate advice.
  
• Fixed: Occasionally the backup job would report that it failed with a BA2 condition, when in fact it ran successfully and succeeded.
• Fixed: Occasionally the service would not respond to the UI, requiring a restart.
• Fixed: Bug with activity monitor that sometimes caused monitor to not display correct information.
• Fixed: Refresh button on monitor.
• Fixed: Memory leak in service on some systems.
• Fixed: Executor will no longer crash if using 'Delete as necessary' backup storage option when the Executor can't access the destination (e.g. when a network cable is unplugged)
• Fixed: further fixes made to the refresh button on page one of the SQL wizard. Now disables the refresh button while a refresh is being performed.
• Fixed: Integrated SQL authentication.
• Fixed: Information level events in reports now display the correct icon.
• Fixed: Conditions highlighted in backup reports.
• Fixed: SQL backup destination allows for variables in the destination path
• Fixed: rare issue causing server to crash during backup.
• Fixed: tabbing now works correctly, focus moves sensibly and visual cues for keyboard focus have been added.
• Fixed: Monitor clears when a new job is run
• Fixed: possible exception when adding a network path
• Fixed Screen contents now refresh correctly after using the settings menu to make changes
• Fixed: a bug that caused Network path details to be updated if the user hit cancel on an authorisation failure
• Fixed: calendar appearance for Vista in preparation for imaging engine
• Fixed: problem preventing Netware shares from being backed up. Added the 'This share is on a Netware server' option when editing the network path list. BackupAssist will attempt to detect Netware shares when a network path is added.
• Fixed: 7z compression options now excluded from tape jobs
• Fixed: bug in Exmerge install that caused the final step to sometimes misreport as a failure
• Fixed: bug that caused tape detection to fail on machines with multiple tape drives
• Fixed: bug that sometimes causes popup windows to appear behind other screens
• Fixed: job list last-run-status bug, where the last-run result was occasionally being populated with the result from 2 jobs ago, instead of the last job.
• Fixed: mailbox export jobs - when multiple servers are selected but unchecked (not active) then ignore these selections instead of trying to back them up
• Fixed: Network Disconnect failures now displayed with Information conditions in the report, and the status of that component is now reported as "Successful" rather than "Minor Warnings"
• Fixed: Network Disconnect processing won't try to disconnect from the same item more than once
• Fixed: List items will no longer be duplicated in reports, eg. successful connections, disconnections, destination checks, etc.
• Fixed: The Exchange mailbox add-on used to give the BA1771 error (anti-virus conflict) frequently. Whilst this is correct according to Microsoft documentation, some users experience sporadic and small numbers of messages that can't be exported. The resolution has been to set thresholds - if >50 messages can't be exported, then display the BA1771 error, as it is likely to be caused by this issue. For smaller quantities, between 10 and 50, a minor warning is displayed with the new BA1791 condition, and for under 10 messages, display an Information condition for BA1791.
• Fixed: issue with rev on win2k - automatically shares the Rev drive as \\SERVER\REV$ and directs NTBackup to that share, to work around the fact that NTBackup won't write to the REV drive automatically

New features/fixes include:

• NEW: 7-zip compression embedded into the NTBackup Engine, can now be found at the bottom of the NTBackup options screen
• NEW: File names for fixed destinations can now be edited when using schemes other than most recent full by going to the customize schedule screen
• NEW:: SQL restore wizard now includes an option to restore the master database amongst other improvements
• NEW:: Run now interface has been improved
• Fixed a bug in 4.0.12 that prevented users from going back through the 'new job' and 'initial setup' wizards
• Fixed a bug that caused an exception when a user attempted to run a job manually on a day where no backup was scheduled
• Fixed a bug that sometimes caused Monthly, Quarterly and Yearly backups to run a day early
• Fixed a bug that was causing the connection type to change even when the user hit cancel on the autotest screen under email server settings.

• Enhanced: The Exmerge log parser: the "antivirus" error message is now more specific (previously it was triggering some false positives in some peoples logs); now detecting the 2 gig file limit error message; now detecting a generic information message where Exmerge says it will copy individual messages to avoid duplicates
• Enhanced: Major speed improvements in the user interface: faster loading times and faster response times when displaying current jobs in progress and past job reports
• Enhanced: Major memory usage improvements - the service's usage of memory is now very stable, even when running hundreds of jobs in succession.
• NEW:: Splash screen shows the progress of loading the console
• NEW: Error conditions in the backup report allow for easier diagnosis of backup user identity problems - eg. wrong username / password combination
• NEW:Jobs in the job list are now sorted alphabetically
• Fixed: Some mail servers were truncating the HTML reports and inserting newlines, which can result in the HTML report displaying incorrectly in mail clients.
• Fixed: Bug in transactional sql scheme preventing some coverage if the period spanned midnight
• Enhanced: Minor UI enhancements
• Fixed: Now preventing user from selecting "virtual paths" (like the Recycle Bin and Control Panel) for destination and cache folders
• Fixed: Backup execution sequence has been corrected to - Connect network connections, Run pre-script (utilising and/or fixing connections), Test selections, ..., Run post-script (utilising connections), Disconnect network connections
• Enhanced: configuration data is now stored in UTF-8
• Fixed: Desktop shortcut creation now handles job names that contain invalid characters for filenames

• NEW: Now includes a job migrater to import BackupAssist v3 jobs into version 4
• NEW: Print button added to the calendar tab.
• NEW: : Unattended execution of backups is now possible using BackupAssistManualLauncher /u (add /u to the default "desktop shortcut" command line)
• Enhanced: SQL restore wizard greatly improved. Now suggests a full backup after restore to prevent issues with recovery forks.
• Enhanced: NTBackup log parsing now catches VSS errors and Exchange Server backup failures (hrESEBackupRead)
• Enhanced: NTBackup engine and restore option now gracefully handles the situation where ntbackup.exe doesn't exist or is in an alternate location in the PATH
• Enhanced: Reports now show the standard error output of script execution (as well as standard output)
• Enhanced: Added the NWeekDaily schemes to the NAS, Local Dir and FTP destinations
• Enhanced: Multiple small improvements to the wording, look and functionality of the UI.
• Enhanced: Improved insert variable screen, variables are now in alphabetical order
• Enhanced: SQL Transactional scheme now cleans up the history folder as it goes, removing size/space overheads
• Enhanced: The emailed HTML report now has a cleaner look that excludes shortcut links that were being blocked by Outlook and other email clients
• Enhanced: The collated report for transactional backups now updates its start date and time so that changes are apparent in the reports list.
• Enhanced: Tape drive detection slightly, to reduce errors where more than one library is available.
• Fixed: Bug causing application to fail when run on older processors (eg. Pentium III)
• Fixed: Exchange authentication now uses the User Principal Name format (user@domain) when the domain is in DNS format (eg. mydomain.com), otherwise domain\user
• Fixed: SQL and Exchange mailbox directory fields now convert mapped network drive letters to their UNC equivalents (mapped drive letters caused backup failure).\
• Fixed: Significant bug in the SQL restore wizard
• Fixed: NTBackup timeout figure in the UI is now adhered to (previously was ignoring the value here and using the default - 1200 seconds)
• Fixed: Maximum NTBackup timeout increased to 10,000 minutes
• Fixed: Installer now prevents installation of the Open Files add-on on 64bit machines, where this is not supported
• Fixed: More help links are now context sensitive
• Fixed: Start menu icon for Launch BackupAssist Console is back
• Fixed: Replication section in the report now correctly represents cd/dvd burn and ftp backups
• Fixed: The "additional information" for errors are now printed separately in the emailed report (these are shown when "hovering" over the Details link when viewed from the console)
• Fixed: BackupAssist no longer reports that selections are missing when the selection was to be excluded anyway.
• Fixed: Weekly maintenance notifications now work correctly.
• Fixed: The Visual C++ 2005 MFC runtime is now installed correctly on 64bit machines, avoiding all "failed to load because the application configuration is incorrect" error messages
• Fixed: Conventional File Copy now cleans up the working directory after the backup
• Fixed: Log messages no longer going to the windows event log, except upon backup completion
• Fixed: Backups where open files are skipped with no Open Files protection in place are now reported correctly
• Fixed: Error condition for skipped files has been changed from BA701 to BA705, removing the clash on BA701 (delete old backups failure)
• Fixed: Deselected SQL server selections are now skipped in the backup

• NEW: Network path connection now occurs before the prebackup script runs, and disconnection occurs after the postbackup scripts run, so that the scripts can take advantage of the network connections
• Fixed: Exchange server and mailbox detection has been improved, using the credentials of the Backup User Identity
• Fixed: At backup time, BackupAssist will retrieve the list of mailboxes using CDOEXM as a fallback method if LDAP fails
• Fixed: Trial issue causing problems on some installs
• Fixed: Individual file selections on remote drives will cause the drive to be mapped, even when there are no folders selected on that drive

• NEW: Added backup cache management for SQL backups, including new purge after main backup option
• NEW: Added button to File selection screen called 'Check selections...' that allows the user to delete selections that no longer exist
• NEW: Added ability to skip backup estimate to NTBackup options (in the job editing section)
• NEW: Added ability to clone an existing job by right clicking on the job in the main jobs tab
• NEW: added Trouble-shooting tools page which includes options to clean up the service and to reset the RSM dabase
• NEW: Email notifications will now warn the user when the Email features in BackupAssist have not been enabled
• NEW: Added FILE_DATE and FILE_TIME replacement variables that use file- and path-friendly dates and times respectively (eg. "2007-10-31" and "21.55")
• NEW: Added WEEKDAY replacement variable that replaces with the shortened weekday name, eg. "Mon" for Monday
• Improved: Destination checks
• Improved: Console startup time
• Improved: ASR backup configuration
• Fixed: Bug causing some Queued jobs to be handled incorrectly
• Fixed: bug that caused backups to fail when perform inventory option was unchecked (tape only)
• Fixed: The Recovery Storage Group is no longer available for backup in the Exchange tab, since it can't be backed up anyway
• Fixed: Failure to free a tape no longer halts the backup
• Fixed: bug that caused the Exchange section to be added twice to reports
• Fixed: A bug causing the BA100 error in reports (DEV: Index out of range exception in MatchVerifySections)
• Fixed: A bug causing scheduled Exmerge jobs to hog cpu and memory when grouped in a single pst (also affected mailbox backups using Ntbackup engine)
• Fixed: Setting NTBackup exclusions no longer prevents job from executing when access to write to the registry key is denied
• Fixed: SBS performance report detects backups as configured even if SBS backup is disabled after BackupAssist has been running
• Fixed: Invalid trial expiry emails will no longer be sent
• Fixed: DVD-RW burning improved, reliability and speed improvements (now performing quick format/erase in place of a full erase)

• Fixed: 64bit installer now linked to 64bit .Net Framework download
• Fixed: bug preventing the console from running on certain computers
• NEW: BackupAssist version number is now displayed in reports
• Fixed: bug causing failure in tape detection

• Fixed: bug preventing scheduling at midnight
• Fixed: bug preventing ntbackup jobs from running after a crash without restarting the service
• NEW: supports .local email domains
• NEW: enhanced FTP media usage report
• NEW: software now handles daylight savings properly
• NEW: setting of NTbackup file exclusions doesn't require administrative rights
• Fixed: bug preventing correct reading of ntbackup log files on dutch installations

• Fixed buggy code causing slowdown and high cpu usage in the "copy to network" step, for network backups with local cache enabled eg. NAS

• Trial detection fix
• Addition of optional email address field on support contact forms (feedback, query, bug, error), and optional submission of diagnostics files

• FIXED: Exchange Backup
  Exchange Storage Group detection will now ignore any Recovery Storage Groups present. The Exchange Mailbox Add-on also will not look for mailboxes within Recovery Storage Groups either.

• NEW: Timeout value
  The timeout value in the advanced tab can now be extended beyond the maximum of 1420 minutes. This allows large backups to run over multiple days, if required.
  
• NEW: Exchange Backup of multiple stores and storage groups
  Individual storage groups and stores can be selected for backup within the Exchange Server information store backup. The Exchange Mailbox add-on now also supports backing up all users from multiple stores and storage groups.
  
• FIXED: Exchange Mailbox Reporting
  Few small fixes were made to Exchange Mailbox backup report messages that were previously displayed incorrectly.
• FIXED: Foreign Language Exchange Servers
  The Exchange Mailbox Add-on has been altered to fix a small issue with foreign language Exchange Servers.

• NEW: Enhanced error detection
  For user's of the Exchange Mailbox Add-on, enhanced error detection has been implemented
  
• NEW: Updated help file
  New articles have been added to the BackupAssist help file which include an an explanation of the limitations of ExMerge and the Journaling feature on Exchange Servers.

• NEW: Exchange Mailbox backup
  Brick-level and message-level restores.
• NEW: Easy Exchange Information Store selection
  Select your Exchange Information Store using a "checkbox", instead of having to type it in
• NEW: Run backups as LocalSystem user
  New option to run your backups as the LocalSystem user, which works around some problems launching the backup on high-load Terminal Services servers.
• NEW: File deletion / backup management options
  When deleting old backups, we now delete according to the "Modified" date instead of the "Created" date. This is to work around problems with Maxtor NAS devices, which do not store the "Created" date of a file.

• NEW: Debugging Logging
  Improved information gathering for diagnostics file.

• Fixed: Open files are now being copied correctly when using the Advanced Open Files addon on machines the require a snapshot of multiple drives.

• Fixed: Improved debugging logging for 15120 errors, as well as a small bugfix for incorrect reporting of 15120 errors.

• Fixed: Resolved issue with the Advanced Open Files Addon where some customers reported open system files not being backed up.

• NEW: Desktop Shortcut
  BackupAssist now allows you to create a desktop shortcut to manually kick-off a backup job at the click of a button. Simply access the Tools tab of the software to create the shortcut, and then double-click the icon created on your desktop to execute a backup whenever required.

  This new feature allows users to create a backup on an 'on-demand' basis without the job being set according to any schedule (provided the job has been suspended from the Description tab).

• Fixed: The pre/post backup script variable for the backup job name and description now allow the use of the '&' character.

• Fixed: 'No unused media' NTBackup error message now correctly parsed within the BackupAssist backup report.

• NEW: Environment scripting variables
  BackupAssist now allows you to specify global variables that can be used in pre and post backup scripts.

  BackupAssist environment variables allow users to execute different commands depending on the success or failure of any given backup. Such variables also have a host of other uses such as the ability to send the backup file to a FTP server on completion of the backup process.

  Look at the following tutorial for more information:
  Advanced Scripting in BackupAssist

• NEW: Windows XP Home Detection
  BackupAssist now checks for the presence of the Windows Backup Utility, NTBackup, for users running Windows XP Home, where NTBackup is not installed by default.
• NEW: NTBackup initialization
  BackupAssist now initializes and tests NTBackup as part of the configuration wizard. This is required for new machines, where NTBackup has not been run, in order to create the appropriate media pools for your tape devices.

• NEW: CD/DVD Appending Support
  BackupAssist now supports appending backup files to a single CD/DVD ReWriteable media. This will not work, however, with certain +RW media and we recommend using -RW instead.

  Look at the following tutorial for more information:
  Backing Up to CD/DVD

• Fixed: When using the Advanced Open Files Add-on, the BackupAssist snapshot manager no longer exhibits the issue of not being able to backup the system state on certain Windows 2000 machines.

• Fixed: The old backup file deletion options now scan correctly for the compressed .gzip file extension, rather than .gz so these files are now correctly purged.

• NEW: 64-bit Windows Support
  BackupAssist now supports the use of the Windows Backup Utility, NTBackup, on 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows.

• Fixed: When using the Advanced Open Files Add-on, the BackupAssist snapshot manager no longer attempts to take snapshots of network drives or network paths (UNC).

• Fixed: If NTBackup is terminated (either manually or unexpectedly) during the backup process, the BackupAssist backup report will now correctly record and indicate this termination.

• NEW: Far more enhanced authentication checking
  Defined authentication error codes are used to indicate a specific point of failure and methods to resolve these errors are located within HTML Help. A new section on the website also has a record of each of these error codes and a method for resolution: http://backupassist.com/troubleshooting/

• NEW: Integration with SBS2003 Reporting
  BackupAssist now integrates with the SBS2003 Performance Reports. For more information about this, see here

• NEW: Advanced Open Files Add-on now integrated
  To learn more about the Advanced Open Files Add-on, see here

• NEW: Improved email server setup
  
  • 2 new methods of of email server communication: POP before SMTP and POP before ESMTP
  • Autodetection screen for selecting the most appropriate mail server communication method.
  • Autodetection screen allows you to test you email server settings from the Wizard and also from the Email Server settings screen within the Navigator.

• NEW: Add-on modules can now be trialed separately before registration.

• NEW: Separate components (advanced open files add-on, etc) can be selected individually for installation during the setup/install process.

• Fixed: BackupAssist no longer scans for log files that are dated in the future

• Fixed: BackupAssist no longer scans for log files that are dated in the past, when the NTBackup logs are not stored within the default directory (eg. C:\Documents and Settings\Default User\ etc, or NetworkUser, or LocalSystem)

• Fixed: When deleting files based on age or free space, files ending in .bkf, .bkf.gz, .bkf.7z, etc. are deleted, as opposed to deleting all files.

• Fixed: Previous installations are detected, so you can no longer install BackupAssist over the top of a pre-existing install. You must either use the upgrader or uninstall/reinstall.

• Fixed: The upgrader is far more robust and user friendly with a new user interface.

• Fixed: DVD/CD backup jobs that failed to burn were incorrectly reported as completing normally if Phase Two of the backup process completed successfully.
• Fixed: The backup file deletion options for DVD/CD backup are now activated correctly and retrieved from the correct location.
• Fixed: An issue with certain Windows NT4 machines caused the backup to terminate immediately at the start of each backup.
• Fixed: Minor issue with user input validation for tape retensioning program.
• Fixed: An NTBackup error indicating "Insufficient disk space" is now interpreted correctly.
• NEW: Text label within the SQL server backup tab indicates that the working directory will be completely purged before the backup commences.

• DVD / CD Burning support: users can now backup to CD/DVD burning devices without the need for third party packetwriting software.
• Numerous improvements in the User Interface: settings entered by the user are validated and checked for correct input, more tips are displayed
• Event Logging for each backup: management software products that monitor the event log can be notified of the status of each backup.
• HTML Help restructured and content added.

• Fixed: An issue with the directory picker which occurred when backing up to SNAP servers
• Fixed: Backup to REV disk is now reported as unsuccessful if REV disk is write protected
• NEW: Backing up multiple SQL server instances in a single backup job
• NEW: Option of deleting the SQL .bak files after the backup
• NEW: Allowing full logging from NTBackup
• NEW: Fully customisable new backup scheme: Daily + N Weekly, which keeps weekly backups for N weeks, as well as the most recent few days
• NEW: Fully customisable new backup scheme: N Week daily, which keeps daily backups for N weeks
• NEW: Force restart of the Removable Storage Manager service
• NEW: Encryption of backup files using 7 zip
• NEW: More old backup file deletion options for automatically managing your disk space - option to delete files older than X days
• NEW: Option to allow for remote administration: low graphics mode, no splash screen
• NEW: The ability to specify the job name in the subject line of reminder emails using %JOBNAME%

• Fixed: Smoother SQL Server backups when backing up remote SQL Servers
• Fixed: An issue with the directory picker which occurred on some NT machines
• NEW: Excluded files - you may specify file types that are not to be backed up
• NEW: Report includes total bytes backed up, total files backed up and total directories backed up
• NEW: Better integrated help - popup tips identifying potentially problematic settings early
• NEW: Support for all languages of NTBackup
• NEW: The ability to specify the job name in the subject line of report emails using %JOBNAME%

• Fixed: naming of the backup file based on date, when rerunning a backup, is named properly
• Fixed: phase two backup filename based on date is correctly named if the backup straddles midnight
• Fixed: Mapping network drive - now correctly maps Linux / SMB drives, not just Windows drives
• NEW: Allows for blank SQL Server password
• NEW: Improved error detection for SQL Server backups; better error reporting
• NEW: Backing up to file - deleting other files based on how much free space you want on your disk before each backup; delete oldest files first
• NEW: Detects file selections of network drives, and alerts the user if the drives aren't mapped in BackupAssist, and allows for automatic mapping

• More comprehensive HTML Help with tutorials and white papers

• User selectable file compression rate - when compressing a backup file using 7-Zip
• Timeout period for backups can be increased up to 1420 minutes now
• N-Week backup scheme - allows for any number of sets of daily tapes - eg. 2 sets of 5 tapes (Mon 1, Tue 1, Wed 1, Thu 1, Fri 1, Mon 2, Tue 2, Wed 2, Thu 2, Fri 2)
• Advanced option to check for correct tape in the drive before backup - based on tape label
• Modified algorithm for performing inventory operations on tape drives. (Bugs in certain tape drive drivers would cause problems in BackupAssist - we have tried modifying the way we use the Removable Storage Manager so that the bugs in the drivers won't affect BackupAssist)

• Improved user interface - currently selected backup job is depressed for clearer editing
• Splash screen shows release number
• Windows Server 2003 automatically detected by configuration wizard
• BackupAssist Navigator now has a close button
• The icon for each backup job in the toolbar changes - a tape for tape backups, and a hard drive for file backups
• Automatic checking for invalid backup job names (they cannot include slashes or quotation marks)

• Bug fix: the backups in v3.0.8 were incorrectly detected as failing. This has been fixed.

• Enhancement: daily backup method (in addition to full, incremental and differential)
• Enhancement: email interface now supports ESMTP protocol with login authentication
• Fixed: report notifications (email or printer) will only take place when checked in the "Notifications" tab
• Fixed: Event log messages are now shown in the event log correctly.

• Enhancement: new compression methods (7zip, gzip and bzip2) will handle large backup files. Previously, the zip compression would only work for backup files less than 4 gig in size. The backup report now shows the results of the compression, and the compression ratio achieved.
• Fixed: sending network messages to many non-existant computers used to cause delays; this is now fixed.
• Fixed: when performing a test backup to file, the message displayed on the screen shows the correct information instead of asking you to insert a tape into your tape drive.

• Enhancement: You can now backup any combination of files, system state, Exchange Server, and SQL Server. Previously, a backup job must have at least one file to backup; now it is not necessary to select files. This allows you to backup Exchange or SQL Server or the system state by itself.
• Enhancement: Close button on Configuration Wizard allows you to abort installation
• Fixed SQL Server error message when the SQL Server Client Tools are not installed

• Multiple job scheduling capabilities - schedule multiple jobs. Each job is totally independent for each other - so you can backup different data at different times to different locations, even using a different rotation scheme. Perfect for power users who require multiple backup jobs
• Maintenance email notifications - remind your users to perform maintenance tasks, such as putting in a cleaning tape in the tape drive. Schedule this to recur on a weekly or monthly basis, or at specific times.
• Network message reminder notifications - for clients without a mail server, you can now remind your secretary to change the tape in the tape drive by sending a network (broadcast) message. A popup window will appear on their computer.
• Advanced tweaking of NTbackup parameters - add in your own command line parameters - perfect for power users to customize and fine-tune your settings
• SQL Server backups - perform a live backup of SQL Server, even if the database is currently in use.
• Run any scheduled backup now - if a backup has failed and you wish to rerun it now, you can do so at the click of a button. If you want to run tomorrow's backup (or any future backup) now, also just clik a button.
• File selection size estimate - estimate the size of your backups by totalling the size of your selected files, at the click of a button
• Temporarily suspend backup jobs - useful if your company is going on holiday or if you want to pause backups without deleting the job
• Run a tape retension program after the backup - useful for Travan drives where retensioning is required.
• Improved support for irregular passwords - the username and password of your backup user can now contain reserved characters such as \ and "
• Improved backup to file capabilities:
  • Automatic backup compression using ZIP compression technology
  • Automatically copy the backup file to a remote location such as a remote server, removable hard drive or DVD
• New and improved user interface, with the BackupAssist Navigator designed to make administration even easier and more intuitive.

• Fixed username / password issue for Estonian and Latvian character sets (locales)

• Improved report logging facility
• Clear logs from the event logs and report logs

• Report logs can now be sent to the printer, as an alternative for those who don't have email access
• Improved support for timeouts on Windows NT
• Allows for either the Report or Reminder email recipient to be blank
• NEW: BackupAssist Monitor service will monitor the BackupAssist service and restart it automatically when needed.

• Checks to see if files and directories are unavailable for backup, and includes a warning message in the backup log if a directory or file cannot be found (eg. a network share that's turned off). This fixes the problem on Windows 2003:

  The saved selection file
  "path\Selection.bks\" cannot be found.

• Fixed email success / error message swap in customize email section.

• Improved backup-to-file allows flexible naming of backup files
• 2000/XP/2003: Hidden shares are visible in the file selection window
• NT: Many (more than 10) directories can be selected for backup

• New UI makes it easy to backup Exchange Server (online backup using ntbackup)
• If a report email cannot be sent (due to temporary network problems), the service will try resending at 10 minute intervals
• Diagnostic information zip feature makes submitting support requests easier

• Customizable tape labels (useful for non-English languages)
• Customizable reminder emails
• User selectable backup selection file
• Several minor UI enhancements
• Aware of German ntbackup logs

• Redesigned configuration wizard for easier installation
• Customizable backup mode and method - including append to tape, and differential, incremental backups
• Customizable tape rotation - allowing you to select which days to change the tape
• Advanced calendar view
• Prepare tapes from within BackupAssist
• Direct interface with the Removable Storage Manager
• Improved support for backup timeouts, including user settable timeout periods
• Introduction of multiple email recipients (for report and reminder emails), plus the ability to CC users on failed backups
• Select files and directorys to backup from within the BackupAssist Administration Console
• Automatic mapping of network drives before backup commences
• Improved handling of Windows default desktop rights and permissions