Media checking: handling unprepared or unrecognized external drive media

Accessing media checking options
To access the Media checking options shown above:

1. Click Jobs in the navigation bar
2. Select the job to be edited and click Edit at the bottom of the window.
3. Click Destination on the left menu.
4. Click Media checking to expand the section.

Specify how to handle unrecognized, unprepared, or incorrect external drive media

One of the first steps in the backup process is detecting what media has been inserted to be used as the backup destination. This step involves checking if your external drive media has been prepared for use with BackupAssist. If the media has been prepared, BackupAssist will then determine if the label for the media (eg. Monday 1, Month 1, etc) is correct according to the rotation scheme selected and the media that is required for that day (ie. that Monday's drive has been connected to the machine for Monday's backup).

BackupAssist can be configured to take different actions depending on whether unrecognized or unprepared external drive media is detected, or if the wrong media has been inserted for that day (eg. Tuesday's drive is connected on a Wednesday).
Preparing media for use with BackupAssist
Selecting a rotation scheme for backup

The two settings available are as follows:

1. If the wrong media is inserted (media with a different label than the rotation scheme requires for that day):
   1. Backup anyway and warn user:
      BackupAssist will attempt to backup to the incorrect media and add a warning to the backup report to inform you that incorrect media was detected. This option is recommended as it is preferable, in terms of data protection, to have a backup to incorrect media than no backup at all.
   2. Do not backup:
      BackupAssist will not perform a backup to the incorrect external drive and you will receive a message in your backup report indicating that the backup did not take place because of incorrect media.
2. If new or unrecognized media is inserted (media that has not been prepared with BackupAssist):
   1. Backup and warn user:
      BackupAssist will attempt to backup to the unrecognized or new media. A warning will be added to the backup report to inform you that unrecognized media was detected. You will need to prepare the external drive to avoid this warning in future.
   2. Do not backup:
      BackupAssist will not perform a backup to the unrecognized external drive and you will receive a message in your backup report indicating that the backup did not take place. You will need to prepare the external drive to ensure that the backup is attempted in the future.