Backup to Floppy Disk Does Not Use All Available Disk Space

• Microsoft Windows 95

SYMPTOMS

When you use the Full System Backup set included with Windows 95, the size of the backup file on the floppy disk may be less than the full capacity of the disk.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs because of the number of files being backed up and the manner in which Microsoft Backup reserves room for the directory listing of these files. This normally occurs when you are using more than one hard disk, but can also occur with one hard disk if you back up many files or folders.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, create multiple backup sets to separate the data being backed up, and then perform a backup operation for each set. For information about performing a backup operation, see the "Using Backup to back up your files" topic in the online Help system.

Note that this method does not back up the registry files. The Full System Backup set backs up the registry files, and merges them back into the registry if you restore the backup files. To back up the registry, use the Microsoft Configuration Backup tool.

Microsoft Configuration Backup is included in the CD-ROM version of Windows 95, but not in the floppy disk version. If you are using the floppy disk version of Windows 95 and want to use Configuration Backup, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base for information about the availability of Configuration Backup:

   ARTICLE-ID: Q135315
   TITLE     : CD-ROM Extras for Microsoft Windows 95 Upgrade

   ARTICLE-ID: Q135120
   TITLE     : Configuration Backup Tool for Backing Up the Registry

MORE INFORMATION

The Full System Backup set is used as an emergency recovery set in case of complete data loss. A partial restoration of this backup should not be performed.