Backup and Restore FAQs

Learn more about your IT IN A BOX® from these Questions and Answers.

Backup and Restore Questions

What type of storage devices can I use to backup my IT-100 configuration data?
Why does my drive light shine steady when I plug in a USB hard drive to perform a backup?
Why is my external USB drive not recognized when I plug it in to the IT-100?
Why is my external USB drive recognized intermittently or erractically when it is plugged into my IT-100?
I upgraded my IT-100 from version 3.40 or earlier to the current version of CoreVistaWeb. Why can't I access backups made from the previous version?
When I backed up my IT-100 to an external USB drive, why were all my Windows files deleted?
What does the IT-100 backup and what does it restore?
Under what circumstances am I likely to do a restore of the IT-100?
How long should I keep my backups?
How often should I backup my IT-100?

Q. What type of storage devices can I use to backup my IT-100 configuration data?

A. You can use several options for storage devices including a separate partition on the IT-100's hard drive, an external USB hard drive, and an external Windows share on another computer.

Q. Why does my drive light shine steady when I plug in a USB hard drive to perform a backup?

A. You may be using a bad or incorrect cable to connect the external USB drive to the IT-100. Under these conditions you may also notice the USB drive running very slowly. Replace the cable with a known good cable that is correct for your device, then reboot the IT-100 and the USB external drive and attempt the backup again.

Q. Why is my external USB drive not recognized when I plug it in to the IT-100?

A. You may be experiencing an internal USB driver error. Reboot the USB drive and reconnect it to the IT-100.

Q. Why is my external USB drive recognized intermittently or erractically when it is plugged into my IT-100?

A. You may be using a USB drive with either a bad power source or one that is receiving insufficient power. You may also be using a USB drive that is not compatible with the IT-100. Check and verify that the USB drive is not a purely bus powered drive.

Q. I upgraded my IT-100 from version 3.40 or earlier to the current version of CoreVistaWeb. Why can't I access backups made from the previous version?

A. The CoreVista Web operating system version 3.40 and before used zip files to back up the system files on the IT-100. A new backup and restore format is being used starting with version 3.41 and forward. The two systems are not compatible. When upgrading from version 3.40 to 3.41 or later versions, EmergeCore recommends that you backup your system both before and immediately after the upgrade process. In the event that the updated version should experience difficulty later on, doing the backup immediately after the upgrade will let you restore your machine to a functional state.

Q. When I backed up my IT-100 to an external USB drive, why were all my Windows files on that drive deleted?

A: When you plug an external USB drive into the IT-100 and begin a backup, if the USB drive is not formatted with the file system used by the IT-100, you will be asked to prepare the drive. Windows uses either the FAT 32 or NTFS file systems while the IT-100 uses EXT3. When the IT-100 prepares the USB drive to accept a backup, it reformats the drive to EXT3. If any other file system and data exists on the drive, it will be permanently deleted. DO NOT use the USB drive for backups if you have any data stored on the drive from a Windows computer. If you do, that data will be destroyed. You can use the drive for backups if it is already formatted by the IT-100 and has other backups present. If you have already backed up IT-100 data to the USB drive, you can continue to run additional backups without fear that prior data will be destroyed.

Q. What does the IT-100 backup and what does it restore?

A: All information on the IT-100 is backed up onto whatever media you select. You have the option to restore different types of information however, even if you choose to restore everything, the result will be slightly different than what you expect.

The default manager password is not restored. If you changed your manager password since the last backup and you restore from that backup, you might accidentally lock yourself out of the IT-100. The manager password will remain whatever is most recent.

All other information and settings are restored. This includes network interface settings and firewall rules however, they are not applied after the restore. This means they will not go immediately into affect after you finish restoring all the information. This is to prevent your being shut out of the IT-100 if those settings are incompatible with how you are currently connecting to the device. If you need to change those settings, do so before rebooting. If not, the restored settings will be applied when you reboot the IT-100.

Q. Under what circumstances am I likely to do a restore of the IT-100?

A: The most typical scenario is when you experience a total fault of the device. If the unit cannot be recovered and it is under warranty, you can return it to EmergeCore as an RMA and a replacement will be sent to you. When you receive the new device, configure it using the Express Setup process and then restore the data and settings from the previous device to the new one using your most recent backup.

Q. How long should I keep my backups?

A: At bare minimum, you should keep at least your most recent backup. Most people who use the automatic backup feature on the IT-100 tend to collect a series of backups in either a Windows File Share or on an external USB drive. Older backups are no longer useful once you have backed up your more recent configuration settings and can be deleted. If you are upgrading versions of the CoreVista Web® operating system, you should backup the device immediately before and after the upgrade and keep those backups until you are sure the IT-100 is operating correctly. Then it will be safe to resume your automatic backup routine.

Q. How often should I backup my IT-100?

A: You should definitely backup your IT-100 before and after you make any major configuration changes such adding users and domains. It is also good practice to backup the IT-100 on a regular basis. The standard backup frequency for the Information Technology field is daily however you can choose whatever frequency you desire. Just make sure that whatever storage device you are using for backups has enough space to contain all the data, especially if you backup frequently.