Adding a backup disk to Windows server 2008 backup

Adding a secondary disk to windows server backup is not always as straightforward as it would seem. Quite often you get an error message at the end of the add disk wizard, and will not add the disk to your current backup system.

Thankfully there is a fairly simple fix that requires that you run a command from command prompt.

1. Run the following command from command prompt and ensure you are running it as administrator to determine the Disk Identifier of the new disk:
   ‘’wbadmin get disks’’
2. Using the output as reference, locate the disk that you wish to add into your backup. The output from the previous command should be presented as the following:
   Disk name: xxxxxxxxxxx
   Disk number: x
   Disk identifier: {xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx}
   Total space: xxx.xx GB
   Used space : xxx.xx GB
3. Run the following command to add the disk into your backup.
   WBADMIN ENABLE BACKUP -addtarget:{xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx}
4. The follow up prompt should be answered with Y for Yes.

This is a really long way to go to accomplish something as simple as adding a backup disk into the mix and really should not require command prompt interaction at all. We should be happy that it is amongst the more simple of fixes out there even though it shouldn’t require it.

Related posts:

1. Small Business Server Migration Guide