KnowledgeBase Archive

An Archive of Early Microsoft KnowledgeBase Articles

View on GitHub

Q33112: Removing BACKUP.??? and CONTROL.??? from a Backup Disk

Article: Q33112
Product(s): Microsoft Disk Operating System
Version(s): MS-DOS:3.x,4.x,5.0
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): 
Last Modified: 17-DEC-2000

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft MS-DOS operating system versions 3.1, 3.2, 3.21, 3.3, 3.3a, 4.0, 4.01, 5.0 
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY
=======

When the BACKUP command from MS-DOS versions 3.x and later are used, it creates
two files on the disk in which to store information. These files are BACKUP.???
and CONTROL.???, where the ??? are replaced with disk-sequence number in the
backup (e.g. 001, 002, 003, etc.).

When backing up to a hard drive, these files both have the extension .001 and are
always placed in a subdirectory called \BACKUP. These files are protected from
accidental erasure by setting them with a read-only flag. If you want to delete
these files from a disk without reformatting, you must use the ATTRIB command to
clear the read-only flag. The following is an example of how to use the ATTRIB
command:

  ATTRIB -R CONTROL.???
  ATTRIB -R BACKUP.???

After using the ATTRIB command to clear the read-only flags on the files, use the
DEL command to delete the files.

Additional query words: 3.30 3.30a 4.00 5.00 noupd

======================================================================
Keywords          :  
Technology        : kbMSDOSSearch kbMSDOS321 kbMSDOS400 kbMSDOS320 kbMSDOS330a kbMSDOS310 kbMSDOS500 kbMSDOS330 kbMSDOS401
Version           : MS-DOS:3.x,4.x,5.0

=============================================================================

THE INFORMATION PROVIDED IN THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND. MICROSOFT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. IN NO EVENT SHALL MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER INCLUDING DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS OR SPECIAL DAMAGES, EVEN IF MICROSOFT CORPORATION OR ITS SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR CONSEQUENTIAL OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES SO THE FOREGOING LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY.