Delete specific backed up files from a backup set?

[mbernhardt]

We are using v11 for Windows. We accidentally backed up many GB of unnecessary files from a particular server, one of many servers that were backed up. I don't want to just recycle the backup set and start over. I have added the evil directory to the list of items to ignore going forward. But I would like to remove it from the backup in order to save space on the destination. Can I do that and if so, how? I don't want to wait for grooming to age it out.

[Lennart_T]

As far as I know, there is no way to delete just a directory.

 

What you could do is:

Start another backup set, perhaps a temporary one.

Copy/Transfer your current backup set to the new one using a filter that excludes the directory in question.

Then use the new backup set for your backups OR copy/transfer the files back to the original set and then "forget" the temporary backup set.

[mbernhardt]

Hopw about deletling all of a single client's files from the backup set? Is that possible? Then I would just back up the client again.

[Lennart_T]

You can forget all of a client's snapshots, provided you have a disk backup set.

 

From the top of my head:

Go to Configure->Backup set

Select the first snapshot from this client. 

Click on "Forget". Wait a few minutes.

Select the next snapshot from this client. 

Click on "Forget". Wait a few minutes.

Repeat until all snapshots have been forgotten.

In order to actually regain the space, you must now groom the backup set.

[Scillonian]

You would only need to delete the snapshots back to and including the date when the 'evil' folder backup first occurred. (Snapshots before this date will not include the 'evil' folder.)

[mbernhardt]

Thanks. I deleted all of the snapshots, let it groom, and now I'm backing up the server again. I'm good! Not sure if this is new or not, but Retrospect actually asked me if I wanted to groom the backup set after I deleted the snapshots.