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Delete files from your backup archive

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Overview

To help protect your data from loss, Code42 automatically backs up every version of every file across all your computers. The Code42 agent allows unlimited retention of your backed up files, but there are times that you may want to delete files from your backup archive. This article explains ways that you can remove files from a backup destination or remove a backup destination entirely.

Considerations

  • This article assumes you have permission to change your backup file selection, frequency and version settings, and backup destinations. Your administrator may prevent editing of these settings by locking backup settings.
  • On Mac devices, deleted files are not removed from the backup archive until a file verification scan runs. To help ensure the scan runs on a regular basis, make sure the Verify selection every setting is scheduled for a time when the device is on.

Options to remove files

The Code42 agent provides three ways to remove files from your backup destinations:

  • By deselecting files, you can choose specific files and folders that you no longer want to back up.
  • By removing files that have been deleted from your computer, you can reduce the size of your backup archive and make your backup more efficient.
  • By removing a backup destination, you can completely remove an archive from a backup destination and delete all backups stored there.
Deleting files
Each of the methods described in this article involve deleting files or destinations from your backup. Use caution when following these steps as there is no way to recover your files once they are removed from your backup.

Deselect files

There are times that you may choose to remove specific locations or files from your backup. For example, since the Code42 agent automatically selects your entire user folder for backup, you may want to remove your downloads folder from your backup selection to prevent every downloaded file from backing up. Backing up unnecessary files and folders uses more bandwidth, more storage at the destination, and slows down the backup of your other important files.

Deselecting files
  • You should only deselect files that you want to permanently and immediately remove from your backup archive.
  • There is no way to recover deselected files.
  • You will lose any historical versions associated with the deselected folders and files.

Steps

  1. Go to Manage Files. 
  2. (Optional) Click the options menu options menu and select Show hidden files to view hidden files.
  3. Navigate to the drive, folder, or files that you want to add or remove, then:
    • Deselect the check box next to any item you want to delete from your backup.
    • Select an empty box to add an item to your backup.
    • A minus sign deselected indicates that a subfolder within this folder is selected for backup. New subfolders within the folder will not be automatically added to your backup file selection.
    • A check mark selected indicates that this folder is selected for backup. New subfolders within the folder will be automatically added to your backup file selection.

    Manage Files

  4. Click Save.
    If you deselected any files or folders, the Delete Files from Backup warning displays.
  5. If applicable, select I understand to confirm you want to delete deselected files from your backup.

    Delete files from backup message

  6. If applicable, select Delete.
    After changing the file selection, the Code42 agent synchronizes the files selected for backup with the files already backed up to that destination.
Removing deselected files
The deselected files will be removed from your backup archive the next time maintenance runs on the destination. (For Code42 cloud destinations, maintenance runs every 60 days. 

To manually start maintenance and remove the files more quickly, see Remove unwanted versions immediately below.

Remove files that have been deleted from your computer

You can change settings so that files deleted from your computer are never removed from your backup archive. This prevents accidental data loss when something is removed from your computer.

However, you can change the deleted files retention setting to remove deleted files from your backup archive after a specific amount of time. For example, you may decide that you want to keep deleted files for only 90 days. This gives you 90 days to restore any files in your backup file selection that are no longer on your computer.

Deselecting deleted files
If you would like to remove individual files or folders from your backup, but you do not want to change your deleted files setting, you must:
  1. Restore the deleted file.
  2. Deselect the files from your backup selection using the steps above.

Considerations

  • Removing deleted files more frequently reduces the size of your backup archive and makes your backup more efficient.
  • While you can change settings to ensure deleted files are never removed from your archive, you should not use the Code42 agent as a data archive service.
  1. Sign in to the Code42 agent. 
  2. Select settings button Settings.
  3. Select Backup Sets.
  4. Next to Frequency & Versions, click Change. 
    Note: Your administrator may prevent editing the frequency and versions settings. 
  5. Change the Remove deleted files setting to something more frequent, such as every 90 days.
    In this example, any files deleted from your computer more than 90 days ago will be removed from your backup archive the next time maintenance runs on the destination. (For Code42 cloud destinations, maintenance runs every 60 days.) To manually start maintenance and remove the files more quickly, see Remove unwanted versions immediately below.
  6. Click Save.
    Remove deleted files after 90 days

Remove a backup destination

If you back up to multiple destinations, you may decide that you want to free up space at a destination by removing a destination from the backup set settings. This is also useful if one of your backup destinations is no longer available or has been decommissioned. 

Steps

  1. Sign in to the Code42 agent.
  2. Select settings button Settings.
  3. Select Backup Sets.
  4. For Destinations click Change.
  5. Deselect a destination.
  6. Click Save.

Remove unwanted versions immediately 

When you remove files from your backup selection or change your version retention settings, the files are not actually removed from your archive until the next time archive maintenance runs on the destination. For Code42 cloud destinations, maintenance runs every 60 days. 

If you want these files to be removed from your archive more quickly, run maintenance on the destination.

Steps

  1. Sign in to the Code42 agent.
  2. Select settings button Settings.
  3. Click Destinations.
  4. Choose Run Maintenance.
    The Code42 agent sends a request to that destination to immediately remove unwanted versions from the backup archive.