Print Spools

To avoid unnecessarily high data change rates and excessive use of network bandwidth, the print spools need to be excluded from the LiveVault Online Backup and Recovery Service backup.

Excluding the default print spool

LiveVault Online Backup and Recovery Service Agent version 3.3 and later (for Windows 2000 only), Agent version 3.6 (for Windows 2000 and Windows NT 4), and Agent version 4.0 and later (for Windows 2000/2003 and Windows NT 4) automatically exclude the default print spool directory. If you are running an earlier Agent version, you must manually create the exclusion.

In the tree view on the Files to Backup tab, you will see the icon for the automatically excluded directory. Parent directories of the automatically excluded directory are marked in MyLiveVault with one of the "partially excluded" icons, either (if a parent directory is selected), or (if a parent directory is not selected).

Agent version 3.6 and later

The following information is used by Agent version 3.6 and later to automatically exclude the default print spool, and is applicable to both Windows 2000/2003 and Window NT 4. Use this information if you need to manually configure the exclusion.

The default print spool directory is specified in the registry entry:

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Printers value DefaultSpoolDirectory

This is commonly:

%SystemRoot%\system32\spool\printers

For example, if the DefaultSpoolDirectory value is %SystemRoot%\system32\spool\printers and your SystemRoot is C:\Winnt, create the exclusion:

Exclude C:\Winnt\system32\spool\printers\*

Agent version 3.3

In Agent version 3.3, the following information is used to automatically exclude the default print spool for Windows 2000 only.

The default print spool directory is specified in the registry entry:

HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Print\Printers value DefaultSpoolDirectory

For example, if the DefaultSpoolDirectory value is %SystemRoot%\system32\spool\printers and your SystemRoot is C:\Winnt, create the exclusion:

Exclude C:\Winnt\system32\spool\printers\*

Excluding printer-specific print spools

If you have configured print spools on a per-printer basis, then you must manually create exclude rules for each of those print spool directories (because those printers will not use the default print spool).

To identify the print spool directory for a specific printer, look in the registry entry:

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Print\Printers\<specific printer name> value SpoolDirectory

Where <specific printer name> is the name of your printer.

Create the exclusion based on the SpoolDirectory value.

Related Information

Excluding Files from Backup
Automatic and Recommended Backup Exclusions