Windows NT and all subsequent versions of Windows including Windows 2000, Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 use an inbuilt backup tool called NTBackup to back up important files and folders. You can also integrate it with a Task Scheduler and use various command line switches to automate regular backups using this backup utility. It creates backup files in .bkf format. Sometimes corruption may occur in the BKF files. This would prevent you from restoring your precious data back from these backup files. To recover and restore your valuable data in such situations, you need to perform BKF repair of your corrupt BKF file through any third party tool.
When you run several instances of NTBackup utility simultaneously on a Windows 2000-based computer and then perform restore from all the backup sets at exactly the same time, you may receive any of the following error messages:
The backup file contains unrecognized data and cannot be used
OR
The backup file is unusable. You must erase it, or choose another file
Cause:
Catalog files that appear inside the Restore tab of NTBackup tool are created for every backup operation and help you to restore backup sets. When you try to run several backup jobs at the same time, all the catalogs share the same timestamp attribute. The catalog file created for the first backup set only appears inside the Restore tab in the NTBackup tool. Catalog files for other backup sets do not appear inside the Restore tab. Also, you cannot re-create these when any of the other backups that were created at the same time already exists inside the Restore tab.
Missing catalog files may cause the BKF files to corrupt. In such situations, you may not be able to restore all your vital data. You may need to repair corrupt BKF file to access your data all over again. First you should try resolving the above errors by following the below mentioned resolution steps.
Resolution:
Try to log in to your system from a different user account which has permissions to perform the restore. Then try to create catalog file for only the backup set from which you want to restore.
Go to the Restore tab.
Right-click File.
Now click Catalog File.
Choose the desired BKF file and click OK.
If these steps fail to resolve the error, you should ultimately take help of an efficient backup repair tool. These software can easily repair and restore BKF files created by NTBackup utility. They use advanced scanning algorithms and have the feature to save the scan information in a DAT file which can be used later.
Stellar BKF Repair Software is a comprehensive utility that repairs corrupt or damaged BKF files to recover the valuable backed up data. It searches for the BKF file in the system and also enables you to preview all the recoverable files after the scanning process completes. It is compatible with Windows 7, Vista, Server 2003, XP, and 2000.
I am Laren Daniel, professional author writes articles for Software handing issues such as file corruption, application malfunction and provides informations regarding best recovery softwares to repair corrupt BKF files.