Important Backup options
INIT
Specifies that all backup sets should be overwritten, but preserves the media header. If INIT is specified, any existing backup set data on that device is overwritten.
The backup media is not overwritten if any one of the following conditions is met:
- All backup sets on the media have not yet expired. For more information, see the EXPIREDATE and RETAINDAYS options.
- The backup set name given in the BACKUP statement, if provided, does not match the name on the backup media. For more information, see the NAME clause.
Use the SKIP option to override these checks. For more information about interactions when using SKIP, NOSKIP, INIT, and NOINIT, see the Remarks section.
Note If the backup media is password protected, SQL Server does not write to the media unless the media password is supplied. This check is not overridden by the SKIP option. Password-protected media may be overwritten only by reformatting it. For more information, see the FORMAT option.
