We recommend backing up your Informant database to protect against and minimize data loss due to unexpected events such as power outages, server crashes, and other unforeseen circumstances.


Backup options


You can back up your database manually at any time using Microsoft's SQL Server Management Studio, which this article will cover.


There are also several third-party backup solutions on the market that can be used to automate SQL Server backups: we recommend you consult with your local IT professional for help setting up an automated backup solution.


Back up your database with SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS)


Log into SQL Server Management Studio


  1. Log into the server or computer where your Informant database is located. Note: You'll need to log in with the same Windows user account that was used when the Informant database was first installed.
  2. Open SQL Server Management Studio:
    • Click the Windows Start menu.
    • Type "SQL Server Management Studio" and select SQL Server Management Studio when it appears.
    • If you do not have SQL Server Management Studio installed, you can download and install it from Microsoft's website: Download SQL Server Management Studio
  3. In the Connect to Server dialog, make sure "Windows Authentication" is selected for Authentication and click Connect.

  4. If you get the error "The certificate chain was issued by an authority that is not trusted," click OK.


    Click Options << and select "Trust server certificate", then click Connect again:


Back up the Informant20 database


  1.  Double-click the Databases folder in the Object Explorer pane on the left-hand side to expand the list of databases:


  2. Right-click the Informant20 database and select Tasks > Back Up...:


  3. Under Destination, click Add to specify a location and filename for the backup file. If you have previously backed up the database, a filename will already be filled in here: in that case, you can choose to backup the database to the same backup file, or click Remove and then Add to specify a different filename, which is useful if you want to append a date to the backup file name.


  4. In the next window, click OK to back up the database.
  5. Depending on the size of your database, the backup may completed within a few seconds or may take longer to finish. Once the backup finishes, you'll see the following message:


  6. We recommend copying the backup file to a removable drive for safekeeping and/or to a cloud backup service and backing up your database regularly to ensure you always have a recent backup file available.