« Back to Glossary Index
An Archive Bit is a file attribute used by operating systems to indicate whether a file has been modified since the last backup. When a file is created or changed, the system sets the archive bit to “on”. Backup software can then identify these marked files and include them in the next backup operation. After a successful backup, the software typically resets the bit to “off”, signaling that the file has been archived. This mechanism helps manage incremental backups efficiently by only targeting files that have changed.
« Back to dictionary
