Connect to your local SQL Server database with Management Studio Open Object Explorer if it is not opened yet by hitting 'F8' key and navigate to your database. Right-click the database, point to "Tasks," and select "Back Up." On the "General" page of Back Up Database window verify the "Database" name in the drop-down box is set to the database you want to back up. Set the "Backup type" to 'Full'; select "Database" radio button under "Backup component" label; Leave the Options under "Backup set" sections as they are. In the "Destination" section select Backup to "Disk" radio button and set the destination of your backup ending up with a file name with .BAK extension. Make sure you choose only one destination directory. Remove all destinations if there are any and click the "Add" button Click the "..." button and navigate to the desired destination where you want your backup to be saved Give your backup a name with a .BAK extension, e.g. AdventureWorks.BAK. Click OK, then OK again Go to "Option" page and select "Overwrite all existing backup sets" radio button. Under Reliability section, check "Verify backup when finished" and "Perform checksum before writing to media" check-boxes. If you are running Enterprise or Developer versions of SQL Server 2008, you can select "Compress Backup" under Compression settings.
