backups in win2000

It may seem absurd to some of you but after months trying I have not been able to do a scheduled backup with windows 2000. Has anyone managed to make it work? Have we been tricked into using a “buy it yourself” backup utility (arc serve or backup exec)?
I have a Compaq proliant ML370 with a dat 12/24 drive.
I have used the evaluation version or Arc Serve and it works fine, but if I supposedly have that feature in my OS I don?t want to invest again.