Automated backup, be patient to read this :)
Results 1 to 5 of 5

Thread: Automated backup, be patient to read this :)

  1. #1
    Registered User TechZ's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Bahrain, Middle East
    Posts
    7,525

    Automated backup, be patient to read this :)

    I have never been the sort of person who likes automating tasks on a pc, like Automative Scans of HDD at a specified time, Automatic Backup, Auo Defrags, it just doesnt make sense for a HOME user! THis is mainly because to run these automated tasks, my pc would have to be on at that time, but there is no guaranteed time that my pc is on, so how can I automated tasks, and how about disk intensive tasks, like defrag and AV scans running while I'm playing a game or using the PC? The problem is that reliable mediums of data backup, digital medium like MMC/SD/CF Memory are just not big enough and if they are, they are hugely expensive. HD have the least guarantees when it comes to how long they can can run w/o a sudden and complete breakdown, if my cpu dies, or my vga card dies, just swap in another one and all your data is still there, but if my hd dies, my handy backup is the most important thing i can rely on at that time. And the continuous change in formats is really getting to me, I was unlucky enough to get sucked into the 3M format of those SUperdisks, 120MB floppy size disks, that was a waste of money. Then CD's come along, now I have 100's of cd's of data/audio/video that I dont want to lose, so they come up with DVD, I havent moved to DVD yet, because, yes there are still the two standards, and after seeing how many problems the WD forum gets on DVD related issues, not anytime soon for me, thats for sure. Now we have Double Layer and Blu Ray disks too, so the most effective and easy way to backup is another hdd, hence my recent purchase of another 120gb hdd and external enclosure, atleast i have some comfort that the data on my desktop can be easily backed up simply by copy and paste, instead of burning it do cdrw's again and again, which takes very, very long. Well coming to the end of my rant, i feel better and hope that data backup can be made easier using an alternative to HDD and External Media like CD's and DVD's. AND NO WAY AM I CONSIDERING TAPE DRIVES!!


    So, to get to the point of my Rant, I'm looking for backup software, that lets me choose the files and folder that i want to backup and just copies them, thats it only copies them to a preselected location, no marking them, or making them into one image like windows backup. Simple copy and paste, i wanted to make a batch file, but since we are in the world of GUI, why not get an app to do it.

  2. #2
    Registered User InTheWayBoy's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2000
    Location
    Jacksonville, FL USA
    Posts
    435
    Forget where I saw this first (Probably in this forum somewhere) but the little I've used this so far it sounds like it's right up your alley...and it's free!

    http://www.ascomp.net/index.php?php=...backupmaker.en

    But in the end, I would probably just make a few batch files...simple, effective, and straight to the point...I think that's my news station slogan Good luck!

  3. #3
    Registered User Jeff316's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jul 2004
    Location
    Birmingham, AL
    Posts
    65

    Here's what I use

    Quote Originally Posted by TechZ
    .......
    So, to get to the point of my Rant, I'm looking for backup software, that lets me choose the files and folder that i want to backup and just copies them, thats it only copies them to a preselected location, no marking them, or making them into one image like windows backup. Simple copy and paste, i wanted to make a batch file, but since we are in the world of GUI, why not get an app to do it.
    OK, it's a perl script not a batch file or a GUI - but I use this to backup to a USB flash drive at work and an external HDD at home. It syncs the files/directories so you'll have identical stuff in each place, but feel free to hack the file to suit your needs - I put some instructions in the comments and the code is pretty simple since a module does all of the heavy lifting. I use the windows scheduled task and a simple batch file to automate it:

    http://bellsouthpwp.net/j/h/jhbratt/fsync.txt

    I'm not an expert perl guy by any means so there is probably a more elegant solution out there. Also a few more of my scripts at http://jeffbratton.com - just click the link that says "scripting for fun and profit"

  4. #4
    Registered User TechZ's Avatar
    Join Date
    Apr 2003
    Location
    Bahrain, Middle East
    Posts
    7,525
    Thanks a bunch and nice to see i didnt have to explain myself further!

  5. #5
    Registered User ironwill99's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2002
    Location
    <funny location>
    Posts
    143
    I found a program called workgroup backup on download.com that seems to work OK. I am evaluating it now for a customer who needs a free backup solution that doesn't try to compress files. It looks like it only works when the system is idle. There is no scheduling options other than specifying when you don't want it to run.

    I prefer to use hard drives for backups over tape or optical media these days. They are a lot faster and cheaper and the odds of both crashing at the same time are small.
    I'm a rage-aholic! I just can't live without rage-ahol! -Homer Simpson

Similar Threads

  1. liteon 40x cdr can burn but cannot read
    By tooneyville in forum CD-ROM/CDR(-W)/DVD Drivers
    Replies: 7
    Last Post: November 2nd, 2003, 06:29 AM
  2. Replies: 2
    Last Post: May 26th, 2002, 12:58 AM
  3. HELP- REWARD - Need to repair a QIC backup file!
    By ellingtond in forum Tech-To-Tech
    Replies: 9
    Last Post: November 21st, 2001, 06:33 PM
  4. Windows 2000 Backup software
    By ClickHere2Surf.com in forum Windows NT/2000
    Replies: 6
    Last Post: July 9th, 2001, 10:29 PM
  5. Wacky backup problem...
    By Underseer in forum Tech-To-Tech
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: May 18th, 2001, 09:09 AM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •