Backing Up My Files Question

[Quasimodem]

That's what I am right now doing, but the program is asking me to schedule backups, like weekly and wants to know what time. Does that mean I have to put a disc in every week, or does it just remember the new files?

Dumb question, huh?

Thanks

Q

[BeaMyra]

What are you backing up to? DVDs? Or an external hard drive?

Your back up program should indicate what you want to do. You can do a back up that overwrites all your files, each time you back it up, or the program should have something that will determine new files (and those files which were updated since your last back up) and it will just add those new and updated files to your back up

[Quasimodem]

BeaMyra,

I am backing up to DVD.

Also, I just finished the first disk and it asked for the second, and the D drive wouldn't open the tray. By the time I looked up how to fix it (paperclip into hole) it gave me a message telling me the backup was unsuccessful, so I am having run the files on disk 1 again.

I could have also just restarted the computer and made it eject. I will do that at the end of this run.

Also, what is "making a shadow copy" and what's it do?

Thanks for the help and info, BeaMyra!

Quasi

[Quasimodem]

Update:

Well, damn! This will be the third time I will have tried to back up my files, due to the fact the tray won't open.

I guess part of the files are on the 1st disk, but I can't get the computer to restart fast enough to get the 2nd disc in so the tray will open and it always starts me back at the beginning. The tray DOES open upon restart but won't when I am prompted to insert disc 2. Can anyone help me with this?

Thanks

Q

[Quasimodem]

Sorry, answered you wrong, BeaMyra. I'm backing up to CD not DVD, and I finally got the tray to open on its own and it is now backing up on Disc 2. Sorry for the mistake, and thanks again!

Q

[Quasimodem]

Giving up.

I got the 2nd cd in and thought I was fine, but then it aborted in the middle and sent me back to start disc 1 again. I guess my d drive is defective.

Thanks

Q

[Nunzio Tavulari]

To answer part of your question... This applies to Windows but I have every expectation that Apple works the same way. When the backup completes successfully, it will set and attribute on the files saying that they have been backed up. If the file changes at all (and many system files change frequently), the attribute is automatically removed. Your next backup will do what you've asked it to, but the programs can be set to back up ALL files or just files modified/created since the last backup.

There isn't enough information for me to determine what happened to your backup, but when it completes, the programs frequently ask you to re-insert the first disc. That may be for file verification or to read the serial number on the disk, I don't know.

I've had similar problems with optical disk backups and I can't advise a solution to yours. I now use Retrospect, which was bundled with an external hard drive, to to drive-to-drive backups. One product I've used that worked fairly well is Backup To DVD/CD/Flash by Willowsoft. The advantage is that you can stop in the middle and accept what you've backed up to that point. Most other programs must be run to completion and if you stop in the middle they are useless. This is frustrating when you run out of discs in the middle, or you have to go somewhere and want to stop and shut down the computer. Depending on how much data you are backing up, it could take eight hours or more.

DVDs are often a better choice for backups but don't expect to be able to use the full 4.7GB capacity. I'm usually only able to fit 4.2GB on a DVD disc without it asking for a 2nd one. Very frustratuing when it writes only 20 seconds of data on the new volume.

[Quasimodem]

Nunzio,

Thanks for writing, but I don't think this will work for me.

The first thing I noticed was the complexity of the instructions, but I went ahead and tried "Backup Made Simple" anyway, and right away got myself into a mess.

It ran, but then it stopped and all I got was a bunch of "Cannot....." popups, and when I tried to close out of everything, I got the message "Cannot quit". I finally restarted the machine and uninstalled the program.

I'm thinking Carbonite's online backup is going to be the best way to go.

Thanks again!

Quasi

[LynnM]

Quasimodem, I'm curious:

Why do you use CDs instead of thumb drives for backup?

[Quasimodem]

Because I don't know any better, Lynn. I go to Back up and restore on my machine and that's what the directions tell me.

Thanks

Q

[leahcim]

Are you trying to back up your entire hard drive (as opposed to specific files on it)? Because CDs are actually quite small compared to the size of modern hard drives, so you'll need a lot of them (like, hundreds) to cover the whole thing. DVDs are marginally better (dozens instead of hundreds), but not overwhelmingly so.

Originally Posted by Quasimodem

I'm thinking Carbonite's online backup is going to be the best way to go.

I've heard good things about that service. Friend got his computer stolen and had everything restored just fine (computer by insurance, data by Carbonite).