BS: Backing up files - Help!

Subject: Backing up files - Help!
From: katlaughing
Date: 04 May 00 - 04:22 PM

Need to pick the computer-savvy brains amongst ya.:-)

I went to backup my files and it tells me that I am missing BACKUP.CFG; how to Add/Remove Programs, etc.

When I go to do that, everything shows as instaleld and no prob! smae result as above.

So, I went to reload it from disk and it tells me if I reload my programs from scratch I will lose ALL of my files, which of course are not backed up!!

Next, I went to an official MS download site, chose to download the missing component, installed it, I thought, to no avail!

Help! Do any of you use a full program which you can download for free? Is it any good? Do you like it? How do you do it?

Is it easier just to go into a program, i.e. Works, and do it file by file to A drive?

Aaarrrgghhhhh! Thanks for any help!!

katgrittingherteeth&tryingnottocurse!

Subject: RE: BS: Backing up files - Help!
From: Amos
Date: 04 May 00 - 04:39 PM

Kat:

Depends on the volume you are talking about. The fast and easy way is to have a second hard drive either external or internal which you can update using shareware or just dropping files.

If you are talking <5 MB or so you could just save them off to floppies. Not your application programs, just the documents (images, art, text, whatever. Retrospect is an excellent software package for running backups but I am not sure if it is the Windows arena. I am sure some software is out there for running backups in the shareware arena.

But you don't say what you are backing up TO? The same hard disk as the originals? If so you might want to look for a used tape backup machine that can just plug into a port when you want to use it. Often they come with appropriate backup software and you can rotate three or four tapes so you always have the current lot safe plus a couple of failsafe earlier iterations.

Another option would be a CD burners -- with a 650 MB CD down to about a buck it is viable as a backup system and make music on 'em too. Try to arrange for a different target device than the disk your originals are on.

But the other thing is that it sounds like the BACKUP.CFG file you are referring to is possibly a file which stores configuration variables for the main application. It may be on the hard-disk just not where the application is looking -- try moving it into the same folder as the BACKUP.EXE file so it can find it without going out of its own directory and see if that works.

If it is already there see if you can fire it up by doubleclicking on the BACKUP.CFG file instead of the BACKUP command file.

A

Subject: RE: BS: Backing up files - Help!
From: Homeless
Date: 04 May 00 - 05:33 PM

Kat - what kind of system are you on? What software are you using for backup? What media are you backing onto. Have you ever done a successful backup this way?

Subject: RE: BS: Backing up files - Help!
From: katlaughing
Date: 04 May 00 - 05:49 PM

OH! I thought I'd told you all that! Haha, shows ya what I know.**BG**

First, Amos, CD burner is next on our list to get! Thanks!

Homeless, we have an HP with Pentium II, MS everything. I think I may have unwittingly aced out the original config thing it keeps looking for, a while back.

I will try moving the file, when I find it, as you say to Amos. I was going to save to floppy; don't know how big my files are, except that there are many photos, some of which are on floppy already. As for software: I already have the original CD's or floppies it came on, so could always reload them. I am most concerned about my writing and graphic files.

Hope that is clearer than mud! I am off to try moving things around and see if that works.

Oh, while we're at it, do you know how to save email files to anywhere besides the email programs!? Everytime I try to it just says they'll be copied to THAT program. Lotta good that'd do! I am about to go into DOS and just do it the old-fashioned way like I used to on my old 286 & 386!

Thanks!

Subject: RE: BS: Backing up files - Help!
From: Mary in Kentucky
Date: 04 May 00 - 06:01 PM

kat, I think I saved all my email to floppies, but forgot what I did.

Does anyone have a quick answer for making a program work that requires the share.exe file to work properly? The readme file says to make sure that share.exe is loaded into the autoexec.bat file. This sounds like a file in a file here. What am I missing? Don't waste time on this one...I broke down and registered the program today, so I can call support.

Another related ramble here...a computer guru convinced me to partition my 4 gig hard drive into two drives so everything would be faster. Maybe so, but I've had probems trying to get new installations to work. I suspect it has something to do with sharing files, but a little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and I know just enough to be dangerous.

Subject: RE: BS: Backing up files - Help!
From: Bill D
Date: 04 May 00 - 06:01 PM

here is a nice freeware little backup utility....it might fit some needs....there are others

My Own Backup

Subject: RE: BS: Backing up files - Help!
From: Bill D
Date: 04 May 00 - 06:03 PM

(it also has the cutest little animated snake as an icon..*grin*)

Subject: RE: BS: Backing up files - Help!
From: SeanM
Date: 04 May 00 - 06:08 PM

As far as saving emails, right clicking will (depending on the program) bring up a "Save As" option, or perhaps in the file menu... from there, you can save it pretty much wherever you want.

M

Subject: RE: BS: Backing up files - Help!
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 04 May 00 - 06:56 PM

kat, Plenty of suggestions here but the one I use is Winzip. It is shareware rather than freeware but I like the program and it is caable of producing a compressed archive that spans multile floppy disks. I also find a handy program for compressing files to send via email.

Mary, not sure what the situation with share.exe is now. It used to exist under MS-DOS but I can't find the file on my current Win98 stup.

Re-partitions, I have my 8.4Gb hard disk divided into 3 partitions and I am using 2 of those for Windows (I'm using the 3rd for Linux) and I have not encountered any installation problems under Windows98 using this setup. The only program I have that causes me a problem is one I wrote. I hardcoded into the program that a certain dll would exist in a certain drive/ directory - not a good poclicy but I guess others have done the same as me..

Jon

Subject: RE: BS: Backing up files - Help!
From: katlaughing
Date: 04 May 00 - 07:01 PM

THANKS!!! I am off to look at little green snakes, winzip, etc. I feel like you, Mary, I know just enough to be dangerous and f*** things up!**BG**

Subject: RE: BS: Backing up files - Help!
From: Amos
Date: 04 May 00 - 07:17 PM

Your lives would be so much simpler with a nice little bluegreen I-Mac. Honest....

Subject: RE: BS: Backing up files - Help!
From: Bill D
Date: 04 May 00 - 07:28 PM

our lives would be nice with BOTH an I-MAC and a PC till they get it all standardized,,,

Subject: RE: BS: Backing up files - Help!
From: Mary in Kentucky
Date: 04 May 00 - 07:29 PM

Amos, is that why we haven't heard you on HearMe? *BG*

Subject: RE: BS: Backing up files - Help!
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 04 May 00 - 07:36 PM

Ah Amos - we Windows users get our own special blue screens full of gobeldy-gook - we don't need blue computers.

Jon

Subject: RE: BS: Backing up files - Help!
From: Escamillo
Date: 04 May 00 - 11:54 PM

I vote for WinZip, which I use everyday, because it is very simple and effective: you don´t have to build configuration files or batch jobs, simply click on your folder (in Windows Explorer) and it will suggest you to compress your files to c:\ or to any other place you may want, for example A:
I have a 100Mb IOMEGA internal ZIP drive which you may get for less than $70.00 for the drive, and less than $8.00 each diskette. The rate of compression varies with the kind of information, but you may assume a minimum of 50% and a maximum of 99% reduction, furthermore it compresses full folders, subfolders and files to a single file, which is much more convenient to recognize and keep track of.
For some bucks more you may purchase a second hard drive (or use some discontinued 1 or 2 Gb drive) plus a box called MOBILE RACK (about 15.00) This is in fact two boxes: one goes into an empty 5" bay and should be connected to internal IDE and power supply; the second box allocates your hard drive, then you insert the second box into the first and you have a second drive connected without opening any cabinet, thus you may have as many second boxes with second drives as you want. Myself, installed ALL hard drives this way, so I can take the main drive off and boot a different system. You may find a collection of hard disks in their boxes in my shelves. These devices have made my life easier !
Un abrazo - Andrés

Subject: RE: BS: Backing up files - Help!
From: MK
Date: 05 May 00 - 01:17 AM

Well kat,

I can only speak in terms of my method and what works for me, but I can offer a few suggestions to streamline and focus in on just backing up exactly what it is you need to save, and nothing more.

For instance, to me using a standard disk copying, or windows backing-up program to do your entire hardrive is unecessary. You simply save only the data, txt., media and image files you've created, attached to a given program, and give everything you save it's own folder with a folder name readily identifiable to you. This means forgetting about saving your Windows configuration, and all the application programs and Internet stuff.

Anytime, for whatever reason you need to reformat your hardrive and do a new installation, you should always do a clean install of Windows, and then go in and tweak it (ie: visiting web sites and downloading the latest drivers for all of your peripherals, or backing up these drivers just prior to a reformat/re-install, etc.)

This means getting out Windows Notepad, and systematically going through every critical file or setting you want to retain, and writing in down and saving it as part of the back up. (ie: your internet settings, your email settings, filters, address book, etc.) and, if you have networked computers then you need to record every unit's TCP/IP settings as well as all the bindings, network pathway names, --all the fun stuff you find in Network Neighborhood, etc.

Once I've done all this, and since I have 2 computers in my office, I create a folder on the networked computer and call it "Backups". Nestled within that folder, are many folders containing critical and essential files, with various folder names based on what program they correspond to. For MS Word, I have a "Word" folder, for Eudora I have "Eudora" folder, for pictures I have an "Images" folder, etc.etc.etc.

So as I am continuously working and saving things all the time, I am constantly shooting stuff across the network as well earmarked as back up. Think of backing up, as just part of the "saving" process every time you save a file. You're just saving twice in a row instead of once.
Given the cost of blank CDs now, and with a decent CD Burner, I just take the entire Backups folder with all its subcomponents, and copy it to a blank CD. Takes 5 minutes to put your entire life on 1 CD ---with room to spare.
Anyway, that's the way we dooze it and we likes it! *G*