XP Home Edition - ntbackup.msi

  • Thread starter Thread starter Kate
  • Start date Start date
Kate wrote:
> "Shenan Stanley" <newshelper@gmail.com> wrote in
> message
> news:uzo$mMOOIHA.5208@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>> Kate wrote:
>>> I am thinking of installing the above Backup
>>> utility. Can anyone
>>> confirm that it saves in the file`s native format,
>>> please?
>>
>> By, "...it saves in the file's native format...", do
>> you mean it
>> makes an uncompressed/unchanged copy of the files?
>> Just like you
>> would using the copy/move/xcopy/etc commands?
>>
>> As far as I know - NTBackup puts everything into
>> .BKF files - for
>> which you need to use NTBackup (or another utility
>> that will read
>> the data from such files) to get the data back out.
>>
>> --
>> Shenan Stanley
>> MS-MVP
>> --
>> How To Ask Questions The Smart Way
>> http://www.catb.org/~esr/faqs/smart-questions.html
>>
>
> That is what I feared. I currently use a backup
> program which saves
> files in its own format, which means that if I need
> to restore
> anything, I have to use the same software. Nor can I
> see or open what
> has been saved. I want to back up, say, compressed
> .tiffs as
> compressed .tiffs, .docs as .docs, etc, so I guess
> that I shall have
> to manually copy/move what I wish to back up and make
> sure I keep
> up-to-date, rather than being able to automate it. I
> have about 7GB
> of data that I want to copy to an external hard
> drive. Is
> Ctrl+drag-and-drop a reliable method do you know,
> please, or can you
> recommend a better method?
>
> Thanks for getting back to me.
> Kate

WinZip still has a free version and works on all
windows versions AFAIK if that's your concern.
Another product, called PowerDesk is great for
keeping files between drives syncced, etc.
 
Kate wrote:
>
>>>
>>> Oh dear, I`m even more undecided now! I have been running
>>> scheduled backups on a QIC tapedrive for years, using
>>> Yosemitetech`s Tapeware, but the tapes are very expensive, do not
>>> last all that long, and backups were giving me a lot of grief
>>> recently. So, I bought an external USB 2.0 HD and downloaded a
>>> trial version of Yosemitetech`s Backup Desktop. Then someone
>>> pointed out that, as all my backups are in the Yosemite format, I
>>> am now obliged to use their software in order to do restores should
>>> they prove necessary. It also occurred to me that, as I cannot
>>> view the backed up files either on tape or the HD, I cannot know if
>>> they are correct. I have to take it on trust that they are. Hence,
>>> I thought that if I copied them in their native format, I would be
>>> able to check that they had saved correctly. I don`t really need
>>> to synchronise my files, I suppose, but I thought it would be
>>> easier than trying to remember to save two copies of every new or
>>> changed file. Incidentally, I shall still back up to tape as well,
>>> and I also burn our photos on DVD. It might be overkill, but I
>>> shall then have three different types of media to choose to restore
>>> from in the event of a disaster. Can`t be too careful!
>>>
>> You abaolutely can't be too careful! I don't know of any backup
>> software that doesn't allow you to 'look inside' a backup in some
>> way, and it is always good to make a file copy as well.
>>
> When I said that I cannot view the files that have been backed up, I
> meant that I cannot open them to see if they are OK. It *is* possible
> to see a list of files in an archive. It looks as though these
> archives are in RAR format, so now I am wondering if I should buy the
> WinRAR software. Too many choices! <sigh>
>
> I had hoped that with the Yosemitetech software I could restore to a
> different location, e.g. unpack to the external HD, but it only allows
> restores to the file`s original location on the PC.
>
> You have all been very helpful and the various ideas and advice will
> help me to make a more informed choice, although I shall probably not
> go with the synchronisation option after all, as that means the
> software and external HD will be running continuously and my puny
> system and the HD may not be up to it.
>
There is free RAR software, but it may be that within the RAR there will
be proprietary format - the Yosemitech software does do
differential/incremental backups from the web site (ie only backing up
*changed* files).

As regards sync software, consider whether or not you need
minute-by-minute synchronisation or whether once or twice a day would be
sufficient. The HD *should* be up to continuous operation, by the way..

Cheers,

Cliff

--

Have you ever noticed that if something is advertised as 'amusing' or
'hilarious', it usually isn't?
 
"Enkidu" <enkidu.com@com.cliffp.com> wrote in message
news:475b1fbe$1@news2.actrix.gen.nz...
> Kate wrote:
>> When I said that I cannot view the files that have been backed up,
>> I meant that I cannot open them to see if they are OK. It *is*
>> possible to see a list of files in an archive. It looks as though
>> these archives are in RAR format, so now I am wondering if I should
>> buy the WinRAR software. Too many choices! <sigh>
>>
>> I had hoped that with the Yosemitetech software I could restore to
>> a different location, e.g. unpack to the external HD, but it only
>> allows restores to the file`s original location on the PC.
>>
>> You have all been very helpful and the various ideas and advice
>> will help me to make a more informed choice, although I shall
>> probably not go with the synchronisation option after all, as that
>> means the software and external HD will be running continuously and
>> my puny system and the HD may not be up to it.
>>

> There is free RAR software, but it may be that within the RAR there
> will be proprietary format - the Yosemitech software does do
> differential/incremental backups from the web site (ie only backing
> up *changed* files).
>
> As regards sync software, consider whether or not you need
> minute-by-minute synchronisation or whether once or twice a day
> would be sufficient. The HD *should* be up to continuous operation,
> by the way..
>
> Cheers,
>
> Cliff
>
Hallo, Cliff

I thought that I would have to keep SyncToy running all the time. If
it could be scheduled to run once a day that would be very useful. I
did download a trial version of WinRAR, but it couldn`t unscramble the
backup archive. All I got was a page of gobbledygook, so it looks as
if you are right and there is a proprietary format within the RAR
file. However, quite by chance, I have discovered that in Yosemite
Backup Desktop I *can* restore to a different directory after all (it
was a right-click, which never occurred to me), so I could do so to my
external HD if I wished and have some things, like photos, in their
native format and the rest as an archive.

Kate
 
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