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From: dorner@pequod.cso.uiuc.edu (Steve Dorner)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.appletalk
Subject: Re: Summary: Backup via network
Message-ID: <1542@garcon.cso.uiuc.edu>
Date: 24 Jul 89 14:13:57 GMT
References: <1989Jul21.014826.19864@comp.vuw.ac.nz> <4352*kenw@noah.arc.cdn>
Sender: news@garcon.cso.uiuc.edu
Reply-To: dorner@pequod.cso.uiuc.edu (Steve Dorner)
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Lines: 48

In article <4352*kenw@noah.arc.cdn> kenw@noah.arc.CDN (Ken Wallewein) writes:
>1.  HFS Backup 3.0 
> ...
>   I'm testing it now.  It does what they say, but I don't like either the  
>   manual or the user interface.

I've been using this product for some time (and its predecessor for
even longer).  If I had money to spare, I would certainly find SOMETHING
ELSE.  Following is a summary of why I don't like the program.

"I don't like the manual" must be the understatement of the year, rivalled
only by "I don't like the user interface."  Both are ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE.

Worse than that, the program has bugs, and doesn't do what you expect or
want.  Let me list a few:

1. If you backup to floppies (I know the poster didn't), don't use the
"Overwrite" format.  After a few backups to a set of floppies, the program
becomes confused, and further backups fail.  Also, you will spend a lot of
time swapping floppies ("Gimme #1.  Now #8.  Oops, I want #1 again.  Now #8.
How about #1 again? ...").

2. The timed backups don't always find network volumes, even when they are
mounted just fine.

3. The program has a fairly nice set of filters; for example, it lets you
omit system files and applications (which are presumably replaceable from
original disks).  The trouble is, if you create a backup using these filters,
the program doesn't save a list of your FILTERS, it saves a list of the FILES
it backed up.  If you try to do an incremental backup, it will only backup
files that are already in the backup set.  Newly created files, even if they
match the filters, WILL BE OMITTED from the incremental backups.  This is
so wrong-headed I find it hard to believe.  (In fairness, the manual mumbles
something about this, but you never know exactly what the manual is trying
to say, and whether it really means what is seems to say, so I didn't believe
it at first.)

4. The pretty "splash screen" confuses MacroMaker, so you can't even automate
backup using MacroMaker (unless you are cleverer than I).

I do still use the program; I find I can get a real-live incremental backup
by a combination of MacroMaker and manual intervention.  But there is no
way that I can use HFS Backup for unattended backups to network volumes.

-- 
Steve Dorner, U of Illinois Computing Services Office
Internet: s-dorner@uiuc.edu  UUCP: {convex,uunet}!uiucuxc!dorner
IfUMust:  (217) 244-1765