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From: ngg@bridge2.UUCP
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: Hard Disk Backup blunder
Message-ID: <390@bridge2.bridge>
Date: Tue, 14-Apr-87 14:58:32 EST
Article-I.D.: bridge2.390
Posted: Tue Apr 14 14:58:32 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 17-Apr-87 05:35:52 EST
References: <2864@ecsvax.UUCP>
Organization: Bridge Communication, Mt. View, California
Lines: 79
Summary: Backup Problems? Use DiskFit!

In article <2864@ecsvax.UUCP>, acs@ecsvax.UUCP (Deanna Bowman) writes:
> 
> I recently had a major disaster backing up my HD20. I was using HD
> Backup 1.2 software. HD Backup backs up the HD by combining files
> into and compressing them into the data fork of a "Storage File".
> There is a storage file on every disk that is used in the backup.
> Here's the rub; HD Backup saves a directory of these compressed, 
> backed up files on the last disk of your back up set. Well, I
> performed a backup, saved the backup directory onto my last disk and
> went about my business. When I went to restore, my directory disk 
> was zapped and thus has rendered my backup set useless. 
> Wayne Fee Applachian State Univ.

Your are not the only Hard disk user that has experienced the horror of
a useless backup set because of a munched backup directory and file formats
that you cannot restore to normal without the backup program and then the
stupid program won't even think of working with out a backup directory. Why
can't it just read the file that it creates and restore it anyway if the
backup directory is damaged? HFS Backup, HD backup and other are all guilty
of changing the file format for some reason, I have not seen in any of the
backup programs I have tried any significant compression when it changes the
file format. Usually just some sort of headache if a disk fails and you lose
your backup, and your data, not to mention maybe your sanity... 

But there is hope on the Horizon.....

	SuperMac Software has released DiskFit!! This is without a doubt
	the best Hard Disk utility to date! Its a "Smart" Disk backup that
	creates a "Smart Backup Set". Never again will you wind up with
	a backup set that grows to phenomenal proportions as you continue
	to do incremental backups, dreading the day that you will have to
	create a new set to eliminate this growing pile of floppies. If 
	you have a 20 meg HD, a complete backup can take 45-60 minutes. 
	Even longer with Larger Hard disks. 

	It has the capabilty to create either Full or Document only backups.
	It will create a Report of your backup and Place the resulting
	text file in the System Folder at the completion of the Backup.
	I think the one of the more important feature of this program is
	ALL FILES ARE LEFT IN NORMAL MACINTOSH FORMAT!! They can be Finder
	copied back to the HD, should you lose your file and need a copy
	from your backup. This is where the Backup Report Comes in handy.
	Locating the Disk that the File is on. The Exception to this is
	an occasional File that DiskFit must break over 2 disks, and its
	not that difficult to re-join the files as DiskFit provides this
	option on the File menu. 

	Another major advantage of DiskFit is; it always uses the same set
	of disks for your incremental backups as it does for your initial
	backup. The only time after your First backup does DiskFit ask for
	more Disks is if you have added a significant amount of Data to your
	HD. When Starting an incremental backup, Diskfit scans the HD, locates
	all files that have changed since the last backup, it compares it to
	A file it created during your first backup called DiskFit Info located
	in the System folder, you insert the first disk of the backup set, 
	and Diskfit wil then only ask for the floppies it needs to update to
	match the current condition of the HD. If you need archivability in
	your backups, you would need to create a couple of sets, but this
	is no problem at all, as you can chose your sets if you have more
	than one. As it incremenatally backups, it selectivly deletes the
	changed files and replaces it with the current file, and if you have
	deleted a file from the HD, it will be removed from the backup set.
	If the new file take more space than it originally did it will be
	located elsewhere within the set. Restores are nice as well, when
	you do a backup, followed by a restore, the HD looks EXACTLY as you
	left it after the last backup. Other Backups, seem to leave a mess
	Files not located in folders properly, messy folders. Not so with
	DiskFit. 

	Give it a try...Its a little more spendy than the current crop
	of HD backup Utilities, but worth it....



-- 
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           Norman Goodger @Bridge Communications    !bridge2!ngg
           (415) 969 4400 Ex:445       Sysop-MACINFO BBS @415-795-8862
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