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From: jlc@atux01.UUCP (J. Collymore)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Inefficiency with DiskFit 1.5 during backups
Keywords: Sub-optimal use of free disk space on floppies during inc. backup
Message-ID: <1122@atux01.UUCP>
Date: 11 Apr 89 14:48:59 GMT
Organization: AT&T CSEd/CET, Piscataway, N.J.
Lines: 24

I am having a small problem with DiskFit 1.5.  I use DiskFit 1.5 to backup my
entire 30Mb external hard disk everyday.  Right now I am holding at around 20-
21 Mb on the hard disk.  Optimally, this should require 27 or 28 disks, but
instead it is using about 31 disks.  I find that SOME disks, after doing
incrementals, have anywhere from 50K to 250K unused!  I thought DiskFit was to
shuffle things around so that it weould make maximum use of ALL free space on
the backup disks, but repeatedly since I began using DiskFit 2 years ago, this
in NOT the case!

What I have to do periodically is trash the DiskFit Info file in the system
folder and start my backup FROM SCRATCH to ensure that each disk's space is
used optimally.  At the 21Mb level, this can free up anywhere from 1 to 3 disks
that I was otherwise using in my "SmartSet."  I wish I did NOT have to use this
method, because (with Write Verifies) this procedure takes 45 - 60 minutes for
21Mb!

If Fabian Ramirez, or anyone else working for SuperMac, reads this, please
tell me if there is something else I should be doing to improve optimal use
of my disks, and if not, would SuperMac PLEASE do something to improve this
feature in the next release?

Thank you.

						Jim Collymore