Re: Backup

[Otis Port oport@xxxxxxxx]

I had sent this to Norman privately, as backup seems a bit
off-topic. But since it continues...

  All my backups are on old hard drives. Each time I upgrade
a HD, the old one goes into a removable tray...
  In addition, each PC has a removable HD that's always running.
I have a batch file that uses xxcopy to selectively update the
DIRs that change frequently, and run it several times a day
(usually when I head for the kitchen and a cup of coffee).
Full-disk backups happen on weekends.
  Most/all flavors of Win won't allow backups to HDs (unlike
OS/2), so you have to use some other backup program. For NT4
(and W95, iirc), there's Novaboot/Novadisk; have had it for
ages, so there may be better options out there now.
  I also keep one mirror of each PC's boot drive (not backup
files, but actual working copies of everything). That way, if
a main HD goes belly-up on deadline, I can unplug its power
line, insert the removable tray with the mirror HD, and reboot.

  Computer Gate (www.computergate.com) is good source for
removable tray/caddy sets. If you want to buy a cheap HD for
backup, check the bargain bin at www.driveguys.com.

  The software for doing selective updates, xxcopy, comes in
both 32- and 16-bit versions. There are switches for copying
new/newer files only, for deleting files no longer on the source
drive, for copying hidden/system/read-only files, etc. Got mine
from either ZDnet or Simtel.
  -otis
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