bates@8702.dec.com (Ken Bates DTN 522-2039) (06/29/86)
I just received a copy of HFS Backup from the MacBottom folks, and in summary,
it's the best backup package I've ever seen for the Mac. Hyperdrive includes a
backup utility with their drive, but in the usual tradition of GCC, the $300
you have to pay them to upgrade to Mac Plus compatible does NOT include the
capability to do HFS backups. Being totally fed up with their support, I went
to MacBottom and found out that their backup is exactly what the doctor
ordered. The $39.95 they charge for the program is dirt cheap for what you get.
Their backup works on a "volume" at a time, where a "volume" is the traditional
partition (drawers, in the case of a hyperdrive). Some of the features of this
package are as follows:
o Backs up either MFS or HFS volumes.
o Allows a "Full" backup, pre-selecting ALL files/folders for backup.
You can go through and de-select individual files/folders before
starting the backup.
o Allows "Selected" backup. Selects NO files, allowing you to select
the ones you wish. Just the inverse of the above; the choice you make
is based on whether you have more files to include or exclude.
o Allows "Last modified" backup. Pre-selects those files which have
been modified (new modification date OR different size than last time).
When you make the selection, a window appears which shows every file/folder on
the volume, in alphabetic order. On HFS volumes, the list is "structured", i.e.,
each folder is indented by two spaces. You have the option of showing all files
in a folder (one more indentation level), or just showing the folder. This is
selectable on a folder basis, of course. For those of us with poor eyesight,
there is even a vertical line downwards from the folders, showing the
indentention level exactly!
As a side note, one thing they mention is that you can find "lost" files using
this program. Simply run the backup, and check "Display by files". This will
show ALL files on the volume in alphabetical order (e.g., no folders, just
like a MFS system). Then select the file (highlighting it), then check
"Display by folders", Voila, the folder containing the highlighted file is
now highlighted!
With this window, one can scroll through the list, selecting and deselecting
files/folders for backup. Folders can be opened, selecting/de-selecting the
individual files, or the entire folder can be selected/de-selected. When
ready, all that is done is click the "OK" box, and the backup begins.
There is also a "goodies" menu, associated with each backup. With this, you
can:
o Save/Load a backup set. All selections you make in the backup process
(and the following options) can be saved to a "command set", which
can be loaded later and executed. Handy if you have lots of different
settings for a backup you do on a periodic basis.
o Save a list of the files (the backup window). This is saved as a text
file, and is sorted and indented as before. Serves as a complete
directory of the selected files, and can be loaded into MacWrite to
print out a "pretty" directory listing.
o Optionally allows a backup floppy to be for errors checked BEFORE
writing. Slower, but very safe.
o Optionally allows a backup floppy to be for errors checked AFTER
writing. Slower, but VERY safe.
o Optionally will ALWAYS format the backup floppy.
o Will optionally ask if you insert a floppy which contains files to
verify you really want to erase it.
o Allows you to name the disks. Default is "Backup #n", which you can
change to "New name #n". The "#n is automatically added to each floppy.
(The number of files and SS/DS floppies needed for the backup is shown
on the backup window as you select/deselect files/folders).
o Optionally allows only files (not folders) to be restored.
o Optionally allows a "smart" file search for changes. If you choose to
backup changes only, this option will note when you move a file from
one folder to another, and if the file contents have not changed, it
will NOT back it up. It will note the new location, however.
A few other features of the program:
o It can restore to different volumes than it backed up from.
o It can restore to floppy.
o This may be obvious, but it will split large files across multiple
disks.
o The directory of the backup itself is duplicated; existing on both
the first and last floppy. If you ever blow a directory, it's easily
fixed by copying "Copy of BackupDir" from the last floppy to the
first and naming it "BackupDir".
o It will correctly back up and restore protected and invisible files
(such as Microsoft products). Other protection schemes may or may not
be restorable.
Best of all, it's not copy protected. A few minor annoyances exist however. They
are as follows:
o Only one drive may be used (either external or internal). It does allow
a mixture of 400/800K floppies, but only on the same drive. They are
thinking about changing this to allow both in a future release, as well
as "preloading" a disk.
o Due to the way the backup is written, only 1600 files are supported
(per backup). This may or may not be a limitation, depending on your
needs, but is easily circumvented by doing different backups and
selecting different top level folders.
o It's a real memory hog, and will probably not run on a 512K if you have
any reasonable caching on. Trapped with an error message, and easily
fixed by turning off cache, so this is really more of an annoyance,
since on a 512K you have a tendency to forget to turn the cache back on.
The support is excellent, with the developers easily reachable. They indicated a
new release would be out sometime in September with lots of new features. (I
hope they don't use the same release calander that Megamax does!).
All in all, it's an excellent product, and well worth the nominal charge they
are asking.
Disclaimer: I have no association with these folks other than as a satisfied
customer, and these views are obviously my own, since my employer
has a better backup utility.
-- Ken Bates
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