bskendig@phoenix.Princeton.EDU (Brian Kendig) (05/31/91)
Not that it's any great summary, what with only two responses... ::grin:: In comp.sys.mac.apps I wrote: >What are the major backup utility programs out there these days (like >Redux and Fastback), and which of them work with System 7.0? What are >the latest versions of them? And which do you feel is the best -- >easiest to use, fastest to finish, least hassle and fewest problems? >Myself, I'm interested in backing up to floppy disks, since I don't >have access to a tape cartridge drive nor to any other hard drive big >enough to back up on. ----- Anton Rang (rang@cs.wisc.edu) replied: I've been using DiskFit for a year or so now, and am pretty happy with it (for floppy backups, at least). It's a fairly basic backup program, at least the way I use it--not as many fancy features as some (the last update added some, but I haven't used them much yet). It's designed primarily for incremental update to backups, which may not be what you want. (In other words, rather than doing a full backup and then dumping out incremental changes, it actually goes and modifies the backup.) This is good if you don't like having lots of incrementals pile up; it has the disadvantage that you are using the backup copy itself, so that a crash while updating has the potential to mess you up more. (If you have more than one backup set, as I do, this isn't a major problem.) It's quite fast; it has the capability to override the file manager and do asynchronous I/O (so it can be writing to the floppy, using the disk driver, and reading from your hard drive with the file manager simultaneously). When you are updating a backup set ("smartset"), it asks only for the disks you need, etc. (I have trouble imagining a backup program which wouldn't, but there may be some out there!) Features: * Incremental modification to backups (as described above). * Backups are stored as normal files, so you can restore individual files with the Finder easily. * Lets you create sets of "only documents" or "only applications+system". Also lets you exclude specific file types from being backed up. * Works with disk->disk, disk->floppy, and disk->tape backups. * New version provides "subvolumes" (e.g. back up your system folder as though it were a disk). I haven't played with this enough to know if it really works in a useful way. * "Fast copy" mode overlaps file I/O and cuts down on disk seeks. * Runs in the background under MultiFinder; automatically adjusts its speed to your mouse/keyboard/etc. activity (kind of neat). * Stores ALL of the info about files and folders on the disk. Everything retains its place on the screen, comments.... * Very clean user interface, and generally quite intuitive. Problems: * Interface for choosing which files/folders you want to back up, for selective backups, isn't as clean as I'd like. This was introduced in the newer version, though, so I haven't used it much yet. * Doesn't do any compression; if you're using 800K disks and have a big drive, be prepared to have a big set of backup disks. * Doesn't have the ability to do a full backup and then separate incremental backups. (I don't miss this, personally.) The System 7 compatibility checker stack informed me last night that though the version I have (2.1, I think) will work, a version 2.7 is supposed to be available which has been updated (presumably to grok aliases and the like). I think that DiskFit is put out by the same company that does Retrospect, but offhand I can't remember the name right now (sheesh). Anton ----- Patrick Hoepfner (hoepfner@heasfs.gsfc.nasa.gov) replied: I use Retrospect 1.3 and it is System 7 savy. You can do things such as drag a file of folder of files and drop it on the Retrospect app and it will open up a list of files to be backed up (or append to an already started list). It really is slick and it makes selective backups easy. It will do compression (uncompressing files on the backup mmedium and checking them against the original), and allow archiving (i.e., it will relete the original after the backup is successful) and allow you to retrieve just one or many files easily. It works with all sorts of Tape backup devises but it also works with floppy disks. -- Pat ---------------------------------> hoepfner@heasfs.gsfc.nasa.gov ----- I got a chance to use Redux 1.62 myself when I was helping a friend of mine back up his hard drive. (Hmm, come to think of it, I was doing all the disk swapping for him... something tells me he got the better end of the bargain!) Redux looks very very clean and well-implemented. It was simple and straightforward enough for me to pick up on how to use it right away I really don't know anough about disk backup utilities to be able to compare it to anything, but it's probably worth your consideration -- I was impressed enough with it that I'll probably end up buying myself a copy of Redux. He also owned Fastback II, which didn't look so clean to me during a two-minute look-over, but then again Fifth Generation has done well with software in the past (Suitcase II, for example) so they seem like a respectable-enough company. That's the facts. I hope this helps someone! << Brian >> | Brian S. Kendig \ Macintosh | Engineering, | bskendig | | Computer Engineering |\ Thought | USS Enterprise | @phoenix.Princeton.EDU | Princeton University |_\ Police | -= NCC-1701-D =- | @PUCC.BITNET | "You gave your life to become the person you are right now. Was it worth it?"