slamb@world.std.com (stephen f lamb) (06/11/91)
I have been using DiskFit for a couple of months now,
and I'm delighted by it. I can't directly address your
questions, since I'm not backing up onto floppies. However,
I'm happy enough with method that I am using that I thought
it might be useful for others to consider.
I'm running off of two Syquest drives. I keep most of
my data on the Startup cartridge (I have System Folders on
both cartridges, however), and most of my Applications on
the other cartridge. Usually, most of the changes that occur
are on the startup/data drive, so that is the one that gets
backed up routinely.
When I need to backup, I eject the Applications cartridge,
and insert a backup cartridge in the "Applications" drive. Once
the backup cartridge spins up, and is recognized, I run DiskFit,
and do a "Duplicate" backup of the startup/data drive. In backup
parlance, this is also known as an "image" backup. If there are
relatively few changes, the whole process takes about 3 to 5
minutes, and results in a backup cartridge that is (theoretically)
identical to the original startup/data cartridge, and which I
could substitute immediately for the original if the original
perished for some reason. The >arrangement in each window< of the
various files and folders will not necessarily match the arrangement
of those on the original drive, but, in my experience, the >locations<
of the files and folders DO match the original.
Admittedly, this solution is a little on the pricey side,
given that Syquests cost ~$70 a piece, and the additional drive costs
another ~$500, but if you must back up frequently, or you expect
to be moving a lot of data, it seems to be quite efficient.
Hope this is useful to some,
Stephen Lamb