Looking for app. to backup files

[Jesse]

Hello,

I'm looking for a good app to perform automated backups of my sagetv folder. After a near miss I dont want to be caught with my pants down.

I use acronis to image my c drive partition, but it will not backup individual files.

I found a few things via google, but I am looking for specific recomendations from happy users.

Thanks in advance,
Jesse

[Opus4]

I like Retrospect from Dantz.

There is also a backup discussion listed in the Utilities for use with SageTV index.

- Andy

[phantomfsoc]

I wrote some Batch files to copy every file that changed (properties, wiz.bin etc...) 4 times a day if your interested. All you need to do is make some folders and set up the scheduled tasks

[mdmint]

Simply using scheduling and WinXPs backup utility works fine for me...

[Jesse]

Simply using scheduling and WinXPs backup utility works fine for me...

Doh!!

It's right there and I've already paid for it. Thanks for pointing out the obvious.

Jesse

[Jesse]

Ok,

Dumb question re. win xp backup. Does it just make a copy of the specified file, or some weird backup file that has to go through some recovery process to be used? I am just looking to make a copy that I can stick in the Frey directory to replace a potentially corrupted file.

Thanks,
Jesse

[InsertHere]

How about just a batch file that runs using a Scheduled Task?

Something like:
xcopy "Path to Source Directory\*.*" "Path to Target backup location\*.*" /y/c/s

You could put that into a .bat or .cmd file and create a scheduled task to run it. No special restore process needed to grab individual files.

[MeInMaui]

I've been using the freeware version of Syncback (from 2brightsparks) for several months now. It can backup or synchronize folders. It can also be set up to run in the background every xx minutes or hours as well as using windows scheduling. It also has lots of options for reports (including via e-mail) and can handle multiple independent backup folders/schedules. I haven't tried setting it up to backup individual files, so I'm not sure about that. It's very impressive, especially considering it's free. I've been very happy with it.

Mike

[dbfresh23]

NTBackup - Windows XP's integrated backup program is a horrible horrible program. I would actually suggest going with Opus' suggestion of Retrospect. Another program that Is actually not as bad as it sounds is Backup My PC from Stomp - I actually use this with a tape drive and have found it to be very reliable, unlike NTBackup.

[Menehune]

I just discovered that Acronis True Image 9 will backup folders and even individual files. It's supposed to have scheduling and lots of other goodies available as well.
I d/l a trial version and as soon as I get home, I'll see how well it works.

[waynedunham]

Here's one I've been using for my general backup duties. You can create jobs to backup specific files, directories, etc.

AIS Backup

The main reason I went with this one is it was one of the first to give you backup to the devices I wanted, i.e. Cd/DVD, and network without putting you in the poorhouse to get it.

[Echo]

I'll second MeInMaui's suggestion of 2brightspark's synchback. I use it all the time to back up files in a production environment here at work. (They have a pay version of the software, but the free version will do everything you need it to. You just have to dig a little for the free version)

It will keep your files synchronized to a backup folder (on your PC or on the network). It is smart enough to only synch the files that have changed or added since the last synch.

You can set options on what to do if the file has been deleted from the source, but found in the destination (default is do nothing)

(You'll probably want create a "backup" set, not a "synchronization set")

[Opus4]

I use SyncBack for some development work to keep things duplicated on another system, but I'm not sure if it is the best thing to use for backup up the SageTV data files. Maybe I just don't know about such a feature, but I think SyncBack is just creating a single copy of the current file. If that current file becomes corrupted, the copy of it would be corrupted also. For those considering SyncBack for this purpose: is there a way to have it keep multiple copies?

The advantage of regualr backup programs, like Dantz's Retrospect, is that it can keep making incremental backups. So, you have multiple copies of the same file for however long you've been doing backups to a particular backup set. If today's file is corrupted, mabe yesterday's or the one from the day before that will be OK.

- Andy

[steingra]

check out http://www.handybackup.com
it has been a great solution for me and many small business clients. Awesome GUI!

[Crashless]

Originally Posted by Opus4

I use SyncBack for some development work to keep things duplicated on another system, but I'm not sure if it is the best thing to use for backup up the SageTV data files. Maybe I just don't know about such a feature, but I think SyncBack is just creating a single copy of the current file. If that current file becomes corrupted, the copy of it would be corrupted also. For those considering SyncBack for this purpose: is there a way to have it keep multiple copies?

I use syncback too, and I've never found a way to do a function where you keep X number of backup versions. Still love it though, but it is an issue for easily corrupted files.