All About Backing Up

Over the years we've often reminded Palmtop users to back up their software and data. With the availability of 32, 64, and now 96 MB RAM disks as well as mammoth flashcard drives, backing up is becoming more of a necessity and more of a challenge.

Users have risen to the challenge. Here are some of the methods that Palmtop owners have devised to save their data and, on rare occasions, save their sanity, when the Palmtop decides to obey Murphy's Law.

An Automated System Macro

To backup a C: drive to the A: drive on a daily basis, use the following System Macro. Set the macro to run automatically at 4:00AM or whenever you're not likely to be using the Palmtop.

{Filer}{Menu}q{Filer}{F5}c:\{Enter}{Down}{Menu}fba:\c_b akup\{Date}{Left}{Left}{Left}{Left}{Left}{Left}{Del}{Right}{Right}{Del}{Enter}y{Menu}q{Appt}{Left}{F4}||3{Enter}{Enter}{Alt+D}+{F10}{Menu}q

Here is what the macro does.

(Filer){Menu}q. - Wakes up Filer and then quits it.

{Filer}{F5}c:\{Enter}{Down} - Open Filer again and go to c:\_dat.

{Menu}fba:\c_bakup\{Date} - Use the Filer Backup command to put all the files in A:\C_bakup\ within a dated subdirectory.

Modify the next part of the macro to temporarily change the date format in Setup to Julian, then use it. Then change back to what you normally use.

{Left}{Left}{Left}{Left}{Left}{Left} - This edits the date format MM/DD/YY and takes out the "/".

{Del}{Right}{Right}{Del}{Enter}y{Menu}q - Confirms the name.

{Appt}{Left}{F4}||3{Enter}{Enter}{Alt+D}+{F10} Goto Appointment. Set the day for the previous day and Find the "||3" macro item. Advance the date of the item by one day and save it.

To use the macro as an appointment, set the time to say 4AM and put "||X" (no quotes) in the description field where X is the macro number.

Using PKZip to Back Up

Other users prefer the PKZip compression program to make back up files. Here's the command that will get the job done.

pkzip -a -ex -o -p -P -r a:\backup c:\*.*

Use Some Structure to Simplify a Backup Procedure

Alexander Gutfeldt, suggests the following structure for a C: drive.

Separate data and programs on the assumption that the former changes more often and needs more backups than the latter.

Reserve the c:_dat\ directory and it's subdirectories to hold data and configuration files.

Create a c:\s directory to hold system utilities Create a c:\a directory to hold applications.

Use an appointment, such as "||3" above, to run a batch file that will ZIP the c:\_dat directory and its subdirectories and store the archive in A:\BACKUP. Once a week, perform the ZIP backup for the C:\S and C:\A directories. Then backup the flashcard to the hard drive on a desktop or laptop computer.

Every 3 or 4 months, weed out the files on the desktop/laptop backup that are no longer useful. Transfer the remaining files or archive to an external medium such as a ZIP disk or a tape.

The most thorough back up procedure ever.

The following backup procedure may sound like overkill but, if your data is your business, there is no such thing as overkill.

Take a look at this routine, by Alan Striegel. You will probably have to modify it to suit your own hardware and software setup. It's well worth the effort. Note that this routine is not limited to the Palmtop but includes other computers on which you store critical data or irreplaceable software.

A Daily backup:

Compress the entire contents of the C: drive into a ZIP file on the A: drive of the Palmtop. Then copy the entire contents of the A: drive (a flash card) to the hard drive of a desktop or laptop. This latter step can be quite fast if your desktop or laptop machine has a flash card reader, otherwise use a serial cable and the Transfile 200 program, or ZIP.COM to effect the transfer.

A Weekly backup:

Copy the entire contents of your desktop's or laptop's hard drive to an external removable hard drive or tape drive. An Occasional backup: (more often than monthly but not weekly) Copy the entire contents of your desktop's or laptop's hard drive to a larger hard drive and perform an incremental back up of that drive to a magneto-optical cartridge or a read/write CD ROM.

A Monthly backup:

Copy your laptop or desktop hard drive to a tape cartridge. The backup procedure may sound like the invention of someone with an obsessive-compulsive disorder. Not so! You may only see the benefits of such a system when your Palmtop loses all its information and your desktop computer loses its hard drive. In that case you could either be out of business or staring at a bill for thousands of dollars from a data recovery service.

Alan Striegel Striegel@PIONEER-STANDARD.COM