Author Topic: recommend backup soft? (Read 17,220 times)

urlwolf · « **on:** February 26, 2007, 02:11 PM »

Hi,

I own syncBackSE, and like it, but the fact that it doesn't restore all incremental backups automatically (you have to do it by hand!) is a major let down.

I bought a new external HD, and am in the market for a good incremental backup application.

Any recommendations? Anythinkg new out there?
Thanks

kimmchii · « **Reply #1 on:** February 26, 2007, 02:18 PM »

genie backup
http://www.genie-soft.com/

Josh · « **Reply #2 on:** February 26, 2007, 02:45 PM »

I must also recommend genie-soft backup, I purchased a copy and I must say, its a great product. Really easy to use and feature filled.

rjbull · « **Reply #3 on:** February 26, 2007, 03:26 PM »

TinyApps recommends Cobian Backup, which is now open source.

TinyApps blog item > here <

urlwolf · « **Reply #4 on:** February 26, 2007, 06:26 PM »

Thanks all.
I bought genie a while ago, and then asked for a refund. Lots of problems.
Rjbull,

I just checked cobian, and found this:
http://sherwood.lh.umu.se/CobianBackup/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=2901&SearchTerms=restore,incremental

So no easy way to recover incremental backups.
I'm going to try backup4all, allthough it didn't work for me the first time I tried it.

Carol Haynes · « **Reply #5 on:** February 26, 2007, 07:08 PM »

Why not use Windows Backup?

Another alternative is http://www.avantrix.com/backplus.htm which I used to use and works well. There is also a DVD backup version of the app that allows you too make backups directly to DVDs. I bought a copy but never used it that much (it works in the same way but is a separate purchase).

Nighted · « **Reply #6 on:** February 26, 2007, 08:30 PM »

Try Second Copy

Once you have it set up, it will probably do what you want.

> New Windows XP style user interface
> Two-way Synchronization
> Up to 256-bit AES encryption
> Automatic detection/deletion during synchronization
> FTP support
> Run profiles at Windows shutdown
> Enhanced compression
> Automatic scheduled copies
> E-mail notification
> Multi-threaded background processing
> Run as a service
> Universal Naming Convention (UNC) support
> Preview profile activity before running
> Password protect profiles
> Run profile when files change
> Archival of up to 25 old versions
> Disk spanning
> Support for hardware profiles

TucknDar · « **Reply #7 on:** February 26, 2007, 09:32 PM »

I'm happy with Genie-Soft backup too.

tranglos · « **Reply #8 on:** February 26, 2007, 09:54 PM »

I evaluated Second Copy and liked it a lot, but eventually bought Backup4All: http://www.backup4all.com/ The single deciding issue was that, while both can do FTP backup, SecondCopy cannot do FTP backup to a zip file - instead, it transfers each individual file uncompressed. This is horribly wrong for two reasons: ftp storage space is relatively costly (compared to HDD), and transferring uncompressed files takes much longer.

I'm almost happy with Backup4All, although it too has a few wrinkles. It's slower than SecondCopy, especially when compressing files, and perceptibly affects overall system performance when it is zipping files up - not in a major way, but it does, even when the thread is set to lowest priority.

Also, it will not automatically run missed backups, e.g. when the computer was off at the scheduled time. I asked the author about this and he wasn't too eager to do anything about it - he advised me to use the sleep mode instead of switching the computer off, which is a little like the doctor from the old joke - if it hurts when you do that, don't do that.

On the plus side, Backup4all is very flexible in all aspects and very nicely designed (the ugly-ish and less convenient UI was one reason I ditched syncBackSE after trying it out). I rely on ftp backup a lot and it seems to be working fine.

marek

tinjaw · « **Reply #9 on:** February 26, 2007, 10:01 PM »

I recommend you check out the DonationCoder.com Power-User Guide to Back Ups.

urlwolf · « **Reply #10 on:** February 26, 2007, 10:08 PM »

Quote from: tinjaw on February 26, 2007, 10:01 PM

I recommend you check out the DonationCoder.com Power-User Guide to Back Ups.

I know the review. This is why I bought genie in the first place. But thanks anyway. I think backup4all may do the trick for now...

iphigenie · « **Reply #11 on:** February 27, 2007, 11:26 AM »

Backup4all is a very slick program.

I use No Hands Backup and Acronis driveimage - the first for file level backup, archiving and synchronisation, the other one for system wide backup and incremental backups.

Acronis is pretty good for incrememental backup and fairly good on restore(s). I can't remember if it did all the incrementals automatically or not last time i restored...

Since I have not seen NHB mentioned anywhere I'll give a quick description, even though it's not a solution for the scenario that started this thread...
No Hands Backup (http://www.anderssoftware.com/) has a bit of a quirky interface but it does all the standard file-level backup ups (zipped or not, multiple versions or not, filters, schedule). For me it has one killer feature, you can associate a backup with a particular removable media (by serial number or label). That way I could tell my mum "just put the red usb key in the drive once a week" and NHB automagically detects that this particular USB key is in and asks "want to start the backup?" and then just does it (i usually get her to do it when i chat with her on the phone). I use it to run different backups on different DVDram disks, and on my external drive etc. It's a very nice feature.

Swenerick · « **Reply #12 on:** July 09, 2011, 03:19 PM »

You can use the demo version of Zenok online backup. I did it about 6 months ago. It worked great, was fairly easy to use and fast.

J-Mac · « **Reply #13 on:** July 09, 2011, 04:19 PM »

Quote from: Swenerick on July 09, 2011, 03:19 PM

You can use the demo version of Zenok online backup. I did it about 6 months ago. It worked great, was fairly easy to use and fast.

Swenerick,

Since these questions were being asked more than four years ago.... I hope they found their backup apps back then!!

BTW, welcome to DC!

Jim

iphigenie · « **Reply #14 on:** July 09, 2011, 05:01 PM »

Brings up an interesting question though: are people still using what they were using then, Genie, B4all and such, or are there slicker options now? Has everyone moved to online ones?

That's so weird though, here's me talking about nohandsbackup and how i set it up for my mum - nohandsbackup still works, although it is an abandoned product (it seems). I liked the automation. My mum on the other hand is gone and i had no backup there...

And I currently dont really use a backup tool besides file copying manually, and really I should.

J-Mac · « **Reply #15 on:** July 09, 2011, 05:25 PM »

I started using BackUp4All but kept it only for a year - only allowed to use on one PC, needs separate purchase for others, even a laptop. So I ditched it. Went with Genie Pro but after a time they stopped supporting it basically; turns out all efforts were going toward their new product, Genie Time Machine or something like that. Supposedly OK for newbies, not good if you want to tweak/schedule it in detail. Ditched that too. I did pick up Oops late last year - or maybe it was early this year? Though it is not in use currently; filled up my 1 TB external drive in no time flat! And deleting files was a nightmare! Takes a long time to select each file to delete - can't select all at once - and then it simply creates another folder and dumps the deleted stuff there, just in case you really didn't mean it! For almost a TB of deleted data that took me hours on end to get rid of it. Oops is currently on hold...

Mostly sticking with my primary Jungle Disk plus SFFS to anothjer external drive. Oh, and Acronis for images.

Thanks!

Jim

iphigenie · « **Reply #16 on:** July 09, 2011, 05:39 PM »

Thanks for the update - it is strange how we accumulate these things but end up using them less.

I havent used an image in a while, I own
- an old Acronis or two,
- a fairly recent Paragon Disk Manager
- and Image for Windows/Dos/Linux + their boot tool which I never went through the hassle to install once I switched computers. It's a lot of hoops to jump through, that one, just to enforce their license against people using copies

I did use Acronis many times in the past, back when Windows was easier to break - time saving! But they screwed me badly when they rejigged their licensing - they removed my middle "pro" version and downgraded me to the home version, which didnt have the one feature I had paid the pro value for. All that really soon after I had upgraded. I stopped buying. Went to the other products, but never really used them for images after that.

So all I do is manual and SFFS sync's to various usb/network drives + an online backup system which is mostly there for settings, not files. Would definitively not be enough in case of a major disaster like fire/lightning, but is enough to get all important settings (like saved games!) on a new machine or fresh install.

Intriguingly I went to the Genie site and their "timeline" and "backup" product are still there, + a cloud offering that claims to be fast. Timeline doesnt look too bad (i remember loving the 13 ghosts backup with its automated versions), but if it doesnt allow me to pick things like all these weird settings applications sprinkle about (which the "GBM" allows, and also has collections of settings for every game and application under the sun it seems)

(PS: they claim to have a summer sale 50% ending today)

nosh · « **Reply #17 on:** July 09, 2011, 06:04 PM »

I haven't updated my backup software for a while now since things work fine and updating just leaves me with the job of ensuring nothing has gone awry.

I've recently started doing a rotating full system backup (Windows + installed programs) using True Image and a little batch file. The batch file takes care of the 'rotating' bit - deletes the oldest backups, so at any given time now I have a full backup of the last 7-9 days. These get mirrored to 3 internal HDDs daily and hopefully (this part's manual

) to an external drive weekly.

I'd been getting careless regarding full system backups and would only do them when someone (usually mouser

) reminded people to backup. It's a relief to have the thing automated and out of the way.

Trivia: I'm running the same Windows XP install now for seven years using drive imaging to save & restore clean images - it's spanned 3 major hardware upgrades, IIRC, and works like a charm.

joiwind · « **Reply #18 on:** July 09, 2011, 06:21 PM »

I can highly recommend (as I use it for quite some time now) this very good but unjustly little-known backup solution :Uranium Backup.

There are seven versions from freeware to complete pro.

PS Wasn't there a recent post or thread about "necroposting" ?

cranioscopical · « **Reply #19 on:** July 09, 2011, 10:16 PM »

Quote from: joiwind on July 09, 2011, 06:21 PM

I can highly recommend (as I use it for quite some time now) this very good but unjustly little-known backup solution :Uranium Backup.

There are seven versions from freeware to complete pro.

Thanks for the tip, I hadn't heard of it.

J-Mac · « **Reply #20 on:** July 09, 2011, 11:50 PM »

Quote from: nosh on July 09, 2011, 06:04 PM

It's a relief to have the thing automated and out of the way.

My only problem with full automation is that I get very, VERY complacent and stop double-checking it now and again. Then something accidently or mysteriously gets deleted or disappears from my PC and when I finally check my backups I see that it stopped doing everything correctly and then I throw myself on the floor and start screaming, scares the dogs and... well... you get the picture!

Jim

nosh · « **Reply #21 on:** July 10, 2011, 02:15 AM »

I know where you're coming from!

I've enabled an email notification in Acronis that triggers on failure. There are still a lot of things that could go wrong... I suppose I could get notified of mirroring failure using a command line mailer or something but you've got to draw the line somewhere. Easier just setting an alarm.

kyrathaba · « **Reply #22 on:** July 10, 2011, 01:50 PM »

I just found Duplicati, which is free, works on Linux/Windows, and purports to offer the following:

Duplicati has a very user friendly interface that allows you to configure and monitor your backups. It supports backing up to a variety of destinations:

* A network folder
* An USB Disk
* A remote server using FTP
* A remote server using encrypted SSH
* A remote server using WEBDAV
* Amazon S3 storage
* CloudFiles
* Tahoe-LAFS