Backup4all for U3

[Curt]

Backup4all for U3 has been released.

This is a portable version of Backup4all that works only on U3 compatible USB devices. If you have an U3 smart USB device, you can install Backup4all for U3 and use it on any computer running Windows XP or 2000.

One important feature of Backup4all for U3 is that it can be configured to automatically run a backup job when the U3 smart USB drive is connected. This means you will simply have to plug-in the U3 USB device to execute a backup job.

Use the following link to read more about Backup4all for U3: http://www.backup4all.com/u3.php

If you are a registered user of Backup4all (any edition) you are eligible for a 20% discount. Read more at: http://www.backup4all.com/buy-u3.php

Thank you for using Backup4all.

The Backup4all Team http://www.backup4all.com

[cthorpe]

Also, they are selling the U3 version for $29.95 if you buy now with an increase to the $40 regular price sometime in the future.  Registered B4All users get 20% off the $29.95 price.  That gets a final price of 23.96.

Carl

[tomos]

Version Tracking
Backup4all for U3 is a portable backup software that offers a unique mode to track file versions. You can selectively restore any previous state of the file directly from the main window.

-
don't think even regular backup4all has that (? just got it lately myself so still not sure)


also

Statistics
You can actually see how many files are backed up, the total space allocated for the current backup in the destination, how many files will be added at the next execution, what is the available free space on destination and much more.

[tomos]

mind you, for my purposes I had been hoping they would approach it from the other end, so to say -

that the installed version would automatically recognise a particular usb device when attached
and would then proceed to back up to same device

[urlwolf]

Version Tracking
Backup4all for U3 is a portable backup software that offers a unique mode to track file versions. You can selectively restore any previous state of the file directly from the main window.
-
don't think even regular backup4all has that (? just got it lately myself so still not sure)


also

yes, it does that.
But it is really slow. And bk4all it's the single application that I have seen going over 300mb of memory usage.

I'm thinking that for backup, any unix application is more efficient (and free). I'm currently playing with rsync, unison, and box backup. If you don't mind editing a script, it looks like this is the best solution.

[Softland]

yes, it does that.
But it is really slow. And bk4all it's the single application that I have seen going over 300mb of memory usage.

This happened because you had a lot of files and a lot of file versions for those files - recommendation is such cases would be to use the "Limit maximum number of stored backups to" or "Merge stored backup to maintain the maximum limit" options. Thing is that all the information regarding files and file versions is stored in the backup catalog (.bkc) and that's loaded in the memory, and if you have lots of files and file versions the size of bkc increases.

Anyway, this is also one optimization that will be included in version 4, just as a side note we've redesigned the catalog and doing tests with over 1 million files (and keeping file versions) while maintaining acceptable usage of cpu/memory.

P.S. Why would should you let all the memory to be used by Vista only 

[iphigenie]

I use No Hands Backup which has the ability to run particular backup jobs when particular media are connected - whether DVDRam or USB key or other removable drives

Of course it works via a resident watcher program, whereas this backup4all works via autorun I suspect, so a different approach

[tomos]

I use No Hands Backup which has the ability to run particular backup jobs when particular media are connected - whether DVDRam or USB key or other removable drives

sounds good iphigenie,
I had a look at their website
http://nhbackup.com/overview/keyfeatures.html

it's not very informative about how -

does it automatically recognise the particular USB stick you use, (if so do you need a "special" USB stick - with some sort of serial number)*
or,
does it work simply by the drive letter.

My funny old computer sometimes say my USB stick is G, sometimes F, even though i always use the same socket - I think it depends what else is plugged in.
Could it handle that?

*I kinda like the idea of using different sticks for different jobs

[cthorpe]

does it automatically recognise the particular USB stick you use, (if so do you need a "special" USB stick - with some sort of serial number)*

Looks like it will be triggered by a specific usb stick either by serial number if the drive has one, or by volume label.  Also, it looks like you could have different usb drives trigger different backup sets if you wanted to.

http://nhbackup.com/support/help/kbase/guides_autorun.html

[iphigenie]

It can do any of the above

It can work on device label, device serial number or drive letter, depending on what you want and what the removable medium supports.

I have 2 CD keys that trigger different backups (one data, the other key apps installs and license numbers), and 2 DVD-Rams which again trigger different backups...

This is not a super-slick pro-looking tool - figuring out how to pick file sources and targets took a few minutes puzzling - but it has a lot of features for the price, and the "no hands" feature is peace of mind. I love the fact that I can just tell my mum when i call her "put the usb stick in the computer" and I know it does a backup of all her files (that one is set up to keep 3 backup versions in parallel, should allow to recover from any disaster at mom's)

[iphigenie]

This is of course different from the backup4all key where the key contains and triggers the backup program and you have one key that can backup the same thing on multiple computers, I suspect... whereas NHB has one computer which can backup on multiple keys

[urlwolf]

yes, it does that.
But it is really slow. And bk4all it's the single application that I have seen going over 300mb of memory usage.

This happened because you had a lot of files and a lot of file versions for those files - recommendation is such cases would be to use the "Limit maximum number of stored backups to" or "Merge stored backup to maintain the maximum limit" options. Thing is that all the information regarding files and file versions is stored in the backup catalog (.bkc) and that's loaded in the memory, and if you have lots of files and file versions the size of bkc increases.

I just did that; my current .bkc is ~30mb. Doing a frist backup after selecting the new options... will it reduce the size of my .bkc file, or should I start from scratch?

Anyway, this is also one optimization that will be included in version 4, just as a side note we've redesigned the catalog and doing tests with over 1 million files (and keeping file versions) while maintaining acceptable usage of cpu/memory.

Good to hear...