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Hard Disk Backup Utility Version 1.2 17 March 1987 by David B. Chiquelin This hard drive backup utility is designed to perform a file based backup of hard drives. It will not perform an image backup, but will speed the backup process by only backing up new files and those files which have been modified since the last backup. Old versions of files which have been modified are NOT maintained on the backup disks. Hard disk files which have been modified or deleted are deleted from the backup disks and the freed up disk space is used to store the current version of the modified files and new files. It is a GEM-based program to simplify usage. The program will also restore a hard drive using the backup files and data files created during the backup process. Table of Contents 1.0 Requirements 2.0 Startup 3.0 Options menu 3.1 Date on files 3.2 Write verify 3.3 Force backup (f) 3.4 Force backup (p) 3.5 Set 'To-drive' 3.6 40 folder check 3.7 Size 3.8 Date/time 3.9 Archive bit 3.10 Set list options 4.0 Disk menu 4.1 Back-up a hard drive 4.2 Restore a hard drive 4.3 Save defaults 4.4 Create new data files 5.0 Info menu 5.1 List file data 5.2 Search for file(s) 6.0 Quit menu 7.0 Terminology 8.0 Distribution & Notes 8.1 Changes for version 1.1 8.2 Changes for version 1.2 Requirements 1.0 This program will run on Atari ST computers in either medium or high resolution modes. It WILL NOT format disks, so an adequate supply of previously formatted disks should be on hand before beginning a backup. I recommend disks formatted using the Quick Format program by Brian Ames be used to help speed up the file saves. Quick Format is a PD program and available on most BBSs. (Sometimes called FASTFORM) NOTE: Other format utilities may not work properly with BUP. Before relying on them, run a test by using disks formatted by the utility in question in BUP and then looking at the disk contents from the desktop. If the files show up (on ALL disks, not just the first) then the format should work properly with BUP. TWISTER ver 1.0 would NOT work properly with BUP. The Backup Utility Program (BUP) has been tested on both a 520 ST with TOS in ROM and a 1040 ST. It has not been tested on a 520 ST with disk based TOS. The program keeps its internal data in dynamically allocated pointers. This allows the backing up of hard drives of very large size without any limit (other than available free RAM) as would be imposed if arrays were used. Each file on a hard drive will take up approximately 42 bytes of memory for the pointer data, and each folder will take approximately 110 bytes. Startup 2.0 When you run BUP it will first display a title screen showing the version number and the obligatory statement that portions of it are copyright by OSS and CCD. This is necessary as it is written in OSS's Personal Pascal. Click in the OK button or press RETURN. BUP will immediately display the current date as set in the ST and ask if it is correct. It is important that the correct date be in the ST so the program can accurately advise you of when the last backup was performed. If the date is correct, click on Yes (or press RETURN). If No is selected another dialog box allowing you to set the correct date will appear. After setting the correct date BUP will again show the date in a dialog box and ask if it is correct. When the date has been set correctly the dialog boxes will disappear and the top menu will be active. The menu choices are Desk, Disk, Info, Options and Quit. Options will be covered first as this is where you tell BUP how you would like it to operate. Options menu 3.0 The Options menu selection will allow you to set how the BUP program will run. It is important that you carefully consider how you wish to set the options under 'Backup using...' as this affects how future backups are performed. Date on files 3.1 Date on files is concerned with what date and time is placed on files if BUP is used to restore a HD. This is a change from previous versions of BUP and is designed to save time when backing up a HD. There are two choices - current date/time and HD (hard drive) date/time. The initial default setting is HD date/time. If the current date/time option is selected then when restoring files the date and time will be the date and time normally placed on files during a copy. If HD is selected then the files copied to the HD during the restore will have the same date and time as they originally had. It does not matter what setting is used during backup, the backup files will show the date and time of backup, not the date and time of the HD files. You may change this setting immediately prior to doing a restore, it has no effect on backup procedures. By not changing the date and time on the backup disk files, a small amount of time is saved as it does away with an extra file access. Write verify on 3.2 The 'Write verify' item in the Options menu allows you to turn write verify on or off. The initial default setting is off. Leaving the write verify off will double the write speed (but not cut in half the actual time spent saving due to GEM overhead.) I have used the program exclusively with write verify off with no problems. Just be sure good quality disks are used. Leaving write verify off and using Quick Format formatted disks will greatly help in speeding up the backup and restore process. If write verify is on, the 'Write verify' menu item will have a check in front of it. Force backup (f) 3.3 BUP will only backup files that are new or have been modified since the last time BUP was run. It uses criteria determined by you (see 3.6- 3.8) to detect if a file has been modified. Since some programs alter files without using GEM and leave no indication of changes, a force backup option is available. If 'Force backup (f)' is selected from the Option menu, (the 'f' designates a forced backup by file) a dialog box will open allowing you to enter up to 10 strings that will cause a forced backup of any file that matches the string or has the string as part of its file name. BUP will look to see if any of the strings entered in the dialog box are contained in each file name, and if so, will backup that file. An important note is that this option does not support the use of the * or ? file match criteria often used by DOS's. Example: I have found that the FoReM ST BBS system directly alters its message base and password files. Because of this BUP will not back these files up during a normal backup and so I use the 'Force backup (f)' option to save the current files. The message files are named MESAGE1.DAT, MESAGE1.IDX and MESAGE1.ISM to MESAGE7.DAT, MESAGE7.IDX and MESAGE7.ISM, with the password files named PAS.DAT and PAS.IDX To force the backup of these files I enter on one line of the dialog box "MESAGE" and on another line "PAS." (Without the quotes.) BUP will backup all files that have either the string MESAGE or PAS. in them, causing all the files I desire to be backed up. For comparison, if the * and ? could be used then I would have entered "MESAGE?.*" and "PAS.*". (For comparison ONLY! They may not be used.) Lower case text may also be entered in these fields. BUP will convert it to upper case. When Forced backup (f) is active a check will be in front of the item in the Options menu. Force Backup (p) 3.4 You may also force backup of all the files within a folder by using the Force Backup (p) option. The (p) designates a path forced backup. The same criteria is used as in a file forced backup. Ie., a match of the entered string with any path will force that path to be backed up. You do not have to enter the whole path, and in fact you may not have sufficient space to enter the whole path. Example: I wish to force the backup of all the files in \PASCAL\BACKUP\ but not the files in \PASCAL\BACKBURN\. I could enter the whole path (\PASCAL\BACKUP\) or just enough to specify the path such as CAL\BACKU, or even \BACKU if there were no other paths named or starting with \BACKU on the HD. Lower case text may also be entered in these fields. BUP will convert it to upper case. When Forced backup (p) is active a check will be in front of the item in the Options menu. Set 'To-drive' 3.5 BUP will backup files to either drive A or B. The default is A, but you may change to B with this selection from the Options menu. 40 Folder check 3.6 TOS has a serious bug at the present time that can cause your hard drive and BUP to not function correctly. It is called the 40 folder limit, and means basically that you should have no more than 40 folders combined on ALL your connected hard drives. TOS has an array (not dynamically allocated) set aside to store the HD folder data. Whenever a new folder is accessed, a slot in this array is used. The slot is never 'freed up' unless you reboot the system. If all the slots fill up you will see errors occur and it will appear your hard drive is trashed. DO NOT reformat your hard drive, simply reboot your ST and check again. If it was a 40 folder problem your HD and ST will be functioning properly. The actual array count is higher than 40 (presumed to be somewhere between 60 and 70), but the total includes slots for floppy folders (these ARE freed when the floppy is changed) and also the root directories take up a slot. If you have slightly over 40 folders on your HD, you may be safe, or you may be eligible for the '40 folder' bug. Atari has officially taken the stand that you should not have more than 40 folders on all connected HD's. (Actual or logical.) If you have more than 40 you do so at your own risk. When BUP backs up or restores a HD it does not attempt to keep track of how many folders were accessed. (Mainly because it checks first to see how much free space is available on the HD, which accesses ALL folders on that HD.) If performing a search for a file (see 5.2) and if the 40 folder check option is turned on from the Options menu it will alert you when it has accessed more than 40 folders and ask if you desire to continue or abort the search. The initial default setting has the 40 folder check option turned on. If active, a check mark will be in front of the '40 folder check' menu item. (Backup using) Size 3.7 One of the criteria BUP may use to determine if a file needs backup is if the file size has changed since last backed up. This check should normally be left on. The initial default setting is on. If on a check mark will be in front of 'Size' in the Options menu. (Backup using) Date/time 3.8 Another backup selection criteria is the file's date and time. If the current HD file's date and time are not the same as the file's date and time when last backed up, then the file will be selected for backup. The initial default setting is on. When on, a check mark will be in front of 'Date/time/ in the Options menu. (Backup using) Archive bit 3.9 TOS includes a bit in the file's attributes that can be set when a backup is performed. If the file is then written to using TOS functions (not directly written to on a track or sector basis) the archive bit will be cleared. Even if the file's date/time and size have not changed, the archive bit will alert BUP that a backup is required. IMPORTANT NOTE: If the archive bit option is turned off when backing up a HD, it should NOT be turned on again for later backups. If off, the archive bit will not be set on the HD files. A later backup with the archive bit option on would then select all files for backup as the archive bit would be off. When restoring a HD if the archive bit option is ON, the HD files will have their archive bit set so later backups will perform correctly. The initial default setting has the archive bit check enabled. A check mark will be in front of 'Archive bit' in the Options menu if this function is on. NOTE: If all three 'Backup using' options are off, then only new and forced files will be saved. At least one of the above should be on when performing backups. List file options 3.10 File data may be listed to the screen or printer for any drive: - Alphabetically by folder (Initial default) - Alphabetically for HD - By size for HD - By age for HD - By backup disk The listing can be in increasing or decreasing format and the data can be from the backup data disk, from the HD, or a combined comparison of the backup data and the current HD status. See 5.1 for more details. The 'List file data' selection in the Options menu allows you to select how you want the data to be listed. A window shows the current settings and the mouse is used to make changes. Click the left mouse button on the desired settings. Click on the DONE box when finished. Disk Menu 4.0 The disk menu contains the selections for backing up a HD, restoring a HD and saving the default settings made using the Options menu. Back-up a hard disk 4.1 When the 'Back-up a hard disk' item is selected, BUP will first ask which drive you wish to backup. Select which HD to backup from the choices (C to P) shown. You may abort the backup by clicking in the Abort box. If the selected HD is a valid choice (connected to the system on boot-up) BUP will show a small window with 'Standby...' displayed. BUP is determining the HD size and free space. The Standby box will disappear and a dialog box will then ask which drive contains the Backup data files. When you first backup a HD using BUP it will create the data files containing the information it needs to perform subsequent backups properly. You may save these data files on drives A, B, C or D. I highly recommend taking a blank disk and labeling it BACKUP DATA DISK. If the data files are saved on a HD and the HD requires restoring, BUP will not be able to perform the restore function. A utility is planned to allow the creation of the data files in the event they are lost but is not available at this time. PROTECT THE DATA FILES. These are not the backup disks which contain the backup files. All your backup data files may reside on one disk as they are named for the drive they contain data for. The first time you are using BUP, click on the None box. If there are data disks (ie., if this is not the first time you are using BUP to backup a HD), make sure the data disk is in the selected drive before making your selection. If you select a drive and there are no data files present the program will alert you to that fact and abort the backup, allowing you to insert the correct data disk and reselect the backup item. If data files are present BUP will read in the old data from the last backup. If None was selected, or after reading in the data files if a drive was selected, BUP will display a window titled EXAMINING HARD DISK. The window will show the drive identifier, size allocated, free storage remaining on the drive, number of paths found, number of files checked, number of new files and the number of modified files found since last backup. While BUP is searching the HD, and at any time during the backup process if any key is pressed on the ST BUP will pause and display an alert box requesting whether you wish to continue or abort. When the search is completed, a new dialog box will appear showing how many files need to be saved and asking again if you wish to continue or abort the backup process. If you do not abort the process BUP checks its internal data from the data files to see if any files previously backed up have been deleted from the HD. If there are a lot of files on the HD and there have been a lot of deleted files this may take a few seconds. The screen will remain blank while BUP does this check. (No dialog or alert box or window explaining the delay.) If there are any deleted file that have been backed up previously, BUP will tell you how many and ask if you wish to save all the files, delete all the files or delete by query. If save is selected, none of the old files on the backup disks will be deleted. If delete all is selected, all the old files no longer on the HD will be deleted. If delete by query is chosen you will be shown the file name and folder the file is in and may select to delete the file, save the file or delete the remaining files. If delete the remaining files is chosen the file currently displayed and the remaining files that have not been displayed will be deleted, any previously shown files will either be saved or deleted depending on the selection made when the file was displayed. At this point BUP will 'do its thing' and start backing up the HD. A window will appear that will keep you advised of the backup progress. This window shows: - File name in a rounded edged box top center of the window. - File's date - File size - Date it was last backed up (blank if first time) - File status (New, Modified, Deleted, Forced) - Path of the file (folder) on up to two lines - Hard drive being backed up - Size of the hard drive - Free space on the hard drive - Total files on the hard drive - Number of files left to copy - Number of files copied - Backup disk number - Size of the backup disk - Free space on the backup disk - Number of files on the backup disk - Action being taken BUP will ring the ST bell and display a dialog box requesting a disk be inserted into the drive specified as the 'To drive' in the Options menu. If it is the first time BUP is being run it will ask for "new disk #x-1", where the x corresponds to the drive being backed up. Insert a previously formatted disk into the specified drive. BUP will place a hidden file on the disk that tells BUP what drive and disk number the disk is. From then on if BUP needs that disk to either erase a file or save a file it will ask for "old disk #x-1". Make sure you mark your disks properly, as it can get frustrating trying to find the correct disk with BUP telling you "wrong disk". If you insert a disk that was used to backup a different HD, BUP will tell you what disk number it is and for what HD, and ask if you really want to use it. When the proper disk is in place the backup will begin. You can watch as BUP keeps you informed of the progress in the window. To abort or pause the backup press any key. When the disk can hold no other files from the hard drive BUP will sound the bell again and ask for the next backup disk. You can turn the volume up on the monitor and not watch the display as the bell will alert you when action is necessary. When all files have been backed up, or if the program is aborted before it is finished, BUP will ask you to specify which drive to save the data files to. These are the IMPORTANT data files it initially asked you for and should be saved on a floppy although you may select from drives A to D to save them on. BUP will create three files containing the data fields necessary for it to properly backup the hard drive at a later date or for listing the file data using the Info menu. The files will be named DATA_x.FLS, DATA_x.PTH and DATA_x.DSK, where the x is replaced by the hard drive letter. If the backup is aborted the data files will allow you to continue the backup at a later time from where you left off. In this case the file status in the progress window may not be correct, but the files will be backed up properly and the data files after the backup is complete will be correct. If an error occurs during the backup process and the ST shows the standard alert box stating the data on the disk may be damaged then the program may bomb when the cancel button is selected. (See 8.2, changes in version 1.2 for additional info on this.) If another disk is inserted and the retry button is selected then the backup will continue but the data files will not be correct. Backup notes: BUP checks the disk when first inserted to determine the size and free space. During the backup process BUP estimates the free space in order to save time. When it tries to save a file that will bring the free space to 7K or less, it will check the actual disk free space before saving the file. BUP does not attempt to optimize the packing of files on the disks. It arranges the files alphabetically and the folders alphabetically and starting at the root directory saves all the files within that directory that will fit on the disk. When all the files in the current directory have been saved or skipped, it switches to the next directory (folder) and checks those files. It continues trying to find files that will fit in the remaining disk space until either all files have been checked, the disk has 0 remaining free space, or it only has 1K free and a new folder would have to be created to save a file. (Each folder takes 1K of disk space to create.) This works fairly well but may leave some disks with free space, especially when performing later backups where the files to choose from are fewer. Over time the disks will remain close to full. (From my experience.) Restore a hard disk 4.2 If the hard disk requires restoring for whatever reason, then BUP can perform the restoration also provided the backup data files and backup disks are available. You MUST have both the backup disks and the backup data files to use BUP to restore a hard disk. The prompts are similar to when backing up a hard disk and a status screen similar to the backup status screen that is displayed during backup is shown. The restore status screen shows the same file information but for the backup disk and hard drive displays: - Files on disk (total files on the backup disk) - Files to copy (left to copy from this backup disk) - Files copied (from this backup disk) - Size (of the hard disk) - Free (storage on the hard disk) - Total files (number of files copied to the hard disk) - Files to copy (total remaining on all backup disks to copy) - Files copied (total files copied from all backup disks) If the hard drive time option is set so the backup files have the same date and time as the hard drive files, then the restored hard drive files will have their old dates and times. When the restore is complete the window will erase and the menu will be active again. If the option is set so the backup files have the date and time of backup, then BUP will ask for the data disk when the restore is complete so it can save the new times of the hard drive files. BUP seems very sensitive to the 40 folder problem with TOS during restore operations. I have added an alert box that will appear if a problem associated with the 40-folder bug shows up. You may continue the restore or abort. If continue is selected the file that was being restored is skipped and BUP tries to save the next file. If the alert box appears again you should abort and check for evidence of the 40 folder bug. To do this look at the HD you were restoring. If it appears blank, then reboot the system. The files that have been restored should show up after rebooting. You may try BUP again to restore the HD, making sure you do not access any other drives or folders, and see if it will be able to complete the process, or copy the remaining files from the desktop manually. If you copy the files manually, use Create New Data Files to avoid having BUP think the files you copied manually (with new date and times) are modified versions of the old files. BUP shows the free remaining space on the HD being restored, but does not use the data to determine if a file can be saved on the HD. You must partition your HD large enough to accept the files during the restore process. The free space is estimated while copying files and checked for the actual free space whenever a new disk is inserted during the restore process. Save defaults 4.3 The settings made using the Options menu may be saved to disk so BUP can remember your preferences. BUP will save the settings in a file named BACKUP.DEF on the drive BUP was run from. If run from A or B, you will be prompted to insert your program disk before BUP saves the file. When BUP is run it first looks to see if there is a file named BACKUP.DEF on the drive it was run from. If the file is found it loads in your settings. If not it will set them to the default settings as described in the Options section. Create new data files 4.4 This menu item may be used if you have lost your backup data disk files or have used another backup program and would like to use BUP. When selected you will be asked which drive to create the data files for. Once selected the program will prompt you to "Insert old backup disk #x-1 into drive A", again where the x corresponds to the drive the files will be created for. If you are recreating the data files from data disks created by BUP then there should be no problem. If you are using backup disks created by another program or manually copied, then you MUST insure there is at least 1024 bytes free on the disk for BUP to save the hidden file containing the disk identity. If any disk has 0 bytes free, then transfer one file to another disk and delete the file on your original disk. Since BUP only saves the most recent version of all files on the HD, you should also insure the disks you will be using to create the new backup data files from have only one copy of each program. If using disks from a program that saves new versions of modified HD files on new disks (ie., retains the old files and your backup disk collection continues to grow over time), then delete the older copies of the duplicate files or perform a complete backup of the HD forcing the program to save all files on new disks and use these disks to create the backup data files for BUP. When BUP has searched all your disks for the selected drive tell it there are no more disks by clicking in the appropriate box. BUP will next ask if you wish to compare the data with the current hard drive files. This feature is used so BUP will know the correct date on the files on the HD (in case they are different from the file's date and time on the backup disk.) If your HD does not contain all the files that are in the backup disks BUP will not mark them as deleted during this operation. The compare with HD is ONLY to set the correct date/time and check for new files. When completed with checking the HD (if selected), BUP will save the new Backup data files on the drive you specify. The date of last backup for all the files will be set to the current date since BUP has no knowledge of when the files were saved. At this point you have several options depending on your backup disks and HD status. If your HD was backed up, then reformatted or erased or has files deleted that are on your backup disk, then you may restore the HD using PUB and the created backup data files. If your HD was backed up, then reformatted or erased and has NEW files on it you wish to save with your other backed up files, then make sure your List file options are set to NO compare and immediately go to List file data. Look at the file data to insure it is correct (you also should have selected Compare with HD when creating the new backup data files) and then close the list window. The program will ask you if you wish to backup your files. Answer Yes and follow the prompts. This must be done immediately after creating the data files. If BUP reads the data in from the backup data files and you do a backup of the HD, files missing from the HD will be erased from your backup disks. If your HD was backed up and new files have been added since the backup, then you may use the normal backup function of BUP to bring your backup disks up to date. If your HD was backed up and then BUP was used to create the backup data files, with all HD files on the backup disks, there should be no problems and the session is complete. Info 5.0 The Info menu allows you to view or print file information, or search the connected hard drives for a file. List file data 5.1 List file data will display or print file data as determined by the 'Set list options' settings. The choices are shown in section 3.9 above. If 'Alphabetically by folder' is the method, then the listing will start with the pathname and list all files under that path. If anything else is chosen the files are listed and a column with the path 'key' is displayed. If printing the data the path keys will be displayed at the end of the listing. If the listing is to the screen the top menu bar will change to show a menu choice of Paths. If the paths menu is selected a second window will open displaying the path 'keys' and associated names. The information shown in the printout or window is the same. The window will have a header labeling the columns, if printed the header will be at the top of each page. The data shown is: - File name - Path key (if not sorted by folder) - File size - File date - File time - Date of last backup - Which backup disk the file is on When displaying the data to screen the main file data window operates similarly to the normal GEM window. Clicking on the up or down arrows will move the file listing up or down by one line. Clicking in the grey area above or below the slider box will move the listing up or down one page. (A page is determined by the number of lines being displayed in the file data window and varies by the size of the window.) The slider may also be dragged up or down to rapidly move to a different area. The full box, size box, close box and top move bar all function as in normal GEM use. The mouse may perform slowly however (I'm not sure why this occurs) and you can either click several times or simply hold the mouse button down longer than usual in order for the requested action to take place. The path window functions slightly differently when it is active. The window does not have a slider and when the up or down arrows are selected the paths shown will move up or down by one page. The path window also includes the full box, close box, size box and move bar as in normal GEM applications. If 'Compare with current drive specs' is set to Yes (In the 'Set list options' menu) then BUP will compare the data from the data disk with the current files on the hard disk. A file that needs to be backed up will have an asterisk in the left column. If it is new the words No B/U will be in the column that displays the date of last backup. A file that has been deleted on the hard disk will have a D in the first column. If files need backup then when the window is closed (and the path window closed if it has been opened) then BUP will ask if you wish to backup the hard disk at this time. If you do a normal backup will proceed. If compare is set to No, only the data from the backup data disk will be displayed and there should be no asterisks or D's showing. (Unless a backup was aborted before completion. If compare is set to Yes and there are no data files then the listing will show the current files on the drive and all will have an asterisk in front of their names. Note: The printer output assumes 66 lines per page and continuous feed for the paper. The paper should be aligned and the printer online before selecting 'List file data' if the output has been selected to go to printer. Search for file(s) 5.2 This menu selection allows you to search one or all connected hard drives (C to P) for a file or group of files. If selected a dialog box will open asking you for the string to search for and whether to search one or all drives. The string search feature works the same as the forced backup methodology. You enter a file name or portion of a file name and the program will tell you of all files that have the search string within their name. If the '40 folder check' is enabled, then during the search BUP will alert you when it has accessed more than 40 folders and each time the number of folders accessed increases from then on. Be very careful of exceeding the 40 folder limit during one session. When BUP searches there are two windows displayed. The first is a very small window at the top center that displays which drive is currently being searched, and the larger main window is used to display the files that match the search parameter. After a file is found that matches, the number of the match (starting at 1), the file name and the file's path are displayed. Two buttons will also appear at the bottom of the display labeled Continue and Abort. If continue is selected the search continues and if another file name match is found the new file data will be displayed under the previous file data. Long path names may require two lines to be displayed but BUP will perform word wrap on the appropriate '\' sign. If the window fills up it will clear and start displaying new matches from the top again. You may also abort the search at any time by pressing any key on the ST keyboard. Quit menu 6.0 The last menu item is the quit menu. If selected an alert box will ask if you are sure you want to quit. If yes, the program will end. BUP will not automatically save your default settings. You must save them using the Save defaults menu item. Terminology 7.0 BUP - Backup Utility Program. Backup data disk - Backup data disk is not a disk containing the backed up files from the HD, but is the one disk containing the backup data files created by BUP and used by BUP to perform subsequent backups. This disk should be carefully protected as BUP requires it to perform a restore or to properly backup the HD again. Label this disk Backup Data disk. Backup disk - A disk containing copies of the files on the HD. There can/will be multiple backup disks. They should be labeled with the letter of the drive they contain files from and the disk # assigned by BUP. Example - Backup disk C-001. Hard disk, hard drive, HD - All mean the same thing, the high-speed fixed media device using the ST's DMA port. The terms refer to a unique drive identifier, as in drive D or drive E. A single physical HD may be partitioned into several logical HDs with separate identifiers. Distribution & Notes 8.0 Permission is granted to distribute the program as long as the documentation file accompanies the program. The program is copyright by me and is distributed as a Shareware program. This does not mean and I do not expect you to send me money before you can use it. I feel you should decide if the program is worth anything to you by using it before feeling obliged to send money. If you use the program but find it too slow or you find a better program, then don't send anything. If you do use it and like it, then I hope you will recognize the work and time spent writing BUP and contribute a small amount to supplement my current unemployed pay of zero. No contribution is too small and any contribution would be appreciated. I have only contributed once for a shareware program, and that was for ARC as I use it all the time. The reason I have not contributed to other shareware programs is I don't use them or only rarely use them. If you can not afford to contribute then use BUP anyway, a backup of hard disk data is important to maintain. If you find a bug in the program then please advise me of it and I will try to get it corrected as soon as possible. The program has been compiled without the full debug feature (saves 25K) so if the program crashes please include as much information about the option settings and what part of BUP was being used when the crash occurred as you can. Bug reports and any other comments about BUP may be sent to: D.CHIQUELIN (GEnie) 71336,1443 (CIS) DCHIQUELIN (Delphi) Sysop (Atari-O! BBS 402-592-4435 300/1200/2400) Contributions, bug reports or recommendations may be mailed to: David B. Chiquelin 501 Woodbine Circle Omaha, NE 68128-6040 After April '87 it would be best to send them to my permanent address of: 16042 Shenandoah Ave. Baton Rouge, LA 70817 as I currently am looking for employment and may not remain in the Omaha area. Changes for version 1.1 8.1 The Create new data files feature was added for version 1.1 and a couple of bugs fixed. One bug could potentially have crashed the program during backup. A minor bug that was corrected had resulted in the Examining HD window to have the characters write over each other under certain circumstances, creating black blocks eventually where the characters should have been. With the Create new data files feature in BUP, no separate utility will be required. Changes for version 1.2 8.2 More bugs were fixed, including a bug created in ver 1.1 that would not allow the restore function to perform correctly. More error checking has been added in 1.2 as well. The Force Backup by path feature is new for version 1.2, and now when List file data (with Compare off) is selected you may choose any drive, not just drives connected to the ST. This allows you to view or print the file data from another ST or if the HD is turned off. The added error checking during Disk I/O may or may not function properly, depending on your individual setup. It has been found that certain desk accessories and 'load and stay resident' programs may cause the program to crash if a disk error occurs. If you have a problem with the program crashing after seeing the System generated alert about "Data in drive 'x' may be damaged...", then try running BUP without desk accessories or other programs active. One accessory that has been shown to cause the problem is CONTROL.ACC Final Notes: BUP works best when used frequently. If there are a bunch of files that need backup then it may be better to use another backup program that performs an image backup. If used frequently the time spent on the backups will be short and you will have the peace of mind of knowing your hard disk files are protected. Remember also that BUP only saves the latest revision of modified files, and optionally deletes files from the backup disks that have been deleted from the HD. This keeps the number of disks required for BUP fairly constant, but requires YOU to save previous versions of files separately if required. The GEM interface makes using BUP easy, without having to remember what commands you need to enter. This documentation file is probably larger than required since you are lead each step of the way by BUP. If you have only received the documentation for BUP, then I urge you to obtain the program itself and try it.