OS/2 Shareware BBS: Backup/Backup.zip/drekbk5d.zip/DreckBak.txt

Text File | 1999-06-26 | 24KB | 466 lines

Readme for Dreckbak ver. 5.d Hard Disk Backup Utility Suite (Shareware)
by Murray Weismer

THE NAME:  Yes!!!  Many of you have inquired about the name, DreckBak.  The word
"dreck" comes from the secret, mystical, and almost forgotten language of the
mythical Illuminatti.  A vernacular translation is "crap". Since there is a
feature in DreckBak to exclude unwanted directories and files from your backup
to avoid saving a lot of needless, space hogging "crap" in your backup set, hence the name
"DreckBak" (G)

REQUIREMENTS:  No special hardware required.  All you need is an OS/2 system and
some hard disk space on any device that has a drive letter! (removable media
is best)  You also need zip.exe (ver. 2.2) and unzip.exe from Info-zip. There's no
longer an excuse to have NO REGULAR BACKUP. Installer requires classic Rexx.

FEATURES:
    Total Backup/Restore solution.

    Very simple setup with automated installer.

    Will backup to anything with a drive letter.
        Ideal for removable media. (SyJet, Orb, MO, etc.)

    Will preserve extended attributes.

    Will back up the active boot partition. (see disclaimer below).

    Can backup multiple drive letters in one pass. (creates separate files)
        Can backup your entire system while you sleep (or work).

    Full data compression of the backup file to save disk space.
        Rate of compression is user adjustable.

    Will work with both FAT and HPFS drives.

    Able to handle directories that have spaces and weird characters in the name.

    Will check the integrity of every created backup twice, using different methods.

    Full logging of everything.
        Logs of program activity
        Logs of integrity check
        Detailed logs of files backed up, with compression info.
        Detailed logs of integrity check
        Warn log for each drive letter with any warnings issued by info-zip.
        All logs are overwritten except the main DreckBak log and Integrty.log

    Totally automated operation with included utilities.
        Program object can be set to execute, on any weekday, all weekdays,
            every weekend, multiple times per day, etc.
        Backups are automatically managed preserving 2 backup sets.
            No need to ever delete files.

    Optional copy-to feature to copy the backup file to a second location.
        IE: CD-Rom burner, etc.

    FreshBak utility to create or freshen existing backups. Start at any directory,
        or back up a whole drive.

    Backups can be read by most any OS. (requires Info-Zip for that platform)

    Automated installation. Program creates any needed directories and all
        program objects, tools, instructions, and online support.

    Includes various freeware programs used by DreckBak or the install program.

    Works from both main or maintenance partitions.

    Easily restore from floppy boot if, and when, required.

    Templates to exclude unwanted ("Dreck") files and/or directories from your
        backups. All commonly excluded files are handled by the supplied
            template. No need for you to set it up.

    Full support for multiple exclude templates. (2 supplied with program)

    Great, prompt, tech support via E-mail, Web Page, and Mail List.

OVERVIEW:
Thank you for trying this simple, yet complete backup solution.  In
my experience, many computer users do not have a workable backup strategy, and
in too many cases, none at all. Compounding this problem is a lack of a
reliable, and reasonably priced OS/2 backup program. The included utilities with
Warp are next to useless. The enclosed program will help solve this
problem with minimal expense and hassle.  While neither elegant nor sexy, it
does the job. Every effort has been taken to build into this program ROCK SOLID
RELIABILITY!  It will back up in ZIP format to either a Hard Drive, or
removable media, such as an ORB or SyJet drive.  It can also create the backups
on the Hard disk and copy it to another drive.(Removable media?, CD burner)
All files are tested by TWO different methods to ensure the integrity of the backup.
I use this approach to back up my 3 critical partitions daily and have been able
to successfully restore my boot drive PAINLESSLY using the zip files created by
this utility.  You can also EASILY access any file in the archive using any
program, or file manager, that can handle a zip file.  (Yes Mr.  OldDos, you can
use the unzip command line) Quick and easy restorations of specific files and/or
directories are a snap.

LEGAL STUFF:
This software is guaranteed to do nothing but take up disk space.
Your system may blow up, your drives may fry, your mate could run off with the
cable guy.  (Sorry Jim) You may hit the lottery.  Monica Lewinsky may run
for president.  She may even win!  (by a swallow).  Howard Stern could get an
Oscar for Fartman.  Elvis may come back.  None of it is my fault!!  You, the
user, assume all risk and responsibility for any damage or data loss to your
system. I will not be liable for anything as the result of your use of these
files.

I have no reason to expect that this utility will cause any damage of any kind,
but beware---- especially if you have no backup strategy!!

SHAREWARE:
This program is Shareware.  The cost is $25.00 US.  The program is
in NO WAY crippled, although the FreshBak utility is only available to registered
users.  Nothing will ever time out.  If after trying the program for 30 days, you do
not wish to register, you must delete it from your system.  If you are one of those
people who never registers your software, there is nothing to prevent you from
stealing DreckBak.  When DreckBak saves your ass the first time, please
reconsider and register it. If you don't register after 30 days, you may begin to
prematurely lose your hair, and your sex drive.

This is a "secret" feature of DreckBak. This may be prevented by typing at the
command prompt... "FORMAT C: /FS:DEADBEAT"  (Yes....It's a joke.... Don't do it!)

INSTALLATION:
1) Copy the contents of this package to any temporary directory.
2) Run INSTALL.EXE and follow the prompts.  It will create all of the program
    objects, including the main utilities, all of the DOCS, Editing objects, all
    needed directories, and the support site URL object.
      NOTE:  If you are using all of the default locations, you just need to hit
    the "ENTER" key.  No need to type anything.  (See NOTES for info about the
           "Copy TO" feature.)
3) Install the included SCHEDB2.ZIP or a CRON program for scheduled, automatic backups.
4) Open the DreckBak folder that was created on your desktop.
5) If you are using the included SCHEDB2.ZIP, open the Properties (settings)
    notebook for the DRECKBAK program object.  Set the backup times and
    days on the "Schedule Page" of the Properties Notebook.
6) If needed, edit "Edit test.lst" It is pre-configured to exclude un-needed
        files and directories ("Dreck") for most systems.  It is not necessary to
        remove any entries here.  Non-existent entries are ignored. You may add
        any files or directories that you wish to exclude from your backup.
        I suggest that you DO NOT EDIT this file until after you have the program
        running. This file is delicate. Improper editing will cause unexpected
        results. A spare copy is provided in the archive for your convenience.
        You may also use any exclude list of your choosing. I've included
        minimum.lst which only will exclude swapper.dat and the delete directory.
        You can use any name you wish, but the extension must be LST and it
        should be in the DreckBak home directory. To use an alternate list, open
        the DreckBak Properties Notebook, and change the word "TEST" to the
        name you wish. For FreshBak, just supply the name as the first parameter.
7) After you are sure all is working well, you may wish to edit the program
        object to "start minimized", and "close on exit".

MANUAL INSTALL:
1) Create a directory to hold DreckBak.
2) Create a directory for log files.
3) Create a directory for the Backups.
4) Copy the lines below and save as "SetEnv.cmd" in the DreckBak directory.
5) Edit the "SET STATEMENTS" to reflect your system setup. (note:  some
        entries are not yet implemented).

------Start Marking Here --------

@Echo Off
SET INSTDATE= 729897 (Not yet implemented - Julian Date)
SET DRECKVER=5d (Use the version number that you installed)

REM Edit below to change your preferences

SET HOMEDRV=D (Drive Letter where DreckBak will reside)
SET HOMEDIR0="dreckbak" (DreckBak home directory)
SET HOMEDIR="D:\dreckbak" (see above 2 lines)
SET BACKDRV=J (Drive where backups will be stored)
SET BACKDIR0="freshbak" (Directory name to store backups)
SET BACKDIR="J:\freshbak" (see above 2 lines)
SET LOGDRV=D (Drive letter to store log files)
SET LOGDIR0=LOGS (Directory for logs)
SET LOGDIR=D:\LOGS (see above 2 lines)
SET LOGNAMEB=DrekBak.log (Name of Main logfile)
SET LOGNAMEI=Integrty.log (name of integrity checking logfile)
SET TEMP=F:\TEMP (location to hold temp files created by zip.exe)
SET ZIPOPT=-rgSu9Tv (options to pass to zip.exe)
SET ZIPDRV=D (Drive letter where zip/unzip.exe are located)
SET ZIPDIR0="ZTB" (directory containing zip.exe)
SET ZIPDIR="D:\ZTB" (see above 2 lines)
SET PATH="D:\ZTB";"D:\dreckbak";%PATH%; (path to zip and DreckBak)
SET DELY=N (if using 4os2, enter Y)
SET COPYTO=NO (enable copy-to feature)
SET EXCL=%1 (take exclude list from command line)
REM SET COPYDRV=K (drive letter to copy-to)
REM SET COPYDIR0="FRESHCOPY" (Directory to copy-to)
REM SET COPYDIR="K:\FRESHCOPY" (See above 2 lines)
REM
REM  ******END of SET Lines
REM
REM
Set > %LOGDIR%\SETENV.TXT
%HOMEDIR%\logit.exe %LOGDIR%\%LOGNAMEB%  "Environment saved to %LOGDIR%\SetEnv.Txt"
GOTO END
:END
------------END MARKING HERE----------------

6) Create program objects for DreckBak.exe and Freshbak.exe if desired.
    Parameters for DreckBak are the name of the exclude filter and
    the drive letters to be backed up. Leave a space between each
    entry.  ie:  [TEST c d e ]


GETTING STARTED:
I keep all of the package on my Maintenance Partition (Drive D), and have
program objects both there, and on my main desktop (Drive E) as
well. Be sure to also create these objects while booted to your maintenance partition
by running INSTALL.EXE from the DreckBak Directory.  Just answer that you are
re-creating the program objects and answer NO to the Clean-up prompt. Be sure
that ZIP.EXE and UNZIP.EXE are present on your system as well. You can change
the location during install, or later by editing "SetEnv.cmd".

If you are going to use a CRON program to automate the backups, or if you use
the included WPS extension, SCHEDB2, you can set the DreckBak object to
start minimized and close on exit.  For best results, critical backups should be
done from the maintenance partition to avoid any problems with opened files and
.INI's. (I have successfully restored using archives (backups) created from my main boot
partition, but the GURU's say this is a No-No, so be advised.)  This utility
will not abort the backup in this case, but will report that files could not be
opened, post a warning in the warn log, and make some mild noises.


Install SCHEDB2 for automation.  (Any other CRON or scheduler will work if you
do not wish to use the enclosed program.)  Be sure to set the last page in the
settings notebook of DrekBak.exe for the schedule.  I have been unable to
contact the author of SCHEDB2 in over a year, so I do not know the current
status of this software.  It does work very well for me but there is a small
bug.  Trying to change a schedule will hang the computer.  REMOVE the schedule
item and ADD the revision.  Everything else works fine.

USAGE:
DreckBak.exe is the file that controls the backup process.  You can run
this by double clicking its Icon, or better still, for automated use, use a cron
program, the included SCHEDB2, or other scheduler. (Note**** If using a CRON or
schedule utility, be sure to pass the drive letters you want backed up as
parameters along with the name of your exclude filter.
ie:   CHRON.EXE DreckBak.exe TEST C D E F  )
This is not needed with SCHEDB2, as it directly executes the
program object. You should set up this utility (DreckBak) to back up all of your
partitions that change.  I run a backup 6 nights a week.  Whenever I make a
"major" change to the system, ie:  FixPak, etc, I make a full backup, using
FRESHBAK.exe, of my Boot Partition, and call it something like "E-FullFP10.ZIP.
I do this BEFORE making the change, and again, afterwards, when I am satisfied
that the the change should stay.  I back up both my DOS and OS2 boot partitions,
as well as my data partition, daily.  DreckBak will give me 2 days worth of
backups, for extra safety.

DreckBak.exe calls SetEnv.cmd, which was created by the installer.
This passes your settings to the program. DreckBak then calls FILZ.EXE
which manages existing backed up zips and feeds command lines and parameters
to ZIP.EXE.  (produced by Info-Zip).  You must first create SetEnv.cmd if you
didn't run the installer. (Note: Almost EVERY problem reported with this
program involved an error in this file. If you are experiencing a problem,
check this file for the validity of your entries. If you try to backup the whole
drive and it's done in a flash and DreckBak.log shows success,
your zip/unzip entry is wrong! )


Please note.... All default locations may EASILY be changed during installation
or at any later time.

DreckBak.exe assumes that FILZ.EXE, test.lst, SetEnv.cmd, BEEP.EXE and LOGIT.EXE
are all in the DRECKBAK directory on drive D:  (Drive D is my maintenance
partition) The template file, TEST.LST may be edited (not required) to point to every
directory that you DO NOT want backed up.  Prime examples would be TMP, TEMP,and
CACHE.  Some other good ones may be x:\TCPIP\TMP , x:\FreshBak , and
x:\NETSCAPE\PROGRAM\USER\USERNAME\CACHE.  It's a good idea to include items on
all of your drives, not just the ones that you will back up using DreckBak.

Be sure to include the FreshBak directory in the list if you will be backing up that
partition. I don't think you want a backup of the backup.

FRESHBAK.exe (Bonus program for Registered users) also will use this file when
creating a backup of any drive or portion. You may also specify any other exclude
template file from the program object, or on the command line as the first parameter.
(no extension or path) A second exclude file template (minimum.lst) is included
for your convenience.

There is no need to delete invalid directories in these files.  They will be
ignored. Most of the commonly excluded directories and files are already included
in this file. (Note: Editing this file incorrectly will produce unexpected results - like
only a few files backed up, while you were expecting the whole drive. A backup
copy is included for your convenience.)

The default destination directory for the zips to be stored in is j:\freshbak.
Be sure that there is sufficient space for your backups.  This program will keep
2 sets. For safety, the program will verify that both sets exist before deleting
the oldest. If you do not have enough space, you will get an error posted to the
log file and hear a series of beeps.  Either create this directory (done by the
install program) or edit SetEnv.CMD to reflect the correct directory for your
system.  If using removable media, be sure the directory exists on all media
that you will use.

The directory I use to store the log files is d:\logs.  Either create this
directory (also done by the install) or edit for your system.  The logs for each
backed up partition are overwritten on each run.  The DreckBak.LOG and
INTEGRTY.LOG are appended.

DreckBak is set to backup drives F, E, and C (can be changed during the install,
or any later time) and to TWICE verify the integrity of the backup.  You can
either add more drives by entering them at the prompt during the install, or
later by changing the parameters line in the DreckBak.exe Properties notebook.

Unless you have "Mucho" Hard disk space, I advise you to set this up to back up the
largest drives first and smallest last.  Zip will create temporary files during
the backup in your TEMP directory, as defined in the SET commands or during
installation.  (Default is F:\TEMP) There must be enough room on that drive to
hold this file and the directory must exist.

SUGGESTION:  (This is NOT required)
Before getting started using DreckBak for regular backups, create a backup of
each partition on your system.  Use the FreshBak (Bonus program for registered
users) object to do this.  If you have enough removable media, or hard disk space,
be sure to back up every partition that you wish to be able to easily recreate.

Now you are ready to use DreckBak to make regular, frequent, scheduled backups.

Remember, the safest backup is one that is not located with your computer, so
use removable media if possible, and rotate them.  Consider that if you are
backing up to your hard drive, you will not be protected against any problems
that may affect your drive.  A second physical drive is better than a partition
on a drive that you are backing up.  Although most Hard Disk problems can be
corrected with FDISK or CHKDSK, if your machine cannot read your drive, it
cannot read your backup, either.  Even if you do not have removable media,
backing up to your hard drive is FAR BETTER than no backup at all.


RESTORING a Backup:
To restore a backup, other than your active boot partition, click on the restore
object and enter the drive:\path\zipname.zip of the backed up file. At the next
prompt, type in the drive and dir to restore into.

Example:  "j:\freshbak\H-Ebak.zip" "e:\" This will restore the file H-Ebak.zip
to the root directory of drive E.

To restore your boot drive, you must be either booted to a Maintenance partition
or to Floppy disks.  If you do not have WPS support, just call at the OS/2
prompt, "drive:\path\UNZIP.EXE SourceDrive:\Filename.zip -d TargetDrive:\ "

Example ** From the A:\ prompt, assuming boot drive is C and unzip.exe is in
                D:\ZTB, you should type .......
D:\ZTB\UNZIP.EXE J:\FRESHBAK\H-CBAK.ZIP -d C:\
(Note: Command line switches ( -d ) for zip/unzip are case sensitive)

You will need to have unzip available on the floppy, or the path set to point to
zip on your hard drive.

Many files on the boot drive are READ ONLY.  They will not be restored unless
you change the attributes.  For a clean, quick restore, format the drive first.
(Type HELP FORMAT for more info) (format C: /FS:HPFS)

Also be aware that empty directories will not be restored.  You can use the
included "dummy.dat" zero byte file in your empty directories as a place holder
to be sure that restores will recreate these directories.  Also, any directories
that you have excluded by listing them in the TEST.LST will likewise NOT be
recreated.  By default, TEMP, TMP, DELETE, and TCPIP\TMP will not be recreated,
as well as some others.  Simply recreate them after the restore.

BE SURE THAT YOU HAVE TESTED YOUR BOOT DISKS BEFORE YOU NEED THEM.
DO NOT ASSUME THAT THEY ARE OK. YOU MUST VERIFY THAT THEY WORK.
YOU MAY ALSO NEED TO CREATE A UTILITY FLOPPY WITH FDISK, CHKDSK,
FORMAT, UNZIP, Etc., ON IT.

TEST IT ALL!!!!!!!

** Notes** The following line will be logged in the warn log at the creation of
each archive . It is not an error.

"zip warning:  j:/freshbak/H-Fbak.zip not found or empty"


The COPY-TO function, has been implemented.  It can be used to copy your
backup.zip from the FreshBak directory to another drive/directory of your
choice.  It may also be used in the future to fire up other software needed to
get the files on your tape drive or CD burner.  It's currently set up to copy
all files with a zip extension at the end of the backup.  It will not do
anything with the backup zip (zipfile.1) and will overwrite the existing Zip
file. This way, you will have 2 generations of the backup on the hard drive and
the latest version copied to removable media. If you wish to use it to fire up
other utilities, please let me know the exact command line that you need, and
I'll put it together for you.

I envision this as being able to call existing software, such as Backmaster,
Colorado Backup, BA/2, etc, and have it place the backup files created by
DreckBak onto your tape drive.

SUGGESTION:
FRESHBAK.exe: (Registered version) This object will allow the creation, or the
freshening, of a zip file.  You may specify any drive, directory or filename for
the zip, as well as the source, and logfile and exclude filter file name.
This can be used to back up an entire drive or just a portion of the drive tree.
(ie:  x:\TCPIP - Will back up the TCPIP directory, as well as all subdirectories).
It will also freshen (add new or changed files to) existing zip files.  This is useful
when you have a drive that has files that change or are added.  Freshbak will
update the existing backup file with the new or changed files.  It will not
remove any files, so files no longer on the drive will still be in the backup.

I use this approach on the partition that holds downloadable files for the users
of my BBS.  Files are added to this drive frequently, but almost never are there
deletions.

TO-DO:  Add user definable command line in the COPY-To feature. You Tell Me!!!
     Add support for spanning multiple disks (zip, floppy, etc)
     Implement include filter file
     Translations to other languages

Any suggestions and help with this project are QUITE WELCOME!!!!

CREDITS:
I have included Logit.exe and its docs by Julian Buss.  It is FREEWARE.
Beep.exe is also a freeware utility contained in the FM2UTILS.zip by M. Kimes.
Info-Zip programs (Zip and Unzip) are available on most major OS2 sites.
Some Icons taken from the Icon Heaven collection by The Frobozz Magic
        Software Company.
Utilities used during install, F.exe and Drives.exe Freeware by Jim Lewis.

If I left anyone out, let me know, and I'll put ya' in.
All other files in this archive written by Murray Weismer.
German translation curtesy of Klaus Roeckerath, M.D.

Many thanks go out to a "buddy" that I found in one of the OS/2 news groups whose
input has been indispensable in improving this program, and to David G of the
PACS OS/2-Warp SIG who "showed me the light".


SUPPORT:
If you have any comments, suggestions, improvements, bug reports, or
problems, please contact me at the support web site below or...

[e-mail] or log on to RPS.BBS at 215-624-8960


The latest shareware version of this program, along with some screen shots may
be found at http://weismer.virtualave.net/DreckBak.html. Easy access is
provided by clicking the URL object in the DreckBak folder.
The program is also available at BMT MICRO, Hobbes, and many other Quality
    OS/2 sites.

Join the DreckBak discussion egroup at: http://egroups.com/group/dreckbak

This Program is SHAREWARE
Please Register via BMT MICRO.



Murray Weismer
c/o RPS, Inc.
8014 Frankford Ave
Philadelphia PA 19136-2616

SUPPORT OS/2 - JOIN YOUR LOCAL USER GROUP

Member "Philadelphia Area Computer Society (PACS) OS/2-JAVA Special Interest
Group (SIG)"    http://www.phillyos2.org for info.

DreckBak is available at NO CHARGE to all verified members of the above users
group.  IT PAYS TO BELONG - In more ways than one!!!!



ENJOY!