=================================================== BackMaster Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) =================================================== Preface This FAQ provides additional information toward problem solving with BackMaster, your tape drive, your computer and OS/2. These notations and suggestions answer many frequently asked questions received about BackMaster and resolutions produced by technical support. If you have further questions or suggestions, please feel free to e-mail us at: comments@msrdev.com ======================================================= INDEX: 1.0 - About BackMaster 2.0 - Where can I get BackMaster? 3.0 - How can I optimize BackMaster for the best backup performance? 4.0 - What is the latest version of BackMaster? 5.0 - Does BackMaster Support the Verbatim Extra Cartridges 6.0 - Does BackMaster Support my new drive? 7.0 - Does BackMaster work on IBM OS/2 Warp 4.0? 8.0 - How do I configure High Speed Adapters card under BackMaster and OS/2? 9.0 - When I booted from floppies, and ran BMREST.EXE I got an error message! 10.0 - Can I use my Promise controller as a floppy tape adapter? 11.0 - BackMaster General Troubleshooting Hints. 12.0 - Why do I get an error 59 (Tape is not formatted) when I'm using a new pre-formatted tape or a good tape? 13.0 - Why won't BackMaster read my Warp 4.0 HPFS file system drives? 14.0 - Can I use Advanced Power Management with BackMaster? 15.0 - How to Deselect files with File Selection Sets? ====== About BackMaster 3.0 - MSR Development Corporation ======= BackMaster 3.0 is a true 32-bit OS/2 backup software program that offers floppy-interface, parallel-interface and SCSI support in a single package. Version 3.0 offers support for higher capacity tape drives including Travan, QICWide, QIC 40/80/3010/3020, DAT and extended length cartridges with storage capacities up to 8 GB. BackMaster allows you to perform backup and restore functions without interrupting other tasks. Included with the product is a utility program that enables PC users to create a floppy disk-based disaster recovery "boot floppies" for recovering a complete system from tape. BackMaster 3.0 is available for $99.95 (MSRP). Upgrades are available directly from MSR Development for $49.95 (MSRP). (Registration Required) MSR Development Corporation 4407 Manchester Avenue suite 104 Encinitas, CA 92024 - Voice: (760) 633-3900 - BBS: (760) 633-3908 - Fax: (760) 633-3909 - WWW: http://www.msrdev.com - FTP: ftp.msrdev.com - CompuServe: GO MSRDEV Q: Where can I get BackMaster? A: Refer to our web site (http://ww.msrdev.com) for the latest resellers' list. Below is a partial list of BackMaster resellers. Resellers: - CompUSA 1-800-266-7872 - IBM Direct 1-800-342-6672 - Indelible Blue 1-800-776-8284 or 1-919-878-7479 - J3 Computer Tech. 1-909-985-6786 - MicroCenter 1-800-211-6949 - OS+ Resource 1-310-804-6153 or 1-310-804-6154 - Post Software Int. 1-919-556-6721 - Software City 1-708-949-9210 - Software Spectrum 1-214-864-7885 Distributors: - Micro Central 1-800-83-MICRO Q: How can I optimize BackMaster for the best backup performance? A: There are several items that you can change to optimize your software and your OS/2 system to get a reliable backup. - If you are using a standard ISA, EISA, VESA, or PCI system, the driver IBM2FLPY.ADD is unnecessary on your system and should be remarked out or deleted from the config.sys entirely. This driver should only be needed for Microchannel machines. - If you have installed WARP from CD, then the device driver XDFLOPPY.FLT may be remarked out of the config.sys. This driver adds support for the 1.88 megabyte diskettes that IBM uses for the installation diskettes. The first two diskettes (the only two used for CD installation) are standard 1.44 megabyte files. Therefore, if you have installed from CD, the XDFLOPPY.FLT driver will not be of any benefit to you and may be remarked out or deleted. - OS/2 WARP has increased the standard sizes of the HPFS cache. On an 8 to 12 megabyte system, you may see some problems trying to use a 1024K cache with your HPFS. The HPFS cache was set to 64K standard in OS/2 versions 2.1 and 2.11. Thus, reducing the size or even eliminating the HPFS cache under WARP may free up the necessary memory. Optionally, if you have 16 megabytes of memory or more use a 1024K to 2048K cache. - OS/2 WARP in some cases has also increased the DISKCACHE statement from 512K to 1024K. You may want to consider lowering this cache to the standard 256K that was used in OS/2 2.1 and 2.11 or even lowering this to 64K if you have only 8 - 12 megabytes. Optionally, if you have 16 megabytes or more of memory use a 512K to 1024K cache. - In some cases, increasing the default size of your SWAP file can improve system performance. By preallocating disk space for the swap file, you can improve virtual memory performance by assuring the virtual memory is available immediately when needed, thus reducing the number of times the SWAP file must be extended and therefore reducing SWAP file fragmentation. To change your default SWAP size, you will want to modify the SWAPPATH statement in your config.sys. The SWAPPATH statement has two numbers directly after the statement. These numbers are, respectively, the amount of room to leave free on the drive, and the second number is the default swapper file size. Increasing the default size of the SWAP file to about 12-16 megabytes will make sure that the SWAP file is less fragmented. This will also insure that the system will have the resources it needs upon bootup and will not need to expand the SWAP file as often. Q: What is the latest version of BackMaster? A: The current version of BackMaster is 3.0. Q: Does BackMaster Support the Verbatim EXtra Cartridges? A: The Verbatim EXtra cartridges are currently supported in BackMaster version 3.0. Previous versions (1.x and 2.x) do not support these cartridges. Refer to http://www.verbatimcorp.com/crossref.htm for Verbatim Corporations QIC Cross Reference Guide. Q: Does BackMaster Support my new drive? A: New hardware in terms of tape drives, computer CPUs and peripherals is always a challenge for backup software providers. We are continually investigating ways to improve BackMaster and increase compatibility with hardware. For the most current list visit our website, BBS, Compuserve forum or call. Q: Does BackMaster work on IBM OS/2 Warp 4.0? A: Yes, BackMaster was tested on Warp 4.0 during its complete beta cycle and also on the general release. BackMaster has proven to be very stable and reliable under Warp 4.0. Some of the changes in Warp 4.0 may prompt you to make some additional changes to your system and BackMaster settings to solve some problem issues: 1. Sharing Violations: Due to some new files in OS/2 Warp 4.0 which are in use or locked, BackMaster might error with a "Sharing Violation". To correct this, you can use BackMaster's Forced Read List option. The Forced Read List enables BackMaster to read files that are locked. You may select, via complete filenames or wildcards, files which are to be read even if locked. The filenames or wildcards may be added or deleted from the list with this control. On the backup page in BackMaster's configuration, enter " *.* " and ".*" by itself into the entry field, then select the "Add" button to add this to the drop down list of file extensions and wild cards for files to be forced read. Q: How do I configure High Speed Adapter cards under BackMaster and OS/2? A: High speed adapters are peripheral cards added to the machine to increase backup speed. Transfer speeds can be doubled or tripled depending on the type of tape drive being used. The standard floppy controller (1.44) runs at 500 Kilobits per second. High speed adapters, such as the Colorado FC-10 or the Iomega Accelerator can run a tape drive at 1 Megabit per second. This usually equates to backing up 6-8 Megabytes per minute. The FC-20 and the Iomega Ditto Card can push transfer speeds to 2 Megabits per second for 3020 drives. Some standard floppy controllers can support 2.88 floppy drives at 1 Megabit per second. In BackMaster 3.0 options and configurations, choose the "Automatic" transfer speed setting under the "Floppy" page. BackMaster will automatically set the transfer rate for your specific tape drive. Q: When I booted from floppies and ran BMREST.EXE, I got an error message that said "Cannot load physical format DLL.". How do I fix this? A: Copy \backmast\*.dll to the last boot recovery diskette. Q: Can I use my Promise controller as a floppy tape adapter? A: Promise Caching Controllers can cause problems with shoe shining and other issues. They can cause bad offsets and other problems. To fix these problems, insure you are using the Promise drivers for OS/2. The /f switch must be on the in the driver statement. The Promise controller must run in fast mode (/f parameter) in order to work with floppy tape drives. Refer to the Promise documentation for more information. Q: BackMaster General Troubleshooting Hints. A: Timing or software problems are caused by a software or hardware component of your system interfering with the flow of data between the backup program and the floppy controller. Some of the symptoms are: - Tape drive seems to start normally but fails to read data from any tape. - Tape drive is very slow (normal data rate is 4MB per minute) and may exhibit continual back and forth tape motion. - Your system or the program may halt or "lock up" during a tape operation. SOFTWARE: If you are not able to resolve an error after following the suggestions given in the BackMaster Manual or the BackMaster Online Information Presentation Facility (the book icon in the BackMaster folder), it is recommended to do the following: - Move drivers to the bottom of the \CONFIG.SYS file. - Shut down all other background applications. - Change the Cache option on the Motherboard to Write-Through. - Make sure you have the current drivers from our BBS. - Try changing the memory aperture on your video card. - If you are using a High Speed Adapter, make sure it is not sharing the DMA channel with another device. This can appear to work, but can cause problems later on. - Try changing the DISKCACHE line in your \CONFIG.SYS file to reserve less memory. - Clean your tape drive and retension it. - Enable TIME CRITICAL in the configuration notebook. - Try another tape. Make sure your tapes are on the Approved Tapes List in the BackMaster or Manufacturer's manual. - Check the hard drive for lost clusters, bad sectors, and fragmentation. If errors occur, correct them by running a OS/2 disk utility or use `CHKDSK /F' See your OS/2 manual for more information. HARDWARE: If the drive does not respond when you try to access it with the software, do the following: - Remove the tape from the drive and examine it. If the tape is damaged or un-spooled, try another tape. - Close down all programs, exit OS/2 and turn the power off on the computer. If your tape drive plugs directly into the wall outlet, disconnect it from the wall outlet, wait a few seconds and then reconnect it. Turn the power back on, reboot, and try again. - Place a tape in the drive and look to see if the LED is functioning normally. The tape drive LED should not be on after the tape stops spinning. Q: Why do I get an error 59 (Tape is not formatted) when I'm using a new pre-formatted tape or a good tape? A: - Possible causes: 1) Unformatted tape. 2) Dirty Read/Write head. 3) Insufficient memory or a software conflict with tape software. 4) Hardware conflict with DMA, IRQ, or Base I/O Address. 5) Loose tape media or cartridge not seated in drive firmly. 5) Motor Jam or Read/Write head failure. 6) Floppy disk controller or System Timing. - Possible solutions: 1) Make sure all your settings are correct in BackMaster, enable Time critical settings in BackMaster's configuration. 2) Clean the tape device (after 8-10 hours of usage) 3) Add the /M switch to the device driver BackMaster uses 5) Reconfigure your system to not have any conflicts with DMA, IRS or I/O address ranges. 6) Try another CMOS parallel port mode (on Pentium machines) 7) Format the tape in the tape drive that it will be used in. 8) If the tape has never been formatted, or if the tape is pre-formatted for a different type of drive, it will need to be formatted before use. Q: Why won't BackMaster read my Warp 4.0 HPFS file system drives? A: IBM has a trouble report on this problem. At times a file system error is created which the HPFS system does not correct. This has shown up as an error in BackMaster's ability to read the file systems file tree. Running the "attrib" command has helped to identify where the error is located in the file structure. By removing the offending file or directory the problem is solved. Alternatively, you can try running CHKDSK from an older version of Warp when booted from floppy diskettes. Q: Can I use Advanced Power Management with BackMaster? A: Some systems with APM enabled do not seem to allow the backups to be completed. Make sure your APM setup allows IO access via the floppy interface or the parallel interface to resolve this. Q: How to Deselect files with File Selection Sets? A: BackMaster allows you to create and save backup file selections to the hard drive. These File Selection Sets may be launched by menu or drag and drop, allowing you to start a routine backup in seconds. Additionally, you can edit or create your own custom *.fss files using wild cards (I.E., *.*, *.exe, etc. ... ) When creating a file selection set to include DESELECTING files, there are rules you must follow to get the disired results. BackMaster supports wildcards in the Directory and File sections of an FSS. The following are examples of different wild cards used in an FSS \*.* (This example selects all files and sub-directories in the drive.) Note that the above wild card will not allow you to make changes along the rest of the file selection set. By default, it has selected all files in the directory tree. This means that if you have selected all the files of the root directory. You cannot deselect the files unless you have stated the entire path. Adding a "+" (plus) or a "-" (minus) sign to the beginning of the path will add or remove the selected wild card on the files selected. Example: \*.* (This example selects all files and sub directories in the drive.) -\OS2\DLL\*.DLL (This example deselects all *.DLL files in the \OS2\DLL directory) Complete FSS Example: BACKMASTER VERSION 3.0 SAVESET FILE C:\BACKMAST\example.FSS SOURCE DRIVE C ENDHEADER ENDCOMMENT \*.* -\os2\*.exe -\os2\dll\*.dll END The above example selects all files on drive C:, then deselects all *.EXE files in the C:\OS2 directory and deselects all *.DLL files in the C:\OS2\DLL directory. MSR Development Corporation Document #MSRDOC0322-4 Last revised: 6-16-97