Introduction

Backup To CD-RW will copy any folders and files you want to CD-RW, CD-R, floppy diskette, or a folder on a hard disk. Your files are stored on the backup as normal files identical to the originals, so you can copy or open them directly with Windows Explorer or any other program if you wish, rather than restoring them back to your hard disk first with Backup To CD-RW. The software will automatically use as many CD-RW's, CD-R's or diskettes as needed to hold all your files, asking you to insert new discs as necessary.

To use a CD-RW or CD-R, you must have software such as Adaptec Direct CD or Nero InCD which allows files to be written to the drive letter for your CD-RW or CD-R drive. All modern CD-RW and CD-R drives are automatically installed with such software.

Click the “Contents” button above for full list of help topics.

Additional “Getting Started” topics:

Summary Of Features.

How Backup To CD-RW decides what to backup.

Backup instructions are saved in special files.

Step-by-step to make a backup.


Summary Of Features

Select Folders And Files To Backup

Backup To CD-RW lets you select which folders and files you want to backup, through an easy to understand dialog showing the folders on your hard disk. You browse through the folders, and click buttons to tell the software to backup folders or not. When you decide to backup a folder (or not), that decision also applies to all subfolders of that folder unless you say otherwise for individual folders.

Unless you say otherwise, if a folder is backed up all files in it will be backed up. You can, however, say to backup ONLY particular files, or all files EXCEPT particular files, and combinations of these conditions. You have complete control over what is backed up.

You can backup any data on any drive letter visible in Windows Explorer, not just your own hard disk. If you are using a network you can backup data stored elsewhere on the network, or even data stored on other devices such as CD-ROM drives or floppy diskettes.

Save Backup Instructions In Backup Type

Since you have such flexibility in specifying what to backup, naturally you’d like to be able to save all these instructions for when you want to make the same backup again later. Backup To CD-RW saves this information in a backup type. Which is actually a bunch of small files which reside in the folders for which you’ve given instructions. The instructions for a particular folder are always stored in a backup type file which is stored in that folder.

Adapts Automatically When Folders Are Reorganized Or Renamed

Storing the backup instructions in the folder to which they apply has another benefit – If the folder is renamed or moved, the instructions adapt automatically. This is because the instructions don’t actually give the name of the folder they apply to – they always apply to the current folder. This idea carries even further – if a new folder is created, it automatically inherits any backup instructions specified for its closest ancestor folder, and if you delete a folder any instructions in it are cleanly removed as well. All this means that your backups continue to save what you want no matter how you reorganize your hard disk.

Uses As Many Backup Discs As Needed

Backup To CD-RW will use as many CD-RW, CD-R, Zip or Jaz discs as necessary to hold your backup. When a disc becomes full, it will ask you to remove the old one and insert a new one. If a file will not fit entirely in the remaining space on a disc it will save the entire file on the next disc.

No Proprietary File Format To Restore From

Backup To CD-RW does not use a proprietary file format to save the backup in. The folder heirarchy which was backed up is reproduced exactly on the backup disc(s), and all the files backed up are in the same folders as they are on your hard disk.

The big advantage to this is you can work with files on the backup directly on the backup disc, instead of having to restore them first. In most cases you can open documents and other files directly from the disc using the same software you would to open them from your hard disk, just using the drive letter for your CD-RW drive. Realistically though, since CD-RW is much slower to access than a hard disk if you want to do a lot of work with a backed up file you will want to restore it first.

Backup All Selected Files Or Only Recently Modified Files

Backup To CD-RW can either backup exactly the files specified in the backup type, or it can apply an additional restriction to only backup files which have been modified in the recent past. You can tell the software how many days to look back, so you can backup only files modified in the last 10 days, 30 days, 122 days, whatever.

Also, you can elect to backup files whose “Archive” flag has been turned on. The “Archive” flag is turned on automatically by Windows when any program modifies the file. A complementary option to this one is the ability to turn off the “Archive” flag for all files included in the backup which were last modified more than some number of days ago. In other words, leave the “Archive” flag on long enough to allow the file to be included in several backups, but then turn it off.

New Backups Can Erase Old Ones, Or Be Stored Separately

Normally, every time you create a backup to the same destination (CD-RW disc, folder on your hard disk, etc.) it first deletes any old backup it finds there. This is fine for really big backups, where you couldn’t fit more than one at a time anyway, but it’s not so fine for smaller backups such as backups which only include recently modified files.

For this reason, Backup To CD-RW has an option to create a separate folder of the specified backup destination each time a backup is made, and name that folder for the date and time the backup was made. That way each backup goes in a separate folder, and it doesn’t have to erase old ones to make room for new ones.

Unattended Backups With Command Line Options

Backup To CD-RW allows backups to be made without any human participation, once the backup type has been created. This is accomplished by starting the program with command line options to tell it what backup type to use, where to save the backup, etc. All backup options are available when the program is used this way. This is very convenient to use from scheduling programs which can launch other programs are predefined times, such as System Agent.

New Features In Version 3.0

The new features in Backup To CD-RW version 3.0 are the much improved ability to backup only recently modified files, and the ability to run unattended backups using command line options. Significant improvements were also made to diagnostics and error messages when problems occur.


How Backup To CD-RW Decides What To Backup

To understand how Backup To CD-RW decides what to backup, you must first look at how information is organized on a hard disk. The best way to understand this is by analogy, with how a tree is constructed in nature. A tree has a single trunk, which divides into branches. Each branch can in turn divide into other branches. In the analogy, each folder on your hard disk is like a branch of a tree. There is one main folder, called the root folder, which corresponds to the trunk. It has many subfolders, like branches arising from the trunk. Each of these folders can have subfolders, like branches splitting off from larger branches.

Aside from other branches, the trunk and each branch can also have leaves. In the analogy, each leaf on a tree is like a file on a hard disk. Each leaf is attached to a branch, and each file is stored in a folder.

Backup To CD-RW lets you decide which folders (branches of the tree) to backup. When you tell it to backup a folder, it will backup everything in that folder unless you say otherwise. All files, subfolders, files in subfolders, subfolders in subfolders and their files, etc. It's like pruning a tree, if removing a branch is like backing up the equivalent folder. When you decide whether to prune a branch, all branches and leaves attached to that branch share the same fate. And you can prune a small branch or a big one. You can even cut down the entire tree!


Backup Instructions Are Saved In Special Files

When you decide which folders to backup, it saves this information in a special file in each folder you decide to backup. Like tying a tag to each branch on a tree you plan to cut off. Once these "instruction" files are created, they stay in the folders they apply to. You can make your backup as many times as you like, without selecting the folders over again each time, because the instructions stay on your hard disk in each folder to be backed up.

The instruction file doesn't mention the name of the folder, it just says to backup the folder, and is assumed to apply to the folder in which it is found. The file can actually say several things, but it never mentions the name of the folder.

One thing you can do with backup instructions you can't do with a real tree is to override instructions in subfolders. With a real tree, when you cut off a branch you can't elect to keep some of the branches splitting off it. You can with Backup To CD-RW, however. It's as if you have two colors of tags to tie to the branches - a green tag says to prune (backup) the branch, and a red tag says to keep (don't backup) the branch. You can tie a green tag to a big branch to prune it, and tie red tags to any of the branches splitting off it to not back those up. You will actually do this very frequently when designing backups: put one type of instruction in a large folder, possibly the root folder, and put the opposite type of instruction in selected subfolders.

Backup To CD-RW requires you to give a name to your backup, and allows you to create multiple backups with different names. Each one backs up different folders and files. It keeps the different backups separate by using the backup name (the "backup type") as the name of the instruction file it leaves in each folder.

This way of saving backup instructions has several advantages. First, because an instruction applies to all subfolders by default, if a new subfolder is created in a parent folder which already has instructions, the subfolder is automatically covered by instructions in the parent folder. Conversely, if you delete a folder the instructions are deleted with it because deleting a folder deletes all the files in it as well. And, if you rename a folder the instructions don't have to be fixed. Instructions always apply to the folder they live in, regardless of what it's named. And of course, you don't have to fix the instructions when you create and delete files.


Step-By-Step To Make Your First Backup

There are 3 steps to designing and making your first backup:

1.	Use the "New Type..." button to create your first "Backup Type". This is where you decide which folders and files to back up. This will open the Select Drive… dialog, where you pick the drive letters with data you want to backup, and specify which folders on those drives to backup.

2.	Pick the drive letter with your CD-RW or CD-R drive from the "Select drive or folder to save backup to:" combo box.

3.	Click "Make Backup". It will open the Additional Parameters dialog, and then start the backup.

Steps (1) and (2) are only necessary the first time. After that, to backup the same folders and files again use the "Select type of backup..." combo box to pick the "Backup Type" you created in (1), and click "Make Backup".

If you require further assistance, please visit our web site at "www.willowsoft.com/backup".


Purchase (Register) The Software

Backup To CD-RW has a 90 day trial period. You can use all features during this period, and after that you can still get in the program but you can’t actually make a backup.

At any time before or after the trial period is up you can go to the web page listed on the copyright window to purchase an unlimited use license for the software with your credit card for $19.95. You will receive a license ID to enter into the copyright window, which will immediately turn on the ability to make backups if your trial period has expired.


Creating And Using Backup Types

The first step in telling Backup To CD-RW what to backup is to create a backup type. This is where Backup To CD-RW saves all your instructions about what to backup. To create a new backup type, click “New Type…” on the main window. It will ask you for a name to give to the type. Choose something you’ll recognize later when the program presents you with a list of backup types to choose from. If you want to change an existing backup type, for example to add more folders to it or remove some, open the combo box above the “Edit Type…” button, pick the backup type you want, and click “Edit Type…”.

Whether you created a new type or picked an existing one to edit, you will next see the Select Drive… dialog. This is where you will pick the drives which contain folders and files you want to backup.


Selecting Drives With Data To Backup

Once you’ve chosen or created a backup type, the next step in telling Backup To CD-RW what to backup is to pick a drive letter with files or folders you want to backup. This is done with the “Select Drive…” window, which appears when you click the “New Type…” or “Edit Type…” buttons on the main window.

This window shows all the drive letters on your computer Backup To CD-RW can backup data from. To use this window, click on the drive letter you want to work with in the column on the left, then click the “Instructions For Selected Drive…” button. The Select Folders and Files… window will open for that drive letter.

After you’ve entered instructions for the selected drive, you will be returned to the “Select Drive…” dialog. You can then pick another drive and do the same for it, and so on for as many drives as you like.


Selecting Folders and Files To Backup

The "Select Folders and Files..." window will appear when you select a drive letter in the Select Drive… window and click “Instructions For Selected Drive…”. This window lets you give instructions on which folders and files to backup on this drive. These instructions are saved with the Backup Type, so you won't have to enter them each time you make this backup.

The list on the left shows all the top level folders on this drive. Show or hide subfolders by clicking on the "+" and "-" boxes next to the folder names, or clicking on the folder name and then the "Show Subfolders" and "Hide Subfolders" buttons on the right.

Tell it what to backup by clicking on a folder name, and then using the buttons on the right to indicate what to do with it. Each folder can have separate instructions for what, if anything, to backup. In general, you will either backup everything in a folder, or nothing. You can make exceptions to include or exclude specific files in a folder.

Leave the mouse over a button without clicking it for a few seconds to see a detailed explanation of what that button does.

Your instruction to backup an entire folder or not also applies to all its subfolders, those subfolders' subfolders, etc. You can override these "inherited" instructions for any subfolder, by clicking on the subfolder and giving new instructions for it. These new instructions are in turn inherited by all subfolders below that point, until overridden again by new instructions, and so on.

There is an alternate "do not backup folder" instruction with one additional quality: It cannot be overridden for any subfolders or files. The only reason for this alternate instruction is to help the software figure out faster what to backup. It can do this because it doesn't have to check subfolders for new instructions. This is usually used for high level folders with lots of subfolders and files which can be restored from somewhere else if something happens to them, such as your "Windows" folder. This doesn't make the actual backup much faster, but it can make it MUCH faster to compute the amount of space required to backup a folder.

The “Advanced…” button will open a dialog to let you select individual files or groups of files to include or exclude from the backup.

The instructions for a folder are stored in a file in that folder, with the name of the backup type and a file type "BDF". The instructions do not actually mention the folder name. They simply apply to the folder in which they are found. Folders which inherit instructions from a higher level folder do not contain one of these files. This is a very flexible scheme, because any instructions given for a folder will continue to work even if you rename or move the folder. And if you add new subfolders they will automatically inherit their instructions from the parent folder, without you even having to think about it.


Using Advanced Options

The “Advanced…” button on the Select Folders and Files… window will open a dialog where you can control which files to backup in the currently selected folder. You only need to use this dialog if you only want to backup SOME of the files in the current folder, but not ALL of them.

The way it works is there are two lists of files on this dialog. One list is the files to include in the backup, and the other is the list of files to exclude from the backup. Entries in each list can be exact file names, like “myfile.txt”, or what are called “wildcard” file names. Wildcards specify multiple files by giving a pattern which their names must match, using the special characters “*” and “?”. For example, the wildcard “jimmy.*” will match “jimmy.txt”, “jimmy.dat”, and anything else starting with “jimmy.”. “bob*.txt” will match “bob.txt”, “bob1.txt”, “bobtest.txt”, but NOT “bill.txt” or “bob.dat”. So a “*” matches any sequence of characters in that place in the file name. The “?” wildcard letter is similar, but only matches a single letter. So “bob?.txt” matches “bob1.txt”, but not “bob1a.txt”, “bob1.dat”, or “bob.txt”.

If you only put something in the list of files to include, it will only backup those files. If you only put something in the list of files to exclude, it will backup everything except those files. If you put something in both lists, it will backup everything in the first list except those in the second list. So it always does the include list first, taking all files if the include list is empty, and then excludes any files in the exclude list.

There is another option on this dialog, which is only of interest to terminally clever people. This is a box for a single folder name, which can be either an exact folder name or a wildcard name. If the current folder name matches this, it does not backup the current folder or any of its subfolders. Unlike normal “do not backup” instructions, this one cannot be overridden in subfolders. The purpose of this feature is to allow you to temporarily rename a folder to the specified name to prevent it from being backed up.


Backing Up Your Entire Hard Disk

You can backup your entire hard disk with Backup To CD-RW, but you must be aware of several issues if you do.

First, with the large size of modern hard disks you may need LOTS of CD-RW discs to hold everything. Each CD-RW or CD-R disc holds about 500MB, so a 20GB hard disk would require 40 backup discs if all 20GB were in use and backed up!

Second, if you intend to use this backup as a way to recover the entire contents of a crashed hard disk, you may be in for more work than you think. On most computers there are one or two critical system files which Windows won’t let Backup To CD-RW save, and you’ll need these files to get Windows running.

Third, you can get into trouble selectively restoring files into your Windows folders. If you’ve updated system files since you made the backup, you could cause your system to crash or become unstable if you restore old versions from your backup. If you want to restore Windows files, you really need to restore your ENTIRE Windows folder structure, leaving NO files behind from before the backup.

The best way to backup “everything” with Backup To CD-RW is to backup all your data, but plan to restore Windows and your applications from their original installation discs. This makes a lot of sense when you consider that Windows and your applications don’t change, unless you install new ones, which of course means you have the new setup discs to install them from. You only backup your data, which takes much less space.


Backing Up Your Registry And System Files

Many people ask about using Backup To CD-RW to backup your registry and Windows system files, in case the computer crashes because they’ve become corrupted. While Backup To CD-RW is not designed specifically to do this, it can be done. All these things are just files on your hard disk, and you can back them up and restore them like any other files. Usually.

The problems are that Windows won’t let you backup some files, and others that it will let you backup it won’t let you restore because they are in use while Windows is running. You’ll get an error message when you try to backup a file it doesn’t want you to, but you won’t know that you can’t restore a file until you really need it. Restoring a “difficult” file isn’t impossible, you just have to do it before Windows starts. If you know how to do this then it isn’t a problem, but if you don’t already know how then you probably shouldn’t think of using Backup To CD-RW this way until you do.

One of the nice things about the way Backup To CD-RW stores files on the backup as exact copies of the originals is that you can copy files from backup discs without having a running copy of Backup To CD-RW, and even without Windows running. Just use the olde fashioned DOS “copy” command to copy them.

If you know what the registry files are you can back them up while Windows is running, but you’ll need to restore them before Windows starts.

All in all, the best policy for recovering a crashed system is to reinstall Windows from the original setup disc, reinstall your applications such as Word and Excel, and then restore your data on top of that. If you know what files your registry is stored in, and know how to restore these files before Windows starts, then you can back them up as well.


Starting A Backup

Before you can make a backup, you have to decide which folders and files to backup. This information is saved as a backup type. Select the backup type you want to use in top combo box on the main window.

You also have to tell Backup To CD-RW where to save the backup to, by selecting in from the second combo box on the main window.

Then click “Make Backup”. It will display a dialog asking for additional backup parameters, ask permission a few times, and then make the backup.


Additional Backup Parameters

When you click “Make Backup” on the main window the “Additional Backup Parameters” dialog will appear.

This dialog lets you specify additional parameters for the backup, such as whether to backup all the folders and files identified in the backup type or only those which match the instructions but which have also been recently modified.

You also have the ability to save the backup to a new subfolder of the folder you picked as the destination, which it automatically names for the date and time the backup was made. This lets you make the same backup over and over as many times as you like, without erasing older backups made to the same folder. This is very handy when making backups of recently modified files, because you can fit many small backups on the same CD-RW disc.


Backup Errors

When the backup is complete it will display several messages summarizing what happened. If any errors occurred it will display a window with the first 25 errors, and a very long winded explanation of each one. Mostly these are harmless – it couldn’t read a file or folder for some good reason.

There are two normal reasons. First, Windows simply won’t let Backup To CD-RW read certain critical system files. Which files this is true for changes depending on what type of computer you have and what version of Windows you are running, so there is no way the program can be totally sure which files this might be true for. If it knew it could suppress error messages for them, but rather than guess wrong and not tell you about a real problem the program displays all errors so you can decide for yourself. Usually this results in “Permission denied” errors, but I’ve seen some really wild errors reported as well.

The second reason for errors applies to files and folders stored on Windows NT or Windows 2000 systems. In these systems it is possible that you have used a login which does not have permission to read the files you are trying to backup. You will get “Permission denied” errors in this case. In most cases you should log in as “Administrator” when making backups of these versions of Windows.

In any case, if you get errors like this the backup isn’t a total waste. As it explains at the end of the error message, the only effect is that some files or folders didn’t get backed up. Everything else got backed up just fine, and can be restored if needed.


Making Unattended Backups

Backup To CD-RW can be started with command line options to bypass all the dialogs and make a backup without any operator participation. This is very useful to schedule unattended backups at night, or some other time when the system isn’t being used. Or just to make a backup without having to remember all the options each time. You can launch Backup To CD-RW from any program scheduler and launcher, such as the Windows System Agent utility.

The following command line options are recognized. All these correspond to options on the Additional Parameters dialog displayed when a normal backup is created.

/ub (type) (destination)

Run an unattended backup using backup type (type) and saving it to destination (destination). This option must be used to run unattended backups.

/md (days)

Only backup files modified within the specified number of days.

/ia

Include in the backup files with the “Archive” flag turned on. Ignored unless “/md” option is used.

/dt

Save the backup in a subfolder of the specified destination named for the current date and time.

/ca (days)

Clear the “Archive” flags on all files backed up which were last modified more than the specified number of days ago. Files which match the backup type, but were not backed up because of other conditions, will not have their “Archive” flags turned off.

Examples

Command line options and their arguments are normally separated by blanks, but can be enclosed in double quotes, which is handy if they contain spaces.

/ub mytype e:\

Use backup type “mytype” and make the backup to the root folder of your “e:” drive. All files matching the instructions in the backup type are saved.

/ub mytype e:\myfolder\ /md 30

Use backup type “mytype” and make the backup to the “e:\myfolder\” folder. Note the trailing “\”. Of the files which match the instructions in “mytype”, only include those whose last modification date is within the last 30 days.

/ub mytype e:\ /md 60 /ia /dt /ca 120

Use backup type “mytype”, save to “e:\”, only include files modified within the last 60 days or have the “Archive” flag set, and match the backup type, save the backup in a new subfolder of “e:\” named for the current date and time, and clear the “Archive” flags for all files copied to the backup which were last modified more than 120 days ago.


Restoring From A Backup

You may use either Backup To CD-RW or a file manager such as Windows Explorer to restore from backups.

Backups made with Backup To CD-RW are not stored in a special format requiring a special restore program. As far as Windows is concerned, the backup is just a bunch of folders and files identical to the originals. In most cases you can actually open files in the backup directly with the programs normally used to work with them, at least if you or that program won't try to change or save the files.

To restore a backup stored on multiple CD-RW discs simply restore each disc separately, as if it were a separate backup.

Each drive letter backed up has a special top-level folder for it on the backup, with the folders which were backed up reproduced as subfolders under that. For example, if you backed up your "C:" drive to a CD-RW which was your "F:" drive, there would be a folder "F:\C$" on your CD-RW corresponding to your "C:" drive. If you had a "C:\QUICKEN" folder, the backup would have a "F:\C$\QUICKEN" folder with all the same files in it.

If you chose to make backups into new subfolders created automatically and named for the current date and time, then each backup will be in a subfolder named something like “21Feb2001_10$30PM” under the nominal backup destination folder.


Restoring System Files

Restoring system files may require you to do the restore from an MS-DOS prompt, before Windows starts. You’ll know this is the case if you get error messages trying to restore from Backup To CD-RW. You should always restore registry files this way. Don’t try this unless you understand what you are doing. Because files are stored on the backup in their original form, under the same folder structure, you should be able to use the good old DOS “copy” command to copy the file(s) from the backup disc.


Problems That Aren't Really Problems
Problems That Aren’t Really Problems

Backup To CD-RW will display a verbose error message after creating a backup if it is unable to backup any of the specified files, or encounters other problems which do not cause an immediate crash of the program.

This “error” message isn’t necessarily an indication of a real problem. If the only problem is that it couldn’t read a file or folder, then quite possibly nothing went wrong at all – you just can’t back that file or folder up. This is actually fairly common, because there are some files which Windows just won’t let you backup. The program avoids the files it knows about, but there is no fixed list which includes everything. The list changes depending on the type of computer equipment you have, and which version of Windows and other software you are running.

The error you will usually see in situations like this is “Permission denied”, but I have seen other errors as well.

Because of the difficulty in distinguishing “real” errors from situations like this, Backup To CD-RW reports everything it isn’t sure of. This way you can decide. Anything it can’t backup which is part of Windows is probably a legitimate problem and can be ignored.

When you get an error indicating it couldn’t read a file or folder, real or harmless, the only effect is that file or folder was not backed up. Everything else was backed up just fine. The software was carefully written to insure this.


Can't Make A Backup At All
Can’t Make A Backup At All

The most common problem encountered by new users of Backup To CD-RW is that their CD-RW drive isn’t set up to be written to through a drive letter. Backup To CD-RW relies on this to write data to the backup. Special software must be installed for the CD-RW drive to be used this way, such as Adaptec Direct CD or Nero InCD. All modern CD-RW drives come with software like this, but sometimes people don’t install it. This software is separate from the Backup To CD-RW software.

Since there are many other reasons for problems while making a backup, and many kinds of software which let your CD-RW drive be written to this way, Backup To CD-RW cannot directly check if this is the problem if it gets an error. What it does instead is assume that if it wasn’t able to successfully write to the CD-RW drive even ONCE during a backup, this is probably the explanation. It displays a special message in this case in addition to the normal error message, suggesting what the problem may be.

To test if this is your problem, use Windows Explorer to create a folder on your CD-RW drive using the drive letter for your CD-RW. Then copy a file to it like you would copy a file on your hard disk. If you can’t do this in Explorer, then Backup To CD-RW will definitely have the same problem, and the reason is probably what has been outlined.

There is another explanation for a complete failure to write to the backup disc: You have a bad CD-RW (or CD-R) disc in the drive, or the disc isn’t formatted. You can get some really strange errors when this happens. Try to write to the CD-RW using Windows Explorer to see if that works.


Common Problems And Solutions

Here are some of the problems people are more likely to encounter, and their solutions.

Can’t write anything to the backup

Some software for your CD-RW (or CD-R) drive probably isn’t installed correctly. Review this discussion of the issue.

Can’t backup specific files

This may not be a real problem. Review this discussion of the issue.

One explanation for this problem which SHOULD be corrected is that Backup To CD-RW can’t backup a file if another program currently has it open to be updated. The typical scenario for this is a database file which the database program currently has open for its own use. For this reason, you should close all other programs before making a backup.

Backup doesn’t take as much space as it said it would

This can happen if it isn’t able to backup some large files that are included in the backup type. When the software estimates space usage it assumes that all files will be readable, but doesn’t actually try to read them. If it can’t read a file when it actually tries to make a backup, it will display a message and the corresponding amount of space will be saved.

The same thing can happen if a folder whose contents were readable when space usage was estimated is not readable when a real backup is made. This is less likely, because the same thing should have happened when space was estimated. There are possible explanations for why the folder could be read at one time and not the other, like being logged in differently on Windows NT and 2000 systems, or permissions being changed. Unlikely, but possible.

System locks up or drive won’t eject when backup disc is full

Older versions of Backup To CD-RW were prone to this, probably because each type of CD-RW (or CD-R) drive reacted differently when the disc in it became full. Newer versions handle this situation differently, and it should not be a problem any longer. However, if it does happen your only choice is to manually divide up your large backup into several smaller ones. And of course, send me an email so I can try and figure out what is happening.

I want to restart a backup partway through

Unfortunately, this is not possible.

Errors erasing existing files from the backup destination

This probably indicates improperly installed software for the CD-RW (or CD-R) drive. Alternatively, you may have inadvertantly put a read-only disc in the drive. Backup To CD-RW always tries to erase all existing files from whatever folder it saves the backup to, not just add new files to that folder.


How To Contact Us For Additional Help

For technical support, visit the Backup To CD-RW web site at www.willowsoft.com/backup. You can send email to backup@willowsoft.com.