Designed
for Windows 95/98/NT.
Download 12Ghosts,
900 KB,
12-Aug-98.
Usage is Easy
FAQ Frequently Asked Questions
Read here if you use Microsoft Word!!!
Read here before changing
the system time!!!
Screen Shot
E-mail 2ndBackup Support
Order License
240 KB, 12-Aug-98, Self-extracting, with Setup and Uninstall
Multi-Backup
Backs up every change of your current documents while you are working on them!
Automatically stores changed versions in an archive folder. Does not need processor cycles
while it is waiting for a change. Keeps one version every minute, hour, day, and month.
Easy user interface, Explorer integration to add and restore files.
2ndBackup is
pretty easy to configure. After starting 2ndBackup you just need to add the files you want
to have backed up. That's it!
In the lower part of the Settings dialog you might want to change the
2ndBackup Path, the archive path where the 2ndBackup files will be copied to.
Instead of working with the 2ndBackup Settings dialog, you can also add or
remove files from within the Windows Explorer, and also in any Open or Save As box. You
should notice a new entry in the context menu of all files. That is, when you right-click
on a file you should have the entry Add to 2ndBackup.
If the file was already added to 2ndBackup, the menu entry changes to Remove
from 2ndBackup. If you click on a file within the 2ndBackup Path, the menu entry
is Restore out of 2ndBackup. In all 3 cases, a dialog will ask you to
confirm your selection.
FAQ Frequently Asked Questions
Things you should know
Compatibility with Microsoft Word
When using Microsoft Word on
Windows 95 or 98 you need to deactivate the option "Allow
fast saves" ("Tools" menu - "Options" -
"Save" - "Allow fast saves"). However, this seems to be the
recommended setting anyway.
Should you find any other applications requiring special settings, let us know, we'll be happy to publish your
thoughts here.
What happens when I change the system time?
2ndBackup relies heavily on a continuous system
time. You can, in any case, use 2ndBackup in and beyond the year 2000. PACT 2ndBackup 98
has been completely tested and verified to be Year 2000
compliant.
However, 2ndBackup depends on the system date to be correct. If you want
to test setting your computer's date to the year 2000, don't use 2ndBackup during this
test, or make a copy of the 2ndBackup Path before and restore it afterwards.
Here's why: When you start 2ndBackup with the system time set to a future
date, all versions from the last month will be copied to the folder "One per
Month". In other words, only the newest version per month will remain. With the
system time set backwards, new files would get an older date and hence not be copied at
all.
Caution: Be careful with switching system
dates if you plan to do any testing! Remember that many programs rely on a correct system
date. Backups may start deleting "older" files, scheduled tasks may execute
unpleasantly, business software might create false bookings, some shareware might expire
ultimately (not 12Ghosts), ScanDisk will reset all "future" file dates back to
the system date, etc.
NT: Administrator Rights for Installation
On Windows NT, administrator or power user rights are required to install
the menu extension. However, 2ndBackup does also work without it.
Technical
Questions
What exactly does it do?
PACT 2ndBackup 98 creates second copies of your current documents while you are working
on them. It automatically stores changed versions in an archive folder, one per minute for
the last 60 minutes, one version every hour during one day, one version for every day in
the last month, and one version per month forever. You keep a history of all changes. This
is very relaxing.
Does 2ndBackup need processor or memory resources?
Usually, 2ndBackup is just sitting there doing nothing until a change occurs in one of
the watched files. Then an additional copy is backed up, some of the archived files might
get copied down the hierarchy, and again, it's just sitting there and waiting. While it is
waiting, no processor cycles and no memory are used by 2ndBackup but the system notifies
2ndBackup of any changes in the files.
How can I make 2ndBackup to flush outdated files in the 4
subfolders?
2ndBackup will recheck all included files after you click OK in the
2ndBackup dialog. (Actually, this will start a new instance of b2notify.exe and the
currently waiting instance is stopped.)
Do I need to delete older files manually?
PACT 2ndBackup 98 keeps one version per month of every file added
to 2ndBackup. One more file per month shouldn't be the problem.
However, older versions per minute, hour, or day are moved down the
hierarchy automatically. If you have the need to clear files older than one month look
into the folder "<<2ndBackup-Path>>\d One per Month" where
<<2ndBackup-Path>> is the path you specified in the Settings dialog box. In
this path, check for files you don't need any longer and delete them according to your
security ambitions. The program can not speculate on this, and is not going to delete
files automatically.
How can I stop 2ndBackup?
Usually b2notify.exe is always started, waiting for changes to happen in
the watched files. This requires very little system resources, most of the time it's just
sitting there using no processor time and no memory. It will stop automatically if no
files are in the 2ndBackup list. It is also possible to stop b2notify.exe by starting
2ndBackup.exe with the option "/ExitB2Notify".)
If you find any problems with 2ndBackup please contact technical support!
Miscellaneous Questions
Sometimes, the minute appended to a copied file name is not the
same as the minute displayed in Explorer!?
It is a little surprising that the Explorer displays the wrong time.
Please look in the properties of this file and compare the last modified time. If the time
ends on 58 or 59 seconds, the Windows Explorer rounds up to the minute. However, in
Windows 95, the precision of the file times on a FAT file system is about 2 seconds.
Why doesn't the archive file name indicate the full date and time?
Well, the developer thought that you can look into the file properties to
see the full date and time. The 4 numbers are only appended to the file names to create
different names. (And, yes, this was the most brilliant while most stable approach. No
need to delete any files, older files are overwritten by newer ones.)
Can I add complete folders to 2ndBackup?
Due to the high amount of disk space expected for the multitude of
versions, it was considered as "not resource effective enough" to backup whole
folder trees. You can, however, add as many files as you wish to 2ndBackup, or use
2ndFolder.exe and a timer to copy and
rename folders in one step.
I want two versions every 15 seconds but only one every 3 hours
and keep all for maximum 2 months!?
The leading idea for the current implementation was simplicity. This
should assure high reliability. What's a backup that is way complex, so a steady
operation is less likely? The assumption is, indeed, that you rarely need the secondary
backups. But if you need it, you need it badly!
I want more options!?
Actually, this version of 2ndBackup does not have any options.
I'd like to compare it with an airbag: you don't want a bunch of screws and switches to
optimize an airbag...
License
This program is a test version for evaluation only. You can use the software for
evaluation purposes without charge for a maximum of 30 days. If you use this software
after the 30 day evaluation period a registration fee for a full version is required.
How to Order a License
License Agreement
Support
Should you have technical questions please contact support@12Ghosts.com. We are known to solve issues
within hours.
We appreciate your suggestions and any feedback!
