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F L E X I B A K P l u s (TM) The Flexible Hard Disk Backup System Copyright 1991, 1992 Nildram Software All Rights Reserved FLEXIBAK Plus was written by Adrian Mardlin Address: Nildram Software 26 Stanley Hill Avenue Amersham Bucks HP7 9BD United Kingdom Telephone: (0494) 432342 Fax: (0494) 432342 Email: nildram@cix.compulink.co.uk 100012.1222@compuserve.com BBS: The Shareware Support BBS (0494) 431861 Overseas: See Introduction for particulars Program and documentation are Copyright 1991, 1992, Nildram Software, All rights reserved. FLEXIBAK Plus is a trademark of Nildram Software. My thanks go to all who played a part in Beta testing FLEXIBAK Plus, notably: Brian Gregory David Clark Neville E. Sanderson Barry Drake Clive Goldman Jon Wolfe Robin Collins David Leonard Thanks are also due to Borland International for their excellent C++ compiler and Innovative Data Concepts for the TCXL screen handling library. INTRODUCTION Overview FLEXIBAK Plus, like its predecessor, FLEXIBAK, is a flexible, easy-to- use system with a logical, simple and unique approach to hard disk backups. With a conventional backup system, you must take a full backup approximately once per week, plus daily incremental backups onto separate disks. Should you need to restore from the backup, you must first restore the full backup and then every incremental backup. With FLEXIBAK Plus, all this is different as the concept of full backups and incremental backups is removed. Instead, you only take a full backup once. All subsequent backups are placed on the same backup disks, giving long-term speed increases, simpler file restoration and improved backup management capability. Here are some outstanding features of FLEXIBAK Plus: Selective backups allow you to specify, globally and by directory, which file groups should be included in, or excluded from, the backup, potentially dramatically reducing the number of required backup disks. Incremental backups are placed on the same disks as the full backup, so you only must take a full backup once. File management system means that FLEXIBAK Plus keeps track of what has been backed up, and informs you if any files have gone missing from your hard disk since the last backup to allow you to recover accidentally deleted files. File compression and the capability to handle up to 20 hard disk drives are parts of the system. An alarm system can warn you each day that you have not taken a backup for a specified number of days of your choice. What Is Shareware? Shareware is a distribution method (not a type of software) which lets users evaluate software before buying. If you try a shareware program and continue using it, you must register and pay for it. (If you paid a small duplication and handling fee to receive a trial copy of a shareware product from a vendor, you have not paid for the product itself or the right to continue using it after a reasonable trial period. A separate fee to the program's owner and developer is required to continue to use the product after evaluation.) Copyright laws apply to both shareware and commercial software. Shareware authors are accomplished programmers just like commercial authors and the programs are of comparable quality. In both cases, there are good and bad programs. The main difference is in the method of distribution. The shareware system makes fitting your needs easier because you can try before you buy. Because overheads are low, prices are low also. Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it. Terms And Conditions FLEXIBAK Plus is shareware program and is provided by Nildram Software at no charge for evaluation. Feel free to share it with friends and colleagues for evaluation, but please do not give it away altered or as part of another system. The essence of user-supported software is to provide personal computer users with quality software without high prices, yet to provide incentive for programmers to continue to develop new products. Please encourage others to register their copies if they find it useful. All registered users receive a copy of the latest version of the FLEXIBAK Plus system. If you continue to use FLEXIBAK Plus after a reasonable trial period, you must make a registration payment of #39.00 to Nildram Software. This registration fee licenses one copy for use on any one computer at any one time. You must treat this software just like a book. This software may be used by any number of people and may be freely moved from one computer location to another provided there is no possibility of it being used at one location while being used at another, just as a book cannot be read by two different persons at the same time. Commercial users of FLEXIBAK Plus must register and pay for their copies of FLEXIBAK Plus within 30 days of first use or their license is withdrawn. Site License arrangements may be made by contacting Nildram Software. Registration If you continue using FLEXIBAK Plus, you must register. To do this, either print and fill in the registration form provided (type "COPY REGISTER.DOC PRN" at the DOS prompt), or send a cheque for #39.00 (thirty-nine pounds) or your credit card details to the following address: Nildram Software, 26 Stanley Hill Avenue Amersham Bucks HP7 9BD Tel/Fax: (0494) 432342 Compuserve: 100012,1222 You will receive the latest version of FLEXIBAK Plus without the registration encouragement screen, a printed manual, free support and cheap upgrades as they become available. Overseas Registrations For European users, there is a shipping charge of #2.00. For other overseas users, the charge is #5.00. However, users in the USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand, may register FLEXIBAK Plus locally. Please contact your local distributor for more details: USA & Canada: Shareable Software International, Inc. PO Box 59102 Schaumburg, IL 60159 USA Tel: (708) 397 1221 Fax: (708) 397 0381 Compuserve: 76226,2652 EXEC-PC: Bill Dickson Australia & NZ: Budgetware PO Box 496 Newtown NSW 2042 Australia Tel: (02) 519-4233 Fax: (02) 516-4236 Compuserve: 76304,3672 Support Support is provided to registered users in the following ways. First, any updates of FLEXIBAK Plus will be available to you for a minimal fee. All registered users will be notified of major updates. Lifetime support for FLEXIBAK Plus can be obtained by contacting Nildram Software by writing, telephone or the Email addresses listed at the front of this manual. Customers from the USA, Canada, Australia or New Zealand can also obtain support by contacting their local distributor at the addresses detailed in the Overseas Registrations section, above. Disclaimer Users of FLEXIBAK Plus must accept this disclaimer of warranty: "FLEXIBAK Plus is supplied as is. The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of FLEXIBAK Plus." The ASP This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442, USA or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536. INSTALLATION Installation Installation is straightforward. Simply insert the disk containing FLEXIBAK Plus into a drive, then select the current drive by typing "A:" or "B:", as appropriate, and press <ENTER>. Now, type "INSTALL", press <ENTER> and follow the instructions. You are asked to specify a source drive and destination directory, which default to "A" and "C:\FLEXPLUS", respectively. Alternatively, if you acquired your copy of FLEXIBAK Plus from a BBS or prefer to manually install it, just create a directory on your hard disk and copy all FLEXIBAK Plus files to that directory. Setting The Alarm FLEXIBAK Plus has an alarm feature that warns you if you haven't taken a backup recently. To enable this, you must place the following lines in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file (generally found in the Root directory of your hard disk) in an appropriate place. (If you are unsure about the function of the AUTOEXEC.BAT file or how to alter it, please consult your MS-DOS reference manual). x: CD \FLEXPLUS FLEXPLUS /A=y C: Where "x" is the hard disk drive where you installed FLEXIBAK Plus -- if other than drive C -- and "y" is the number of days after which you want the alarm to sound. Many users set "y" to "7" for a weekly backup; others do it more frequently -- even once each day. Only you can determine how often to backup programs and data in your circumstances, based upon how much work you can afford to lose when the inevitable happens someday and files become lost or damaged. After you have done this, every time you boot your computer FLEXIBAK Plus will determine if the time since the last backup is longer ago than the specified threshold - "y" in the above example. If so, an alarm will sound to remind you to take a backup. Command Line Parameters If you are running on a machine with a particularly low amount of free memory or a particularly high number of files, you may have trouble getting started with FLEXIBAK Plus, as it will abort with an exception message saying that it has run out of memory, file space or directory space. If this occurs, you can override the initial memory allocation settings of FLEXIBAK Plus with command line options. (These can later be set permanently with the General Setup option of the Setup menu.) To override the default number of files (4000), use the "/F" command line option. To override the default number of directories (300), use the "/D" command line option. For example, if you have a particularly large hard disk, you might use a command like this: FLEXPLUS /F=5000 /D=500 This example tells FLEXIBAK Plus to allocate space for 5000 files and 500 directories. If you are short of memory (FLEXIBAK Plus requires about 520K FREE memory in order to run with its default setting of 4000 files), you should try reducing the number of files by using a command such as: FLEXPLUS /F=2000 Make sure that the number of files you specify is at least 100 greater than the number of files on your drive C, and FLEXIBAK Plus should run correctly. There is one more command line parameter -- "/N". If you use this parameter the FIRST time that FLEXIBAK Plus is run, drive C will not automatically be used as the logged-in drive. Use this parameter if you have too many files on drive C for FLEXIBAK Plus to handle as one backup drive or you only want to backup selected directories or files. TUTORIAL Getting Started This Tutorial guides you through the basic steps to prepare FLEXIBAK Plus and take an initial backup of your hard disk drive(s). It also provides an introduction to some of the other ways FLEXIBAK Plus can assist you. Lastly, it summarises how to restore your files when that fateful day arrives that your hard disk or one of your programs misbehaves and you have lost files. This section is kept brief to get you up and running with FLEXIBAK Plus in short order. If you encounter a concept in this section which you do not understand or about which you need further information, please see the Reference section, below. More experienced users -- and those who are brave -- may want to skip this section for now and rely upon the detailed information about procedures and options in the Reference section. Examples in this section assume you will use drive A as the floppy drive and a directory called "FLEXPLUS" on hard drive C to store your FLEXIBAK Plus files. If either of these assumptions is incorrect in your circumstances, simply substitute drives and directories in the examples accordingly. If you received FLEXIBAK Plus on a floppy disk, insert it into drive A. Then type "A:" to move to that drive. Next, type "INSTALL" and follow the instructions to prepare a FLEXIBAK Plus directory on your hard disk. (I recommend calling the directory "FLEXPLUS" as this will be used in tutorial examples.) If you received FLEXIBAK Plus via modem and its files are already on your hard disk, I recommend inserting a blank, formatted disk into drive A and copying all FLEXIBAK Plus files onto it. Regardless of how you received FLEXIBAK Plus, you should now have an "original" set of files on a disk in drive A. We will now create a FLEXIBAK Plus "Master Disk" which will be used every time you take a backup. (After you create your Master Disk, put the original disk away for safe keeping.) To create a Master Disk, you need a disk which either is unformatted or entirely blank. Then, enter these two commands: A: DISKCOPY A: A: The first command makes drive A the current default drive. The second will ask you to insert the "source" disk. (This is the original disk, which already will be in drive A unless you removed it after initial installation.) After the DISKCOPY program has read the source disk, it will ask you to insert a "destination" disk into the same drive. Place your blank or unformatted disk into that drive and press <ENTER>. When DISKCOPY asks whether you want to copy another disk, type "N" for no and press <ENTER>. You have now created the FLEXIBAK Plus Master Disk for use each time you take a backup. Note: If you have two drives with different capacities (e.g., a 360K 5.25" drive and either a 1.2Mb 5.25" or a 3.5" drive) and your FLEXIBAK Plus files arrived on a disk OTHER THAN the kind of disk you normally want to use to take backups, you will need to format a blank disk in the drive onto which you want to take backups and copy all files onto it to create your Master Disk. (If you are unfamiliar with formatting and copying, please see your DOS reference book.) Setting Up FLEXIBAK Plus We will now teach FLEXIBAK Plus to take backups the way YOU want to do so. Move to the directory on the hard disk on which you installed FLEXIBAK Plus and start the program. You will do this every time you take a backup. (Experienced users: Do not add your FLEXIBAK Plus directory to your PATH as you will have to do change to this directory anyway.) These commands will do so: C: CD \FLEXPLUS FLEXPLUS FLEXIBAK Plus will start and log drive C. FLEXIBAK Plus defaults to backing up all files on drive C, except those with the extension ".BAK", without using compression and with the destination disk set to drive A. If this setup is ideal for you, you can use FLEXIBAK Plus straight away. But you probably will want to refine some of these and other options for your needs and preferences. We will describe how to do this next. But if you encounter difficulty at any point, press the <F1> key for help or see the more detailed discussion in the Reference section, below. You will see a menu bar across the top of the screen with the Backup option highlighted. Use the right-arrow key to highlight Setup, then press <ENTER>. A menu will appear. Highlight General Setup with the up-arrow or down-arrow keys, then press <ENTER>. Here we will tell FLEXIBAK Plus about basic details for your system and preferences. Enter all drives you normally will backup next to Source Drive(s). For most users, this will be just drive C. Change this only if necessary. Enter the floppy drive onto which you will normally take a backup next to Destn (Destination) Drive. Normally this will be A or B. The other options on this menu are more technical in nature and beyond the scope of an introductory tutorial. Leave them unchanged by pressing <ESC> now or review the Reference section, below. After returning to the main Setup menu by pressing <ESC>, next select Format Setup. You should enter information about one or more of the available options which will appear in a pop-up window based upon the version of DOS you have and type of drive you will use to take backups. The Reference section contains full details on options for most systems. Find those which apply to you and enter them at this time. After you have done so, press <ESC> to again return to the main Setup menu. Highlight Global File Specs and press <ENTER>. We will now teach FLEXIBAK Plus which files will ALWAYS and NEVER be backed up in EVERY directory on the drive(s) previously designated with General Setup. As this is the first time you have used FLEXIBAK Plus, you will see two entries, "*.*" and "*.BAK-". Both utilize a DOS "wildcard" of "*". (If unfamiliar with wildcards, you should review your DOS reference.) The first of these entries means ALL files ("*.*") in directories will be backed up. However, the second entry modifies this by instructing to NEVER backup any files ending with ".BAK". (Many programs, when saving text or data files, rename the most recently-modified version of them under the same name but with ".BAK" appended. This is a safety device in case you change your mind or accidentally erase the most recent version.) The trailing hyphen ("-") tells FLEXIBAK Plus to "subtract" all files matching this entry from files which match preceding entries when backing up a directory. These two file specifications will meet the needs of the majority of users. They backup all files except old versions, which probably aren't worth the time and disks to backup. But if you are a Windows user, let's add one more for practice. You may have created a permanent Windows "swap" file as part of the process of installing Windows. As this is a temporary storage area of no value except while Windows is actually running -- and may be very, very large -- you probably won't want to waste time and disks to backup these files. (My swap file contains four megabytes!) If you want to avoid backing up these temporary storage files, you would add a third file spec of "*.PAR-". Note: If you make a mistake while entering a file specification, enter the OPPOSITE specification. Let's say, for example, that you entered "*.PAT-". Typing "*.PAT" will remove the erroneous entry. Note too that the order of entries is very important. The basic rule to bear in mind is that each file spec MODIFIES ALL PRECEDING FILE SPECS. For example, if you add "*.*" AFTER any other file specs, you are effectively modifying them to include EVERY file. If you make a mistake and are quite confused about the result of your entries, you may want to negate each of your entries (by entering their opposites) and starting over. When satisfied with your entries, press <ESC> to again return to the main Setup menu. You could select Local File Specs at this time or later to enter additional file specs which apply only to INDIVIDUAL directories which you would select. Any such file specifications are "added to" the General File Specs we just established, but only apply to particular directories. But for simplicity in presenting this tutorial, we will skip this option. Just bear in mind that you may establish guidelines for individual directories if you ever want to do so with Local File Specs. Only one other option of importance to most users remains. Please select Comp (Compression) File Specs and press <ENTER>. It is here that you may instruct FLEXIBAK Plus to compress files during backup to reduce the number of disk disks needed to take a backup. The rules for Comp File Specs are the same as for the other file specifications we have discussed except that if absolutely no compression file specs are entered, NO files will be compressed. Do this if time is more important than the number of backup disks you must use and retain. For most users, however, I recommend that you enter at least one file specification, "*.*". And if, like most users, the hard disk(s) which you backup contain archives (special files which contain one or more related ordinary files), you should "subtract" these from the compression process because they are already compressed. Archives are normally identified by file extensions of ".ZIP", ".ARC", ".LZH" -- and occasionally others. So I would recommend that, AFTER "*.*", you enter at least the following: "*.ZIP-" "*.ARC-" "*.LZH-" You probably will want to enter these in the Compress File Specs window even if you don't know whether you currently have such archives on your hard disk(s). You may have some later. IMPORTANT: You should now press <ESC> to return to the top menu bar, use the right-arrow key to move to the Utilities item and press <ENTER>. From there, select Re-Log Disk(s). Do this ANY time you modify file specifications or global values so FLEXIBAK Plus will update its records regarding your preferences. If you don't, FLEXIBAK Plus will do it automatically when you start the backup BUT until then, the statistics at the top of the screen will be incorrect, as will the estimate of the number of backup disks required. Let's Do It! If you already have a supply of formatted but blank disks available, you are ready to take your first backup. If you do not, you may format new disks or those containing data you are willing to lose by highlighting DOS on the top menu bar, selecting Format, choosing the type of disk you want to format and pressing <ENTER>. (If you want to exit FLEXIBAK Plus at this time without taking a backup, highlight DOS, select Exit and press <ENTER>. You may return to this section of the tutorial at a later time to take your first backup.) To begin your first backup, with an adequate number of formatted, blank disks on hand, simply highlight Backup on the top menu bar, select Start Backup and press <ENTER>, then follow the instructions. (You can use the Disk Usage option in the Utilities menu to obtain an estimate of the number of disks required. Please note that if you are using compression, the number of disks required can be as few as half the number estimated by the Disk Usage option.) The Master Disk At the end of each session, FLEXIBAK Plus asks you to insert the Master Disk which we created above. The Master Disk is used in times of disaster. If you suffer from a hard disk failure, you can reinstall FLEXIBAK Plus from the Master Disk and restore all your files. So you should always enter the Master Disk and follow the instructions. (If you have not taken a backup during a particular session, you may safely press <ESC> and without inserting the Master Disk. But if doubt, please be safe and follow the instructions.) The Backup Data File The backup data file, called "FLEXPLUS.DAT" or similar, contains information about all files in a backup set, plus the setup options of the backup. While in emergencies it is possible to restore data without this file (see Utilities section, below), you will not be able to rebuild the data file, and so will have to start a fresh backup once you have restored your data. Therefore, you should take every opportunity offered by FLEXIBAK Plus to update this file (i.e., leave the Save Data File After Each Disk? flag set to "Y" in the General Setup window). As an extra precaution, a copy of that file is also saved as "FLEXPLUS.BAK" (or similar) each time you use FLEXIBAK Plus. Congratulations! You have now successfully completed a backup. Did the actual backup take awhile? Despite FLEXIBAK Plus' exceptional speed, the first, complete backup may take some time on a large or slow hard disk. But because of FLEXIBAK Plus' unique approach to backups, future sessions will generally require just a small fraction of the time for the first backup. The remainder of the tutorial covers a few other things you should review. Using Multiple Backup Sets It is possible in FLEXIBAK Plus to have more than one set of backup disks to increase security. This can also be used to speed the backup process by having a complete backup on one set of disks and just the most vital files on another set. This allows you to use the second set for day-to-day backups and use the main backup set perhaps once each week. This would mean that any less critical files that changed during the week would only be backed up once. Keeping multiple backup sets is a good way to improve security. Although FLEXIBAK Plus can detect that files have gone missing, it cannot detect if they have been corrupted and you might not notice until after a backup has been taken. With multiple backups, you can use the previous backup set to restore the file. To specify alternative backup sets, simply pass the name of the set as an argument when you run FLEXIBAK Plus. For example: FLEXPLUS FULLBAK This example creates a backup data file called "FULLBAK.DAT" and will use the name "FULLBAK" as an identification on all backup disks to avoid mixing disks from two different backups. When Disaster Strikes The purpose of backups is, of course, to save the day -- actually, to save perhaps years of work and all your programs! -- by permitting you to restore lost or damaged files. As experienced users will tell you, it is not a question of whether disaster will strike, but WHEN it will strike! FLEXIBAK Plus provides an exceptional variety of methods to restore some or all files from the backup disks. If you have taken backups with the regularity of an experienced user, you will have no difficulty restoring all of your files -- to the point of your last backup, of course. In the case of a limited number of lost or damaged files, you will want to select an appropriate method of restoration from the options on the Backup menu from the top menu bar. A discussion of all of these options is beyond the scope of a tutorial and is left for your review in the Reference section. In the case of total hard disk data loss, the first step is to determine whether permanent physical damage to the hard disk has occurred or whether you can correct the problem by software. You will need to consult your dealer or an experienced user to make this determination. If indeed the hard disk is permanently damaged, you must repair or replace it before proceeding. After you have determined that your hard disk is good (or have repaired or replaced it), you probably will have to reformat it before restoring your files. This process -- and even the need for it -- varies depending upon the type of drive you have and the cause of the damage. Again, a qualified dealer or experienced user should be consulted. When you are able to access the drive and successfully display a directory with the "DIR" command, you are ready to restore your files onto it. To do so, place your master disk into the appropriate drive and type "INSTALL" to re-install the program. Then change to your FLEXIBAK Plus directory on the hard disk and run FLEXIBAK Plus by typing "FLEXPLUS". Press <ENTER> to select the Backup menu, then highlight and select Restore All. Carefully follow the instructions and -- voila! -- FLEXIBAK Plus has returned all your files just as they were prior to your last backup. It is able to do so because you faithfully followed your backup routine and -- of course -- always updated your Master Disk as recommended. I recommend that you review the following Reference section for further important details regarding restoration of files. In some cases -- particularly if you didn't update your Master Disk after your last backup -- you may also need to refer to the Utilities section, below. And finally, for questions which even the detailed assistance provided in this manual fails to answer, registered users are invited to contact us or our overseas support staff. REFERENCE Introduction The screen is split into three main sections, with the top section containing statistics which enable you to see at a glance the status of the backup. The meaning of the figures are as follows: Backed Up: Number of files backed up. To Add: Number of files remaining to be added to the backup disks. Queries: Number of unanswered queries. To Restore: Number of files tagged to restore. No Disks: Number of disks in the backup set so far. Note that this is not the number of disks required to backup all files. Total K: Kilobytes occupied by files in the backup. Most interaction between the user and FLEXIBAK Plus occurs in the main section of the screen. A general rule throughout FLEXIBAK Plus is that <ENTER> is used to indicate a positive response to a question or situation and <ESC> is used to indicate a negative response or to "escape" from a situation. If you remember this, you will quickly feel at home with FLEXIBAK Plus. The bottom section of the screen contains on-line help. Refer to this if you are unsure what is happening or what a particular function does, or press <F1> for more detailed help. In addition to these three main screen sections, FLEXIBAK Plus contains a pull-down menu system which enables you to quickly and easily move around and select various program functions. Menu options are explained in depth later in this chapter. Mouse Support FLEXIBAK Plus supports a Microsoft-compatible mouse, provided the appropriate mouse driver received with the mouse is loaded. You will find that a mouse greatly eases use of FLEXIBAK Plus. The left button on the mouse is the equivalent of <ENTER> while the right button represents <ESC>. Backup Menu The Backup Menu contains all options for day-to-day use of FLEXIBAK Plus, allowing you to backup files, answer queries and restore files as necessary. Start Backup Option This option starts the backup process, adding any tagged files to the backup disks. (See "To Add" count in the statistics box at top of screen). If a new disk is required, you will be asked to insert a Blank, Formatted disk; otherwise you will be asked to insert a particular disk number. Don't worry about inserting the wrong disk. FLEXIBAK Plus ensures that it is a proper disk. If FLEXIBAK Plus requires a blank disk and you do not have one available, you may use the Inspect Disk, Erase Disk or Format Disk options in the DOS menu to check, erase or format a disk as necessary. Alternatively, you can perform the same operations by pressing <F2> to Inspect a disk, <F3> to Erase a disk or <F4> to Format it. FLEXIBAK Plus will now update the backup disk by deleting any unwanted files (those tagged for deletion when answering queries) and adding any new or changed files. When finished with a disk, FLEXIBAK Plus will ask you to either insert another disk or will return you to the menu if there are no more files to add to backup disks. Answer Queries Option From time to time, files on your hard disk drive(s) that are backed up will be deleted, accidentally or on purpose. FLEXIBAK Plus is unique among hard disk backup utilities in that it notices that a file is missing and tag it as a Query. (The number of Queries is displayed in the statistics box at top of screen.) This option allows you to answer any outstanding Queries by deciding whether to restore a file or delete it from the backup disks. To make matters easier for you, FLEXIBAK Plus attempts to group files by directory when asking you to answer a Query. Thus, if you delete all backed up files from a directory -- or remove the directory entirely -- you will first be asked whether you want to Restore the entire directory, Delete the entire directory or deal with each file individually. You will then be given the opportunity to answer Queries on individual files -- to Restore, Delete or Skip them. By Skipping a Query, you can indefinitely postpone your decision on what to do with that file, though FLEXIBAK Plus will alert you to the fact that you have outstanding Queries whenever you select the Start Backup option. Restore Tagged Option This option restores files tagged for restoration with the Answer Queries option. You will be prompted to enter disks in much the same way as in the Start Backup option except that, by pressing <ESC>, you may skip a disk and move to the next backup disk. This allows for the possibility of a backup disk being lost or destroyed. If FLEXIBAK Plus has a problem restoring any file, you will be alerted and the file will be tagged as a Query so that it can be reprocessed later. Restore File Option This option restores a single file from the backup. You are first asked to choose the directory in which the file is/was contained, then to choose the specific file for restoration. You are then asked to insert one or more backup disks to restore the file. Restore Queries Option If you are sure that you want to restore all files tagged as Queries rather than answering a string of Queries, use this option to tag all Queries for restoration and restore them in the same way as the Restore Tagged option. Restore All Option This option restores all files, including those still on the hard disk drive(s). You should only need to use this option after a complete hard disk failure. Do not use it at any other time unless you are absolutely sure what you are doing or you could restore files that are older than those currently on your hard disk. Be careful! Restore Directory Option With this option it is possible to restore all files in a particular directory and change the directory name, if desired. This is useful if you need to transfer files from one PC to another, as you can take a whole directory from one system and restore it to another directory on the other system. Upon selecting this option, you are presented with a choice of available directories from which to select the directory you want to restore. After selecting the directory, you are given the opportunity to enter a new directory name to which the files will be restored. The operation will then proceed like the Restore Tagged option. You should note that, for safety reasons, this option will only restore files already tagged as either Queries or for Restoration. In other words, they must not already exist on the source disk. Setup Menu The Setup Menu alters how FLEXIBAK Plus works to suit your requirements. Three options in this menu take you into a window where you can configure File Specs. These are a series of DOS wildcards (such as "*.*", which means all files, or "*.EXE", which means all files ending in ".EXE"). (See your DOS reference book if you need more information about wildcards.) This enables you to configure which files to include or exclude from the backup or compression. File Specs ending with a "-" are taken as exclusions, and File Specs are processed in the order in which they occur. For example, the default Global File Specs are "*.*" followed by "*.BAK-", which means that FLEXIBAK Plus will backup all files except those ending in ".BAK". If these File Specs were listed in the opposite order, FLEXIBAK Plus would backup everything as the last File Spec; "*.*" would tell it to include all files. To add a File Spec, just type it and press <ENTER>. To remove a File Spec, type in the opposite File Spec. Example, to remove "*.*", type "*.*-" and press <ENTER>. If you wish to change the order of File Specs, first remove the leading File Specs and then add them to the end by re-entering them. A maximum of 12 File Specs are allowed in each situation. Global File Specs Option This option configures Global File Specs for your setup. Upon selecting this option, you will be taken straight into the File Spec Entry window to alter the Global File Specs to suit your requirements. Global File Specs are applied to EVERY directory on the source disk(s) and will be automatically effective on any new directories that are created. (If you alter Global File Specs, select the Re-Log Disk(s) option from the Utilities menu for the changes to take effect.) If you only want to backup a few specific directories on your hard disk, you can facilitate this by removing all Global File Specs and just use Local File Specs to specify the particular files and/or directories that you want to backup. Local File Specs Option This option configures File Specs for a particular directory. You will be presented with all directories from which to select your required directory. This takes you to the File Spec Entry window where you can add any Local File Specs. Local File Specs are applied to a directory after Global File Specs -- NOT instead of them. If you alter Local File Specs, select the Re-Log Disk(s) option from the Utilities menu for changes to take effect. A special kind of Local File Spec can be used, called a Recursive File Spec. A Recursive File Spec is a Local File Spec that also applies to any directories that are "children" of the directory in which it occurs. To indicate that a File Spec is recursive, simply add "~" to the end of it. For example, if you placed the File Spec "*.*-~" in the directory "C:\TP", everything in "C:\TP" and all directories below it will be excluded from the backup. You can, of course, override a Recursive File Spec with a Local File Spec, as Local File Specs are applied to a directory AFTER any Recursive File Specs. For example, in my backup, I have a File Spec of "*.*-~" entered in the directory "C:\TP" and a File Spec of "*.*" entered in "C:\TP\NILDRAM". Removing Recursive File Specs is similar to removing standard File Specs -- enter the opposite File Spec, with the "~" character on the end. For example, to remove "*.*-~", enter "*.*~". While entering Local File Specs, you can press <F2> at any time to view the contents of the directory you are editing. You will find this helpful to remind you of exactly what is in each directory as you edit Local File Specs. Comp File Specs Option Compression File Specs determine whether or not a file will be compressed. For example, you might want to Compress all files except those which are already compressed (such as "*.ZIP" and "*.ARC" archives). In such cases, you would enter File Specs of "*.*", "*.ZIP-" and "*.ARC-". You should note that unless you specifically include files to compress (for example, by using "*.*") no compression will occur. General Setup Option Upon selecting this option, a window pops up with a selection of configurable parameters. Once you have made any changes, press <ESC> to return to the menu. The parameters are as follows: Source Drive(s) In this field list all drives from which you wish to take a backup. For example, "CDEF" in this field causes FLEXIBAK Plus to backup drives C, D, E and F. The field may contain up to twenty source drives. Please note that any changes made in this field will not have any effect until FLEXIBAK Plus is exited and restarted or the Re-Log Disk(s) option in the Utilities menu is used. Destn Drive This field contains the destination drive to which you want to backup, such as "A" or "B". Please note that if this is set to anything other than "A" or "B", the Erase Disk and Format Disk options will be disabled to prevent the accidental deletion of vital data. Update File Archive Flag? If this is set to "Y" (the default), the Archive Flag on each file is cleared as it is backed up and is checked when logging on to detect whether the file has changed or not. If it is set to "N", the Archive Flag is not cleared; neither is it checked when logging on. (See your DOS reference if unfamiliar with archive flags.) Backup Hidden Files? If you have "hidden" files that you wish to backup, you should set this field to "Y". Otherwise leave it set to "N". (See DOS reference if unfamiliar with hidden files.) Save Data File After Each Disk? This is a security option which, when set to "Y", causes FLEXIBAK Plus to save its data file after processing each disk when doing a backup. The default setting is "Y". Leave it at this setting unless the wait after each disk while FLEXIBAK Plus saves its data file becomes unacceptable. Maximum No Of Files This field contains the maximum number of files FLEXIBAK Plus can process. The default value is 4000. Alter this field only if your computer is short of memory or you have more than 4000 files on your hard disk(s). Changes do NOT take effect until FLEXIBAK Plus is restarted. (Note also the discussion on command-line parameters in the Installation section.) This setting can be quite crucial as a lot of memory is required for holding file information. If you have little free memory, try to reduce this figure as much as possible. FLEXIBAK Plus will make use of EMS memory (one of the special types of memory beyond the normal 640K) to store file information, if you have it. With EMS, it is possible to have a backup set of almost 10,000 files without running out of memory. Maximum No Of Directories This field contains the maximum number of directories FLEXIBAK Plus can process. The default value is 300. Alter this field only if your computer is short of memory or your hard disk contains more than 300 directories. Changes do NOT take effect until FLEXIBAK Plus is restarted. (Note also the discussion on command-line parameters in the Introduction.) Format Setup Option This option allows you to configure the DOS commands used to format a disk. FLEXIBAK Plus has 5 different format commands that you can set up. They are "Format 360K Disk", "Format 720K Disk", "Format 1.2M Disk", "Format 1.44M Disk" and "Quick Format Disk". If you have an XT compatible (8086 or 8088 CPU), you will probably only need to fill in the first two boxes. The command you should enter should be the standard DOS command to format the disk to the particular size, with the name of the disk drive (e.g. "A:") replaced with the "%" character, which will be substituted by the correct drive identifier when the format command is executed. On an XT compatible with DOS v. 4.0 or earlier, the most likely setup is: Format 360K Disk: FORMAT % Format 720K Disk: FORMAT % Format 1.2M Disk: Format 1.44M Disk: Quick Format Disk: On an AT compatible (80286 or above) with DOS v. 4.0, the setup should be: Format 360K Disk: FORMAT % /4 Format 720K Disk: FORMAT % /N:9 /T:80 Format 1.2M Disk: FORMAT % Format 1.44M Disk: FORMAT % Quick Format Disk: This is the default setup and should work on most AT-compatible computers. However, it is possible to call other format programs that you may use instead of the standard DOS Format program. With DOS v. 5.0 and many other format programs, you have an option to do a "Quick" format. This doesn't actually format a disk, but just quickly wipes the current contents from it. In this case, you should fill in the Quick Format Disk box with the appropriate command (with DOS v. 5.0 this is "FORMAT % /Q"). Note: If you enter a Quick Format command, this will also be used to erase disks when you use the Erase Disk option of the DOS menu. Verify Flag On/Off Option This option toggles the DOS Verify Flag on and off. When switched on, data written to disk is immediately re-read and compared with what was written to ensure no errors. As this adds substantial time and the probability of errors is so slight, I advise leaving this option set to its default of Off. Sound On/Off Option This option toggles sound effects on and off. Utilities Menu Re-Log Disk(s) Option Use this option to Re-Log disks after you alter configuration information such as the source disks or File Specs. Disk Usage Option This option estimates the number of disks required to backup all logged files. The estimate does not take into account the effects of compression which, if set, generally significantly reduces the number of disks required, often by as much as 50%, or even more! Check Disk Option Use this option from time to time to check the state of a backup disk. It checks that the contents of a particular backup disk are what FLEXIBAK Plus thinks they are. If there are differences, they will be corrected. Just insert a backup disk and press <ENTER>. The checking procedure is split into two passes. In the first pass, FLEXIBAK Plus checks files on the backup disk to ensure they should be there and deletes any that shouldn't. In the second pass, FLEXIBAK Plus checks all files it thinks should be on the backup disk to ensure they are there and up to date. At the end, you will be told how many errors occurred and were corrected. Normally this should be zero, but it is possible for errors to occur if the computer is reset or crashes while FLEXIBAK Plus is loaded. In such cases, run this option to ensure the integrity of your backup. Verify Disk Option This option does everything the Check Disk option does and more. It also checks the full contents of each file and verifies it against the file on the hard disk. This is the ultimate integrity check of any backup disk. If a disk passes this test, it will restore perfectly. If for any reason errors occur, they will be corrected in the same way as with the Check Disk option. It takes significantly longer to Verify a disk than to Check it, but it gives you the ultimate peace of mind. Refresh Disk Option If a backup disk is accidentally lost or destroyed, you will want to create a duplicate without abandoning the entire backup. This option performs this task by tagging any files on the specified disk for Adding; then it assumes the disk has not yet been used. This will mean that, when you use the Start Backup option, FLEXIBAK Plus will ask you to insert a blank disk (when it reaches the disk you have refreshed) and will backup all the files on that disk. Compact Backup Option From time to time, the amount of data on your hard disk drive(s) may decrease. If this happens, the number of backup disks used by FLEXIBAK Plus may be more than actually required. If you want to release any backup disks for other uses, use this option to compact the backup. The effect of this option is to release the last disk in the backup set and attempt to place files on this disk elsewhere. Immediately after using this option, you should use the Start Backup option to add the files to other backup disks. You will then see whether the compaction was successful or not. Create Queries Option If you have answered any Queries and want to change your decision, use this option to re-tag for Query any files that are tagged for restoration or deletion. Abandon Backup Option This option completely abandons the current backup and start afresh. This allows you to take a full backup on a new set of disks. Use with caution! Reports Menu File Specs Option This option produces a report of all File Specifications that you have set up for the backup. Make sure that your printer is ready before running this report. Disk Info Option This option produces a report of the Disk Information. This contains handy statistics along with details of the number of files, total size and free space on each disk. Make sure that your printer is ready before running this report. Registration Option This option prints a registration form to register your copy of FLEXIBAK Plus. DOS Menu Inspect Disk Option This option searches a disk and checks its contents. I strongly advise that you use this option before the Erase Disk or Format Disk options. Erase Disk Option This option erases a disk to use it as a backup disk. (I strongly advise using the Inspect Disk option first.) This option is disabled if the Destination Drive is neither "A" nor "B". (Use the General Setup option in the Setup menu to set the Destination Drive.) This option will fail if the disk contains any "read-only" files. (See DOS reference if unfamiliar with read-only files.) Exception: If the Quick Format setup in Format Setup is anything but blank, a Quick Format will be performed instead of FLEXIBAK Plus' normal Erase Disk routine. This erases all files on the disk, regardless of whether they are read-only. Format Disk Option This option formats a new disk. Ensure that you have configured the Format Setup before using this option. You will be presented with the following options: 360K (5 1/4" Disk) 720K (3 1/2" Disk) 1.2M (5 1/4" Disk) 1.44M (3 1/2" Disk) Quick Format Select the correct option for the disk you want to format. The Quick Format option should be selected only if the disk has already been formatted AND your format program supports Quick Formatting. (Quick Formatting is supported by the Format program of DOS v. 5.0 and the format of some other programs, such as PC Tools.) FLEXIBAK Plus will use the appropriate command line (as configured in Format Setup) to format your disk. If you are unsure if a disk is blank, use the Inspect Disk option before attempting to Format it, just to be safe. Shell Out Option Use this option to "shell" temporarily to DOS. FLEXIBAK Plus will remain in memory and you can return to it by typing, "EXIT" at the DOS prompt. Exit Option This option terminates FLEXIBAK Plus and returns you to DOS. Before exiting, the data file is saved to the hard disk and you are prompted to insert the Master Disk. (This should be a backup copy of your FLEXIBAK Plus distribution disk.) The data file will then be copied to the Master Disk also. This can be avoided by pressing <ESC> when prompted to insert the Master Disk, but this is highly inadvisable as FLEXIBAK Plus will need to use this file to restore the backup should you suffer from a hard disk crash. You can also exit from anywhere within the menu structure by pressing <ALT-X>. UTILITIES FLEXIBAK Plus is accompanied by stand-alone utilities to view and restore backup disk contents without use of the FLEXPLUS.DAT (or similar) data file. This means that, even in the worst case scenario or a lost or destroyed disk containing FLEXPLUS.DAT, you still may restore all data with almost 100% accuracy. I say "almost" because it is always preferable to restore using the data file, as that is the only way FLEXIBAK Plus can be absolutely sure of the status of each file. The stand-alone utilities are detailed below. FPDIR FPDIR provides a directory of files on a backup diskette. The syntax is simple, type: FPDIR x: where "x" is the disk drive containing the backup disk. You will be presented with a list of the files backed up on that disk. FPREST FPREST restores files from backup disks when the backup data file has been lost. It accepts a list of file names or DOS wildcards and restores those files. The syntax is: FPREST x: file1 file2 ... where "x" is the disk drive containing the backup disk. Example: FPREST A: *.BAT C:\DOS\*.EXE C:\CONFIG.SYS This example restores all files matching "*.BAT", regardless of the directory, all files matching "*.EXE" in the "C:\DOS" directory and "C:\CONFIG.SYS". FPREST works on one disk at a time and reports the names of files as it restores them. Please be aware that large files can be split over many backup disks, so you must be sure to run FPREST on all backup disks in the set to ensure that the whole of any large file (over 300k in size) is properly restored. Q & A There are some questions that are asked time and time again over the phone. Here are the answers to some of the most common questions. If you have a problem or can't figure out how to do something with FLEXIBAK Plus, read through this chapter before phoning for support, as the answer may already be here. Q) I just want to backup a few directories, and not the whole disk. How do I do it? A) In order to do this, you must first remove the Global File Specs. When FLEXIBAK Plus is first run, it sets default Global File Specs of "*.*" and "*.BAK-", these should be removed in the normal way by selecting the Global File Specs option from the Setup menu and typing "*.*-" followed by "*.BAK". Next, you should select the Local File Specs option, choose each directory you wish to backup and enter File Specs for it (normally, "*.*"). Then just select Start Backup in the Backup menu and FLEXIBAK Plus will Re-Log the disk to take into account the changes you have made and start the backup. Q) I've been backing up onto 1.44Mb disks, but FLEXIBAK Plus wants another disk and I've run out them. Can I use a 720k disk instead? A) Yes. FLEXIBAK Plus, unlike most of its competitors, allows you to freely mix disk formats within a backup set. Q) I have a disk that has formatted with bad sectors. Can I use it as a backup disk? A) You can, but it is inadvisable. The problem is that bad sectors on floppy disks are often caused by small particles of dirt. These are liable to move and cause further damage to the disk, causing a loss of data. Q) My hard disk just crashed and I lost all the data. I now have a new hard disk. How do I restore my data with FLEXIBAK Plus? A) Firstly, you should re-load DOS onto your new hard disk. When you have done this, re-install FLEXIBAK Plus, making sure that you also copy all the .DAT files from your Master Disk back onto the hard disk. Then run FLEXIBAK Plus, and select the Restore Queries option and away you go. Alternatively, if you have lost the .DAT file, you can still restore using the FPREST program. You will need to run FPREST once for each disk in the set, and all your data will be restored.