Jump to content

Synchronizing Folders


Guest LB
 Share

Recommended Posts

Guest spikeychris

Just goes to prove you don't need to spend a fortune on drive image software. The only downfall is the cloned drive can only be made bootable for Windows 95/98/ME. XXCOPY cannot recreate a bootable disk for Windows NT/2000/XP systems.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest spikeychris

So you backup your my docs, you dont want to have to re-backup the entire folder every time, you only want to backup what you have added.

xxcopy "c:\my documents" d:\mydocsbackup\ /S/H/BI

The bi is an incremental backup ie: it will only backup what has been added since your last backup.

If your running XP then the "c:\my documents" will be c:\my documents and settings\YOURNAME\my documents

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest spikeychris

Just had a PM from Mr Mouse with an excellent point. Why not put the XXcopy into a batch file so that it does it all its merryself. So working on LB's setup it would look like this, open up notepad and type..

echo off

xxcopy "d:\my documents" e:\mydocsbackup\ /S/H/BI/yy

Call it backup.dat

Drop the file into the c:\documents and settings\all users\start menu\programs\startup folder (XP,2K) use c:/mydocs start menu\programs\startup for everything else. This means that it will work at startup automatically.

If you want to see the workings then put echo on.

Send a shortcut to desktop and when you double click it, it will also work, remember these are incremental backups.

Chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest spikeychris

Come 'ere, Theres more. Why not put the bat file also in scheduled tasks?

Add ST and browse to the the c:\documents and settings\all users\start menu\programs\startup folder and point it too the bat file, set the time you would like the backup to take place and whoopee your sorted. You can set it daily, every 30 mins if you want, every 1 minuite if you want. NO EXCUSE TO LOOSE DATA NOW :rolleyes:

Chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just had a PM from Mr Mouse with an excellent point. Why not put the XXcopy into a batch file so that it does it all its merryself. So working on LB's setup it would look like this, open up notepad and type..

echo off

xxcopy "d:\my documents" e:\mydocsbackup\ /S/H/BI/yy

Call it backup.dat

Drop the file into the c:\documents and settings\all users\start menu\programs\startup folder (XP,2K) use c:/mydocs start menu\programs\startup for everything else. This means that it will work at startup automatically.

If you want to see the workings then put echo on.

Send a shortcut to desktop and when you double click it, it will also work, remember these are incremental backups.

Chris

Assuming i have understood this correctly, i would have an issue running at startup.

suppose you have just installed a utility that somehow managed to wipe your hdd with your vital info on it.....it then required a reboot......

so now we are overwriting our backup with our non existant files.

its a nightmare scenario but i'm damn sure it can happen.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest spikeychris
but i'm damn sure it can happen.
yeah your right it would. But all you have to do is edit the yy out so that the batch file asks each time 'Y or 'N when it boots or when you know its damaged the data drag the file from the startup folder.

Chris

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just had a PM from Mr Mouse with an excellent point. Why not put the XXcopy into a batch file so that it does it all its merryself. So working on LB's setup it would look like this, open up notepad and type..

echo off

xxcopy "d:\my documents" e:\mydocsbackup\ /S/H/BI/yy

Call it backup.dat

Drop the file into the c:\documents and settings\all users\start menu\programs\startup folder (XP,2K) use c:/mydocs start menu\programs\startup for everything else. This means that it will work at startup automatically.

If you want to see the workings then put echo on.

Send a shortcut to desktop and when you double click it, it will also work, remember these are incremental backups.

Chris

Assuming i have understood this correctly, i would have an issue running at startup.

suppose you have just installed a utility that somehow managed to wipe your hdd with your vital info on it.....it then required a reboot......

so now we are overwriting our backup with our non existant files.

its a nightmare scenario but i'm damn sure it can happen.

And your house could be hit by a falling asteroid while you are out working, squashing your pc and both hard drives!!!

No I am not taking the mickey, but trying to make a serious point!! I cannot stress enough, if you have important data on your computer, it should ALWAYS be backed up OFF of your computer. If it is really important data, then it should be backed up and a copy of it removed from the premises the computer is on!!

Seriously, what would you do if you came home to find some rotten little tealeaf had broken into your home and stolen your computer, or you had a lightning strike to the house which fried your machine!

Regards. Mr. Mouse.

PS one other point for the batch file, if you need to copy files from more than one directory, then you can add the details to the next line of the .bat file you create, so it will run in sequence. ie

echo off

xxcopy "d:\my documents" e:\mydocsbackup\ /S/H/BI/yy

xxcopy d:\workdocs e:\mydocsbackup\ /S/H/BI/yy

xxcopy d:\downloads e:\mydocsbackup\ /S/H/BI/yy

the above would copy all the relevant files and subdirectories from the three stated directories to mydocsbackup with just one action.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue. Privacy Policy