Installation: Always use the executable setup (pb-setup-4.1.xxxx.exe) to install or update the program at Vista. So you will be sure that there are no restrictions on executing Personal Backup.
Help is available on Vista from version 4.1.2.5.
Automatic backups on logoff or shut down are working on Vista with version 4.3.0.0 and newer
Many users do not know which backup mode is best for their purposes.
If you are not so experienced you should use the default options:
copy and single files - drives separated.
So you are assured that now files are deleted at destination (unless you selected
the synchronize option. Only those files will be overwritten that have
a newer timestamp at source. The backup will always be an exact (compressed) copy
of all data (more).
For restore use the integration function of the program.
The option full, differential and incremental should only uses by experienced users if they want to perform a special backup strategy. In each case the destination directory is cleared before backup. For restore you need a combination of full and differential/incremental backups.
There are two options to save data to Zip files:
Zip files have always to be written completely new. So this option is not so good for the dayly backup of lot of data. It is appropriate for saving small amounts of data (e.g. of special projects). Many programs (the Windows XP explorer too) can read and unpack these files. To keep the different stages of a project for documentation you can use placeholders as pat of the filename.
There are four diffenret backup modes:
Using automatic backups schedules of this kind are controled by the program.
When using a backup target on one of the above devices it may be that the backup stops with the error message The target volume is full! .. even if there enough space available. In this case you should reduce the size of the internal copy buffer (e.g. to 64 kB): Task settings ⇒ Other task settings. Try different values to check which size is optimal for your device.
It is possible to configure Personal Backup in a way that it can be started from an USB stick without leaving marks on the host PC (Vers. 4.1.3.2 and newer). Copy all files from the program directory (usually C:\Programme\Personal Backup 4) or the downloadable Zip file to a directory on the USB stick (e.g. K:\PersBack). Use the command line options /ini:[IniFile] and /taskdir:[Directory]. The options set the program to use an ini file and a task directory on the USB stick.
Then create a batch file in the root directory of the USB stick using a texteditor (e.g. startpb.cmd) with the following lines:
@echo off echo Start Personal Backup from USB-Stick start PersBack\PersBackup.exe /i:%%progpath%%\pb.ini /t:%%progpath%%\
Start the program from USB stick using this batch command and configure your backup task. To use a backup target directory on the stick omit the the drive letter from destination path (e.g. \Backup).
Files are encrypted using the AES method. The same routines are used as in WinZip. ( Infos at Winzip and at Brian Gladman). The created file format depends from backup mode:
Enc-Header : 10, 14 or 18 bytes (depending on the length of the password)
Salt value (8, 12 or 16 bytes) + password verification value (2 bytes)
Enc-Data : Same number of bytes as original file
Enc-Trailer: 10 bytes Authentication code
GZip-Header : 10 bytes
new: Flag byte: bit 5 = encrypted
Enc-Header : 10, 14 or 18 bytes (depending on the length of the password, see 1.)
Enc-Data : Same number of bytes as compressed original file
Enc-Trailer : 10 bytes (see 1.)
GZip-Trailer: 8 bytes
Crc always = 0
Look at the program sources for more details.
At the moment Personal Backup has no integrated function to restore data from Zip files. Instead you can use one of the following tools or the program UnZip see below.
For standard Zip format (no encryption, all files < 4GB, Zip file < 4 GB) you can use the programs like WinZip, IZArc, WinAce, 7Zip, UltimatZip, Total Commander, Free Commander.
For Zip files with encryption you need at least WinZip Vers. 9. The other programs do not support encryption yet.
If a single file is larger than 4 GB and/or the size of the whole Zip file
exceeds 4 GB the Zip-64 expansions are needed
(see: http://www.pkware.com/business_and_developers/developer/popups/appnote.txt).
Not all packing programs do support these expansions. It works with WinZip 9
and Total Commander (6.55 and newer). IZArc Vers. 5 gives an error on opening
the archive but unpacking works.
WinAce Vers. 2.61 opens the archive but shows not all files and directories.
All other tested program refuse to open such an archive.
At the beginning of a Zip archive are the compressed files with header and checksum. At the end follows a directory with links to the start point of each file. For more details look at PkWare.
If the directory is corrupted or missing many archive programs refuse to read. Anyway the data may be intact. Some archive programs (e.g. iZarch) have tools to repair such files.
To restore Zip file created with Personal-Backup even if parts of them are corrupted I wrote two small programs:
Download programs
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Download sources
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The aim of the program is to save those personal data edited at daily work (documents, sources, images, etc.). A lost of these data is very harmful. In most cases it is very hard or impossible to recover them manually.
On the other hand the operating system and the applications can always be reinstalled from their original sources. This needs some time but is possible.
Saving these data (operating system and applications) with Personal Backup does not make sense because a restore is not possible. Moreover a daily backup of a running system is not necessary (in difference to the personal data). The fastest way to recover a system after crash is to restore the whole partition saved with an imaging tool. A freeware version for personal use is available from Paragon: Backup & Recovery Free Edition
The Windows-API functions used in the vers. 4 program restrict the path length (directory
+ filename) to 260 characters (see Windows-SDK). Even the Windows-XP explorer
has this limitation.
Vers. 5 was build with Delphi 2009 which has full Unicode support. With this
version path lengths up to 32000 characters are allowed.
With vers. 4 you can use a workaround using the command "Subst":
Example:
The files to backup are located in the directory C:\Dir1\..\Dir2\Dir3\..\Dir4.
The whole path (directory + filename) exceeds 260 charachter.
To split the path type at the DOS prompt:
subst X: C:\Dir1\..\Dir2Now you have a new (virtual) drive X: with the subdirectory Dir3\... Add this to your backup task.
subst X: /d
To automate this procedure start the following batch files before and after the backup using the integrated function to external programs: SplitDir.cmd:
rem Split directory path and substitute with drive subst X: %1UnsplitDir.cmd:
rem release substitution subst X: /dExecute before Backup:
SplitDir.cmd C:\Dir1\..\Dir2Execute after Backup:
UnsplitDir.cmd
The destination directory may be located on any network computer. There are different ways to connect:
When performing a backup before the computer shuts down it may be that the PC
does not power off or does not restart.
The reason is that the Windows-API function which notifies all programs before
shut down (See "WM_QUERYENDSESSION" in Windows SDK) says nothing about the
intended action (shut down, power of or restart).
To tell Personal Backup what to do after backup select this in the main menu
"Preferences>Shutdown".
To avoid this problem do not use the integrated function "backup on logoff". Use instead a logoff script. Create the following script and set the windows policy for logoff (administrator rights are required):
The easiest way to start Personal Backup as service is to use the Windows
Task Scheduler. You can configure many different backup tasks to start at
different times (e.g. on special days of the week).
Process the following steps:
To start a backup using the Windows function Scheduled tasks
an account with password is mandatory. So users using an account
without password cannot start an automatic backup as scheduled task.
There are two solutions: Either add a password to the user's account settings or
create a special backup account with password.
If you have set the Display Properties > Settings > Advanced to another DPI-value as default (96) the components of the main program window will be disordered and are overlapping partly. This seems an issue how Delphi computates the positions of the desktop components at startup. I did not find a way to fix this by the program.
All users who wants toi have a larger font on desktop should use the setting at Display Properties > Appearance > Font. This can each user do just for himself and the program will be diplayed correct.
All program settings including the configuration of the automatic backup tasks
are saved in an Ini-File (Persbackup.ini). This is a text file and can be read
with any text editor. Please avoid to edit.
The file is as well as the standard log file (Persbackup.log) located in the
user's application data directory. You will find it on Windows 2000 and XP at:
C:\Documents and Settings\<Username>\Application Data\PersBackup
.
By default this directory is hidden. To make it visible change the Explorer
setting at Tools > Folder Options > View > Show hidden files and folders.
User of Windows 98 will find the folder at the following locations:
1. No users specified: C:\Windows\AApplication Data\PersBackup
2. Several users: C:\Windows\Profiles\<Username>\Application Data\PersBackup
The files used bay outlook are locked for other applications. A backup of these data requires that Outlook is not running
There are two ways to assure this:
Using the function Execute external programs a script is started before
backup to stop Outlook. When the backup is done another script restarts it.
The following example scripts can be modified for other applications too. To
create and edit the scripts you neen a simple text editor lioke Notepad.
Save the scripts at an appropriate location using the proposed names.
Click Edit at Options/Extended/External programs and
insert the following command lines:
Before backup: %sysdir%\cscript.exe "<path>\StopOutlook.vbs"
After backup: %sysdir%\cscript.exe "<path>\StartOutlook.vbs"
and set the checkboxes to active.
' VB Script Document
option explicit
dim oWmi, sWmiO, oQResult, oProcess, WshShell, iRet
' Terminate Outlook
Set oWmi = GetObject("winmgmts:")
sWmio = "select * from Win32_Process where name='outlook.exe'"
Set oQResult = oWmi.Execquery(sWmio)
For Each oProcess In oQResult
iRet = oProcess.Terminate(1)
Next
Set oWmi = Nothing
set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
WScript.Sleep 100
' VB Script Document
option explicit
dim WshShell
' Start Outlook
Set WshShell = WScript.CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
' The following line depends on the uses Office version
WshShell.Run """%ProgramFiles%\Office11\Outlook.exe""", 9
Download the script files
The actual Version 4.1 works on all Windows systems from Windows 98.