Personal Backup© 2010, J. Rathlev, IEAP, Uni-Kiel |
Vers. 5.0.5.0 |
Vers. 4.5.4.1 |
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Version 5.0 has the same features as the actual Version 4.5 but was created using
Delphi 2009.
This IDE has full Unicode support which will overcome the limitations to ANSI-Filenames (ISO-8859)
on copying files. Also pathlengths may be longer than 260 characters.
The program package contains the following additional tools:
Personal-Backup is a program to save personal data to any destination folder.
This folder may be located on a local fixed or removable drive, on a windows
network server or on a FTP server.
It runs under Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003/2008 and
Windows 7 (32- and 64-Bit).
You can configure and store as many backup tasks as you want.
The selecting of the files to backup is made on folder basis. All subfolders
are included automatically.
But the user can exclude ôr include any subdirectories from backup by selection or by filter.
Additional criteria are the selection by file types, file age and/or file name filter.
At the destination folder the original drives (C:, D:, etc.) look like
subdirectories named LwC, LwD, etc. The original directory structure remains
unchanged beneath these folders. All files may be compressed using GZip or in
total or separated by subfolders as Zip files. Optionally alls data can be
encrypted by the AES algorithm.
Performing the backup can be done manually or automatically. During the backup
the programm checks wether the file to be saved is newer than the backupped
file or not. Only files with newer timestamps are saved. An alternate criteria
is the archive bit of the files.
The automatic backup is started on login, at a selectable time of day, on logout
or on shutdown (not under Vista). You can make a scheduled backup with dayly
or weekly changing destination paths.
For individual schedules it is easy to start a backup using the windows task
scheduler using the command line options of the program.
Note: Personal Backup cannot be used to save and restore system files.
The functions in detail:
Vers. 5.0.5.0 released 3.9.2010
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Version 5 installs into a separate folder and uses its own directories for
settings (ini file) and log.
Desktop and functions are identical to vers. 4.5. Enhancements are found in depth:
Languages: german, english, ukrainian (partial)
Some more details:
The existing standard for the GZip format (RFC1952 von 1996) says that the filename is to be stored in the file header using the ISO-8859-1 character set. I could not find any recommendations how to handle Unicode filenames.
The actual Linux version of the program GZip used for creating and reading gz archives differs from the above standard and stores filenames in UTF-8 format. The OS byte in the header is set to 3 (Unix).
Personal Backup sets this byte in the path always to 0 (FAT) and saved the filename as ISO-8859-1. To be compatible with the former versions und also support Unicode two variants are used in Version 5:
So we have the issue that other programs (like WinZip or WinRar) will detect the stored filename only with the first variant as correct. This has no effect on unpacking the files.
It would of cause be better to use the unused bit 5 of the FLG byte as criteria for the coding of the filename. The actual Zip format does it in this way (see below).
The actual Zip format specification version: 6.3.2 from Sept. 2007 defines how to process Unicode filenames: if bit 11 of the "general purpose bit flag" is set filename and comment are in UTF-8 coding. Personal Backup uses this convention. Unfortunately only a few packers support this new format. I know about WinZip Vers. 12 and WinRar Vers. 3.80.
All passwords for FTP, for SMTP as well as for AES encrytion have to be ISO-8859-1 coded.
There are many places were Windows limits path lengths to 260 characters
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more infos). All applications using the Windows shell components, as the
Explorer does, cannot process longer file paths.
In all cases Personal Backup uses these components (e.g. in the dialogs
to select folders or files) this limitation is also valid for version 5.
Internal the program uses UNC paths (e.g. on copying files) which may have a maximum
length of about 32000 characters.
So it is possible to backup, restore and delete files with paths exceeding the above
limit. But be aware that most of all file managers (including the Windows Explorer)
will fail on scanning such a directory tree. A known file manager which supports
long filenames is TotalCommander Vers. 7.5 .
Version 4.5 works with all all actual Windows systems and Windows 98/ME. It supports only the west europian character set (ISO 8859) und pathname up to 260 characters.
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Utility programs:
On saving data to removable drives (e.g. USB or CD burner) the backup is cancelled
if the destination was not found. To prevent from this you can let Personal Backup
start a utility program (Checkpath or CheckCD) to prompt the
user to maintain the drive.
Another feature is to integrate Personal Backup into
BartPE environment.
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| Besucher seit 9. Feb. 2007: |