QuikSave: Hard disk backup aid
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb044813 |
| Pages | 242-244 |
| Date | 01 April 1988 |
| Published date | 01 April 1988 |
| Author | Justine Roberts |
| Subject Matter | Information & knowledge management,Library & information science |
QuikSave: Hard disk
backup aid
Justine
Roberts
Quiksave is a backup utility which copies files from a hard disk onto floppy
disks, does a total or partial restoration of the floppy files to the hard
disk,
and
provides automatic reminders to support a user-determined backup schedule.
QuickSave runs on IBM/PC/AT computers and sells for $99 from Micro Inter-
faces Corp., 16359 N.W. 57th Avenue, Hialeah, FL 33014, USA. (800) 637-
7226; (305)623-9262.
I
n the land of
IBM,
nothing is certain but death,
taxes,
and hard disk failure. Saviours rush in. At
the top, there are expensive tape drives and Ber-
noulli boxes. At no cost, DOS Backup and Restore
commands can be used for backup. In the middle,
there is an array of $40 to $180 backup packages.
QuikSave is a fast, easy-to-use middle kingdom
exemplar, for single-user systems.
Backup configurations
are
stored
QuikSave functions can be run from the DOS com-
mand
line,
but
are
most easily managed via the pro-
gram's menu mode, supported by Autoexec-based
scheduling. The first QuikSave menu choice is
Backup Hard Disk, which allows users to define
from one to nine different backup configurations,
as well as to perform the actual backups. Configu-
rations can be saved for future use, and summoned
to accomplish each backup. One configuration, for
total backup of the disk, is the minimum. Two con-
figurations would be normal, with the second rep-
resenting the choice of backing up only files
changed or added since the previous backup.
Seven other backup choices may be made, for the
separate backup of a particular directory, or for
backing up special groups of files such as all
*.TXT files.
Other backup attributes which are controlled
from the configuration screens include whether or
not data is to be verified during backup, whether
subdirectories are to be included, floppy disk ca-
pacity (360 or 720Kb), the exclusion of specific
file groups, and which floppy drives are to be used
during backup. During the backup
itself,
a moni-
toring screen displays backup progress, listing
each file backed up, the disk drive in use, the cur-
rent floppy disk number, and a count of the files,
bytes,
and directories as they are processed. It
beeps to tell you to change disks.
Total
or selective restoration
Restoration configurations are set up at time of
need, in parallel to the backup groups. Thus, from
the second menu choice, 'Restore-Verify-Cata-
log', you can restore your total disk, or a given di-
rectory or group of files, if these were previously
defined in a backup configuration. Selective resto-
ration is also possible, by flagging selections in a
hard disk catalog which is rewritten each time a
backup is done. This catalogue may be printed or
displayed independently of either backup or re-
store actions.
Automatic backup scheduling is feasible if you
have a system clock or faithfully set DOS dates at
bootup. You set
an
elapsed- time-between-backups
in one or more of your backup configurations, and
include a QuikSave scheduling command in your
Autoexec.bat file. Then, when any of the elapsed
time periods is exceeded, the screen is taken over
by a large, flashing warning message from which
you may escape, either back to your Autoexec, or
forward to a QuikSave backup. If preferred,
backup scheduling status may be verified via the
QuikSave menu, rather than automatically. The
fourth menu choice, Check Hard Disk, runs DOS's
CHKDSK command.
Speedy incremental backups
QuikSave uses its own non-DOS high speed for-
matting method to support backup of 10 Mb is
roughly eighteen minutes (14.5 Mb in 26-1/2
minutes) using pre-formatted disks, with verifica-
tion, but the QuikSave manual strongly and cor-
rectly advises use of the verification option. User
time,
for swapping disks, is counted separately,
and would not be negligible in a one-floppy-drive
system. However, QuikSave lets you use two
floppy drives if you have them. During this review,
disk swapping added less than a half-minute extra
to full backup tests on 30 Mb hard disk, two floppy
drive system.
The high speed action was not very impressive
during the initial run, which results in backup
disks which can't be listed or read by DOS. The
user's disk swapping elbow seems to be doing
most of the work. However, the advantage of using
Quiksave becomes much more noticeable during
incremental backups. QuikSave conveniently and
rapidly formats new disks, as needed, on the run.
During this review brief detours of two minutes
were all that was needed to backup three days, and
630 Kb or
so,
worth of changed files on a series of
occasions.
SOFT
WARE
review
242
The
Electronic
Library,
August
1988.
Vol.6,
No.4
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