XP Backup

[pjphilli]

Hi
I can use XP Backup as far as Help assists me but can I set it up so that
it backups files automatically as they are created including emails if possible?
Cheers Peter

[alistairsam]

Hi,
Just click on the "Advanced" button on the backup wizard as per screen shots attached.
that allows you to set schedules.
not sure about emails though.

Edit: re-reading your post, did you want it backed up once files are changed? that may be possible. But easiest is to set a scheduled backup for when you're not using it.

Else, you could write a robocopy batch file to backup just the changed files and schedule it in windows scheduler to run as often as you like. there should be lots of examples in the robocopy website.

[arifmshaikh]

Peter

You can also use Robocopy. It's Microsoft backup utility. It can backup all your email and data, but you have to specify each folder for the backup. The good thing is, it does full backup first time and then onwards only backup new/modified files.

Arif

[pjphilli]

Thanks Alistair and Arif - I have downloaded Robocopy but am a bit puzzled how to use it.
Cheers Peter

[alistairsam]

Hi,

Robocopy is a command line copy utility with very powerful features.
Not sure if you're familiar with DOS copy, but its similar.

at a very simple level, just to get understand how it works,

create a folder in your drive, and copy the robocopy.exe file into it.

create a few test folders with files, one representing the source and one as the destination.
then from the command prompt, run robocopy with the syntax shown in
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc733145(v=ws.10)

This page shows you some examples
http://social.technet.microsoft.com/wiki/contents/articles/1073.robocopy-and-a-few-examples.aspx


Try out different options as listed, just use the ones you need.
so first time it runs, it'll copy all files, next time, it'll copy only the ones that changed. so edit or make changes to a file and run it again.

once you're happy with the syntax, just create a new batch file, add it to windows scheduler and set the interval it needs to run at.

But honestly, if a daily backup at a particular time is sufficient for you, stick to the windows xp backup and use the advanced scheduler as in earlier posts.

We use robocopy for a lot of after hours WAN transfers and it works great, but there's some pretty heavy scripting there.

[pjphilli]

Thanks Alistair - Your description together with the set of examples makes
the operation much clearer now. I will practise a couple as you have suggested to decide which is the best for me. Cheers Peter

[arifmshaikh]

Peter

here is the example of simple backup command. replace the <backup folder and <backup destination> as per your computer setup. Try to use external USB drive for backup to be safe side. You can just copy paste the following command into the notepad and save that file with .bat extension. Run the test back and if everything is ok, use Schedule Task from control panel, select this batch file and schedule your backup. Make sure when your run this backup close any open files or email.

robocopy.exe <backup folder> <backup destination> /R:5 /W:10 /MIR /np /LOG:c:\MyBackupLog.txt

[arifmshaikh]

Hi Peter

Here is the sample backup command, replace the backup folder and backup destination as per your setup. Use the external USB drive for the backup destination.
Just copy and paste this command into the notepad and save it with .bat extension. Run the test backup and if everything is ok, schedule it through Schedule Task from control panel. Just make sure you close any open file and email before starting backup.


robocopy.exe <backup folder> <backup destination> /R:5 /W:10 /MIR /np /LOG:c:\MyBackupLog.txt