Backup Programs

Backup is easy, restore is hard

Restore won't work unless your backup job did what you thought it would. Check the content of your backups to see that they contain what you expected -- at least the first few times. Also, test your restore method before you need to restore a file. It's too late to test after you desperately need to restore. ;-)

Restore can end in disaster if you pick the wrong restore option. Usually you'll want to restore just one or a few files. Watch out though -- it's easy to pick or click the wrong option. If you restore the whole backup set you'll probably overwrite perfectly good recent files with older files. Learn how to restore just what you need before you're in a panic. ;-)

Many backup programs have a fatal blind spots:

  1. The archive bit is a risky way for a backup program to determine which files to back up. Other programs may flip the bit between backups. Then the backup program will skip the file when making incremental or differential backups.
  2. Nothing external to encrypted volumes ( files which contain encrypted files) may ever change, and backup programs will skip them when making incremental or differential backups. [solution]

Simple backup methods

Windows System Restore is a backup program of sorts, but it primarily backs up Windows related files and the Windows registry. It's a good idea to make a restore point just before you make a major change, like installing a new program. It will not backup your user files however. It's a good way to fix Windows when something goes badly wrong, but it's not much use for anything else. [tips]

Windows Explorer can be used as a simple, effective backup tool. Just "select" the files, folder or folders you want to backup > "right-click" the group of files that you've selected > choose copy > then paste them in the folder where you want to put your backup. You can also use "right-click and drag" to copy files to their backup destination. (left-click and drag is likely to do something you don't intend).

Microsoft provides "SyncToy", a free "synchronizing" tool. It's equally good for backup. SyncToy is easier to use if you have your files reasonably well organized. I've used it myself. It's simple and it works great!

"Zip" programs make good backup tools. They offer file compression and can be more convenient than copy and paste. WinZip is a powerful compression program that's easy to use. WinZip costs around $30. UltimateZip costs around $15, and is very similar to WinZip. "7-Zip" is a very comparable free alternative. All these work well, but see ZipBackup or Backup4all below.

CD Burner software can be used to create backups directly. You even save the list of files and folders in your backup as a project list. That seems great, but there's a gotcha. Files that have been moved, deleted, renamed, or modified may not be included in subsequent backups. I always create a new project. You can also create a backup by using a Zip or backup program, and then burning the resulting file to CD.

Backup programs

Programs designed specifically for backup let you save backup projects. They make it easy to back up the same set of files whenever you want. You won't forget which files you want to back up, and you won't have to locate them again. Some can be used for incremental backup -- only new or changed files are added to the archive -- which saves time and space.

My choice...

I use Backup4all for almost all my backups. Even though it has powerful options it is relatively easy to use. Backup4all uses its own file catalog to keep track of what's been backed up and when. That's the only reliable way to do it if you use incremental or differential backup -- other methods sometimes skip files that should have been backed up. [review]

Update: Use "full" or "mirror" (unckeck "Fast mirror" too) to back up encrypted "volumes", such TrueCrypt files. Backup programs cannot detect any changes from outside these files, even though the contents change. That's just the way they work. Any other backup type will fail to include an encrypted volume even though the contents have changed.

You can easily back up directly to CDs or DVDs with Backup4all (not the Lite version). You don't need a burning program. They have good help and suggestions on using these removable medias for backup.

Backup4all is easy to use, but it takes a while to get the hang of it. Experiment with some small scale backup and restore operations to find out just how it works. Hint: Don't click the restore button if you only need to restore some of the files. Select the backup you want to restore from. Then use the file tree to find the file. You'll see the available file versions in the pane below the file tree. Right-click the version of the file that you want and select "Restore". $40

Other programs

FreeByte Backup is a simple free backup program that is easy to use. I'd advise against using it for incremental backups though. It relies on the "archive" bit to determine if the file has changed since the last time, and I've found that isn't always reliable. Some changed files may not be included in the backup.

I tried ZipBackup just to see if it is as good as claimed. It seems just right for the average user to me. Not too complicated, good user interface, does just what it should and no more. Most importantly, it's not too confusing to restore files with. I recomment using the option to append the date and time to the backup filename. $29.95

ZipBackup and Backup4all (not the Lite version) put backups in standard Zip files, rather than proprietary formats. You don't need the program itself to restore files. You can use any Zip program, or Windows XP itself.

Microsoft backup programs

Using Microsoft's SyncToy is almost as obvious as "copy-and-paste", but a lot quicker if you want to back up files more than one time.

Windows 98 comes with a program simply called "Backup". Go to Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > and click the Backup shortcut. It's a powerful backup program, but a little clunky to use. I've used Backup extensively in the past with good results. Backups made with Windows 98 "Backup" cannot be opened with any other program, including the backup program for Windows XP, so don't try to use it to transfer your files to a new computer.

Windows XP Pro comes with a backup program called Windows Backup (NTbackup). [Click Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Backup] The user interface is a bit intimidating, but if you're willing to experiment (using some unimportant or dummy files) you can probably figure out how to use it. It's virtually the same as the Windows 98 version, but the backup archives (file sets) are not interchangeable.

For Windows XP Home: NTbackup can be used on XP Home too, but it's normally not installed. You need to install it separately. It should be on your Windows XP install CD If you don't have a real Windows CD, the NTbackup install file may be on your restore CD.
[A typical path is C:\Archive\XP\VALUEADD\MSFT\NTBACKUP\NTBACKUP.MSI] Microsoft - Q302894
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Don't confuse "Windows Backup" (NTbackup) with "System Restore" for XP. They aren't the same -- they compliment each other. Don't expect NTbackup to perform a complete restore of your C: drive. And don't expect System Restore to backup your data (documents, financial records, pictures, email, etc.).
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ZDNet reports on backup programs in a series of articles
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