Wiz.bak: Force Creation?

[PeteCress]

Looks to me like Wiz.bak only gets created/replaced when SageTV shuts down or starts up (dunno which....)

Is there any way to force creation of Wiz.bak without shutting SageTV down?

Agenda is backing up Wiz.bin. My file copy backup utility doesn't want to back it up bco "File In Use".... OTOH, it has no prob w/Wiz.bak... So I figure that if I can make SageTV recreate it automagically every so often, I'll settle for Wiz.bak and call it a wrap.

Some other approach?

File backup utils that can be scheduled and deal w/File In Use?

[GKusnick]

Real backup software uses the volume snapshot service, which in effect makes temporary copies ("snapshots") of all open files so they can be backed up without interference from the apps using them. The app writes to one copy, while the backup software reads from the other, unmodified copy. This is a much more robust solution than simple file copy scripts, which can't guarantee consistency among the backed-up files.

[Spectrum]

If you want to be able to script copy using VSS there is a 3rd party utility that is supposed to let you do so. I say supposed to as I have never tried it. You could always guinea pig it for us and report back

[PeteCress]

Originally Posted by GKusnick

Real backup software uses the volume snapshot service, which in effect makes temporary copies ("snapshots") of all open files so they can be backed up without interference from the apps using them. The app writes to one copy, while the backup software reads from the other, unmodified copy. This is a much more robust solution than simple file copy scripts, which can't guarantee consistency among the backed-up files.

Do you have one that you like?

I had been using Retrospect, but it was so buggy and the support so poor that I reverted to file copies.

Looked at a couple of others at the time, but the restore of a given file for a given date looked too arcane and difficult in that one had to know the date they wanted and search among various incremental backups. To say something good about Retrospect, it does restores for a given file quite conveniently - showing a list of dates the file was backed up and allowing the user to choose one or many.

[MattHelm]

Originally Posted by PeteCress

Do you have one that you like?

I use Cobian Backup. Only time I've had problems with VSS and Cobian, is when I tried 7zip for the compressor, but that was also with the older version, so it might be fine now. BTW, Cobian/Zip handled the VSS fine.

I use it to make 1 copy to each video drive, then 1 copy remotely to my dad's server, and keep 15 days.

http://www.educ.umu.se/~cobian/cobianbackup.htm

[PeteCress]

Originally Posted by MattHelm

I use Cobian Backup. Only time I've had problems with VSS and Cobian, is when I tried 7zip for the compressor, but that was also with the older version, so it might be fine now. BTW, Cobian/Zip handled the VSS fine.

I use it to make 1 copy to each video drive, then 1 copy remotely to my dad's server, and keep 15 days.

http://www.educ.umu.se/~cobian/cobianbackup.htm

I'm gonna give it a try. Sounds like a step up from SecondCopy but without keeping everything in a database.

[Folkboat]

I use "Second Copy" been using it for a LOOOOONG TIME.

Doesn't ACRONIS use VSS??

I've got a copy of that!!

[PeteCress]

Originally Posted by Folkboat

I use "Second Copy" been using it for a LOOOOONG TIME.

Same here. After upgrading to SecondCopy v7, I notice there is an option to "try to copy files in use". Anybody know if that invokes VSS? Cobian seems to use VSS, but reading Cobian's Help, it sounds like the VSS/no-VSS decision has to be made before the backup commences.... so Second Copy's implementation doesn't sound quite right in that context if they use VSS.

[stevech]

I use SecondCopy - and the very latest does claim to copy open files, but NOT across a LAN. It must run on the same machine.

I really like SecondCopy - it backs up all my important folders, automatically, per my preferences. I've set it to keep the last 10 copies of wiz.bin/bak

I also use TruImage 2009 to do drive images and clones. It's saved my buns a few times, and made it simple to swap drives. TrueImage will also use VSS to copy open files. I have it dupe the Sage configs and wiz to a different drive and a folder.

[PeteCress]

Originally Posted by stevech

I use SecondCopy - and the very latest does claim to copy open files, but NOT across a LAN. It must run on the same machine.

I really like SecondCopy - it backs up all my important folders, automatically, per my preferences. I've set it to keep the last 10 copies of wiz.bin/bak

I've been using SecondCopy too.

But, prompted by gKusnick's post, I've been fooling around with a freebie utility called "Cobian".

Maybe I'm missing something, but I'm really up to Cobian and can see it replacing SecondCopy for all but a very few applications.

Also, if anybody is doing directory/drive/share compares, I've stumbled on to a product called "Beyond Compare". I'm one of those customers-from-hell that complains about nearly everything. But I have to say that both Cobian and Beyond Compare make me about as close to satisified as I'll probably ever be.