Wiz.bin and Sage.Properties Backup Using WinXP Backup Util.

[mayamaniac]

I've been using the WinXP Backup tool to schedule backups for both wiz.bin and sage.properties files. It's been working well even while SageTV is running, including in Service mode. Here's What you do:

1. Run the Backup tool, Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Backup.
2. Check the Start with Wizard Mode and click Next.
3. Choose Backup Files and click Next.
4. Choose "Let me Choose what to backup" and click Next.
5. Browse to the SageTV folder and check the Sage.Properties and Wiz.bin files. Click Next.
6. Click Browse and select the location to store the backups. And Name your backup file. Click Next.
7. Click on Advanced... I just leave the Settings on Normal for backup type, but I think you can change to other modes if you desire. Click Next and Next again.
8. Select Replace the Existing backups. Click Next.
9. Select Later. Type in a Jobs Name. Click on Set Schedule. Now set how often you want the backups to ocur. I set mine to every other day per week at 3AM. Click OK. It'll prompt for your user password, enter it twice and hit OK.
10. Enter password again, and that's it.

If you need to restore the backups, run Backup again and select Restore at step #3. And follow the instruction it asks you to restore the files. You can look in Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Schedule Task, and the scheduled backup job should be there. To run it for a test, right-click and select Run.

UPDATE 3/10/2005: As neilm pointed out in post below, this utility is only preinstalled for WinXP Pro. For WinXP Home users, you can install it if you have the WinXP installation CD. Its located in \VALUEADD\MSFT\NTBACKUP directory. Run NTBACKUP.msi to install it. Since not all vendors include the actual source code for XP, you can download a copy HERE.

[nielm]

IIRC the WinXP backup tool is an optional part of WinXP and not installed by default... It is somewhere on the WinXP CD in a tools or extras folder and has to be installed manually... (I think it is in a folder called NTBACKUP)

[mayamaniac]

I think most system should have it installed.

But I urge everyone to start backing up your wiz.bin and sage.prop files. Mine got corrupted once but fortunately I managed to recover it. Gave me a good scare though. Although, the new 2.2.4 beta seems to be corrupt-proof, but better back up to be safe.

[nielm]

I don't disagree
(and each time I do an XP install and forget to install the danm backup tool, I curse myself and MS in equal mesure, while hunting through my CD library for the damn XP disk )

[mayamaniac]

And all those time spent cursing and finding the CD could've been spent on improving nielm's webserver plugin. DAMN YOU MICROSOFT!!!

[teedublu]

Important:
Don't backup Wiz.bin, backup Wiz.bak !!!! To restore it, copy it over wiz.bin while sage is down. Similarly, backup the sage.properties.autoback file and restore it over the sage.properties file.

A suggestion:
You really should do a backup everyday, and you need more than one days worth of backups so:
Schedule 7 different backups, one for each day of the week (each day to its own DayName file, which is overwritten once per week).

TW

[src666]

I have a batch file that runs every night as a schedule task and executes the following commands (in another directory, of course):

del wiz_9.bin
ren wiz_8.bin wiz_9.bin
ren wiz_7.bin wiz_8.bin
ren wiz_6.bin wiz_7.bin
ren wiz_5.bin wiz_6.bin
ren wiz_4.bin wiz_5.bin
ren wiz_3.bin wiz_4.bin
ren wiz_2.bin wiz_3.bin
ren wiz_1.bin wiz_2.bin
ren wiz.bak wiz_1.bin
xcopy /y "C:\Program Files\Frey Technologies\SageTV\wiz.bak"

Obviously, it could be expanded to keep more copies, or run on a different schedule, but the basic point is to maintain a rolling set of backups far enough back that I could catch a good copy once I noticed a problem.

[Wheemer]

Thanks for that tip... this should be under that Sage tips thread.

[BobPhoenix]

Originally Posted by teedublu

Important:
Don't backup Wiz.bin, backup Wiz.bak !!!!

Just curious and pardon my ignorance but why not backup Wiz.bin? I do both currently.

Thanks.
BobP.

[teedublu]

It doesn't hurt to backup the live files, but you don't want to depend on a backup of a file that is open and therefore constantly being updated. You can endup with a corrupt file.

[wjohn]

Originally Posted by src666

I have a batch file that runs every night as a schedule task and executes the following commands (in another directory, of course):
Obviously, it could be expanded to keep more copies, or run on a different schedule, but the basic point is to maintain a rolling set of backups far enough back that I could catch a good copy once I noticed a problem.

Just curious why you only backup the wiz file and not the sage.properties files also? Do they not have to be in sync?

Thanks,

[src666]

Because I'm new at this, and still learning what should be done. I'll be adding the .properties files tonight. Thanks!

[falchulk]

Originally Posted by wjohn

Just curious why you only backup the wiz file and not the sage.properties files also? Do they not have to be in sync?

Thanks,

Not really. You can install a fresh version of sage, throw in the wiz.bin and go through the initial config just fine. All your shows complete with info will be there. You just wont have the settings you configured. To save yourself work it really makes sense to get sage.properties but its not required.

[mayamaniac]

Originally Posted by teedublu

Important:
Don't backup Wiz.bin, backup Wiz.bak !!!! To restore it, copy it over wiz.bin while sage is down. Similarly, backup the sage.properties.autoback file and restore it over the sage.properties file.

It doesn't hurt to backup both wiz.bin and wiz.bak. Trust me, I had corrupted wix.bak files before and could not restore my settings. I also backup sage.properties.bak also.

Originally Posted by teedublu

A suggestion:
You really should do a backup everyday, and you need more than one days worth of backups so:
Schedule 7 different backups, one for each day of the week (each day to its own DayName file, which is overwritten once per week).

It depends on how your stable your setup is, if you are always tweaking your system, then yes, backup everyday. But if your system is fairly stable and you don't change it much, then maybe every other day will do. I have 3 schedule tasks, one for Mon/Wed/Fri, one for Tue/Thur/Sat, and one for Sunday. This way, I figure I always have backups for the last 3 days, which is reassuring enough for me.

The main reason I use this WinXP backup utility is because its free with the OS and also because it lets you backup wiz.bin even when it's being use by SageTV. It's called volume shadow backup or something like that. I have SageTV running 24/7 so this is important to me because I don't trust backing up just wiz.bak alone as it failed me before. And for the record, wiz.bin has corrupted on me twice since I started this thread, and both time I restored from a backup file and everything was dandy again.

PS. I updated the first post for WinXP Home users who doesn't have the backup utility installed.

[davey_fl]

Wish I had put this into place sooner, I just lost my Wiz.bin/bak and had to go back to a backup I had one month ago Lost a lot of recorded show info. DAMMIT! Why can't Frey add an option to rebuild your Wiz.bin or add shows into the recorded list. Now I have files spread across 8 drives that are not in my Sage Recordings. I'll have to consolidate them onto a couple of drives and import them, or just delete them all and start again

davey

[lovingHDTV]

I think the best feature Sage could add to 3.0 is the ability to rebuild the wiz.bin file. I too have lost mine and you loose the entire Sage experience. Talk about a single point of failure.

[Grungy Remnant]

Ditto.

Boy, I've got lots to say today.

[wbarber69]

IMHO I've found that when something goes wrong its always right before you get to backing up than after you've already backed up

[mayamaniac]

Originally Posted by lovingHDTV

I think the best feature Sage could add to 3.0 is the ability to rebuild the wiz.bin file. I too have lost mine and you loose the entire Sage experience. Talk about a single point of failure.

I'd still do backups, too much important to lose to depend on some sort of rebuilding process. But as far as I know, wiz.bin data cannot be publicly viewed, and I think it's part of the reasons why Studio is not released to public also.

Originally Posted by wbarber69

IMHO I've found that when something goes wrong its always right before you get to backing up than after you've already backed up

This backup process can be setup to back up automatically and numorous copies if needed. but I know what you mean, it's the "computer only crashes right before you save" curse.

[waynedunham]

Originally Posted by mayamaniac

It'll prompt for your user password, enter it twice and hit OK.
10. Enter password again, and that's it.

Anybody got a good trick or tool to get the task scheduler to work without a password? I've got my system setup with no password, but can't seem to get the scheduler to work with that setup.
I don't necessarily have a problem with password, but I remember on Win95 you had to jump through hoops to get the system to automatically log you on without sitting at the keyboard. (i.e. hit the power switch, or after a power outage, and the system fires up and runs on it's own instead of sitting there waiting in vain for someone to happen by the keyboard with the password)

I created 2 batch files similar to the one posted here. One for Sage, and one for Sage Client. Tested the batch files and they work fine (I used to use the same technique on OS/2 in a startup.bat to back up my config files with 10 generations of backups). I plugged them into task scheduler but when I try to run the task nothing happens and I'm guessing that's because I didn't input a password. XP in it's infinte "knowledge" figures I must not know what I'm doing and does something different. <sigh>

I thought computers were supposed to follow their masters orders? HAH!! Not with Win, you want a simple peer to peer network, NO!!! You must set up servers, clients, and passwords or else you get NO help you fool!! You want to share files on your dedicated network behind a NAT, NO, you FOOL, you must supply passwords and tricks to see your own files on another system!! Grrrrrrr!!!