Re: Backing up hard disks and the Archiver

[glyn@cs.UAlberta.CA (Reade Glyn Devin)]

In article <9303261716.A02113@Janus-ccm.ZenithE.Com>, bacm@janus-ccm.zenithe.com (Michael Bac) writes:
> 
> I am just getting back into the apple ][ scene here and was wondering what is
> the best program to use for backing up a hard disk.  I tried the archiver,
> once,
> and it totally hosed everthing when I went to restore from it.  Wouldn't you 
> know it right when my hard drive crashed.  I finally got a new hard drive and
> tried restoring from my back up and basically nothing worked.  Some of the 
> directory structure was hosed and everything.  Is this a known bug, is it 
> possible that this is not the lastest version or what?  I held my end by 
> backing
> up the hard disk but, the program surely didn't hold up its end of the deal.
> To
> be reliable when needed most.

It is generally acknowledged that Archiver is fairly useless.  If you really
want to use it, apparently it will work if you back up by file rather than
by volume.  I, however, don't trust it.

I use the Prosel.16 backup utility once a week and have never had problems
attributable to the utility.  I suggest using error correction and 
verification; although it takes longer, it's less of a hassle than later
finding out that one of your disks is bad.

I here the Vitesse backup program is OK, and GSTape is recommended if
you can afford a tape drive.

Prosel.16 and the Vitesse one are commercial packages.  I don't know the
status of GSTape.

--Devin Reade		glyn@cs.ualberta.ca