B A C K I T U P
Version 3.1

Copyright 1989
Michael S. Roth



April 1990


Michael S. Roth
614 Washington St. Apt. 12
Blacksburg, VA 24060












BackItUp v3.1

TABLE OF CONTENTS


1. Introduction .......................................... 1
2.1 What's new with 3.1!
2.2 Installation
2.3 Licensing

2. Layout ................................................. 2

3. User Inputs ............................................ 3

4. Errors ................................................. 3

5. Program History ........................................ 3















1. INTRODUCTION

BackItUp was originally written as an "in-house" hard
drive back-up routine, but since I (and my co-workers) got so
much use out of it, I thought maybe the general public would
also find it useful (version 2.0 was the first public
version).

The unique thing about BackItUp is that it does not
crunch, "arc", or encode its back-ups. That was not its
purpose; there are plenty of fine utilities on the market to
accomplish this. BackItUp simply copies files from the hard
drive (or any drive) to a back-up destination. This way, if
the data should ever be needed again, it would be easy to
find, and retrieve. This method does make back-ups rather
large and bulky so, for older back-ups, I convert them to an
"arc"ed format when I'm sure they will not be immediately
needed.

BackItUp works by checking file write-dates against a
mask the user enters at the beginning. When BackItUp finds a
file with a write-date on, or after the user-entered date,
the file is processed. BackItUp also displays several
statistics on the screen for you, as well as having a built
in help system.

I hope you find this program as useful and as valuable
as I and my co-workers have.



1.1 WHAT'S NEW WITH 3.0

BackItUp 3.1 has a different appearance from version 3.0.
Information is not as crammed together. The error trapping
routines have been greatly improved. The help facility has been
changed a little bit and the input procedure has been changed.
The biggest and most significant change has been the addition of
optimizing back-up code. This code allows BackItUp to fill each
target disk to its maximum, minimizing wasted space.



1.2 INSTALLATION

Installation could not be easier. Simply make a back-up of
this disk using DOS. Then copy BACKITUP.EXE to your root
directory or the highest directory you wish to back-up and type
BACKITUP , and your off.



1.3 LICENSING

This program is being released as a Public Domain program.
But, should you be inclined to send me money, I will accept it and
send you the latest version of BACKITUP (plus a disk full of my
other great software). The program is copyright and remains my
property, however, I am giving it to you to use, copy and
distribute, providing you adhere to the following conditions:

1) Do not charge for it.
2) It is distributed in its whole form
3) The program itself is not altered in anyway

If you have a great idea for the program or want the source
code, drop me a line, I'll be glad to oblige. This program has
worked unfailingly for me since its conception, and I expect it to
do so for you also. However, in the event that it does not, I
disclaim any responsibility for the loss of data, system crashes
or any other conceivable damage done by this program. I make no
warranties, written or implied concerning this program. It is
distributed "as is". I am continually trying to enhance this
program and would enjoy hearing any suggestions or criticisms.



2. LAYOUT

Upon boot-up of the program you will see the main screen.
Note that F1 brings up the help system ans ESC quits the program.
The main screen is divided into 5 areas: 1) the Target Disk area,
2) the BackUp status are, 3) the Current File area, 4) the Log
window and 5) the Title window.

The Target Disk area is in the upper left corner of the
screen. It displays the path to the target disk, the empty and
used space on this disk, and the prompt area (See below).


TARGET DISK
Path:

Empty Space:

Used Space :

Status:


The BackUp status area shows the date mask, the number of
files backed-up, the bytes backed-up, and the disk number (See
below).


BACKUP STATS
Date Mask:

Files Backed up:

Bytes Backed up:

Disk Number:


The Current File area displays the file BackItUp is currently
processing. This window displays the path and name of the current
file, as well as its write-date and size.


CURRENT FILE
Path:

File Name:

Write-date:

File Size:


The Log window resides at the bottom of the screen.
Occasionally prompts will be displayed here but usually the files
that have been backed-up will scroll through this window. While
BackItUp is searching directories, the directory it is searching
will be displayed here and when it is finished it will display the
number of qualifying files found.

The Title window is self explanatory.


3. USER INPUTS

The first user input required is the path to the target disk.
BackItUp will now back-up to a path, not just a drive. Enter the
path and BackItUp will check it out, if its not valid, an error
message will be displayed and the back-up aborted.

Then enter the date mask. Enter it in numeric format.
BackItUp will back-up any files with write-dates on or after the
mask you entered. If an invalid date is entered, an error message
will be displayed and the back-up aborted.

BackItUp will do automatic back-ups if you like. When an
automatic back-up is done, the program can run unattended.
However, some of the files BackItUp finds you may not want
backed-up (i.e. Autoexec.Bat, Etc.).


4. ERRORS

BackItUp should trap most any conceivable error. The error
number is displayed along with an explanation of it.
Unfortunately, most errors are unrecoverable at this time (in
other words, they abort the back-up). Error number correspond to
Borland's Turbo Pascal v5.0 errors listed in their appendix.
Except for errors 40, 50, 60, and 70 which are unique to BackItUp.


5. PROGRAM HISTORY

version 1.0 --internal use only. Copied files according to
write-date. Used batch files to copy.
version 1.1 -- internal use only. Fixed some bugs, and
changed some input parameters.
version 1.2 -- internal use only. More debugging.
version 2.0 -- Public version. New screen design, on screen
help, new method of directory scanning.
version 2.1 -- Improved speed, copies files withOUT DOS.
version 3.0 -- Windowing, New screen design, improved speed,
error trapping.
version 3.1 -- new screen, better error routines, optimal
backup!