GEMini Atari/GEMini_Atari_CD-ROM_Walnut_Creek_December_1993.iso/zip/diskutil/vltbin.lzh/VLTBIN/VAULT.HLP

Text File | 1993-08-06 | 20KB | 425 lines

This is the Vault help file.  Each help screen starts with a title
line and has up to 18 lines of help.

~Full Backup:Daily Incremental:Cleanup Incremental
Full Backup

A Full Backup backs up all the files in the folder(s) you specify,
usually all the files on a partition of your hard disk.  It often
takes a long time and many backup disks because a hard disk stores
a lot of information.  It should be done initially and then from
time to time whenever a clean copy of everything on the hard disk
is desired.  Between full backups, you should run daily
incremental and cleanup incremental backups.

To run a full backup, click on 'Full Backup' under the 'File' menu.

~Daily Incremental:Full Backup
Daily Incremental Backup

A daily incremental backup backs up only those files which have
changed since the last time you backed up your hard disk.  This is
the most commonly used type of backup because it's quick and you
can therefore do it daily.  Before you run a daily incremental,
though, you must run a full backup.

To run a daily incremental, click on 'Daily Incremental' under the
'File' menu.

~Cleanup Incremental:Full Backup:Daily Incremental
Cleanup Incremental Backup

After many days of running a daily incremental, your incremental
backup set will fill up.  Then, it's time to run a cleanup
incremental, which backs up all the files which have changed since
the last full backup.  After the cleanup incremental, you can
continue with daily incrementals until the backup sets fill up
again and you run another cleanup incremental.  Eventually, enough
will change on your hard disk since the last full backup so that
it's best to run a full backup instead of a cleanup incremental.

To run a cleanup incremental, click on 'Cleanup Incremental' under
the 'File' menu.

~Archive Bit:Cleanup Incremental:Daily Incremental
Archive Bit

TOS version 1.4 or newer will set the "archive" bit on a file
whenever it is modified.  This includes modifying a file with a
database and any time a file is created.  A file which is moved by
copying and then deleting the old file will have its archive bit
set, too.

Normally, The Vault does not back up according to how the archive
bit is set, but does clear the bit when it backs up a file.  When
the "Use Archive Bit" flag in the "Options" menu is set, The Vault
will back up files with the archive bit set and files with a new
date when running an incremental backup.  If a file it backs up
has an old date so that it would not have been backed up without
the archive bit, The Vault changes its date so it would have been.
This way, it will be backed up on subsequent cleanup incrementals.

Note  that this option is not available with TOS 1.0 or TOS 1.2

~Split Files:Split Threshold
Split Files

Sometimes, the files you want to back up are larger than will fit on
one floppy disk.  The Vault then splits them into two or more files
across subsequent backup sets, giving each one a unique name based on
the original file's name.  The Vault uses the same base name, but adds
a new extender telling which part of the file it is.  For example, if
The Vault splits a file "BIG.BIG" across three disks, it creates files
called "BIG.A01", "BIG.A02" and "BIG.A03".  If "BIG.Axx" already
exists, where xx are two digits, The Vault will try other letters
until it finds one which is free.  For example, if you have a real
file called "BIG.A34", The Vault would call the split files "BIG.B01",
"BIG.B02" and "BIG.B03" instead.

When The Vault doesn't split files, you can restore its backup sets
using any standard file copy program.  But when it splits a file, you
need The Key (the restore program for The Vault) to restore it.
Because of the inconvenience of split files, you can give The Vault a
split threshold, so that it will never split small files.

~Full Copy:Full Backup:Split Files:History File
Full Copy

Full Copy is like Full Backup except that The Vault never splits
files, writes the history file, changes the date on a file when using
the archive bit, or checks disk labels.  You are also only allowed
one starting folder on a full copy.  It is useful when you just
want to copy data, such as making up disks for a user group or a
friend.

To run a full copy, click on 'Full Copy' under the 'File' menu.

~Incremental Copy:Full Copy
Incremental Copy

Incremental Copy is like Full Copy except that only those files
created or modified since a date and time you specify will be
copied.

To run an incremental copy, click on 'Incremental Copy' under the
'File' menu.

~Input Parameters:Folder Selection:File Selection:History File:Starting Folder
Selecting the Input Parameters

The Input Parameters dialog box allows you to specify which files
you want backed up.  It has three parts: in the left-hand window
are the folders to back up.  In the right-hand window are the
folder selection masks for the selected starting folder in the
left-hand window.  This lets you specify some folder to not back
up.  To change the starting folders and folder selection masks,
click on the items in the windows and use the buttons 'Add',
'Insert', 'Edit', 'Delete' and 'Clear', which apply to the current
window.

Below that is the backup history name, which you can type in by
hand or use the mouse to select, and the file selection
masks which, like the folder selection masks, let you tell The
Vault to back up certain files and not others.  The Vault will
back up all files matching the file selection masks in folders
matching the folder selection masks.

~File Selection
File Selection Masks

File selection masks let you select which files to back up.  Use
*.* to include all files.  '*' matches any string of zero or more
characters, '?' matches exactly one character, and other
characters match themselves.  Thus, *.PAS would match only those
files whose type is '.PAS', and *2.?  would match all files whose
name ends with '2' and whose type is a single character.

If you give more than one mask, The Vault uses them from left to
right.  For example, *.pas *.c backs up all the '.PAS' and '.C'
files.  A mask preceded by an exclamation point (!) excludes the
matching files.  For example, *.* !*.BAK backs up all files except
the '.BAK' files.  Each new mask adds to or subtracts from the set
of files specified by all preceding masks.  For example, *.*
!TEST.* *.C starts with all files, then removes those matching
'TEST.*', then adds back all files matching '*.C'.  Note that
'TEST.C' will be backed up by these rules.

~Folder Selection:File Selection:Starting Folder
Folder Selection Masks

Folder selection masks let you select which folders to back up.  Use
'.' to include all subfolders of the starting folder.  You select them
with the file selector the way you select a starting folder: select a
starting folder, click on the "Folder Selection" window and then on
the "Add" button.  Each Folder Selection Mask is simply the "tail-end"
of a path-name.  Therefore, you cannot select a folder selection mask
which is above the starting folder to which it applies.  For example,
if your starting folder were E:\R\ and you wanted E:\R\DOCS\ to be
backed up, then that folder with the file selector and "DOCS\" would
appear in the window.  You could not select "E:\" with the file
selector because that's above "E:\R" in the folder tree.

As with File Selection masks, if you give more than one mask, The Vault
uses them from the top down.  If you click on the "Exclude" button, the
given mask excludes the matching folder.  Clicking on the "Fl Only" button
A mask makes the mask not apply to any of its subfolders.

~Output Parameters:Backup Set
Output Parameters Dialog Box

The Output Parameters dialog box lets you select the backup set
name and starting volume number.  Enter the requested information
from the keyboard.

The backup set name should consist of at most eight
alphanumeric characters.  The starting volume number should
generally be 1.

On a copy, this box also lets you select an output folder.  You
may select any folder name as many levels deep as you want on the
floppy disk.  For example, "R\DOCS\LETTERS\" would copy files from
the starting folder to A:\R\DOCS\LETTERS\.

~Insert Disk:Formatting
Insert Floppy Disk Dialog Box

The Insert Floppy Disk box asks you to insert a disk and specify
which drive the disk is in and how it should be treated.  Click on
the box corresponding to the drive you are using.  If you select
dual mode, when The Vault is finished writing a disk, it will look
in the other drive and if the disk it expects is there, The Vault
will write it.  Dual mode even works with Full or Incremental
copy.  This lets The Vault write continuously if you own two drives.

You have three options of what to do to the disk: You can either
format it, clear it, or append to it.  The Vault normally selects
the proper option by default, but you can override its selection
when necessary by clicking on the appropriate box.

The append option is intended for daily incremental backups and
only works quickly on disks which were written by The Vault or
which have no fragmented freespace.

~Formatting:Insert Disk
Formatting a Floppy

If you select the 'Format' option from the Insert Floppy Disk box, a
Format box will appear asking you to specify how you want your disk
formatted and giving you the opportunity to change your mind.  The FORMAT
box will also appear if The Vault decides that the disk needs formatting.

The FORMAT box lets you select whether to format single or double
sided and 9 or 10 sectors per track.  "Standard" is 9, but using 10
sectors puts more on each disk.  Similarly, you can format between 80
and 83 tracks.  Beware, more than 80 tracks may not be safe.  You can
also select normal or skewed disks.  Skewed disks read faster.

You are also given the option of specifying the serial number on the
disk.  All disks _must_ have a unique serial number.  If you don't
have a system for making up your own serial numbers, make sure that
'Random Serial Number' is checked and The Vault will choose one for
you.  Otherwise, uncheck it and enter the serial number in base 16.

~Backup Set:Full Backup:Wrong Disk
The Backup Set Name

A backup set is a set of floppies which were all created during
the same backup operation.  Each backup set has a name attached to
it, called a "set name", which consists of any alphanumeric string
up to eight characters long.  You are asked to enter the backup
set name when you select 'Full Backup' from the 'File' menu.  The
set name should be different for each different full and
incremental backup set.

Each diskette in a backup set is assigned a volume number,
starting with the one you enter (normally 1).  Thus, each backup
disk is uniquely identified by its set name and volume number.
The wrong disk inserted box will appear if the disk's set name and
number do not match what was expected.


~Wrong Disk:Insert Disk
Wrong Disk Inserted Dialog Box

When you are asked to insert a disk, The Vault checks the name and
number of the disk you insert to make sure it's the correct one.
If it isn't, you have there options: 'Switch disks' goes back to
the Insert Floppy Disk box and lets you try again.  'Relabel &
Proceed' writes the expected label on the disk and then proceeds
normally.  'Proceed' goes ahead and uses the disk that you
inserted.  It also changes the expected backup set name and volume
number to match what was on the disk, so the next disk requested
will be the next one in sequence in the new backup set.

~Verify Writes
Write Verify Option

Normally, the Atari ST verifies everything that it writes to disk,
ensuring that all data written will be readable.  You can turn
this off and speed up the backup process considerably by
unchecking the 'Verify Writes' menu item.  If you do, you are
increasing the chance that you will find your backup data
unreadable when you need it.

~Split Threshold:Split Files
Split Threshold

The 'Split Threshold' allows you to control when files are split
across more than one floppy disk.  Files shorter than the split
threshold will never be split, and the amount of wasted space on a
floppy (except for the last) will never be larger than the split
threshold.  Thus, the larger 'split threshold' is, the fewer files
will be split but the more wasted space there might be on each
floppy.  Because The Vault uses a sophisticated file packing
algorithm, the amount of wasted space on each disk is generally
much smaller than this parameter.  We recommend a value around 40%
of the capacity of the floppy disks you are using.  The threshold
must always be less than the total disk capacity.

Make sure that you set the split threshold to something smaller than
the smallest disk you will be using.  Otherwise, a file larger than
that disk may confuse The Vault.

~Defaults File:Insert Disk
Defaults Files

When The Vault starts up, it looks for a file called "VAULT.VDF" to
load all the default options of the menus and dialog boxes from.  Once
you've set the options in the dialog boxes, you can save them with the
'Save Defaults' menu item or the 'Save Defaults' button in the Insert
Disk box.  You have the choice of saving them to "VAULT.VDF", in which
case The Vault will load them automatically, or to another ".VDF"
file, which you can load with the "Load Defaults" menu item.  Usually,
you will have one defaults file for every type of backup you run: one
for the system files, one for the user files, one for the games, etc.

You can also use the "Install Application" feature of the Desktop to
start The Vault with the .VDF file of your choice.  To do this, click
on the icon for The Vault, select "Install Application" under the
"Options" menu, and enter "VDF" as the document type.  Then, when you
double-click on a .VDF file, The Vault should run with your selected
file pre-loaded.

~History File:Input Parameters
Backup History File

Whenever you back up the disk, The Vault creates a history file ending
in ".HST" in the folder of your choice.  The history file contains the
names of all files backed up and the name of the disk on which they
are stored.  This provides a convenient means of locating a specific
file in the backup set.  The first four lines of the history file
contain the date and time of the last incremental and full backups,
the last output folder used, and the last incremental disk used.

Another file, of the same name as the history file only ending in
".CTL" is created which contains only the header information from the
history file.  The first four lines of this file are used to control
incremental backups and should not be changed.  It is OK to change or
delete the rest of the file.

~Backup New Folders:Archive Bit
Backup New Folders

Sometimes, you may copy a folder-full of files into a new folder on
your hard disk, and then want them backed up in spite of their old
date.  When the 'Backup New Folders' flag under the 'Options' menu is
set, The Vault will back up files in folders newer than the last
backup regardless of the dates of the files.  This option is not
usually used in conjunction with the 'Archive Bit' option, because in
the above scenario, all the files would have their archive bit set
anyway.

~Starting Folder:Input Parameters
Starting Folder

In the Input Parameters box, the window on the left contains the
starting folders which The Vault will search for files to back up.
The Starting Folder is where The Vault starts its disk scan for files,
so The Vault cannot back up files above the starting folder in the
folder tree.  In the usual case, where you want The Vault to back up a
whole partition, you set the starting folder to the root folder in
that partition -- C:\ D:\ or E:\, for example.

~Can't Read:Insert Disk
When The Vault Can't Read the Disk

Sometimes, The Vault can't read the disk which you give it, and gives
you the Can't Read dialog box.  The four buttons let you do the
following:

Format: Usually, you see the box because the disk you inserted isn't
formatted.  This button lets you format the disk and continue.

Insert Disk: You may have inserted the wrong disk, so this option
lets you go back to the Insert Disk box and insert the right disk.

Retry: The disk drive may just be flaky, in which case in trying
again, The Vault might be able to succeed in reading the disk.
Usually, though, 'Retry' doesn't accomplish much.

Quit: If you realize that you didn't want to run this backup after
all, the 'Quit' button will get you back to The Vault desktop.

~Misc Options:Maximum Tracks:Split Threshold:Ring Interval
Miscellaneous Options

By selecting "Set Misc Options" under the "Options" menu, you can
change the Maximum Tracks to write at once, the Split Threshold and
the Ring Interval -- three unrelated options.  To read more about
these topics, see their help screens.


~Ring Interval:Insert Disk:Hur
Ring Interval

When The Vault waits to insert a floppy disk, it rings a bell
periodically to tell you to it's waiting for a disk.  Different people
want the bell rung at a different interval, so this option is
user-settable.  The number you give as the ring interval divided by
200 is the number of seconds between two rings.  The ring interval
defaults to 1728, which is 8.64 seconds, or 10 milli-hurs.

If you don't want The Vault to ring the bell at all, set the ring
interval to 0.

~Hur
Hur -- A New System to Measure Time

A Hur is a unit of time equal to 1/100 of a day, and a Hurclock is a
clock which measures the number of hurs which have passed since
midnight of the current day.  The standard abbreviation for a Hur is
'r'.  Following are conversion factors:

    1 mr (milli-hur) = .864 sec
    100 mr           = 1.44 minutes = 1:26.4
    1 hur            = 14.4 minutes = 14:24
    1 hour           = 4.166667 hur
    1 day            = 100 hur

    1 m/mr = 1 km/r (very nice, because it eliminates the conversion
                     between m/s and km/hr)

A Hur has little to do with The Vault.  If you are interested in a
Hurclock for your Atari ST, contact the author (Robert Fischer)

~Maximum Tracks:Formatting:Misc Options
Maximum Tracks to Write at Once

The "Writing" thermometer bar in the backup status poses a special
problem to The Vault.  While The Vault is writing to the disk, there
is no good way to update the thermometer bar.  Every time The Vault
does updates it, depending on which format floppy you're using, it
loses up to .2 seconds.  Therefore, The Vault runs a compromise and
only updates the thermometer bar every few tracks it writes.

Using the option "Set Max Tracks" in the "Misc Options" dialog
box, you can set the number of tracks The Vault will write before it
updates the thermometer bar.  If you're using non-skewed disks, you
should set this to 1 because The Vault doesn't lose any time on these
disks in updating the thermometer bar.  If you format your disks in
some way to accelerate them, chances are updating the thermometer bar
will slow down The Vault, so you'll want to set Max Tracks to a
compromise like 8.  The only way to tell for sure if using a smaller
Max Tracks number slows down The Vault is to try it.