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Number   :  8
Date     :  2001-05-11
Author   :  Jim Witherspoon
Subject  :  Re: Using /SP switch in XXCOPY
Size(KB) :  2


I was very glad to see that question asked and answered. I'd like to use
XXCOPY as a program to backup files to CDRW, and that would probably involve
spanning of disks in some cases.

I do have a backup program that I can use with CDRW - Veritas (formerly
Seagate) Backup Exec. But my experience with it is not very good. In any
event to get to the files you have to use the "restore" function of the
program.

Of course, using XXCOPY, there is a puzzle of how to do incremental backups
when the full backup is spanned over multiple CDRWs - how to check the files
on the CDRWs to see if a file on the HD needs to be backed up? One idea,
from XXCOPY "cookbook" - is to use the /SZ0 switch to "copy" the files from
the CDs to a folder - but they would all be "copied" as zero-byte files.
This would make a catalog of the files on the CDs containing the full
backup. Then XXCOPY could be used to clear archive bits, and then set the
archive bit on the files that aren't in the "catalog", or which have a
different dates from those in the catalog. These files would then be
copied to CDRW as an incremental backup.

I see another problem of backing up to CDRW - I think only long filenames
(LFN) are stored on CDRW, not short filenames (SFNs). Ideally, when I
restore files from CDRW, I want to restore them with the same LFNs and SFNs
they originally had on the HD.

Now, the LFN/SFNs could be preserved in the "catalog" containing the
zero-byte files, and after copying the files back from CDRW, the /NS switch
could be used to restore the SFNs from the catalog.

BUT this method could not be used if the "catalog" has been lost. Therefore
it would be helpful to make a backup copy of the "catalog". The catalog
couldn't be put on the CDRW because it the CDRW contains only the LFNs. It
could be put on another HD or floppies.

I thought about using a ZIP program to zip up the "catalog", but I don't
know if any ZIP program would preserve the LFN/SFN association during both
zipping and unzipping.

I hope this note is understandable - if it is unclear I could put in some
examples.

jim



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