by @Macarlo
Windows 2000 Professional Beta Tester
(Screenshots by Namo Capture)

 Hi All.
I just tested here this Monday December 06, 1999, on my Windows 2000 Professional the new release from CDS, Back Again/2000. It is a backup soft really fine that runs simply fantastic on Windows 2000. Backing up your data is an important task yet unfortunately is it often avoided or overlooked because of the apparent complexity of many backup utilities.  Back Again II was designed to overcome these issues, and to that end incorporates many features designed to make it easy for you to protect your valuable programs and data.

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 Back Again/2000 Tested on Warp 4 FP6

In the photo above you can see tilled on my Windows 2000 desktop the Explorer file manager window with Back Again evaluation file downloaded from Computer Data Strategies, Inc. web site (baiieval.exe, 2.84MB), the keyfile sent by the developers for more complete evaluation; in others windows you can see the Back Again/2000 license agreement and the setup shield.

The installation process is very simple: put the evaluation copy in a temp directory and click it. The installation begins as you can see in the photos below:

After the installation steps you don't need reboot the PC in order to run a backup using Back Again/2000: simply click the icon that it created on your desktop, choose backup, select the files and make it!

This special evaluation edition is limited to backing up 50MB at a time.  After backing up 50MB, the software will display a warning message and will abort the backup.  This software is identical to the full version in every other aspect, including the command line utilities and automated scheduling service.

If you would like to perform a more complete evaluation of  Back Again II, you may obtain an unlock code from CDS, Inc. through  either the internet (http://www.cds-inc.com/baiieval/baiieval.html)  or by calling CDS, Inc. directly at 651-730-4156, Monday through  Friday, 8:00am through 5:00pm CST.

System Requirements

Back Again II Workstation Edition requires an Intel-based personal  computer or workstation running Microsoft Windows NT Workstation v4.0  or later with at least 16MB of memory, a mouse or other pointing  device, and 15MB of disk space.  Please note that Back Again II  Workstation Edition will not function on Windows NT Advanced Server;  Back Again II Server Edition is required.

Supported Backup Devices

Many different types of backup devices are supported by Back Again II  and do not require a separate device driver.  Back Again II supports  almost every SCSI and ATAPI/IDE tape drive currently available, and has  been designed to automatically configure itself for future tape drives  as well.  Additionally, Back Again II does not require any specific  device driver to work with a SCSI or ATAPI/IDE tape drive other than  the driver for the SCSI or IDE adapter.  If an NT tape driver is already installed, Back Again II can use it without conflict as well.

Back Again II also supports logical disk devices such as floppy diskettes, Iomega Zip and Jaz drives, SyQuest EZ-135, EZ-270, and SyJet drives, etc.  in addition to internal hard disk and network drives.

If you have a question about a specific device, please do not hesitate to
contact the CDS technical support group.     

Installing Back Again II

Begin the installation process by inserting the first diskette or CD-ROM
into the appropriate drive and execute the SETUP.EXE program located on the
installation media.  If you are installing Back Again II from a directory
on a local or network drive, change to that directory and run the SETUP.EXE
program from there. This will load the installation program and begin the
installation process.  

Also, in order to install the backup scheduler, you will need to be logged
on to an administrative account as the installation program will register
the backup scheduler service and add the required registry entries.

NTBACKUP.EXE Compatibility

Back Again II can exchange data with the backup utility included with
Windows NT.  However, Back Again II provides many advanced features which
may prevent NTBACKUP from being able to restore data written by
Back Again II.  To avoid compatibility problems, we recommend the
following :

    o Do not use software data compression.
      NTBACKUP does not support software compression, and will therefore
      be unable to restore compressed data.  Instead, use hardware data
      compression if available, or disable compression entirely.

    o Do not back up more than one drive at a time.
      NTBACKUP expects to see only one drive per data set.  Instead, use
      a separate backup set for each drive.

    o Do not restrict the backup to the owner or administrator.
      NTBACKUP does not support the encryption method used by Back Again II.

    o Do not change the MTF block size.
      NTBACKUP expects certain block sizes on certain drives.

Back Again/2 for OS/2 Compatibility

Back Again II can read tapes created by Back Again/2 for OS/2, with the
following restrictions :

    o Backups created by BA/2 for OS/2 using the "Compress Smaller"
      software compression method will not work due to the third party
      compression library not being available for Win32 platforms.
      Backups made without software data compression or with the
      "Compress Faster" option will be readable by Back Again II.

    o Backups on non-tape media created by BA/2 for OS/2 are not
      supported at this time.  This support may be added in a future
      release.

Features

Hot Starts

Hot Starts provide a quick and easy way to backup and restore your data.  Just answer a few simple questions and Back Again II will take care of the details to protect your data in an efficient and timely manner.  Back Again II makes it easy to protect your data!

Disaster Recovery

Back Again II's disaster recovery utility allows you to completely recover your system in the event of a crash.  On Windows NT systems, this can be done without having to first reinstall the operating system.   No special image backups are required, and no system downtime must be scheduled in order to perform the backups.  Back Again II protects your entire system!

Backup Sets

Back Again II can store all the information about a specific backup into a backup set.  This allows you to define a backup once and run it many times without needing to repeatedly specify which files should and should not be included, which backup device to use, etc.  Back Again II saves you time!

Data Compression

Back Again II can compress your data as it is backed up to minimize both time as well as the space taken by the backed up data.    Back Again II can also take advantage of the hardware data compression built into many devices for the best possible backup speed with the least possible impact on your system.  Back Again II uses as little space as needed to protect your data!

Compatibility

Back Again II can read and write tapes used with the backup utility included in Microsoft Windows NT.  This makes it easy to exchange tapes with people who have not yet discovered Back Again II as well as tapes which were created before Back Again II was available.  Back Again II can also read tapes created by Back Again/2 for OS/2,  simplifying data migration.  Back Again II is compatible to save you time and trouble!

Multi-threaded Design

Many applications today claim to be multi-threaded, but Back Again II is one of the few to use multithreading efficiently.  This allows you to back up or restore data with minimum impact on your system and maximum data throughput.  Back Again II is fast!

Unattended Operation

Back Again II includes its own scheduler so that backups may be performed without the intervention of a human operator.  These backups can be run even when no one is logged onto the system, preserving the security of your system.  Back Again II keeps your system secure!

Command Line Utilities

In many situations, you may require complete control of a backup or restore from within a batch file or script.  No matter how good the graphical user interface is, it simply will not work in this kind of situation.  For this reason, Back Again II provides command line utilities for backup, restore, and tape operations.    Back Again II keeps you in control!

Back Again II includes many other features, too numerous to list here, which make it quick and easy to protect your system.    For more information, please look at the appropriate chapters of this manual.

Disclaimer

In no event, unless agreed to in writing, will Computer Data Strategies,Inc. be held liable for damages, including any general, special, incidental, or  consequential damages arising from the use or the inability to use this  software generally known as Back Again II, even if advised of such potential loss. This includes but is not limited to loss or corruption of data, any interruption of service, loss of business, anticipated profit, or the  inability of this software to operate with other software programs.

Copyright (C) 1998-1999 Computer Data Strategies, Inc.  All Rights Reserved.

CONTACT AUTHOR

Computer Data Strategies, Inc.
http://www.cds-inc.com/

@Macarlo, Inc.
@Macarlo's Shareware & Web
OS/2
Java Lobby Member
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