BackUp Maker - Help system

This contains the general settings for the application.

Option: Compression

Indicates the compression rate that BackUp Maker will use. "None" provides no compression and does not reduce the file size of your data, while "High" reduces the file size as much as it can. If speed is your priority, use a low compression rate. If size is what you are interested in, use a high compression rate.

Option: Icon

If you enable the "Animated icon" checkbox, an animated diskette icon in the system tray will indicate that the backup operation is ongoing.

Option: Error messages

Enable the Ignore errors checkbox if you do not wish BackUp Maker to display error messages. BackUp Maker will then deal with errors internally and, if you so wish, list them in the backup report. It will not cause a standstill in the backup operation.

Option: Application window

If you want BackUp Maker to be loaded in the background when you start your system, without its window appearing on the screen, enable the Start invisible checkbox. If you leave this option unchecked, the BackUp Maker application window will open up on screen at system startup.

Option: Application priority

You can decide on the priority of the application yourself. A high priority means more demand on storage capacity and processor activity - and this slows down your computer. On the other hand, if you assign a high priority to BackUp Maker, your backups will be done in less time.

Application priority should be changed by expert users only, as there is a risk of data loss.

Option: FTP port

By default, when you upload your backups to an FTP server, port 21 is used. If this wall is blocked by your Firewall or if you wish to use another port, please enter this into the FTP port field.

Option: Volume letter

Zip files normally do not store volume letters of zipped files. For easier restore to different volumes you can store volume letters in your backup by activating this option. For PkZip compatibility reasons volume letters will be stored as volume$ (e.g. "C$" for "C:").

Tab sheet: Protocol

Use this tab sheet to select the settings for creating a protocol of the software.

Option: Internal protocol

With partial backups that are performed with the "Since last full backup" or "Since last partial backup", BackUp Maker creates an internal backup protocol indicating which files were backed up when and with which creation date. If you want to ensure that BackUp Maker always creates such a protocol, for example in order to switch from a "full" to a "partial" backup without having to first generate a "full backup", you must enable the "Internal protocol" checkbox.

Option: Verification

Enable the Verify backup checkbox if you want BackUp Maker to verify the resulting backup file after each backup. If this checkbox is disabled (no checkmark), no CRC32 comparison of the data written to DC/DVD takes place.

We recommend to keep this option enabled.

Option: Logfile

BackUp Maker logs all important activities in the background by recording them in a log file. If you disable the Create logfile checkbox, no log file is created. Additionally you can control creation of file writer.log (logs CD/DVD read/write information).

Button: Show logfile

Click on the Show logfile button if you wish to display the log file that BackUp Maker creates in the background. It opens up in your default text editor.

Note: Location of the log file

The bkmaker.log resides in the program directory of BackUp Maker. Its default location is: c:\programme\ascomp software\backup maker\bkmaker.log.

Option: Report

After the backup is complete, BackUp Maker normally shows a report containing information on the backup. Among other things, this includes any errors that were encountered.

Select the Show always option if you wish to see this report even if the backup operation was completed without errors or interruptions.

If you wish to see the report only if at least one error occurred, select the Show if errors option.

If you select Show never, the report is never displayed on screen, even if errors occurred or if the backup was incomplete or defective.

Option: Report style

Enable the Detailed report checkbox if you want your backup report not only to show error messages and backup information, but also a list of the backed up files and directories.

Tab sheet: Temp folder

BackUp Maker creates several files in a temporary folder, for example when creating split backups or when the target is "CD/DVD". If necessary, you can change the default temp folder in the Browser window.

Note: Size of the temp folder

The default temp folder, for example for Windows XP, resides in the "Documents and Settings" folder. This has a limited size, i.e. it can only handle a certain data volume. When planning a large backup, you should therefore select a different temp folder, which resides on a hard disk with plenty of storage space.