Just Do It
JumpReg
SetTextColor
ShellX
   (SetFileDate)
Shutdown
   (ScrnSavMngr)

Make it Easy
DeskTOP
QuickStart
ShowTime
   (ClipNotes)
WinBzzzz

MCSE MCSD MCP+I MCT

Team #3 NT Workstation

Designed for Windows 95/98/NT.

(Download all 12Ghosts 1.3 MB, 18-Dec-98)

Multi-Backup
Usage in Three Steps
For Example: Save Layout
Copy and Rename with 2ndFolder
FAQs:
  • 2ndBackup with Microsoft Word
  • Changing the System Time
  • How are you doing backups?
Screen Shot
E-mail 2ndBackup Support
How to Order a License

  Download PACT 2ndBackup 99.1d

290 KB, 18-Dec-98, Self-extracting, with Setup and Uninstall

New in 99.1b:
· Tray notification and sound during copy
· FlyingIcon™
· Explorer menu entry optional
· Open 2ndBackup menu per tray icon
· General Options

New in 98.10:
·  Setup and Uninstall are now aware of and replace/remove a DLL in use!

Multi-Backup

Back up every change of your current documents while you are working on them! Automatically store changed versions in an archive folder and apply a smart filter on which and how many of the files to keep.

When your processor is free, in so called "idle time", 2ndBackup creates second copies of all changes, but only keeps one version per minute for the last 60 minutes, one version every hour during one day, one version every day in the last month, and one version per month. You can keep a history of all changes without wasting disk space. This is as relaxing as having a 2nd airbag for your data!

2ndBackup does not need processor cycles while it is waiting for a change! Straight forward user interface, Explorer context menu integration to add and restore files.

Usage in Three Steps

2ndBackup is pretty easy to configure. After starting 2ndBackup you just need to add the files you want to have archived. That's it!

In the lower part of the Settings dialog you might want to change the 2ndBackup Path, the archive path where the 2ndBackup files will be copied to. It's probably a good idea to do the backup to a second disk drive to beware of disk failures.

Instead of working with the 2ndBackup Settings dialog, you can also add or remove files from within the Windows Explorer, and also in any Open or Save As box. You should notice a new entry in the context menu of all files. That is, when you right-click on a file you should have the entry Add to 2ndBackup.

If the file was already added to 2ndBackup, the menu entry changes to Remove from 2ndBackup. If you click on a file within the 2ndBackup Path, the menu entry is Restore out of 2ndBackup. In all 3 cases, a dialog will ask you to confirm your selection.

For Example: Save Layout

2ndBackup has it's roots in SL, the first PACT tool, that saves the desktop icon layout. SL 1.0 had a marvellous functionality ("AutoSL") in that it created not only one layout file but in fact up to 100 different versions. When at any point one of the layouts was saved inadvertantly, it was nothing easier than to go back to one of the previous versions that had the correct layout.

And so we thought, hey, if this is good for SL, why not make the functionallity available for other documents, too? And here's 2ndBackup!

You might want to add the file YourDesktop\layout1.sl to 2ndBackup to keep a history of all layout changes. You can also have the layout saved regularly by a scheduler. You will find the save-layout example as an easy to add example in PACT Timer.

Copy and Rename with 2ndFolder

2ndFolder is the folder companion of 2ndBackup. You might want to set up a timer to schedule InstallPath - 2ndFolder.exe to copy and rename folders in one step.

This is very helpfull if you just want to have a complete folder a second time. You'd have all containing files together in one place. 2ndFolder will make sure that no files are overwritten by renaming the second folder to a unique name, automatically adding the current date and time.

FAQs Frequently Asked Questions

Things you should know
• If you use Microsoft Word
• What happens when I change the system time?
• NT: Administrator Rights for Installation
• How is the developer doing his backups?

Advanced Technical Questions
• Does 2ndBackup need processor or memory resources?
• How can I make 2ndBackup to flush outdated files in the 4 subfolders?
• Do I need to delete older files manually?

Miscellaneous Questions
• Sometimes, the minute appended to a copied file name is not the same as the minute displayed in Explorer!?
• Why doesn't the archive file name indicate the full date and time?
• Can I add complete folders to 2ndBackup?
• I'd like more options!?

Things you should know

If you use Microsoft Word

When using Microsoft Word on Windows 95/98 you need to deactivate the option Tools - Options - Save - Allow fast saves. However, this seems to be the recommended setting anyway.

(Should you find any other applications requiring special settings, please let us know!)

What happens when I change the system time?

2ndBackup relies on a continuous system time. You can, in any case, use 2ndBackup in and beyond the year 2000. PACT 2ndBackup, like all Ghosts, has been completely tested and verified to be Year 2000 compliant.

However, 2ndBackup depends on the system date to be continuous, not jump from 1998 to the year 2000. If you want to test setting your computer's date to the year 2000, don't use 2ndBackup during this test or make a copy of the 2ndBackup Path before and restore it afterwards.

Here's why: When you start 2ndBackup with the system time set to a date in the far future, all versions from the last month will be copied to the folder "One per Month". In other words, only the newest versions per month will remain. With the system time set backwards, new files would get an older date and hence will not be copied at all.

Caution: Be careful with switching system dates! Remember that many programs rely on a correct system date: Backups may start deleting "older" files, scheduled tasks may execute unpleasantly, business software might create false bookings, some shareware might expire ultimately (not 12Ghosts!), ScanDisk will reset all "future" file dates back to the system date, etc.

NT: Administrator Rights for Installation

On Windows NT, administrator or power user rights are required to install the menu extension (right-click menu entries in Explorer). However, you can add files directly to 2ndBackup, also without the menu extension.

How is the developer doing his backups?

Advanced Technical Questions

Does 2ndBackup need processor or memory resources?

Usually, 2ndBackup is just sitting there doing nothing until a change occurs in one of the watched folders. While it is waiting, no processor cycles and no memory are used by 2ndBackup but the system notifies 2ndBackup of any changes in the files.

Even when it's running, it doesn't use up valuable processor cycles, since 2ndBackup is an idle task! An idle task will only get processor cycles if no other programs are using the processor.

How can I make 2ndBackup to flush outdated files in the 4 subfolders?

2ndBackup will recheck all included files after you click OK in the 2ndBackup dialog. Actually, this will always stop the currently waiting instance of b2notify.exe and start a fresh instance. This is an additional redundancy.

Do I need to delete older files manually?

PACT 2ndBackup keeps one version per month of every file added to 2ndBackup. One more file per month shouldn't be the problem.

However, older versions per minute, hour, or day are moved down the hierarchy automatically. If you have the need to clear files older than one month look into the folder "2ndBackup-Path\d One per Month" where 2ndBackup-Path is the path you specified in the 2ndBackup settings. In this path, check for files you don't need any longer and delete them according to your security ambitions. A program can not speculate on your decisions, and is certainly not going to delete files automatically.

Should you find any other issues please contact technical support!

Miscellaneous Questions

Sometimes, the minute appended to a copied file name is not the same as the minute displayed in Explorer!?

Yes, it is a little surprising that the Explorer displays the wrong time. Please look in the properties of this file and compare the last modified time. If the time ends on 58 or 59 seconds, the Windows Explorer rounds up to the minute. Not 2ndBackup. However, in Windows 95/98, the precision of the file times on a FAT file system is only about 2 seconds anyway.

Why doesn't the archive file name indicate the full date and time?

Well, the developer thought that you can look into the file properties to see the full date and time if you have the need to do so. The 4 numbers you see are only appended to the file names to create different names. (And, yes, this was the most stable approach. No files need to be deleted but older files will just be overwritten by newer ones.)

Can I add complete folders to 2ndBackup?

Due to the high amount of disk space expected for the multitude of versions, it was considered as "not resource effective enough" to backup whole folder trees. You can, however, specify as many files as you wish to 2ndBackup. Please use InstallPath\2ndFolder.exe and a timer to copy and rename folders in one step.

I'd like more options!?

Well, I understand. However, the leading idea for the implementation of 2ndBackup was simplicity! This should assure high reliability. What's a security system that is so complex that a steady operation is not likely? The simpler the task, the higher the chance of success. Beyond that, the assumption is indeed that you'll rarely need the secondary backups but if you need it you need it badly. If you compare it with an airbag, you wouldn't want a bunch of screws and switches to optimize an airbag!

License

This program is a test version for evaluation only. You can use the software for evaluation purposes without charge for a maximum of 30 days. If you use this software after the 30 day evaluation period a registration fee for a full version is required.

How to Order a License
License Agreement

Support

Should you have any questions please contact support@12Ghosts.com. We stand committed to solving your issues within hours! We're also running a UBB support forum where other users might already have asked your question. You're welcome to join the discussion!

And you can take part on the future development of the 12Ghosts family: Send us your thoughts on features and usage. We really appreciate your feedback!