Welcome to DiskFit Direct! DiskFit Direct is an easy-to-use application that creates a backup copy of your hard disk files. You can use this backup to restore files to your hard disk if something happens to it.
The “Read Me” document found on the same disk as this User’s Guide contains the DiskFit Direct Software License and Disclaimer of Warranty. Please read them before proceeding. You may wish to print a copy of the Read Me and this User’s Guide for future reference.
This guide describes DiskFit Direct’s features and provides complete instructions for backing up and restoring your files.
Here’s what you’ll find inside:
Chapter 1 introduces DiskFit Direct and describes the Macintosh and System requirements you need. It also tells you how to install DiskFit Direct and get help when you need it.
Chapter 2 provides instructions for creating your first SmartSet backup and performing subsequent backups.
Chapter 3 provides instructions for restoring files from a backup.
Chapter 4 describes how to view the SmartSet Report and Error Log that are automatically generated when you perform a backup.
Chapter 5 contains a list of common questions and answers, as well as tips and troubleshooting suggestions.
———— Conventions and terms ————
The following conventions and terms are used throughout this guide:
NOTE: A note like this provides additional information or helpful hints.
Disk, volume - The terms disk and volume are used interchangeably in this guide.
Source disk - The source disk or volume is the hard disk you are backing up.
Destination - The destination disk or volume is the disk onto which files disk are being copied or restored.
———— Technical Support ————
If you encounter an operational problem, refer to Chapter 5 of this User’s Guide to see if the answer is there. If not, Technical Support is available to help you — we will try to answer your questions as thoroughly as possible. If we don’t have an answer we’ll try and get back to you within a stated period of time.
What to do before you call:
When you call Technical Support, please have the following information ready. It will help us to answer your questions and ensure that you receive efficient technical support.
• Be prepared to describe your hardware and software setup as thoroughly as possible.
• When did the problem occur in the backup procedure?
• Were there any error messages? When did they occur in the backup procedure? Make sure to write them down before calling.
• How repeatable is the problem? Does it occur every time you back up, sometimes, or did it just happen once?
This chapter introduces you to DiskFit Direct’s features and provides instructions for installing the software and using the on-line help feature.
———— About DiskFit Direct ————
DiskFit Direct will back up files onto 800K or 1440K floppy disks, SyQuest, Zip, Jaz, or Bernoulli cartridges, optical discs, or any other removable media. A DiskFit Direct backup is called a SmartSet because it is smart enough to copy only those files that have been modified since the last backup. A SmartSet can combine any of the types of media listed above. Performing a complete restore of your hard disk is as easy as performing backups. Restoring individual files is as simple as dragging them from a SmartSet disk onto your hard disk.
DiskFit Direct displays instructions on the screen to guide you through backups and restores. On-line help is available if you need more information.
NOTE: DiskFit Direct cannot be used to back up to a tape drive or another hard disk. The program has been optimized for backing up a hard disk to a series of floppy disks or other removable media. For information about Dantz products that can perform other kinds of backups, see “Related Dantz Products.”
———— Related Dantz Products ————
For users who require more backup options, including the ability to back up to another hard disk or a file server, Dantz offers DiskFit Pro. DiskFit Pro includes additional backup options and features not available in DiskFit Direct—such as the ability to set up backup reminders and create automatic duplicates.
For users who need to make unattended local or network backup to high-capacity storage devices, Dantz offers Retrospect. Retrospect is ideal for sophisticated backup and archiving operations to any tape, cartridge, or optical drive. For backing up an entire network to a single storage device, Dantz provides Retrospect Remote.
For more information about DiskFit Pro, Retrospect and Retrospect Remote, contact Mac's Place. Additional product information is also available by clicking the More Info button which appears on the title screen and in the About box. You can then click the Info Card button to display an Information Request Card that can be printed and sent to Dantz.
———— What You Need to Use DiskFit Direct ————
To use DiskFit Direct, your Macintosh system must meet the following hardware and software requirements.
Macintosh requirements
• You must have a Macintosh Plus or later. DiskFit Direct cannot be used with 128K, 512K, or 512KE Macintoshes.
• DiskFit Direct requires a Macintosh with at least 1 MB of RAM. If you are using System 7.0 or later, you will need at least 2 MB of RAM.
System requirements
• DiskFit Direct is compatible with System 6 and System 7.
———— Getting Help ————
DiskFit Direct displays on-line help to assist you if you need additional information about a topic or instructions about a task, such as restoring files.
To get help:
1. Choose Help from the Windows menu, or click the Help button on the Main window.
The Help window appears, listing the topics you can choose from.
2. Click a help topic to select it, then click Open.
The Help window displays information about the selected topic. You can use the Next and Previous buttons to page through the information. To return to the list of topics, click Topics.
This section tells you how to create a new SmartSet backup and perform subsequent backups once a SmartSet is created. It includes suggestions for developing a backup strategy.
———— About SmartSets ————
DiskFit Direct backs up your hard disk to a set of floppy disks or other removable media, referred to as a SmartSet. The first time you back up, you will create the SmartSet. DiskFit Direct will ask for as many disks as it needs, erasing and numbering each SmartSet disk. When you make subsequent backups to the SmartSet, DiskFit Direct asks only for the disks it needs to copy files that were created or modified since the last backup.
———— Developing a Backup Strategy ————
• The best backup strategy is to make three full SmartSet backups and alternate between them (storing one set off site). DiskFit Direct keeps track of each backup independently and knows which one you are using as soon as you insert the first backup disk.
• If you are mainly concerned with backing up documents (such as word processing files), make a separate SmartSet for your documents. Since the applications and System Folder contents do not change as frequently, you won’t need to back them up as often. This strategy saves time when backing up but makes restoring your entire hard disk more time consuming because you will need to manually restore your System software and applications.
• Store at least one set of backups off site (to guard against fire or other disasters).
• For every 10 MB (megabytes) of data, you will need about thirteen 800K disks or eight 1440K disks
———— Starting and Quitting DiskFit Direct ————
When you start DiskFit Direct, the Main window appears and you are ready to begin a backup or restore, or perform SmartSet management tasks. To quit DiskFit Direct, simply choose Quit from the File menu.
To start DiskFit Direct:
1. Double-click the DiskFit Direct icon to start the program.
The Title screen appears.
2. Click OK to display the Main window.
The Main window contains buttons for basic Backup and Restore functions. The menu at the top of the screen includes additional commands for performing management tasks, such as reviewing a Backup Report or modifying a SmartSet.
If you are backing up for the first time, see the following section, “Creating a new SmartSet backup.” To perform a subsequent backup to an existing SmartSet, see “Performing subsequent backups,” in this chapter.
For information about restoring, see the section on Restoring an entire SmartSet or Restoring a single file. To perform management tasks (such as reviewing Reports or Error Logs), see the section on Managing SmartSets.
———— Creating a New SmartSet Backup ————
The first time you back up a hard disk, you need to “create” the SmartSet and select the backup options you want. There are two basic backup options:
• All Files (which backs up the entire hard disk)
• Only Documents (which backs up everything except applications and the System folder contents)
If you want, you can select specific folders from your hard disk to be included in the SmartSet. Once you have created the SmartSet and made the initial backup, subsequent backups are two-step process and require only a few minutes.
It’s a good idea to create two full SmartSet backups and alternate between them when you make subsequent backups. A third full SmartSet should be kept in a remote location and updated periodically (for example, monthly).
NOTE: If you are using System 7, DiskFit Direct also backs up the contents of the Trash to a folder called Trash_Folder on the SmartSet.
To create a new SmartSet backup:
1. From the Main window, click Backup.
The Backup window appears. The hard disk you are backing up is shown in the grey area. (This is the hard disk on which DiskFit Direct is installed.)
2. Insert the first floppy disk to be used for the SmartSet.
The disk appears in the volume list in the lower part of the Backup window.
WARNING: The floppy disk will be erased when files from your hard disk are copied to it.
3. Select the floppy disk and click Proceed. Name the SmartSet in the dialog box that appears.
NOTE: Once you have named a SmartSet, you cannot rename it.
The default SmartSet options are set to back up all files and folders. If these are the options you want, skip to Step 7.
4. If you want to change the default SmartSet options to backup only documents or selected folders, click More Choices. Select the backup options you want:
• Leave the All Files button selected to make a backup of all files.
• Click the Only Documents button to backup documents only (no applications or System Folder files).
• Click Folder Selection to select folders to be included in the backup (all folders are automatically included unless you select specific folders).
5. If you clicked Folder Selection in the previous step, DiskFit Direct scans your hard disk and displays a list of the folders in the Folder Selection dialog box. Select the folders you want included in the backup (all folders are initially selected), then click OK.
Click a folder to select or deselect it. Double-clicking on a folder selects all the folders contained in it. Use Select All or Clear to select or deselect all folders. When you click OK, the SmartSet Options dialog box reappears.
6. Click OK in the SmartSet Options dialog box to set the options you have selected.
The Creating New SmartSet dialog box reappears.
7. Click New to create the new SmartSet.
DiskFit Direct erases the first floppy disk, copies files to it, ejects it, and requests additional disks as needed. Each disk is named and numbered sequentially. For example, the floppy disks in the set named “Walt’s Daily Backup” will be called “1.Don’s Daily Backup”, “2.Don’s Daily Backup”, and so on.
As each disk is ejected, label the disk with the name and number it was assigned. When you make subsequent backups, DiskFit Direct will ask for the disks by number.
DiskFit Direct will tell you when the backup is complete.
———— Performing Subsequent SmartSet Backups ————
Once you have performed a SmartSet backup, subsequent backups will take very little time. DiskFit Direct backs up only files that are new or changed, so you may not need to insert every disk in the SmartSet.
To make a subsequent backup:
1. From the Main window, click Backup.
The Backup Window appears. The hard disk you are backing up is shown in the grey area. (This is always the hard disk on which DiskFit Direct is installed.)
2. Insert the first floppy disk in the SmartSet.
When you insert the floppy disk, it appears in the volume list in the lower part of the Backup window.
3. Select the floppy disk (if it is not selected) and click Proceed.
DiskFit Direct requests the backup SmartSet disks as they are required to store new or changed files.
HINT: The small square in the middle of the grey information box corresponds to the next SmartSet disk that DiskFit Direct will request. Use this number to find the disk ahead of time.
This chapter provides instructions for restoring SmartSet files to your hard disk. This may become necessary if something happens to the hard disk to cause files to be lost or destroyed. When you perform a restore, all SmartSet files are automatically copied to the hard disk. You can also retrieve individual files from a SmartSet by dragging them to the hard disk from within the Finder.
———— Restoring an Entire SmartSet ————
When you perform a restore, all SmartSet Files are automatically copied to the selected hard disk. Split files from the SmartSet are automatically joined when they are restored to your hard disk. (A file is split over several SmartSet disks when it is too large to be stored on a single disk.)
DiskFit Direct is shipped on a startup disk that contains System 6.0.7. You can restore your Macintosh while starting from a copy of our shipping disk even if you normally run under System 7. However, if your Macintosh requires System 7.0 or later, you cannot use the DiskFit Direct System disk to restart your computer when performing a restore. Follow the restore procedure on the following page that is appropriate for your System.
NOTE: If your hard disk is corrupted, you should first initialize it according to the manufacturer’s instructions.
If your Macintosh will start with System 6.0.7:
1. Shut down your Macintosh.
2. Start up your Macintosh with a copy of the DiskFit Direct floppy disk or another disk that contains a System folder and the DiskFit Direct application.
3. Follow the steps described in “To perform a restore,” below.
If your Macintosh requires System 7 and has one FDHD (high density) drive:
1. Start the Macintosh with a System Tools or Disk Tools floppy disk.
2. Copy the System folder from the Startup disk to the empty Macintosh hard disk.
3. Rename the System folder with a name that does not match the name of any folders to be restored (for example, “Temp”).
4. Restart the Macintosh from the hard disk.
5. Copy DiskFit Direct to the hard disk.
6. Follow the steps described in “To perform the restore,” below.
7. Restart the Macintosh.
The computer restarts with the restored System folder.
8. You may now drag the temporary System folder to the Trash.
If your Macintosh requires System 7 and has two FDHD (high density) drives:
1. Create a System 7 startup disk on a high density floppy disk.
2. Copy DiskFit Direct onto the new startup disk.
3. Restart the Macintosh with the startup disk.
4. Follow the steps described in “To perform a restore,” below.
To perform the restore:
1. Start DiskFit Direct, and click Restore on the Main window.
The Restore window appears with a list of the available volumes.
2. Click the hard disk to be restored. Check again that you have selected the correct hard disk, then click Proceed.
3. Insert the first floppy disk in the SmartSet.
The disk appears in the volume list.
4. Click the SmartSet floppy disk, then click Proceed.
Depending on how the SmartSet Options are set, you may be prompted to choose between a Normal or Exact restore. Click Normal unless the hard disk you are restoring has access privileges (such as System 7 or AppleShare).
WARNING: An Exact restore will erase the hard disk before the restore begins. Use the Normal restore if you do not want the hard disk erased.
NOTE: If you restore a file to a hard disk that already contains a file of that name within the same folder structure, the file you are restoring will overwrite the file on the hard disk. If the folder structure is different, DiskFit Direct will recreate the folder structure that belonged to the backup file and will not overwrite the file on the hard disk.
5. After you have inserted the last backup disk, click Missing when you are prompted to insert the next disk. Then click Done.
———— Restoring an Individual File ————
Individual files can be restored by dragging them directly from the SmartSet disk to your hard disk.
To restore an individual file:
1. Determine which SmartSet disk(s) the file is on by looking at the SmartSet Report. To open a Report, choose View Report from the Reports menu, select the report and click Open.
For more information about viewing Reports, see Chapter 4, Managing SmartSets.
2. After you determine which disk the file is on, insert and open the disk. Then drag the file to your hard disk.
———— Restoring a Split File ————
A split file is one that was split over several SmartSet disks because it was too large to store on a single disk. Split files are joined automatically when you restore them to your hard disk using the Restore function. However, if you copy the pieces of a split file to your hard disk by dragging them from the SmartSet disks, you will need to join the pieces manually.
To join a split file:
1. Determine which SmartSet disks contain pieces of the file by looking at the SmartSet Report.
To open a Report, choose View Report from the Reports menu, select the report and click Open. For more information about viewing Reports, see Chapter 4, Managing SmartSets.
2. Insert each disk that contains a piece of the file and copy the pieces into the same folder on your hard disk by dragging them. The file’s pieces will be named “1.file name”, “2.file name” and so on.
3. Double-click on any split file icon to start DiskFit Direct, or choose Join File from the File menu if DiskFit Direct is already started. DiskFit Direct will automatically join the file and restore its original icon.
This section provides information about a few simple management tasks you may need to perform, such as reviewing SmartSet Reports and the Error Log, changing the folder selection for a SmartSet, and reusing SmartSet disks to create a different SmartSet.
———— Viewing the Error Log ————
The Error Log stores any error messages that are generated during a backup or restore. You may need to review the Error Log to find out why a backup or restore was unsuccessful or to provide information requested by Technical Support. The contents of the Error Log are cleared when you quit DiskFit Direct.
To display the Error Log:
• Choose Error Log from the Reports menu.
———— Viewing a SmartSet Report ————
A report is automatically generated and maintained for each SmartSet. It contains the following information:
• Last backup date
• Name of the hard disk and the SmartSet
• Notes about the backup (including error messages and whether all files were included in the backup)
• Results of the last backup (whether it was successful or not)
• A list of folders and files on your hard disk and the SmartSet disk where they are stored
To display a SmartSet Report:
1. Choose View Report from the Reports menu.
A list of SmartSet Reports appears.
2. Double-click the report you want to view.
The SmartSet Report appears on your screen. Folder names are indicated by a colon (:). An asterisk (*) indicates that the folder or file was not included in the backup. If more than one SmartSet disk is listed for a file, the file was too large to fit on a single disk and was split over several disks. For more information about split files, see “Restoring a split file” in Chapter 3.
You can print the report by choosing Print Report from the File menu.
NOTE: You can use any word-processing application to open a SmartSet Report file (simply start the application and choose Open from the File menu). SmartSet Reports are stored in the DiskFit Reports folder in the System folder (System 6) or in the Preferences folder (System 7).
———— Changing Folders Selected for Backup ————
You can always change folder selections for an existing SmartSet.
To change folder selections:
1. From the Main window, choose SmartSets from the Windows menu.
The SmartSets dialog box appears, listing all your SmartSets. Information about the selected SmartSet appears below the list.
2. Click the SmartSet you want to change, then click the Selected Folders button.
DiskFit Direct scans your hard disk and displays a hierarchical list of the folders it contains. Currently selected folders appear highlighted.
———— Folder Selection Dialog Box ————
3. Select the folders you want included in the backup, then click OK.
Click a folder to select or deselect it. Double-clicking on a folder selects all the folders contained in it. Use Select All or Clear to select or deselect all folders. When you click OK, the SmartSet dialog box reappears.
———— Reusing SmartSet disks for a New SmartSet ————
Before you can reuse SmartSet disks to create a different SmartSet, you must delete the Set Information from the SmartSet. DiskFit Direct will no longer recognize the SmartSet and these disks can be reused in a new backup.
NOTE: If the Set Information is accidentally deleted or corrupted, you can rebuild this information by rescanning the SmartSet as described in “Problems and Solutions” in Chapter 5.
To delete set information:
1. From the Main window, choose SmartSets from the Windows menu.
The SmartSets dialog box appears, listing all your SmartSets.
2. Select the SmartSet to be reused and click Delete Set Info.
This section contains answers to the most commonly asked questions about DiskFit Direct and a list of problems and solutions.
———— Questions and Answers ————
QUESTION: How often should I back up?
ANSWER: The more often you back up, the less there is to lose, but only if nothing happens to the backup disks. A secure backup strategy is the daily or weekly alternating backup, first to one backup set, then to another. And it is best to keep one set off-site.
QUESTION: What happens if I quit or pause in the middle of a backup?
ANSWER: DiskFit Direct was designed so that if you Quit or Pause in the middle of a backup, you can continue where you left off. The next time you start DiskFit Direct, insert the first SmartSet destination disk when you are asked to choose the destination disk. DiskFit Direct will have kept track of how many disks were already updated and only ask for the disks that have not yet been updated.
QUESTION: How do I back up more than one hard disk on the same Macintosh?
ANSWER: DiskFit Direct will only back up the volume where it is currently running. Move a copy of DiskFit Direct to each hard disk or partition that you want to back up. Back up each volume separately by starting the copy of DiskFit Direct on that volume.
———— Problems and Solutions ————
PROBLEM: A dialog box says, “Not enough memory! Quit and increase DiskFit Direct’s memory size in the Get Info window.”
SOLUTION: Quit DiskFit Direct and return to the Finder. If you are running System 6.0.7 or earlier under the Finder, choose Control Panel from the Apple menu, then decrease the RAM cache. You may have to disable or remove some of your INITs and Control Panels or start up with a Minimal System disk to give DiskFit Direct more memory. If you are running System 6 under MultiFinder or System 7, single click on the DiskFit Direct application icon to select it. Then select Get Info from the File menu and increase the memory given to DiskFit Direct by typing a larger number in the memory size box.
PROBLEM: When doing a SmartSet backup of my hard disk, DiskFit Direct keeps asking alternately for the first two disks. DiskFit Direct also reports Error -48, Error -37 or Error -120 in a message window or the Error Log when it ejects each disk.
SOLUTION: If you use DOS Mounter, make sure you are using version 2.0.4 or later. Earlier versions cause these errors when DiskFit Direct tries to update the DiskFit Direct Info file during a backup.
PROBLEM: When doing a SmartSet backup of my hard disk, DiskFit Direct writes to a disk, ejects it, and then immediately asks for the same disk back again.
SOLUTION: With floppies, this problem may be caused by the extension called “GateKeeper.” With SyQuest, Optical, or Bernoulli cartridges, this problem occurs when running under System 6.0.x when using Desktop Manager from AppleShare 2.0. To prevent this problem, remove or disable these applications.
PROBLEM: When trying to back up to SyQuest, Zip, Jaz, Optical, or Bernoulli, DiskFit Direct reports “Couldn’t erase volume, Open files on disk?”
SOLUTION: When DiskFit Direct reports that it cannot erase a large ejectable volume, it is because an application or Extension has a file open on the volume. This prevents DiskFit Direct from erasing the volume for use in a SmartSet. If you run with System 7.0 or later, the problem is typically caused by FileSharing. Before beginning your backup, turn sharing off. It is located in the Control Panels folder under the Apple menu.
PROBLEM: DiskFit Direct no longer recognizes my SmartSet.
SOLUTION: You have accidentally deleted your DiskFit Direct Info file. You can rescan the SmartSet to rebuild the Info file.
WHAT TO DO:
• Begin a backup and select the first SmartSet disk as the destination disk. The following dialog box appears:
• Click Yes. DiskFit Direct will scan the SmartSet for files similar to those on the source disk and then update the SmartSet.
PROBLEM: I have lost one of my SmartSet disks. What do I do when I want to back up next time?
SOLUTION: You can back up the missing disk's files onto a new disk by holding down the option key the next time you click Backup. This forces DiskFit Direct to ask for every disk in the backup set and confirm that it contains the appropriate files. When DiskFit Direct asks for the missing disk, click Missing. Insert a new blank disk and DiskFit Direct will rebuild it with the correct files.
PROBLEM: I have an outdated SmartSet whose disks I want to re-use for a new SmartSet. When I try to use the disks, DiskFit Direct tells me I can’t use them because they are part of a SmartSet.
SOLUTION: You have to delete the SmartSet information for the old SmartSet before DiskFit Direct will create a new SmartSet. This is done by opening the SmartSets window, selecting the SmartSet you wish to delete, and click the ‘Delete Set Info’ button.
PROBLEM: I’m backing up and one of my SmartSet disks has just generated a disk error.
SOLUTION: Keep track of which disk generated the error and replace it. Bad disks often give some indication of trouble before they fail completely. Even if the disk subsequently appears to work correctly, we suggest that you replace it. On the next backup, hold down the option key when you click ‘Backup’ and treat the disk with the error as a missing disk.
PROBLEM: I ran out of floppy disks before my backup was complete.
SOLUTION: DiskFit Direct keeps track of where you were in the backup even if you quit the program, so you can continue where you left off later, even if you make changes to files that have already been backed up.
PROBLEM: I am trying to restore and I am missing one of my SmartSet disks.
SOLUTION: DiskFit Direct will still be able to restore all of the other files in the backup. You will only lose the files that were on the missing disk.
WHAT TO DO: If you are missing a SmartSet disk during a restore, insert the next disk in the series. DiskFit Direct will ask you if you are really missing the disk(s) that came before the one you just inserted.
NOTE: If a disk is unreadable, try using a data recovery program to copy the files from the bad disk.
