Bees - DOS Backup

[Gretel]

Bees,

Do you by any chance know if the DOS backup works with Windows Vista?

Thanks.

[ChEAr$]

Bees,

Do you by any chance know if the DOS backup works with Windows Vista?

Thanks.

I'm not Bees, but.... ! (grin

Remember that good old DOS used file names of only 8 plus three characters,
so that can present some problems.

[FEDUKE404]

DOS is outta here

I don't think you can even access DOS from Vista, as it has now been relegated to the dinosaur pile.

The related "command prompt" of Win XP could perform some DOS-like functions, but never actually got you into a true DOS environment.

Speaking of same: I have some older software/data files that I would love to access from a newer computer. ("First Choice" - yes, I've been around too long!) If anyone has ANY ideas on how to make that DOS software run on a newer system, please let me know. For now, I have to keep an older computer in the corner just for that purpose, and my guess is that Win 3.2 computer is probably living on borrowed time.

In theory I could perhaps transfer the very large data files into something like Excel, but that takes time and for all intents and purposes the FC software still works quite well, so if it ain't broke why bother?

Oh yes - reference was made to the 8-character file name limit of DOS. While that is correct, I think generally a longer file name just gets truncated automatically??

FE

[Burke]

My old DOS computer just expired in November after a very useful life of 15 years. The only remaining thing I used it for was Wordperfect (3.1) but it did have a lot of files in there. I have a new version of WPF on a newer computer and still haven't figured out how to do things I did in the old DOS one. Frankly, I think I could have resurrected it but decided to move on.

[ChEAr$]

Fedduke404, while Windows XP wasn't designed for true MSDOS usage, I really have no problems whatsoever. My accounting and payroll programs first written in 1978 still work well. Of course I've added to them and improved them over the years, but unless "they" change format of 1099's and W2's (like they did on the W2 two years ago with placement of the SSN) I save money on updates.

My main problem occurred once when I bought a new printer for home use, one of those HP types and couldn't print from DOS. Seems that a USB cable is not compatible with DOS
print drivers. So office printer still uses the serial; or is is parallel? cable.

[Gretel]

Thanks for the responses. Seems like you are quite knowledgeable in DOS. I am just a dummy who was told how to set up this backup. I really like how it works but this is as far as my knowledge goes. A "normal" backup and restore just takes so much longer.

[FEDUKE404]

Making DOS work - more

Fedduke404, while Windows XP wasn't designed for true MSDOS usage, I really have no problems whatsoever. My accounting and payroll programs first written in 1978 still work well. Of course I've added to them and improved them over the years, but unless "they" change format of 1099's and W2's (like they did on the W2 two years ago with placement of the SSN) I save money on updates.

My main problem occurred once when I bought a new printer for home use, one of those HP types and couldn't print from DOS. Seems that a USB cable is not compatible with DOS print drivers. So office printer still uses the serial; or is is parallel? cable.

So how exactly do you RUN the DOS software? Copy it onto your hard drive, and start with the "command" prompt for that location as there is no MS/DOS option in the main menu? I thought I had tried that before, and everything crashed and burned as the operating software itself has several files that "talked" to each other, possibly across their own subdirectories. And I think the old "PATH" command can be an issue??

Side question: *IF* my software can run in Win XP, could I perhaps put everything (software/data files/etc) onto a single flash drive, and run everything from there?? (As you know, the files from the old days are quite small so I'm sure a 4GB flash drive would hold everything with much space left over!)

The printing is an issue - sometimes because of the software configuration (and drivers) and sometimes because of the printer itself. For instance, the (now) old HP Deskjet 722C is an "image" printer and can't process incoming DOS commands. The simple fix to that is to save your DOS output in a text file, then using a Windows program such as MS/Word (or WordPerfect if you are a glutton for punishment) "insert" that stuff into your document (some margin adjustments and/or additional bells/whistles might be needed) and then it prints fine from there. Some software will allow you to save a file using a different format, and if that works then it is even quicker. But depending on the age of the software, you may be merely saving the document or whatever to a different DOS format, which helps you little. Most older printers used a parallel cable, but many printers/computers also had a separate serial cable port. Now the world, and laptops, lives by USB cables....but it is amazing what you can find in the "junk" pile at some computer stores!

I've still got a bunch of 3 1/2" floppy disks which are of little use to me now except perhaps as coasters.....(and I won't even mention the 5 1/4" ones in an old dust-covered box.)

Thanks for the input.

FE

[Bees Knees]

Bees,

Do you by any chance know if the DOS backup works with Windows Vista?

Thanks.

Yes it does. I use it every day. I assume you are referring to the xcopy command I showed everyone several years ago.

Open Notepad. Then copy and paste the following text into it:

xcopy "c:\bee's backup folder" "u:\bee's backup folder" /I /E /Y /K /H /C /R /D

bee's backup folder refers to the folder on your C drive that you want to back up. The u drive is the network drive that you want the data to back up to. You should change these names to the actual folder and network drives you are using.

Save the Notepad Document as .bat file. That will create an executable program in DOS.

Then simply double click on the .bat file and it will copy and paste all data files that are new or have been modified since your last backup.

[Gretel]

Yes, Bees, this is what I was looking for. Thank you so much.

[ChEAr$]

Also Bees, does the xcopy command when used as a restore mechanism preserve long
file names?

[Davc]

My main problem occurred once when I bought a new printer for home use, one of those HP types and couldn't print from DOS. Seems that a USB cable is not compatible with DOS
print drivers. So office printer still uses the serial; or is is parallel? cable.

It is possible to set up LPT1 as a virtual port and use a USB cable.

[Davc]

While that is correct, I think generally a longer file name just gets truncated automatically??

FE

Yes, but the truncated names may be rather difficult to interpret.

[Bees Knees]

Also Bees, does the xcopy command when used as a restore mechanism preserve long
file names?

I don't know how long the file names can be. I've never had a problem with it refusing to copy a file. The only thing it does is copy and paste each new or modified file into the new location. If the file is open or corrupt, it simply skips over the file and copies the next one.

There is no restore mechanism. You are simply making duplicate files and placing them into a new location.

I think that is the beauty of this type of backup system. You don’t need any special software to restore your files. The files are simply being duplicated onto a different hard drive. If one hard drive fails, the other hard drive has all of your files ready to go.