Fab's AutoBackup 7 Pro - a must have tool for techs

Hey @fabs , on top of @Mr. Ingram's Computer Repair & Shoppe 's suggestion, could you also check the User folder for anything which is in the User folder that should not be, that will need to be transferred? I do kind of like his idea of presenting a dialog that shows all non-standard folders in both the root C: but also each selected User folder?
heh, I forgot to add the check boxes, i'd prefer it to back up odd folders by default, not just show that there are some.

but I do agree here, checking in the user folder is smart. +1
 
It would be nice if you could set a "default profile" of sorts. I use the same settings it seems for almost all backups.
I would find profiles with my own commonly used settings would be very useful. 95% of the time I'm unticking the exact same options. To avoid accidentally running with a certain profile, maybe we should have to choose the profile every time (no default).

Now, I have to think about how to integrate this.
You could have a Select Settings dropdown box to select from saved profile names (that would be faster to use than a file-open dialog) at the beginning of the Backup Data screen. Also have a Save Settings As <profile name>. I don't think we'd need the ability store profiles in custom locations, just a file in the Fabs program file folder or a subfolder.

I definitely hope that no one will yell at me because some item has not been copied because of that...
If it's easy to select a settings profile as I mentioned above, then there's no need to have one selected by default. The user would need to select a profile every time, or if they don't to anything it will work as it does now. So there is no risk!
 
As to this, I would love to have a page where it scans the main C:\ and shows a list of folders that are not default in Windows 7/8/8/1/10 and lists them.
This is a good suggestion, but instead of adding another 'odd' tab, the Extra Files & Folders tab could highlight them somehow. And a checkbox at the bottom 'Select All Non-Windows Folders' (which could also be controlled by the settings profiles feature).

This feature would have no risk, because the worst case scenario is Microsoft adding a new folder one day and it gets backed up by mistake.
 
but I do agree here, checking in the user folder is smart. +1
This is probably even more useful than highlighting the non-standard C:\ folders, because they're kind of hidden. I always quickly look over the C:\ root for possible data folders, but I rarely drill down into the user folder looking for stuff.

There could be a checkbox for this on the User's Data tab, in the Personal Folders section: 'Other user profile folders/files' or something like that. This might be relatively easy to implement and so useful, maybe this should have priority over the other more complicated requests?

There's already a standard user folder in recent Windows 10 installs that isn't covered by Fabs: 3D Objects. Nobody really cares yet, but this 'other user folders' option would pick up this and any other new one that appears. It's worth considering the rate at which Windows evolves these days, 'accidentally' picking up new library folders automatically isn't a bad thing.
 
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Well, that will take a while to add so much big features:
I don't think anybody expects you to add features this weekend! ;)

These are just feature requests. Perhaps it helps you in your normal development if you have in mind the possibility of introducing a requested feature in the future. Also, you have some ideas for 'big' upgrades that could push licence renewal.
 
Dropbox is a regular problem for me. I take out the old drive. Install a new SSD and load Windows. Connect the old drive with a USB adapter and run Fabs to transfer data. For each file in "g:\users\username\Dropbox" I get a message "Copy failed. Skipping to next file". This has happened on the last three or so systems I've done.
 
For me to make a quick fix: is this the same thing if you take ownership of this folder and set at least read permissions for the user doing the backup?
If it works fine for you after this, I could force it to do it when dealing with cloud stuff
 
I'm reluctant to do that. From Windows Explorer I can browse to g:\users\ but when I try to open the folder "username" at g:\users\username I get the message "You don't currently have permission to access this folder. Click Continue to permanently get access to this folder." Doing that has caused issues in the past if I try to boot the machine from that drive again. So I don't know how to set permissions for g:\users\username\dropbox. And I always wondered how you got around the permissions problem in this situation.
 
I'm reluctant to do that. From Windows Explorer I can browse to g:\users\ but when I try to open the folder "username" at g:\users\username I get the message "You don't currently have permission to access this folder. Click Continue to permanently get access to this folder." Doing that has caused issues in the past if I try to boot the machine from that drive again. So I don't know how to set permissions for g:\users\username\dropbox. And I always wondered how you got around the permissions problem in this situation.
I understand. At least I can force permissions on those folders (only cloud folders, not entire profile) when dealing with Dropbox, GoogleDrive or any other item of that kind. The original permissions on such folders can be very restrictive. Than cannot hurt and should prevent that issue from happening
 
I understand. At least I can force permissions on those folders (only cloud folders, not entire profile) when dealing with Dropbox, GoogleDrive or any other item of that kind. The original permissions on such folders can be very restrictive. Than cannot hurt and should prevent that issue from happening
The fix for that will not be released that quickly, it requires to be deeply tested since it changes the program's behavior and most of all, changes the permissions on those folders. For now, in the development build, it is triggered only if the program processes a cloud folder and if it is not in the current user's profile. That should do the trick if the program is running with other credentials and with hooked drives like in this case.
 
Fab's AutoBackup 7 Pro V7.0.3.32676 has just been released.

Change log:
Fixed:
- Folders exclusions did not work when using VSS mode.
- Last backup location is now ignored when running in Win PE.

Grab it from your orders history's details on the shop's website at https://store.fpnet.fr/account.php?language=en or using the bundled updater tool (click the "Download Fab's AutoBackup 7.X" link within the program and get the updated files).
 
Well, that will take a while to add so much big features:
- backup/transfer presets
- unusual folders at c drive's root
- unusual folders in the user profile's root

Wow, your awesome! I'm glad these changes would help others as well. I wouldn't want you to do it just for me.

And for timing I wouldn't think it be a rush with any of us here. Just at your convenience :)
 
That bothers me that a backup program is changing the source permissions.
It works like that since Fab's AutoBackup 5 when it takes ownership of source folders when it can't access the content. I can't do that another way since have no way to make it work as local system user
 
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Wow, your awesome! I'm glad these changes would help others as well. I wouldn't want you to do it just for me.
It was not the first time I have been asked for "default selections".
I am still against that idea (some kind of "cover my a**" policy) but if several people asked for it, then I must admit I am wrong somewhere.
 
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Not sure how I feel about selection profiles. If they were available, I probably wouldn't use them. I'm all for automation, but there comes a time when you need to be very careful about what that automation is doing.

My standard process is to back up EVERYTHING I can get my hands on so at least I have it. Then, at restore time, I'll determine WHAT to restore based on a variety of criteria, especially what the user wants. (e.g. don't restore Windows Live Mail if he's moving to Outlook).
 
My standard process is to back up EVERYTHING I can get my hands on so at least I have it. Then, at restore time, I'll determine WHAT to restore based on a variety of criteria, especially what the user wants. (e.g. don't restore Windows Live Mail if he's moving to Outlook).
So do I. That said, it has been asked for a while and always refused to do it because of that reason: it is better to grab too much than missing something that was important in a particular case and finally being in trouble because the program "did not" what is meant to do. I really feel uncomfortable with this kind of feature
 
It was not the first time I have been asked for "default selections".
I am still against that idea (some kind of "cover my a**" policy) but if several people asked for it, then I must admit I am wrong somewhere.
Not sure how I feel about selection profiles. If they were available, I probably wouldn't use them. I'm all for automation, but there comes a time when you need to be very careful about what that automation is doing.

My standard process is to back up EVERYTHING I can get my hands on so at least I have it. Then, at restore time, I'll determine WHAT to restore based on a variety of criteria, especially what the user wants. (e.g. don't restore Windows Live Mail if he's moving to Outlook).
So do I. That said, it has been asked for a while and always refused to do it because of that reason: it is better to grab too much than missing something that was important in a particular case and finally being in trouble because the program "did not" what is meant to do. I really feel uncomfortable with this kind of feature
Not sure if I am confused.

You think having it auto check backup non windows standard folders in the User profile and C:\ drive is a bad idea for possible lawsuit reasons?

I would be willing to donate a few extra dollars for this feature, and I just bought Fabs a couple months ago. Your program is amazing, but EVERY SINGLE TIME I use your program, I have to go through and check the C:\ and user folder for stupid phone picture dumps or "tax 2017 paperwork" folders...
 
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