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

[sapphirescales]

What could I add for this?

Just check out the UI for Unstoppable Copier. THAT is a data transfer program done right. Dead simple with verification for each file. On top of all that, it's able to copy damaged files in pieces so you at least get a partial file even if the file is unreadable by most other programs. When I use Fabs, it's like "uhhhh...okay, I guess it's done. I just gotta pray that it did everything it said it was going to do." Not a good feeling to have when you're backing up a client's data. I mainly use Fabs to back up and restore program data and such, but it kinda sucks as just a data backup program. I'd love to stop using Unstoppable Copier as my daily driver and only keep it for transferring files that are potentially damaged, but Fabs as it is just isn't good enough to be my main data backup program. If Fabs actually provided a LIVE summary as it's copying data like Unstoppable Copier does, I'd use it a lot more often.

 

[fabs]

Just check out the UI for Unstoppable Copier. THAT is a data transfer program done right. Dead simple with verification for each file. On top of all that, it's able to copy damaged files in pieces so you at least get a partial file even if the file is unreadable by most other programs. When I use Fabs, it's like "uhhhh...okay, I guess it's done. I just gotta pray that it did everything it said it was going to do." Not a good feeling to have when you're backing up a client's data. I mainly use Fabs to back up and restore program data and such, but it kinda sucks as just a data backup program. I'd love to stop using Unstoppable Copier as my daily driver and only keep it for transferring files that are potentially damaged, but Fabs as it is just isn't good enough to be my main data backup program. If Fabs actually provided a LIVE summary as it's copying data like Unstoppable Copier does, I'd use it a lot more often.

Every copied file is compared to its source (date and size). If there is a difference or a copy failure, a warning or error entry (depending on the case) is added to the log. It just does not show every file OK on the log (except in debug mode) to limit memory usage.
I am not sure on how I can handle damaged files. That's a tricky thing

 

[Computer Bloke]

I am not sure on how I can handle damaged files.

Just display a big warning message and require acknowledgement from the technician before continuing on a best-effort basis, logging all errors as you go.

Damaged files usually indicate some other problem that'll need the technician's hands-on intervention anyway. We expect Autobackup to help, not to do our entire job for us!

 

[fabs]

Just display a big warning message and require acknowledgement from the technician before continuing on a best-effort basis, logging all errors as you go.

Damaged files usually indicate some other problem that'll need the technician's hands-on intervention anyway. We expect Autobackup to help, not to do our entire job for us!

There are already errors shown in the log if it encounters files it cannot copy from a damaged drive.

 

[glennd]

There are already errors shown in the log if it encounters files it cannot copy from a damaged drive.

And also in the summary area at the bottom when it's complete. It would be nice to have total failed files, bytes and warnings in the summary area when it's working.

 

[sapphirescales]

Every copied file is compared to its source (date and size). If there is a difference or a copy failure, a warning or error entry (depending on the case) is added to the log. It just does not show every file OK on the log (except in debug mode) to limit memory usage.
I am not sure on how I can handle damaged files. That's a tricky thing

Who wants to look at log files? Unstoppable Copier shows the number of successful transfers, failed transfers, errors, etc. at the bottom of the transfer window. It also slows each file as it's copied in a table format, allowing you to sort the file list after the transfer is complete so you can see what files failed to transfer, sort by name/size/whatever, etc.

Unstoppable Copier is a free program, and the guy that wrote it is a great dude. You should get in contact with him. Maybe partner with him. His copy engine is second to none. You can even choose whether you want to choose "fastest backup" or "best backup," the latter of which tries to copy damaged files over and over again and hammers away at it until you get as much of the file as possible.

But honestly, damaged files would be great but what's more important is that you can see how things are transferring as it happens. A live log at the bottom of the transfer window is an EXCELLENT idea, and not something many programs implement. You can still write a log file if you want, but I don't want to have to look at log files all the time. If it says that it copied all but a couple of files, I'm probably OK.

Unstoppable Copier hasn't been updated in many, many years. He might be willing to give you the source code to it. It never hurts to ask.

 

[River Valley Computer]

There are already errors shown in the log if it encounters files it cannot copy from a damaged drive.

Yes - it definitely does that. We get those messages a lot. I was wondering why this hasn't been mentioned. Evidently everyone has 'clean' drives.

 

[River Valley Computer]

Who wants to look at log files? Unstoppable Copier shows the number of successful transfers, failed transfers, errors, etc. at the bottom of the transfer window. It also slows each file as it's copied in a table format, allowing you to sort the file list after the transfer is complete so you can see what files failed to transfer, sort by name/size/whatever, etc.

Unstoppable Copier is a free program, and the guy that wrote it is a great dude. You should get in contact with him. Maybe partner with him. His copy engine is second to none. You can even choose whether you want to choose "fastest backup" or "best backup," the latter of which tries to copy damaged files over and over again and hammers away at it until you get as much of the file as possible.

But honestly, damaged files would be great but what's more important is that you can see how things are transferring as it happens. A live log at the bottom of the transfer window is an EXCELLENT idea, and not something many programs implement. You can still write a log file if you want, but I don't want to have to look at log files all the time. If it says that it copied all but a couple of files, I'm probably OK.

Unstoppable Copier hasn't been updated in many, many years. He might be willing to give you the source code to it. It never hurts to ask.

Fabs does display at the bottom of the Backup the errors that were encountered.

 

[GTP]

Are there any news on this? Like I said, downloads were properly backed up on my development machine.
Something like running the job in the same conditions but only with these download folders (public and private) in debug mode would provide me some information about this system and I could provide some answers to you. To enable the debug mode, right-click the program's title bar and select "[ ] Debug Mode". Then, perform the job as usual. Can you do that please? When you will close the program, you will get a debug feedback form to fill. This will send me some diagnostic files. This way, I will have some clues about what is going on.

Hey @fabs, my apologies for not getting back to you sooner.
I've moved on from this client. I manually got everything I needed and the job is completed.
I used an older version of Autobackup 7 for the next couple of jobs without issue.
I will see how the next job goes (with the new version) and run a debug report if it does the same thing.

 

[fabs]

Hey @fabsI used an older version of Autobackup 7 for the next couple of jobs without issue.
I will see how the next job goes (with the new version) and run a debug report if it does the same thing.

Thanks for the reply,
Just to let me know, what's the version number of that older release you used?

 

[GTP]

Hey @fabs this is the version I'm using.

 

[sapphirescales]

There are already errors shown in the log if it encounters files it cannot copy from a damaged drive.

Take a look at the interface of Unstoppable Copier. Notice the entire bottom section is dedicated to showing you how the transfer is going as the transfer is happening? Why can't we implement something like this with Fabs?

 

[fabs]

For most items, that should be doable. I do not want something too overloaded, so, what would we need?
I would say :
- Total files to copy and total bytes to copy (since this is calculated while listing the files). It is already shown in the log but I know you would prefer something straight in the UI.
- Bytes copied
- Copied files
- Copy errors

 

[sapphirescales]

For most items, that should be doable. I do not want something too overloaded, so, what would we need?
I would say :
- Total files to copy and total bytes to copy (since this is calculated while listing the files). It is already shown in the log but I know you would prefer something straight in the UI.
- Bytes copied
- Copied files
- Copy errors

Yes, this would be great. I just need something other than a log file that I have to look at. The log sometimes has dozens (or even hundreds) of entries and it's a pain to have to go through that every time. Perhaps we could also show the "size of uncopied data." If it's a small number (a few MB's or KB's), then it's probably just system files that aren't that important anyway. If it's a larger amount of data then it would be a good idea to look at the log to find out exactly what wasn't copied.

 

[fabs]

Yes, this would be great. I just need something other than a log file that I have to look at. The log sometimes has dozens (or even hundreds) of entries and it's a pain to have to go through that every time. Perhaps we could also show the "size of uncopied data." If it's a small number (a few MB's or KB's), then it's probably just system files that aren't that important anyway. If it's a larger amount of data then it would be a good idea to look at the log to find out exactly what wasn't copied.

I guess something like that should do the trick right ?

 

[glricht]

Fabs, that looks nice (as long as it doesn't slow down the copying process too much). But how about laying out the info vertically instead of horizontally? Such as files in one column and bytes in the other. For example:

Total files to copy: 9715 Total bytes to copy: 2.12 GB
Files copied: 909 Bytes copied: 142.39 MB
Files remaining: 8806 Bytes remaining: 1.9 GB
Files failed to copy: 0 Bytes failed to copy: 0 MB

Copying file: autobackup7pro.exe (8.71 MB)

Edit: can't get the table to align correctly even though I used a monospaced font.. I guess you'll have to use your imagination.

 

[fabs]

Fabs, that looks nice (as long as it doesn't slow down the copying process too much). But how about laying out the info vertically instead of horizontally? Such as files in one column and bytes in the other. For example:

Total files to copy: 9715 Total bytes to copy: 2.12 GB
Files copied: 909 Bytes copied: 142.39 MB
Files remaining: 8806 Bytes remaining: 1.9 GB
Files failed to copy: 0 Bytes failed to copy: 0 MB

Copying file: autobackup7pro.exe (8.71 MB)

Edit: can't get the table to align correctly even though I used a monospaced font.. I guess you'll have to use your imagination.

I thought about that in a first place but I felt like it was eating too much space on the GUI. Also, it is much faster to update a few labels on the GUI while copying instead of doubling them

 

[sapphirescales]

I guess something like that should do the trick right ?

That's great! However, it would be better if you keep the columns lined up so that they're easier to read like Unstoppable Copier does. The text itself doesn't have to be so huge either. If you want to prevent the live log from taking up too much space in the GUI, the text can be smaller.

It would also be nice to have the file transfer list in columns like Unstoppable Copier does. Again, the text doesn't have to be so huge.

My last suggestion is to use periods rather than commas for the MB/GB sizes. It's confusing to us in the United States and looks totally wrong to us. If you want to keep it in the UK version that's fine. Maybe a way to switch between versions?

 

[ChrisTech]

My last suggestion is to use periods rather than commas for the MB/GB sizes. It's confusing to us in the United States and looks totally wrong to us. If you want to keep it in the UK version that's fine. Maybe a way to switch between versions?

+1 on the period instead of comma - we use periods in the UK too although it isn't a game changer by any means.

 

[fabs]

That's great! However, it would be better if you keep the columns lined up so that they're easier to read like Unstoppable Copier does. The text itself doesn't have to be so huge either. If you want to prevent the live log from taking up too much space in the GUI, the text can be smaller.

Right. Downsizing fonts on that part of the GUI now. Will post another screen shot later. I am also separating files counts from file sizes, putting the values in read only edits for more ease to read.

It would also be nice to have the file transfer list in columns like Unstoppable Copier does. Again, the text doesn't have to be so huge.

I am sorry but I can't do that because that will increase RAM use a lot. Now, I am using an invisible copy list with shorts codes that replace the full path for every file and this saves a lot of ram. If I do that, the RAM use will be increased and most of all, I will have to rewrite the entire copy list processing stuff and that's just horrific.

My last suggestion is to use periods rather than commas for the MB/GB sizes. It's confusing to us in the United States and looks totally wrong to us. If you want to keep it in the UK version that's fine. Maybe a way to switch between versions?

This one should not be needed. I think the program picks up the computer's regional settings if I am not mistaking. So, what you see there is just coming from my Windows 10 in French where we use comma as separator. That should be fine on your side.