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

[fincoder]

if content is discovered in the old "My documents" folder (like if the user has left his files behind), it is copied inside a "@recovered" folder that's added to the documents backup

That would work.

I was going to suggest just restoring or transferring the default folder data in the default folder location where it was originally, and it wouldn't clash with files in the relocated folder path. In the backup storage location it could just be kept in _DEFAULT_Documents or something similar, but restored to the actual default location. Is there a reason why the files can't go back to the default location? Maybe you want to teach the user a lesson

 

[GTP]

I have more and more clients using EPB (Epic Privacy Browser) which is being recommended by banks and financial institutions here.
Will Fabs support Epic and others like Opera, Tor, Vivaldi, WaterFox, Pale Moon and many others that my clients use?

 

[Diggs]

Will Fabs support Epic and others like Opera, Tor, Vivaldi, WaterFox, Pale Moon and many others that my clients use?

In all honesty, I have never ran across any one of these browsers being used in the wild. I'm not sure FAB wants to write for every possible option.

 

[fabs]

Is there a reason why the files can't go back to the default location? Maybe you want to teach the user a lesson

Simple, if users set another path for a folder, it is obvious that everything that was in the old folder must follow. Indeed, at restore/transfer, they will wonder why there is a "@Recovered" folder in their docs. Then, the lesson should be learned (hopefully) !

 

[fabs]

I have more and more clients using EPB (Epic Privacy Browser) which is being recommended by banks and financial institutions here.
Will Fabs support Epic and others like Opera, Tor, Vivaldi, WaterFox, Pale Moon and many others that my clients use?

There is already support for Opera, Vivaldi and Waterfox. Perhaps others may come later.

 

[GTP]

Just used Fabs version 7.0.4.32756 only to discover that several items were not backed up because they must be manually checked in the program.

My bad that I didn't think to/know that those items should be checked. AFAIK they were checked by default.
Client not happy because data is now gone.

Looks like I need to go back to an even earlier version still or consider not using Fabs altogether.

Too many cooks have spoiled the broth...imo.

 

[fabs]

Just used Fabs version 7.0.4.32756 only to discover that several items were not backed up because they must be manually checked in the program.

My bad that I didn't think to/know that those items should be checked. AFAIK they were checked by default.
Client not happy because data is now gone.

Looks like I need to go back to an even earlier version still or consider not using Fabs altogether.

Too many cooks have spoiled the broth...imo.

I am really sorry to read this and understand your anger. However, if you want me to fix anything, do not you think I would need some clues like what was left behind, in which circumstances, anything that could be useful to know ? I do not think going to the first V7 release or even V6 will solve what happens imho. If you think it would, here you will find all the versions I have released since the first V7 but you will be exposed to more risks : http://download.fpnet.fr/release_history/pro/
Updates are also here to fix stuff, not to spoil anything.

Just as a reminder, here is a list of all the issues that have been fixed since 7.0.4.32756:

7.0.6.33:
- Dropbox and hubiC contents were copied to their old paths when performing a direct transfer job.
- The program does not try anymore to get system serial number when the source drive is not the current system drive.

7.0.6.48:
- When a copy fails because a file was in use, the program now clearly logs it.

7.0.6.84:
- Restore to a newly created user profile from the app was not working. It required to restart the program or reboot the computer then restore the files.
- Better form resize handling for the live job information boxes and labels.
- When using VSS snapshots, the source folder looked like "C:\Fabs_X_ShadowCopy" and could appear on job reports. The "Fabs" word has been replaced with "VSS" since this could be disturbing for branded software.

7.0.7.300:
- When backing up or transferring Outlook data from a downgraded Outlook machine. Example: there was a working Outlook 2016 that has been unistalled and replaced with Outlook 2010 instead, the program got the account settings from Outlook 2016 (the newest) instead of the ones from Outlook 2010. Now, the program gets the version of the currently installed Outlook first and then focuses on its settings.
- The file copy progress bar was not working anymore while copying files over a UNC network path.
- The default browser detection method has been improved (thanks to Alex from Malwarebytes for the trick). Now the various pages and html logs open in the right browser.

7.0.7.377:
- Lots of Google Chrome cache files were still copied even if the "Exclude local browsers cache" option was selected. This will speed up the copy process.
- When backing up data from more than one user profile, backup path and its free space was several times in job summary.

 

[sapphirescales]

Just used Fabs version 7.0.4.32756 only to discover that several items were not backed up because they must be manually checked in the program.

My bad that I didn't think to/know that those items should be checked. AFAIK they were checked by default.
Client not happy because data is now gone.

Looks like I need to go back to an even earlier version still or consider not using Fabs altogether.

Too many cooks have spoiled the broth...imo.

Give @fabs a break. It was YOUR responsibility to double check that you got all the data you needed. Autobackup is a tool. When you hit your thumb with the hammer, do you blame the hammer or yourself? Now you DO have a legitimate complaint if the box was checked but the data still wasn't backed up, but that's not what happened. You just ASSUMED that things were a certain way and that everything went well without double checking. That's on you. I use technician software on a daily basis - some of which hasn't been updated in years/decades (and I've been using it for that long too!). I still ALWAYS check and double check that everything is set up correctly before I run it and I also verify that the job was done correctly before I hand the completed project to my client. Software is great, but it's just a tool. A tool is only as good as the carpenter (or in our case, technician) that uses it. A tool is STUPID. It has no brain. YOU are the brain. You can't expect a tool to do your thinking for you.

 

[Diggs]

Anybody else have problems with Google Drive stuff after a FABs restoration? (This not a critique or request for changes but for better understanding.) I would prefer to restore Google Drive stuff with FABs at SATA speeds than use an Internet connection especially on larger (50+ GB) accounts. I'm hesitant to do this as each time I use FABs to restore the files, Google Drive wants to "Merge" upon activation and make copies of every file instead of just indexing the file during the sync operation. Maybe I missed a switch or two somewhere but it's happened more than once and it's a real pain to sort out when it does. At this point I don't restore any Google Drive stuff any more. (I'm thinking each time that I installed Google Drive (Backup 'n Sync) after FABs. Not sure if the order (install before FABs) makes a difference.)

 

[fabs]

Anybody else have problems with Google Drive stuff after a FABs restoration? (This not a critique or request for changes but for better understanding.) I would prefer to restore Google Drive stuff with FABs at SATA speeds than use an Internet connection especially on larger (50+ GB) accounts. I'm hesitant to do this as each time I use FABs to restore the files, Google Drive wants to "Merge" upon activation and make copies of every file instead of just indexing the file during the sync operation. Maybe I missed a switch or two somewhere but it's happened more than once and it's a real pain to sort out when it does. At this point I don't restore any Google Drive stuff any more. (I'm thinking each time that I installed Google Drive (Backup 'n Sync) after FABs. Not sure if the order (install before FABs) makes a difference.)

I was afraid of this kind of issues but many kept asking for cloud support. I guess Google Drive hashes the files and the restored ones may not match their hash, so, it drives to conflicts. personally, I would restore files before reinstalling Google Drive software but since you are reporting such duplicate problems, installing Google Drive first may be the way to go.
This needs some tests and maybe copy process adjustments. Today, when backing up to a local drive, I use a buffered copy that copies files faster than a regular copy but has a little problem : it changes the file dates attributes and I have to set the program to set them back. This may be the problem's source. What I could do is to always copy cloud files using regular method, even if it is not as fast.

 

[GTP]

Give @fabs a break. It was YOUR responsibility to double check that you got all the data you needed. Autobackup is a tool. When you hit your thumb with the hammer, do you blame the hammer or yourself? Now you DO have a legitimate complaint if the box was checked but the data still wasn't backed up, but that's not what happened. You just ASSUMED that things were a certain way and that everything went well without double checking. That's on you. I use technician software on a daily basis - some of which hasn't been updated in years/decades (and I've been using it for that long too!). I still ALWAYS check and double check that everything is set up correctly before I run it and I also verify that the job was done correctly before I hand the completed project to my client. Software is great, but it's just a tool. A tool is only as good as the carpenter (or in our case, technician) that uses it. A tool is STUPID. It has no brain. YOU are the brain. You can't expect a tool to do your thinking for you.

Get off your high horse and read my post where I said:
"My bad that I didn't think to/know that those items should be checked. AFAIK they were checked by default."
I wasn't blaming Fabs or the tool.
You just seized the opportunity to spruik!

 

[Archon Prime]

I'm always looking manually in all directories on the user account while doing fabs. I LOVE the software, but there can always be something that it misses, hence the additional tabs he has on there to add more directories, etc. Once I know everything is selected I'm good. But **** happens and customers need to be aware that THEY are responsible for ensuring they have their data backed up. We just do the transfer of what is there.

 

[pcpete]

Just used Fabs version 7.0.4.32756 only to discover that several items were not backed up because they must be manually checked in the program.

My bad that I didn't think to/know that those items should be checked. AFAIK they were checked by default.
Client not happy because data is now gone.

Looks like I need to go back to an even earlier version still or consider not using Fabs altogether.

Too many cooks have spoiled the broth...imo.

Just curious what stuff by default is not backed up. Maybe we are making assumptions also

 

[Diggs]

...it changes the file dates attributes...

That was my guess is that dating didn't quite match. Next opportunity I'll explore a bit more.

 

[pcpete]

This goes without saying, we never trust fabs to be perfect, or more importantly that a client told us where the important stuff is. We always do a system backup, then mount it, then use fabs to extract the data to a different drive. Our system backup is to a raid one, then we extract to an external, before we format any drive. Using this method it is near impossible to make a mistake and lose anything. Besides being safer, it is fast to have the data on an external to restore the files

Nowadays, 80% of our jobs are upgraded to ssds, so we hardly ever format the original, just use fabs to transfer the data

 

[pcpete]

customers need to be aware that THEY are responsible for ensuring they have their data backed up. We just do the transfer of what is there.

I think if they bring us the computer, we are responsible for making sure it is all backed up. It does not matter even if we put something in writing saying otherwise, when it comes down to it, they will hold us responsible and for good reason, they are paying us as professionals to manage their data.

 

[sapphirescales]

You just seized the opportunity to spruik!

Well that's a new one. Forgive me for not being well-versed in Australian slang.

 

[Diggs]

Client not happy because data is now gone.

Where's your image of his drive? Everything should be on there. I image just about everything (except maybe cloning) just for this reason. I try to hold the image for a year but space on the NAS right now keeps it to about 6-8 months.

 

[fincoder]

ell that's a new one. Forgive me for not being well-versed in Australian slang

As an Australian, I'm not sure why 'spruik' was used in this case. To me it means promote or publicise, but I didn't see any product promoted in the post. Maybe the word has a broader meaning in South Australia...

Actually I didn't know spruik was Australian slang until now, I thought it was a normal English word.

 

[ell]

This will be in the next update. The program will look in the registry for default browser and default email client and add them to the installed software html report, user per user since this is not defined at machine level but user level :

awesome!