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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 1,114
Expert
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OP
Expert
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 1,114 |
Hi all
Looking for some guidance from you knowledgeable members.
As suggested by many of you I always make a complete usb HD copy of my entire C:’/ B B folder and also my C:/ realband folder for emergency or possibly move to another pc.
My question is as there are often update patches to apply during the year, and these are stand alone exe files that do the update, do they when run mess with any of the files in the :C:/BB FOLDER. Making it necessary to make a new back up.
Or can I safely do it once fairly soon after my yearly upgrade and not again till the years updates stop coming in towards the end of the year.
I do of course keep a back up of my separate biab patch downloads at least the last 3
The C:/bb folder is quite big 103g 126,438 files 5,609 folders so can take some time and I would not want to do it on a monthly or more often patch basis if this is not necessary
Your advice appreciated
Mike
BIAB2021 UltraPlus,AsusN55S1Tbssd, W10/64,Akai EIEpro Yamaha CVP405,SquireStrat, CoolsoftVMidSynth Novatation Impulse61 Ctr kbd, Cwalk blab Kontakt http://mikesmusic.byethost16.com/
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 12,840
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Veteran
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 12,840 |
When you run any patch update, it affects the contents of the BB folder, any subfolders, and possibly the RealTracks and Drums folder.
To do my backups, I use a Windows command line utility called Robocopy (which I embed in a batch file). It lets me copy only new or changed files to my backup drive, so it's pretty fast. (External USB drives are not very expensive).
I've been using this technique for many years and it has saved my butt a few times and has eased moving BIAB to a different computer, with all my preferences intact.
John Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 12TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 12TB SATA BB2026/UMC204HD&404HD/Casios/Cakewalk/Reaper/Studio One/Notion/Dorico/Noteworthy/NI/Halion/IK http://www.sus4chord.com (under rehosting/construction)
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 68
Enthusiast
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Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2017
Posts: 68 |
I use Directory Opus as an alternative to Windows Explorer. It has similar features to Robocopy in that you can just sync your local drive or folders to your backup device and it will only copy newer or altered files to the backup. It does a Compare between your day-to-day drives and your backup and thus is pretty quick to just update the newer files.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 20,494
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Veteran
Joined: Oct 2008
Posts: 20,494 |
I use Microsoft's SyncToy (it's free) to keep my back-ups synchronised. It only adds new files or those that have changed... very efficient.
MY SONGS...Audiophile BIAB 2026
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 12,840
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Dec 2000
Posts: 12,840 |
I wouldn't be surprised if SyncToy actually ran robocopy in the background (since they are both from Microsoft).
Not that I use them all, Robocopy gives me a whole lot of options when backing up data. And I'm an old DOS-Head anyway, so going to the command line is not a problem. I've written some pretty convoluted batch files (and in a past life, I had to write some pretty detailed Novell Netware login scripts to support multiple business units sharing the same networking resources), so that doesn't bother me. I get that it's Greek to a lot of folks.
But you definitely want a utility that just copies the differential (new/changed), and as an option, deletes the files on the destination that are no longer valid, in order to mirror your backup target to the source content. It definitely saves a lot of time.
I lost one of my drives recently and was back up and running in no time (well, except it did take quite awhile to copy all the data from a USB2 external drive back to the new hard drive).
And while we are on the subject, don't forget an imaging solution for your boot drive. I have lost my boot drive before, and was back up and running on a new drive in about an hour as if nothing had happened. That versus re-installing the OS, all the applications, all the custom configuration, all the authorization/authentication, etc. It is definitely worth the cost of an external drive and an imaging application (I use Acronis True Image, but there are free ones available). When I managed a computer lab working at the Federal Aviation Administration, we imaged all our Windows servers using the free G4L (basically Ghost For Linux). Never had a problem with it and it also worked over the network. But the interface might scare some people off, even though for us it was rock solid.
John Laptop-HP Omen I7 Win11Pro 32GB 12TB SSD Desktop-ASUS-I7 Win10Pro 32GB 12TB SATA BB2026/UMC204HD&404HD/Casios/Cakewalk/Reaper/Studio One/Notion/Dorico/Noteworthy/NI/Halion/IK http://www.sus4chord.com (under rehosting/construction)
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 3,158
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Aug 2009
Posts: 3,158 |
Interesting thread.
I have a few backups of biab on two PG drives and each yaar I just install the latest version of biab on each + the latest realtracks etc.
Then a few times throughout the year I might add the latest biab update patches,and to realband as well.
So its interesting that both Noel and John are using Robocopy and SyncToy.
Just wondering (without trying to hijack Mike's thread) are these utilities a lot faster than just doing a straight copy of the whole biab folder from one drive to the backup, or a lot faster than just installing the latest upgrades each year and doing the subsequent update patches?
Musiclover
Last edited by musiclover; 05/08/17 12:47 PM.
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Band-in-a-Box for Windows
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Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 10,809
Veteran
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Veteran
Joined: Apr 2009
Posts: 10,809 |
Hi all
Looking for some guidance from you knowledgeable members.
As suggested by many of you I always make a complete usb HD copy of my entire C:’/ B B folder and also my C:/ realband folder for emergency or possibly move to another pc.
My question is as there are often update patches to apply during the year, and these are stand alone exe files that do the update, do they when run mess with any of the files in the :C:/BB FOLDER. Making it necessary to make a new back up.
Or can I safely do it once fairly soon after my yearly upgrade and not again till the years updates stop coming in towards the end of the year.
I do of course keep a back up of my separate biab patch downloads at least the last 3
The C:/bb folder is quite big 103g 126,438 files 5,609 folders so can take some time and I would not want to do it on a monthly or more often patch basis if this is not necessary
Your advice appreciated
Mike
dang... using commas would have made that easier to understand.... (the bold part in the OP) I run my BB/RB from the factory HD. if it fails, which it never has, I would call PG and see what they could help me do. The only thing I backup is my work folders and projects. I keep the most current year on the C drive and move them to the storage drive and backup drive as they age out. I've never had any issues with anything not working properly after the updates and bug fixes. Regarding such things..... you only need to do those updates if you are having issues that need resolution.
You can find my music at: www.herbhartley.comAdd nothing that adds nothing to the music. You can make excuses or you can make progress but not both. The magic you are looking for is in the work you are avoiding.
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