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File versioning
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Posted by Neville Franks
Aug 16, 2010 at 10:10 AM
Peter, Version Control Software is worthy of serious consideration if it fits your requirements. I have used several over many years including Subversion along with TortoiseSVN for the past 3 years. I’ve never been all that happy with SVN though and a few months back I switched to Mercurial and TortoiseHG which I feel is much better. Amongst other things SVN plops ..svn directories in every directory you put under version control. Mercurial is also a Distributed VCS which is the trend now, and you don’t need a server or central repository which you do with SVN. The TortoiseHG tools are also better IMO.
I am wary of real time backup software as some can create invalid backups of files, when they are in use. Something to keep in mind. One product I can highly recommend is CrashPlan. It has a good range of options for when it backups up, how many old versions to keep etc.It does both online backups and to local drives.There unlimited plan is great value. Oops!Backup also looks promising but has some issues I’m concerned about. My evaluation continues. FYI I’ve looked at most backup & sync apps recently and have had trouble finding many that work well for my specific needs and have good user interfaces.
Neville, http://www.surfulater.com
Posted by pereh
Aug 16, 2010 at 05:49 PM
Hello Neville,
and thanks for posting your view on this topic, and thanks to all the others who did.
My current backup setting is this: at least 1 image per week of the partitions where programs are installed (O&O DiskImage), synchronization of stored data to USB drive when needed, at least 1 per week (Beyond Compare), save of important data to DVD whenever 4 GB are reached.
This works fine so far; however, since I only synchronize data files, I miss the ability to have versions. There are programs like Genie Timeline, that back up files and create versions at given intervals, but I wanted something that saves a version every time a file is changed. So far, I have File Hamster running on my PC and History Explorer on my Laptop. Both do the job, with File Hamster being 1st in place for options and stability.
I will take a closer look at CrashDump, which is new to me.
(Will searching for good solutions, I also came across those backup tools that use the MBR and promise almost indefinite numbers of restore points, like RollBack Rx or Comodo TimeMachine: be warned. Programs like these will most definitely not only ruin your day…)
Best Regards,
Peter.