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Backup

Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Which items does Argentum Backup support through its task backup templates?
  2. How do I restore from my backups?
  3. Can I use Argentum Backup with my CD/DVD/BD recording drive?
  4. Are incremental backups supported by Argentum Backup?
  5. Does Argentum Backup back up only new and changed files or does it process all files each time it updates the existing backup?
  6. How do I keep my Zip backup files manageable?
  7. I get the message that my newly created Zip backup file is invalid or corrupted, when trying to open it. What should I do?
  8. I keep receiving the error message that there is not enough space on my destination drive, even though there is plenty of free space there. What can I do?
  9. Is it possible to keep folders and directory structure information inside Zip backup files?
  10. My backup file is more than a single disc can hold. How can I back it up on more than one disc? Is there a way to split or span it?
  11. How can I back up the configuration settings of Argentum Backup as well as settings for all the tasks I have created?
  12. What makes Argentum Backup different to other backup software? What makes Argentum Backup better than other backup programs?
Which items does Argentum Backup support through its task backup templates?

Windows related files and computer configuration files:

  • Microsoft Windows 95, 98 core startup files: msdos.sys, config.sys, autoexec.bat, win.ini, system.ini.
  • Microsoft Windows 95, 98, ME registry files.
  • Microsoft Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 desktop configuration folders: start menu icons, desktop icons, favorites, recent documents, send-to locations.

User related documents and settings:

  • Microsoft Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 My Documents folder.
  • Microsoft Windows ME, 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10 My Pictures, My Videos, and My Music folders.
  • Microsoft Outlook 97, 98 personal folders.
  • Microsoft Outlook 2000, XP, 2003, 2007, 2010 personal folders, address book, shortcuts, rules and other settings.

User data and messages for popular e-mail clients:

  • Microsoft Outlook Express 4, 5, 6, 7 e-mail message store and address book.
  • Microsoft Windows Live Mail 12, 14 and Windows Mail e-mail message store and address book.
  • Thunderbird (Mozilla) 1.1 and later and Netscape Communicator 7.0 and later e-mail messages and preferences.
  • IncrediMail e-mail database.
  • Microsoft Mail 3 address book.

Settings and messages for various messengers:

  • ICQ messenger database.
  • Yahoo! messenger files.
  • MSN messenger files.
  • AIM messenger database.
How do I restore from my backups?

Argentum Backup has no built-in restore feature as there is simply no need for one. You can easily run restore operations from within any major Zip utility. Microsoft Windows XP, Vista, and 7 support Zip files integrally. The path information stored in Zip backup files will point you to the original locations for your files. Most Zip programs, including WinZip, are able to automatically restore to the original locations using the path information stored in Zip files. You can also selectively restore individual files and folders by hand.

Can I use Argentum Backup with my CD/DVD/BD recording drive?

Yes, but this sometimes requires some prior tweaking. A special article, covering this topic in detail, is available on a separate page:

Are incremental backups supported by Argentum Backup?

Yes and no. Argentum Backup combines the best of both full and incremental backup strategies into one strategy. The backup copy, created by Argentum Backup, is the complete duplicate of the source files and folders, i. e. it is always full in this regard. However, during backup operation, Argentum Backup processes only changed files and folders, that is the backup operation is actually incremental and so very fast. As a result, Argentum Backup always creates a full backup, but, when updating backups, always employs an incremental strategy. If you need to have a few backup copies in the backup store, just as you were using an incremental strategy, you may want to enable the stacking feature in Argentum Backup.

Although truly incremental backups are not supported, Argentum Backup's built-in semi-incremental strategy along with the stacking enabled takes the best features of the two regular methods: full and incremental. First, it is as fast as the incremental strategy. Second, it makes it easy to restore and maintain the saved data, since you have full copies just as if you were using a regular full backup strategy. The only drawback is storage expenses which are typically increased in favour of ease of use, as you have to keep a few full copies instead of a few incremental ones.

Does Argentum Backup back up only new and changed files or does it process all files each time it updates the existing backup?

Argentum Backup always processes only new and changed files and folders, that is the files and folders that have changed since the time of the most recent backup. This is true for both backup operation modes: Zip compression mode and native file copying mode. However, in Zip compression mode, in order to update any single file in the Zip backup file, the entire Zip backup file has to be recreated. See the detailed explanation below.

How do I keep my Zip backup files manageable?

When you set up a task to compress files, Argentum Backup creates a Zip file in the destination folder that contains all of the compressed source files. Although Argentum Backup has no restriction on the size of the Zip file, as it supports the newest Zip64 extensions to Zip format, it is best to keep the Zip files smaller than 10 GB in size, especially if you run your backups regularly and often. Here is why:

  • Efficiency. If you have a backup task that is compressing lots of files into a single Zip file, the Zip file will get quite big. This makes the future compression and decompression activities on this Zip file take longer. The length of time needed to update files inside a large Zip file grows with the size of the Zip file. In order to update any single file in the Zip backup file, the entire Zip backup file has to be recreated. Any non-changed files are not to be recompressed - they are simply copied from an old Zip backup file to a new one, but it still takes time to copy the entire Zip file contents.
  • Safety. If one of the files inside the Zip file gets corrupted during update, there is a danger of the entire Zip file becoming unusable. Keeping the Zip files smaller, you will reduce the risk of losing other files.
  • Space. When updating files in the Zip backup copy, Argentum Backup makes a copy of the original Zip file into a temporary file and makes the updates to this file. On successful compression, it deletes the original Zip file and renames the temporary file to the Zip file. So you need enough space on the destination drive to hold the original Zip file and the temporary file. For all removable drives Argentum Backup uses the Windows temporary folder for the temporary Zip file instead of the destination drive. For some devices this may slow down the process since the temporary file has to be copied to and from the drive, however this makes backups to CD/DVD writing devices much faster. This also enables you to use the full capacity of the removable drive. The latter is especially useful when backing up to low-capacity storage devices such as the USB flash memory drives.

That's why it is recommended to switch into native file copying mode if your Zip backup file gets noticeably large, say 10 GB or more, or split your larger task into a few smaller ones.

I get the message that my newly created Zip backup file is invalid or corrupted, when trying to open it. What should I do?

Your backup file is probably over 4 GB in size. Is this the case? Unfortunately, Windows XP, Vista and 7 currently have no support for Zip files larger than 4 GB in size. If you're using a third-party Zip utility, it may not support large Zip files either. Newer versions of Zip programs do support large Zip files, for example WinZip 9 (or later). There are also a number of freeware programs that support Zip64 files.

Alternatively, you can split your larger task into a few smaller ones, so that each backup file is under 4 GB. You can also switch your task into the file copying mode. There are some performance issues involved when updating large Zip files, thereby Zip compression is not recommended for large volumes of data. See the detailed explanation above.

I keep receiving the error message that there is not enough space on my destination drive, even though there is plenty of free space there. What can I do?

Your destination disk is probably formatted as FAT32 and the resulting backup file is over 4 GB in size. Is this the case? FAT32 drives do not support individual files to be over 4 GB in size. The destination drive must be formatted as NTFS in order to store files over 4 GB in size. You have to format your drive as NTFS.

Alternatively, you can split your larger task into a few smaller ones, so that each backup file is under 4 GB. You can also switch your task into the file copying mode. There are some performance issues involved when updating large Zip files, thereby Zip compression is not recommended for large volumes of data. See the detailed explanation above.

Is it possible to keep folders and directory structure information inside Zip backup files?

Argentum Backup fully supports and effectively recreates directory structure outline any levels deep in Zip files. Some Zip programs, including WinZip, do not display folders inside Zip files, or require an option to configure in order to display it. WinRAR and Windows XP do support folders in Zip files and display the folder view just fine. Although WinZip will not display the folder view, it will still extract to the correct locations preserving all the folders.

My backup file is more than a single disc can hold. How can I back it up on more than one disc? Is there a way to split or span it?

Unfortunately, Argentum Backup has no support for automatic disk spanning. It always assumes that you have enough space on the destination media. You may want to split your larger task into a few smaller ones, so that each one meets the size constraint.

How can I back up the configuration settings of Argentum Backup as well as settings for all the tasks I have created?

The following registry key keeps all the settings:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Argentum\Backup

You can use regedit.exe tool, a standard Windows tool to access registry, and Export/Import commands. This way you can save and restore the configuration or move it across computers.

What makes Argentum Backup different to other backup software? What makes Argentum Backup better than other backup programs?

What are the key features? What makes us different? (Jack Trout) See the detailed explanation on a separate page. In short, the fundamental principle behind Argentum Backup is that the program itself is very basic, simple, fast, and thus very reliable. And we are not going to leave these key principles. We're adding new features to Argentum Backup with great care, trying to keep its light-weight nature. Argentum Backup is already an established backup product with its own market share and a lot of users.

If you need a carefully designed backup utility, which is small, fast, portable, and very reliable, then there is no better choice. Because the interface is very basic and simple, Argentum Backup has always had a great appeal to computer novices of any kind. On the other part, the advanced users and computer literates have always appreciated the Argentum Backup' fast and reliable backup operation, and the ability to just set it and forget about it. Argentum Backup can be very helpful for those technical people (and system administrators) who assist other people regarding computers and software, because they can rely on it. You can set it, configure it with a few clicks, and forget about it. Argentum Backup will take care of the rest, reliably and fully automatically.

Have Questions?

Still have a question that is not answered? You are welcome to send a message to our support team.

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