Saf-T-Net
Hard Disk Backup / Restore Utility
Saf-T-Net is manufactured by R.S.N. Software, Inc. We have made every
effort to provide the user with an erro-free data diskette. Should there be
difficulty in transferring the data from this diskette, contact us at (303)
690-0102 (voice).
Saf-T-Net, Saf-T-Copy, and Saf-T-Print are distributed on an "AS
IS" basis only, without warrant. Neither R.S.N. Software, Inc. nor its
authorized dealers of saf-T-net shall have liability or responsibility to
any person or entity with respect to liability, loss, or damaga caused or
alleged to be caused by this software. This includes, but is not limited
to, an interruption of service, loss of business or anticipatory profits,
or consequential damage resulting from the use of this software.
The saf-T-net software is distributed without copy-provention protection,
since we feel that such protection drastically reduces the utility of a
program and punishes most the honest purchaser. We do, however, expect
purchasers Aof saf-T-Net to honor their registration agreement. This
software is copyrighted, and sold to the purchaser for your individual and
exclusive use. Any reproduction for use by other persons is a violation of
our copyright.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction.....................................................1
Running Saf-T-Net................................................1
A
Recommended Backup Procedures....................................2
Configuration Options............................................3
OK.......................................................3
Backup/restore...........................................3
Full.....................................................3
Increment................................................3
Incl Mask................................................4
Excl Mask................................................4
Backup Node:.............................................4
Incl File/Mask:..........................................5
Excl File/Mask:..........................................5
All......................................................6
Selected.................................................6
Rebuild Ix...............................................7
(Target Device) DF0:.....................................7
(Target Device) DF1:.....................................8
(Target Device) DF2:.....................................8
(Target Device) DF3:.....................................8
(Target Device) Append Old Set...........................8
(Target Device) New Backup Set...........................9
(Target Device) List Only................................9
(Index Options) Build Index..............................9
(Index Options) Index OFF...............................10
(Index Options) LOAD....................................10
(Index Options) SAVE....................................10
(Index Options) Path/Name Order.........................11
(Index Options) FileName Order..........................11
(Index Options) Date Order..............................11
Backup File Selection Logic.....................................12
Use of Wild Card Patterns.......................................14
Error Messages..................................................15
Fatal Error Messages:...................................15
Serious Error Messages:.................................18
Recoverable Error Messages:.............................21
Requestor Messages..............................................23
Alphabetic Listing of Messages..................................27
Technical Assistance............................................29
Product Registration............................................30
1. Introduction
Congratulations on your purchase of saf-T-net, the ULTIMATE in utilites for
protecting your valuable hard disk based data. The major features of this
utility include:
- A full Intuition-based user interface, invocable from
either the workbench or the Command Line Interface.
- Automatic formatting of floppy disks on an AS-NEEDED basis,
including the formatting ove a single track if it is defective.
- 907.t K of data written per floppy disk.
- Slight data compression used when writing the backup data
(approx. 5 to 10% savings) without significantly slowing
the backup process.
- Uses the AmigaDOS 'Archive' bit to keep track of files
that have been added and/or modified since the last
backup cycle.
- Ability to specify AmigaDOS wild-card patterns for
including/excluding files in the backup run.
- Fast - approximately 3 minutes (or less) per 3.5" floppy
disk for both backup and restore runs.
- Selective or full restore capabilities
- Redundant indexing, including imbedded headers for easier
recoverability from a munged backup disk
- Preserves the original Date and Time, file status
indicators, and file comments for restored file
*****************************************************************
* CAUTION *
* Do NOT attempt to copy disks created by saf-T-net with the *
* AmigaDOS DiskCopy command. Instead, please use the supplied *
* saf-T-copy for a disk-to-disk copy. *
*****************************************************************
II. Running saf-T-net
saf-T-net is very easy to use. From the Workbench environment, simply
double-click on the saf-T-net icon, or alternatively, invoke the program
from the AmigaDOS Command Line Interface by typing the program name
'saf-t-net'. No command line arguments are used.
On entry to the program, you will be presented with the first of two
available displays, the WORKING screen. It is from this screen that you
will ask the program to process your requests, based on the current
configuration options. Just below the title line on this display, you will
see a row of three 'button' Gadgets, marked START, CONFIG, and QUIT.
Selecting the START gadget (by pointing with the mouse and clicking the
left-mouse-button) will begin performing the backup or restore process as
currently configured. Selecting the QUIT gadget will exit saf-T-net.
Selecting the CONFIG button will bring up the second available display,
called the CONFIGURATION display.
It is from this display panel that you can control the options in effect
for the run, including whether you want to backup or restore files, what
type of backup (full or incremental) run to perform, whether to restore all
files or selected files, which floppy disk drive to use for the output of
the backup run or input for the restore run, etc. Please refer to the
section of this document called Configuration Options for more details.
When you have configured the options toyour liking, simply click on the OK
gadget to return you to the WORKING display, from which you can select the
START button to begin the task. Simply sit back and insert the diskettes
when asked. You can watch the display from the WORKING panel to see the
files as they are being processed and watch the running totals for files
processed, bytes read and bytes written. Or if you would prefer, simply use
the depth arrangement gadgets at the upper-right corner of the screen to
return to the Workbench screen to perform other tasks while saf-T-net does
your work for you. When your attention is needed, the saf-t-net screen will
pop to the front automatically.
III. Recommended Backup Procedures
The recommended approach to using saf-T-net is to perform a full backup,
creating a 'New Backup Set', and to subsequently perform incremental
backups, appending onto the end of the existing Backup Set, until such time
as your backup set is getting quite large with too many obsolete versions
of the same files. At that point, it may be wiser to perform another full
backup, overwriting your existing backup set. However, the restrictions
imposed by saf-t-net are few, and it's up to you to determine what will
work best for your individual situation.
IV. Configuration Options
This section will attempt to explain in detail the various gadgets and
Options that are available on the CONFIGUTATION display. The order of
persentation will be from top to bottom as the Gadgets appear on the
display. A visual image of the display will assist you when reading this
section. The black-and-white image on the cover of this document will serve
that purpose if you hare not in front of your Amiga at the moment.
Gadget Text: OK
Gadget Colors: Red
Meaning: Clicking on this gadget will return you to the
WORKING display. The implication is that you have
configured the options to your liking.
Gadget Text: Backup / restore
Gadget Colors: Black with yellow text - red arrow
Meaning: This is a 'toggle' switch used to select between
backup and restore modes. The currently selected
mode is indicated by the direction of the red arrow.
It defaults to 'backup' mode.
Gadget Text: Full
Gadget Colors: Red (selected) or Blue (not selected)
Meaning: This option only has meaning when in backup mode.
It is mutually exclusive with the next (incremental)
option. When 'full' is selected, all files will be
backed up, regardless of whether they have been
previously backed up or not. Note that this can
still be modified by use of the Inclusive and/or
Exclusive wild-card matching patterns (explained
below). The default for this Gadget is Not Selected
(i.e., incremental backup).
Gadget Text: Increment
Gadget Colors: Red (selected) or Blue (not selected)
Meaning: This option only has meaning when in backup mode.
It is mutually exclusive with the previous ('full')
option. When 'incremental' is selected, only those
files that have been created or modified since the
last backup operation was performed will be copied
to the backup diskette(s). The default for this
Gadget is selected (i.e., incremental backup).
Gadget Text: Incl Mask
Gadget Colors: Red (ON) or Blue (OFF)
Meaning: This option only has meaning when in backup mode.
It is an ON/OFF gadget, which means that selecting
it once turns it on, selecting it again turns it
off. When this Gadget is ON, the information
specified in the 'Incl File/Mask:' Gadget (see
below) will be used. When OFF, the information in
that string Gadget will be ignored. The default is
OFF.
Gadget Text: Excl Mask
Gadget Colors: Red (ON) or Blue (OFF)
Meaning: This option only has meaning when in backup mode.
It is an ON/OFF gadget, which means that selecting
it once turns it on, selecting it again, turns it
off. When this Gadget is ON, the information
specified in the 'Excl File/Mask:' Gadget (see
below) will be used. When OFF, the information in
that string Gadget will be ignored. The default is
OFF.
Gadget Text: Backup Node
Gadget Colors: Yellow (text), Blue (entry area)
Meaning: This string gadget only has meaning when in backup
mode. With it, you specify the first level of
directory used to search for files to process. All
files contained in this directory, as well as all
files contained in sub-directories contained below
this node will be considered for processing. The
default node is 'DH0:'. To change it, click in the
data entry area and type in your desired root node.
Gadget Text: Incl File/Mask:
Gadget Colors: Yellow (text), Blue (entry area)
Meaning: This string Gadget is where you can specify one or
more wild-card masks to determine which files ARE
processed (i.e., Included). It works in conjunction
with both the 'full' vs. 'incremental' options
(above) and with the 'Excl File/Mask:' options
(described below). For a better explination of the
selection logic used by saf-t-net, refer to the next
section in this document.
If you onlyneed to specify one AmigaDOS-style wild-
card mask, enter the pattern into this string
gadget. If you would like to specify one or more
wild-card patterns, you must enter those patterns
into an external ascii text file, one per line,
using your favorite text editor, and type that file
name into this string gadget. Note that the
patterns as typed into the file must end with a
line-fee character -- any spaces at the end of the
line ARE significant. Also note that this file name
MUST NOT contain any of the special characters ? % (
) * : used to construct valid AmigaDOS wild-card
patterns.
Gadget Text: Excl File/Mask:
Gadget Colors: Yellow (text), Blue (entry area)
Meaning: This string Gadget is where you can specify one or
more wild-card masks to determine which files ARE
NOT processed (i.e., Excluded). It works in
conjunction with both the 'full' vs. 'incremental'
options and with the 'Incl File/Mask:' options
(described above). For a better explanation of the
selection logic used by saf-T-net, refer to the next
section in this document.
If you only need to specify one AmigaDOS-style wild-
card mask, enter the pattern into this string
gadget. If you would like to specify one or more
wild-card patterns, you must enter those patterns
into an external text file, one per line, using your
favorite text editor, and type that file name into
this string gadget. Note that the patterns as typed
into the file must end with a line-feed character--
any spaces at the end of the line ARE significant.
Also not that this file name MUST NOT contain ny
of the special characters ? % ( ) * : used to
construct valid AmigaDOS wild-card patterns.
Gadget Text: All
Gadget Colors: Red (selected) or Blue (not selected)
Meaning: This option only has meaning when in restore mode.
It is mutually exclusive with the next two options
('selected' and rebuild ix'). When 'all' is
selected, all files contained on the set of backup
diskettes will be copied to your hard disk. Note
that if multiple copies of the same file (based on
the entire path/file name) exist on the backup set,
the last (latest) version of that file will be the
one restored.
Gadget Text: Selected
Gadget Colors: Red (selected) or Blue (not selected)
Meaning: This option only has meaning when in restore mode.
It is mutually exclusive with the previous option
('All') and the next option ('rebuild ix').. When
'selected' restore is requested, you will have the
opportunity to scroll through the list of files
contained on the backup set and select the ones
desired. In order to perform the selection, you
must first load in the index file created by the
previous backup run (see the 'LOAD' option below) or
rebuild the index from the backup set of diskettes
(see the next option). Once the index file is
loaded into memory, the WORKING display will display
the sorted list of files in the large display area,
and you can scroll through this display and select
the files you desire by clicking on the file names
to highlight them. Once you have made your selec-
tions, clicking on the START button will restore
only the file(s) you have selected.
Gadget Text: Rebuild Ix.
Gadget Colors: Red (selected) or Blue (not selected)
Meaning: This option only has meaning when in restore mode.
It is mutually exclusive with the previous two
options ('all' and 'selected'). Actually, two
indices are maintained by saf-T-net. The first index is
imbedded within the backed-up data written
to the floppy disks. In order to access this
indexing information, the entire set of diskettes
must be read by the program, since the information
is scattered among the data from the files. This
allows for the easy recovering of most of your data,
even if you run into a problem with an area of the
diskette.
A second index is maintained by saf-T-net that is
kept separate from the backup data disks. This
information is stored in a standard AmigaDOS file
for easy and quick loading, and is needed to perform
a selected restore (see preceeding option). This
file is also useful for seeing what data files (and
versions) are contained within your backed-up data,
and can be printed by the supplied utility saf-T-
print. It is possible that this file could get
misplaced or damaged. The 'Rebuild Index' option
allows you to recreate it by having saf-T-net read
through the set of diskettes from the backup and
extract the indexing information for this external
file.
Gadget Text: (Target Device) DF0:
Gadget Colors: Yellow (selected) or Black (not selected)
Meaning: This option only has meaning both in backup and
restore modes. It, and the following 3 Gadgets
(DF1:, DF2:, and DF3:), determine which floppy disk
drive will be written to for a backup operation, and
which drive will be read for a restore. NOTE that
this can be any valid choice for your hardware
configuration, as long as the selected device uses
the standard trackdisk.device, which is used by all
standard Amiga 3.5" and 5-1/4" floppy disk drives.
A word of caution to those choosing to use their 5-
1/4" drives -- AmigaDOS does not automatically
recognize that a diskette has been changed with the
5-1/4" drive (like it does with the 3.5" ones), and
consequently some of the error-checking logic used
by saf-T-net (for your protection) must be bypassed.
Be sure that you have actually changed a diskette
when informing saf-T-net that you have done so.
Gadget Text: (Target Device) DF1:
Gadget Colors: Yellow (selected) or Black (not selected)
Meaning: Refer to the above discussion of the 'DF0:' Gadget.
Gadget Text: (Target Device) DF2:
Gadget Colors: Yellow (selected) or Black (not selected)
Meaning: Refer to the above discussion of the 'DF0:' Gadget.
Gadget Text: (Target Device) DF3:
Gadget Colors: Yellow (selected) or Black (not selected)
Meaning: Refer to the above discussion of the 'DF0:' Gadget.
Gadget Text: (Target Device) Append Old Set
Gadget Colors: Yellow (selected) or Black (not selected)
Meaning: This option is mutually exclusive with the next two
options ('Nnew Backup Set' and 'LIST Only'), and
applies only to backup mode. When this option is
selected, saf-T-net will find the last data written
to the last diskette by your previous backup run,
and begin writing its output at that point, append-
ing on to your existing backup data. Obviously, you
must have an existing set of backup diskette in
order to use this option. saf-T-net will also ask
you for the name of the index file to load into
memory so the external index can also be appended.
Gadget Text: (Target Device) New Backup Set
Gadget Colors: Yellow (selected) or Black (not selected)
Meaning: This option is mutually exclusive with the previous
option ('Append Old Set') and the next option ('LIST
Only'), and applies only to backup mode. When this
option is selected, saf-T-net will create a new set
of backup diskettes, beginning with volume 1. You
may reuse existing diskettes created by saf-T-net,
but all existing data on that diskette will be lost.
Gadget Text: (Target Device) LIST Only
Gadget Colors: Yellow (selected) or Black (not selected)
Meaning: This option is mutually exclusive with the previous
two options ('Append Old Set' and 'New Backup Set'),
and applies only to backup mode. When this option
is selected, saf-T-net will not actually attempt to
write any data to the backup diskettes, but will
merely go through the motions of determining which
files to backup. This is useful for determining
which of your files need backing up (for an incre-
mental backup) and for testing out the Inclusive
and/or Exclusive wild-card patterns you have
specified. saf-T-net will go through its standard
selection algorithms and display the files that it
would have processed. It will also display a
pseudo-index after it has completed, allowing you to
scroll through it to analyze the results.
Gadget Text: (Index Options) Build Index
Gadget Colors: Yellow (selected) or Black (not selected)
Meaning: This option is mutually exclusive with the next
option ('Index OFF'), and applies only to backup
runs. When this option is selected, an index will
be maintained separate from the data written to the
backup diskettes, to be subsequently stored as a
standard AmigaDOS file. This external index is
required in order to perform a selective restore of
files, and for printing (by the supplied saf-T-print
utility program), but is not needed for a full file
restore. Also note that it is possible to build
this index at a later time, but that will require
saf-T-net to read through the entire set of backup
diskettes.
NOTE that if the amount of available memory becomes
too low during the backup process, this option
may be turned off automatically by the program,
since this index is non-critical. The chances of
this happening are slim if saf-T-net is the only
program running on your system, but the Amiga's
multitasking allows for less control by a single
program over the amount of memory available.
Consequently, this external indexing option is
considered 'expendable' if necessary.
Gadget Text: (Index Options) Index OFF
Gadget Colors: Yellow (selected) or Black (not selected)
Meaning: This option is mutually exclusive with the previous
option ('Build Index'), and applies only to backup
runs. When this option is selected, the external
index will NOT be built during a backup run.
Gadget Text: (Index Options) LOAD
Gadget Colors: Black
Meaning: This option, when selected, will load a previous-
ly created external index file. This is required if
you wish to perform a selected restore. It also can
be used in anticipation of performing a backup run,
appending onto an existing backup set, but is not
needed, since saf-T-net will prompt you for this
file as it begins executing the backup process.
Gadget Text: (Index Options)
Gadget Colors: Black
Meaning: This option gives you the ability to specifically
save an index file, if it has been modified (by
performing a backup run). This is normally not
necessary, since saf-T-net will automatically prompt
you for the name of the index file and attempt to
save it if it has been updated and not saved, and is
in danger of being lost (such as exiting the
program). The option is here if you need it.
Gadget Text: (Index Options) Path/Name Order
Gadget Colors: Yellow (selected) or Black (not selected)
Meaning: The next three options control the sorted order in
which the external index id displayed. This index
is displayed either after one is loaded (see the
'LOAD' option above), of after completing a backup
run, in which one is created. you can scroll
through the displayed index file (using the scroll
slider and/or up/down buttons to the left of the
WORKING display. The option requests that the
entries are sorted in ascending order by full path
name (including volume and any direcoties), then
file name, and finally in descending date/time
order.
Gadget Text: (Index Options) Filename Order
Gadget Colors: Yellow (selected) or Black (not selected)
Meaning: See the above diescription. This option requests
that the index entries be displayed in ascending
order by file name only, so that two files with the
same name, but residing in different directories,
will be displayed together. Files are also dis-
played in descending order by date/time in the case
of duplicate file names.
Gadget Text: (Index Options) Date Order
Gadget Colors: Yellow (selected) or Black (not selected)
Meaning: See the above description. This option requests
that the index entries be displayed in descending
order by date only.
V. Backup File Selection Logic
The selection logic employed by saf-T-net is not terribly
complicated, and with a good understanding of the various options
available, you can set it up to meet your needs quite easily. There are
really four factors that affect whether a given file will be backed up or
not:
1) The backup 'root node'.
2) The selection of 'full' versus 'incremental' backup modes
3) The use of inclusive wild-card patterns
4) The use of exclusive wild card patterns
The diagram on the following page illustrates the logic involved in this
selection process.
********************
* Is the file in * no
* the root node or * -----> Do not backup
* a sub-directory? *
********************
| yes
\|/
********************
* Is this an incre-*
* mental backup? *
********************
no | | yes
| \|/
| *******************
\|/ * Is the archive * yes
| * bit on (backed * ----> Do not backup
| * up)? *
| ******************
| | no
\|/ \|/
**********************
* Are Inclusive *
* wildcard patterns *
* specified? *
**********************
no | | yes
| \|/
| ********************
\|/ * Does the name * no
| * match any 1 of * ------> Do not backup
| * the patterns? *
| ********************
| | yes
\|/ \|/
***********************
* Are Exclusive *
* wildcard patterns *
* specified? *
***********************
no | | yes
| \|/
| ********************
| * Does the name * yes
\|/ * match any 1 of * ----> Do not backup
| * the patterns? *
| ********************
| | no
| \|/
**************************
* BACKUP THE FILE! *
*************************
VI. Use of Wild Card Patterns
This utility allows you to specify one or more wild-card patterns
to help determine which files should be included and/or excluded from
processing. Refer to the previous section for a description of the log
employed.
The special characters utilized for the pattern generation are the
standard ones implemented in AmigaDOS. The following describes the meanings
of the special characters in the patterns:
? will match any single character
% will match any NULL string
# will match zero or more occurrences of the pattern
(Note that the '<' and '>' are not really used
in the pattern but just used here to make the
pattern stand out.); thus #? matches zero or more
occurrences of the letter 'a', etc.
will match a sequence of pattern or pattern
match
() Parentheses can be used to group patterns together
to create larger patterns
***************************************************************
* NOTE that in attempting to match file names with patterns, *
* saf-T-net uses the entire file name, including the path, *
* This means that all file names will contain at least the *
* volume name, followed by a colon (:), and possibly *
* followed by directories. Therefore, you need to keep this *
* in mind when constructing your wild-card patterns. If you *
* would like to build a pattern just considering the file *
* name itself, it is recommended that you build the pattern *
* with the characters #? (:;/) file name-pattern, which would *
* match any set of characters followed by either a ':' or a *
* '/', followed by the file name pattern you specify. Note *
* that this will consequently account for any volumn name, *
* plus any directories specified in the path (if there are *
* any), plus an exact match to your file name pattern. *
***************************************************************
VII. Error Messages
While it is processing your request, saf-T-net will display
messages at the bottom of the WORKING display if it encounters any problems
(major or minor). However, if you are not watching closely, you could miss
some of these messages. Because of this possibility, saf-T-net also
maintains a log of all significant messages it displays, and writes them to
a file on the RAM: device. This file is named "RAM:sTn.log", and can be
viewed by the AmigaDOS 'Type' command after you have exited from saf-T-net.
Errors encountered are classified in one of three categories, based
on the seriousness of the consequences of the error condition. Fatal errors
are those that cause saf-T-net to terminate processing immediately, without
completing the task that you have requested. Serious errors are problems
that have been encountered that imply that not everything you have
requested has been accomplished; but that did not prevent saf-T-net
fromcontinuing with the remainder of the process. Recoverable errors are
those of a lesser nature whose impace is considered minor (or have been
successfully recovered automatically). After completing your request,
saf-T-net will display a message in the form:
Done - Errors: nn Fatal; nn Serious; nn Recoverable
where the 'nn' is the number of errors encountered in each category. If any
of these values are not Zero, it is strongly recommended that you take a
look at the RAM:sTn.log file.
The following is a list of the error messages issued and their
meanings, separated into the three categories:
Fatal Error Messages
Not Enough MEMORY - Cannot continue
This will occur if saf-T-net cannot obtain enough memory to perform
the request you have made. Watch out what other tasks are
attempting to run concurrently. This SHOULD NOT happen on a
standard 512K Amiga, unless some other memory-intensive program is
running at the same time.
AmigaDOS 1.2 (or higher) required!
You are attempting to execute saf-T-net on an Amiga A1000 after
having started the computer using KickStart 1.1 (or 1.0). saf-t-net
REQUIRES version 1.2 or higher of the operating system.
Unable to open Graphics Library
This another should never happen error. If it occurs, try turning
your computer off, turn it back on, and try to run saf-T-net again.
If the problem persists, call us.
Unable to open Screen - Aborting
This is another should never happen error. It might occur due to an
extreme shortage of available memory, so try to run saf-T-net again
with fewer (or different) other programs running at the same time.
If the problem persists with no other programs running, call us.
Unable to open Window - Aborting
This is another should never happen error. It might occur due to an
extreme shortage of available memory, so try to run saf-T-net again
with fewer (or different) other programs running at the same time.
If the problem persists with no other programs running, call us.
Cannot allocate Backup Device DFn: - Check Configuration
The floppy disk device that you selected in the CONFIGURATION
display (DF0:, DF1:, DF2:, or DF3:) is not a valid connected
and mounted device controlled by the AmigaDOS trackdisk.device. Be
sure to set your CONFIGURATION options correctly.
Operator Cancel Requested
You selected the 'CANCEL' option when saf-T-net asked you to insert
a disk. saf-T-net has backed up to the previous file successfully
processed (either backed up or restored) and has terminated.
Error flushing Output - Backup CORRUPTED!
Error writing End-of-Set indicator
Both of these indicate a serious error occurred attempting to
place a 'mark' at the end of the last valid data on the last backup
diskette. DO NOT ATTEMPT TO APPEND ONTO THIS BACKUP SET.
Unable to locate valid end-of-data - Aborted
You eiher did not heed the above warning (about attempting to
append ont the end of a 'corrupted' backup diskette), or you were
unsuccessful in attempting to mount the 'last diskette in the
backup set' and selected CANCEL from the requestor. saf-T-net is
unable o process the backup in 'APPEND' mode.
Error nn reading Volume Header
saf-T-net was unable to read the first section of the backup
diskette which contains the control information for the diskette.
Without this information, the program is unable to process the
data contained on the diskette. The 'nn' is an error number
indicating the exact nature of the disk read error. Values of 21
through 27 indicate that the data on the diskette is scrambled and
cannot be recovered. An error value of 29 indicates that you
changed disks after you had told saf-T-net to process that disk
(not very likely unless you're very fast!). Any other value should
be reported.
Format returned error code nn - Aborted
The required formatting of the diskette (or single bad track)
failed. Try another diskette.
Unable to locate next file
saf-T-net encountered a read error processing a backup diskette,
and in attempting to recover by locating the next backed up file,
was unsuccessful. This would occur if the read error occurred
towards the end of the backup set, and the area containing the
End-of-Backup-Set indicator was in the section of unreadable data.
Checkpoint Rollback - Fatal error - unable to recover!
This error is issued if a fatal error has occurred during the
backup process and saf-T-net encounters an error attempting to
recover and restart or back up to the last successfully backed up
file prior to terminating. This error should NEVER occur, and we
would like to be notified if it does.
Unable to RESTART - Indexing Must be Active
If saf-T-net encounters an unrecoverable problem writing to a
diskette, the program will attempt to restart the backup process at
the end of the previous diskette, allowing you to discard the bad
diskette and continue. In order to accomplish this, the external
index being built is used. If the indexing option is not active,
this process cannot be performed and the attempt is made to back up
to the last file processed successfully and terminate with a good
end-of-backup-set indicator. You have a couple of options at this
point. First, if you are doing an Incremental Backup, you can copy
the last diskette (the bad one) using the supplied 'saf-T-copy'
utility (it will ignore the bad track), and then continue with the
Incremental Backup, appending onto your existing backup set (using
the COPY of the last diskette). If you are doing a Full Backup
creating a NEW backup set, you can just throuw away the bad
diskette and restart the backup process from the beginning (sorry
about that!), or, IF you have never backed up any of the files on
the hard disk prior to this, you can change the mode to an
Incremental Backup, and append onto this existing backup set (first
making a copy of the bad diskette as outlined above).
Not Restarted - Rolling back to last file processed
If a non-recoverable error occurs while writing to the backup
diskette and THE EXTERNAL INDEX IS BEING BUILT, saf-T-net will
attempt to restart at the end of the previous diskette, if you
desired. If this restart is possible, you will be given the option
(via a Requestor) of continuing with the Restart operation or
quitting. If you choose not to restart, this message is issued,
and saf-T-net will backup to the last file successfully processed.
See the discussion for the preceeding message for suggested
options at this point.
Error Seeking Previous End-of-Volume - Cannot Restart
As stated above, saf-T-net will attempt to restart in the event of
a non-recoverable write error to the backup diskette. Normally,
this will involve backing up to the end of the previous volume and
continuing from that point. However, if the error occurred on the
FIRST volume being processed during this backup run, saf-T-net will
attempt to go back to its starting point (resetting the archive
bits of all files that had been processed this run), and set the
end-of-backup-set indicator at that point and terminate. This error
is issued if saf-T-net cannot locate that starting point on the
diskette, which should NEVER happen.
Successful Reset - Copy Bad Diskette and retry
This message is counted as a 'Fatal' since processing terminated
prematurely, but is really a 'good fatal'. This means that
saf-T-net was successful in backing up to the previous starting
point after a fatal write error to the FIRST backup diskette being
written to during the current backup session. Please make a copy of
this diskette (using saf-T-copy), and begin the backup session
again. Throw out the bad diskette!
Unable to Rollback - Short on Storage during Checkpoints
This is one of the 'should never happen, but...' error messages.
In order to be able to perform any form of recovery from a fatal
write error to diskette, certain control information must be
maintained in memory by saf-T-net. The amount of memory required
for this is minimal, but if any attempts to acquire memory at the
appropriate points in the processing logic fail, this control
information cannot be kept current and consequently if the need
to rollback or restart occurs, it cannot be performed.
Serious Error Messages:
Unable to locate specified directory xxxxxx
Cannot get File Info for xxxxx
Both of these messages indicate that the directory you specified
for the backup node in the CONFIGURATION does not exist, or that
there is something wrong with that directory. Recheck your typing.
Unable to append to exisiting LOG file - old data lost
A file by the name RAM:sTn.log already existed when saf-T-net was
started. Normally, saf-T-net will attempt to begin logging its
messages at the end of the existing data, but in this case was
unable to. Any messages in the file from a previous run were lost.
Corrupted Directory structure from directory xxxxxx, Error nn
There is a problem with your hard disk. You may wish to attempt to
perform a full backup of the disk, but BYPASS this directory, and
then attempt to use DiskDoctor to attempt to recover files in this
directory. Remember that using DiskDoctor will probably result in
your having to reformat your hard disk, so backup what you can
first!
Corrupted Index File - Mode set to non-indexed
In attempting to load an external index file from disk, saf-T-net
found that the file specified was not a correctly formatted index
file. Processing continued, but no external index was built by the
ensuing backup process.
Not Enough Memory for Index - Mode set to non-indexed
saf-T-net was unable to allocate enough memory in which to build
the external index. Rather than stopping, saf-T-net continued with
the backup process, but bypassed the building of the external
index. Remember that you can rebuild this index if needed ( by
selecting the 'Reconstruct Ix.' configuration option.)
Floppy disk read error Volume xx, Track yy; Error code zz
Restore of file xxxxxx is suspect
In processing your restore request, saf-T-net encountered an error
reading the backup diskette (specifically, volume 'xx' and track
'yy'). It was restoring file 'xxxxxxxx' at the time and
consequently that file has not been restored properly. Note that
saf-T-net will attempt to read any data after the point where the
error occured, and will try to resume processing at the beginning
of the next locatable file.
Read error - Bypassing file xxxxxxxx
In processing a backup request, saf-T-net encountered an error
reading file xxxxxxx from your hard disk. It then bypassed the
processing of this file and resumed with the next file to be backed
up.
Next header invalid - Attempting to locate next valid header
Restore of file xxxxxxxx is suspect
At the end of reading file xxxxxx from the backup diskettes and
restoring it to the hard disk, saf-T-net did not find the expected
beginning of the next file. This indicates that there is definitely
something wrong with your backup diskette, and that file xxxxxxx
has a good chance of being corrupted. You had better check it.
Unable to create target DataSet xxxxx - Error nn - Bypassing
In attempting to restore file xxxxxxxxx, saf-T-net encountered an
AmigaDOS error (code nn) creating either one of the directories
contained in the path or the file itself. Processing continued
with the next file to be restored.
Error writing Output file xxxxxxx
In attempting to restore file xxxxxx, saf-T-net encountered an
error writing this file to your hard disk. Processing continued
with the next file to be restored.
Out of Memory for patterns
saf-T-net was unable to allocate enough memory to store the wild-
card patterns you specified for Inclusive or Exclusive file-name
matching, and consequently cannot process your request for
inclusive or exclusive file selection processing. You will be
presented with a requestor asking you whether you would like to
continue the backup process without the Include or Exclude
matching, and processing will either continue or terminate,
depending on your response to the requestor. Reduce the number
(or nature) of concurrent tasks, and/or reduce the number of
patterns you specify (in only the most extreme cases) and retry.
Remember that the patterns do have to be kept in memory (by
design).
File Name is REQUIRED for Include:Exclude Processing
You requested that patterns be used for either Inclusive or
Exclusive matching, but failed to supply a file name (or
pattern) correspondingly on the CONFIGURATION display, and
chose 'CANCEL' when prompted to supply the file name. Recheck
your configuration options. Again, you will have the option
to continue or terminate the backup process without the Include or
Exclude pattern matching.
Open Failed for "Include":"Exclude" file xxxxxxx
You requested that patterns be used for either Inclusive or
Exclusive matching, but the file name you specified (xxxxxxxx)
does not exist. Make sure you specified the file name correctly,
including the proper 'path' information. Again, you will have the
option to continue or terminate the backup process without the
Include or Exclude pattern matching.
Invalid WildCard Pattern specified: xxxxxxxxxxx
The wild card pattern mask indicated in the message was specified
for Inclusive or Exclusive pattern matching, but does not conform
to the rules for a valid pattern. You have the option of continuing
with the backup without the Include / Exclude option, or aborting.
Recoverable Error Messages
Setting Status Bits failed for xxxxxxxx
Backing up file xxxxxxx, saf-T-net was unable to set the indicator
that the file has been backed up, or in restoring file xxxxxxx,
the file-protection status could not be reset to the state in which
it was backed up. This will generally occur only if another process
is accessing the file at the same time.
Rollback - File xxxxx set to non-archived status
After encountering a fatal floppy disk write error, saf-T-net is
backing up to the last complete file backed up safely. File xxxxxxx
did not get processed completely (part of its data was on the track
causing the error) and consequently has been reset to a 'not backed
up' status on the hard disk.
External Index not saved
When prompted for a file name to which to save the external index
file, you selected the 'CANCEL' option. The index file was not
saved.
Write error saving index file - index lost
In attempting to save the external index file, a write error
occurred. The index was discarded. Remember, that this index can be
reconstructed from the data on the backup diskettes if needed.
This is not an Index File
In attempting to load the external index from the file name you
specified, saf-T-net determined that the file is not an index
file created by it. Try specifying a different file name.
Error nn reading Volumn Header - retry
During a restor request, in response to a request for you to mount
a specific volume from the backup set, saf-T-net was unable to read
the volume control information. Be sure that you have inserted the
correct diskette. If you have, then you'll have to select the
'CANCEL' option, since saf-T-net is unable to process the diskette.
This is not a BACKUP disk - try again
During a restore request, in response to a request for you to mount
a specific volume from the backup set, saf-T-net was able to read
the volume control information, but the diskette that you used was
NOT a diskette created by saf-T-net. Insert the correct diskette.
Floppy disk write Volume xx, Track yy; Error code zz
In attempting to write to the backup diskette (volume xx on track
yy), saf-T-net encountered an error. This message is issued BEFORE
attempting to recover by formatting over the bad track and retrying
the write. If this second write is successful, processing will
continue. If many of these errors occur for a single volumen, it is
suggested that you immediately make a copy of the diskette in
question (using the supplied saf-T-copy utility -- NEVER USE THE
Amiga DOS DiskCopy utility with diskettes created by saf-T-net!),
to verify that the diskette is in fact still readable. Diskettes
can get flaky at times. Better be safe than sorry two months later!
Bad Diskette - Attempting Rollback/Restart
If an error occurs while writing to the backup diskette, saf-T-net
will first attempt to re-format the bad track and retry the write
operation. If this second write attempt also fails, that diskette
is bad and should be discarded. saf-T-net has two recovery options
to automatically recover from the write problem, either backing up
to the end of the previous volume and restarting the backup process
at that point, or backing up tothe end of the last complete file
processed and written successfully to the diskette (resetting the
'archived' bit for all files that were not successfully written to
the floppy disk). This message is issued prior to performing either
of these recovery options.
Unable to reset file date for xxxxxxxx
When a file is restored, after writing the file to the hard disk,
the file will have the current system date and time associated with
it. saf-T-net will normally reset the date/time stamp for the file
to the date and time associated with the file when it is restored.
This message says that this resetting of the date failed. The date
in the file should still be good, just that the date stamp will be
incorrect. This should never happen, but is not extremely serious
if it does.
Setting File Comment failed for xxxxxxxxx
When restoring file xxxxxxx, saf-T-net encountered an error
restoring the 'file comment' associated with the file when it was
backed up. The data in the file has been successfully restored,
only the setting of the comment failed. This should never happen,
but it is not extremely serious if it does.
VIII. Requestor Messages
saf-T-net makes extensive use of Intuition 'requestors' when it needs
information from you during processing. This is the means used to inform
you that another diskette is needed, or to ask you for a decision when one
is needed. This section will document the meanings of the various messages
presented in the requestors, and explain the implications of the possible
responses.
Insert Backup Set Volume nn in Drive DFn:
This prompt will appear when saf-T-net needs a new diskette
in order to continue processing. During a BACKUP process, this
indicates that the program will be creating Volumn 'nn', unless
'nn' is lower than the last volume number requested. If 'nn' is
lower, than saf-T-net needs the volume that was created with that
number (for a rollback/restart process). During a RESTORE process,
the prompt is always for the volume created with that volume
number.
This prompt can be responded to in 1 of 3 ways. By either
clicking on the 'OK' button or inserting a diskette (3.5" diskettes
only), you are telling saf-T-net to continue processing with the
new diskette inserted. By clicking on the 'CANCEL' button, you are
requesting that the program terminate immediately, performing
whatever recovery that it can to assure file integrity.
Note that when prompting to create a backup volume, the
only checking performed is that you have actually changed the
diskette. If you remove the diskette in the drive and replace it
with the same diskette, IT WILL BE OVERWRITTEN. If you just click
on the 'OK' button without actually changing the diskette, saf-T-net
will detect this and ask again. NOTE that with the standard
Amiga 5.25" diskette drives, this test cannot be performed, so be
careful to only select the 'OK' after you have changed diskettes.
When prompting you for an existing volume number, saf-T-net
checks the information contained on the diskette to insure that you
mounted the correct volume number.
Insert the LAST volume in Backup Set into drive DFn:
When beginning a BACKUP run where you requested that the
data be APPENDED onto an existing backup set, saf-T-net issues this
request in order to find the end of the previous run's data. This
can also be responded to by either inserting a diskette (3.5"
diskettes only) or selecting 'OK' to continue, or selecting
'CANCEL' to abort. You should insert the volume with the HIGHEST
number created during the previous run. saf-T-net will check that
the volume you have inserted does in fact contain a valid end-of-
backup-set indicator.
No DISK in Drive DFn:
In responding to a request for a diskette, you selected the
'OK' button before a diskette was placed in the drive. Insert a
diskette and continue (select 'OK' if using a 5.25" drive), or
select 'CANCEL' to abort.
Disk in Drive DFn: is WRITE PROTECTED
The diskette mounted in response to the prompt during a
backup run is write-protected. If you do intend to write over this
diskette, remove it and move the write-protect tab to the
'unprotected' position, otherwise insert another diskette into the
drive. Selecting the 'CANCEL' button will abort the backup run.
Continue without "Include Patterns"?
Continue without "Exclude Patterns"?
An error occurred during the loading/validating of the
wild-card pattern masks you specified for either Inclusive or
Exclusive selection of files to backup. Responding to this
requestor by selecting the 'OK' button will tell saf-T-net to
continue processing your backup request as if you had not selected
the 'include' or 'exclude' masking option. Selecting the 'CANCEL'
button will cancel your request, allowing you to correct the
problem before beginning the backup request.
Enter FileName for Include patterns
Enter FileName for Exclude patterns
In the configuration options, you specified to use either
Inclusive or Exclusive file name matching, but failed to specify
either a file name or single wild-card pattern in the corresponding
string Gadget on the configuration screen. If you had intended to
specify the name of an external file containing the pattern(s), you
can specify it here by typing the full path name into the string
gadget contained in the requestor. Your other option is to select
the 'CANCEL' button to abort the processing of the Include or
Exclude masking option, which will result in the above requestor
giving you the option of continuing the backup process without this
option enables. Refer to the Configuration Options section of this
document for more information concerning the use of Inclusive and
Exclusive file name matching.
Diskette is BAD - Reset to Prior End-of-Backup?
During the processing of a backup request, saf-T-net
encountered a non-recoverable error writing to the diskette. This
message will appear if the error occurred on the first diskette
being processed, either because you are creating a new backup set
and this is the first volume in the set, or because you are
appending onto an existing backup set, and this volume is the
previous end-of-set volume. Selecting 'OK' on this requestor will
cause saf-T-net to go back to the point that it started writing
data on this diskette during this run, and setting the
end-of-backup-set indicator there, and marking all files that it
has backed up prior to the error to the 'needs to be backed up'
status. Selecting 'CANCEL' will tell the program to back up to the
last file successfully written to the diskette prior to the error.
It is recommended that you select 'OK', copy the bad diskette
(using saf-T-copy), and retry your backup request. THROW AWAY the
bad diskette.
Diskette id BAD - Restart from end of Previous Volume
During the processing of a backup request, saf-T-net
encountered a non-recoverable error writing to the diskette. This
message will appear if the error occurred after you have
successfully continued with this backup process to a second or
subsequent diskette volume during this run. Selecting 'OK' on this
requestor will instruct saf-T-net to back up to the end of the
previous backup volume, and restart the backup process with the
first file processed whose data partially was written to the bad
diskette. Selecting 'CANCEL' will cause the program to back up to
the last file completely written successfully to the bad diskette
and terminate the backup process. Again, it is recommended that you
select the 'OK' option.
File xxxxxxx is protected from overwriting - OVERRIDE?
During the processing of a restore request, saf-T-net was
attempting to restore file xxxxxx, and found that the file already
existed on your hard disk. Normally, the program will automatically
write over the existing file during a restore, but the file had
been either write- or delete-protected. In this case, saf-T-net
will ask you if you desire that the file protection be ignored and
the file restored over it (by selecting the 'OK' button), or if the
restoring of that file be bypassed, leaving your protected version
of that file intact (by selecting the 'CANCEL' button).
Enter Name for Index File to be Saved:
saf-T-net has created an external index file during either
a backup run or a special 'rebuld index' restore run, and needs to
save this index data to disk. NOTE THAT THIS DATA IS STORED IN A
STANDARD AMIGADOS FILE, and consequently cannot be saved on the
same diskettes containing the actual backup data, since they are
not standard AmigaDOS diskettes. Enter the FULL PATH and FILE name
into the string gadget in this requestor to save the index file, or
select the 'Cancel' button to discard the index data without saving
it. It is recommended that you save the index file to the floppy
disk that you use to boot your system, but the choice is yours to
make.
Enter Name of Old Index File
saf-T-net has determined that it needs an existing external
index file in order to process your request. Enter the full path
and file name of the index file that you saved previously (see the
previous paragraph). Selecting 'Cancel' says that you do not wish
to load an Index file. This requestor will appear in one of three
situations, and the consequences of selecting the 'Cancel' button
vary depending on the situation, as follows:
If you had selected the Index 'LOAD' button on the
configuration screen (se the discussion of Configuration Options
above), selecting 'Cancel' will simply abort your request to load
the index file.
If you are processing a BACKUP run, appending onto an
existing backup set, saf-T-net will prompt you for the
corresponding external index file to append. Selecting cancel here
will cause the program to continue with your backup request, but
will turn off the index option. Note that this will increase the
exposure to problems in the event that you have a diskette write
error, since the 'restart' process requires that the internal
indexing option be active. For more information, refer to the
discussion of the error message Unable to RESTART - Indexing Must
Be Active (on page 18 of this document).
If you are processing a RESTORE request with the 'Selected'
option, you will be presented with this requestor. Note that in
order to perform a selected restore, you must first have an active
index loaded into memory, and you scroll through the displayed
index, selecting which files you want to restore.
IX. Alphabetic Listing of Messages
AmigaDOS 1.2 (or higher) required.......................................16
Bad Diskette - Attempting Rollback/Restart..............................22
Cannot allocate Backup Device DFn: - Check Configuration................16
Cannot get File Info for xxxxxxxx.......................................19
Checkpoint Rollback - Fatal error - unable to recover!..................17
Continue without "Exclude Patterns"?....................................24
Continue without "Include Patterns"?....................................24
Corrupted Direcotry structure from directory xxxxxxxxxx,
Error nn........................................................19
Corrupted Index File - Mode set to non-indexed..........................19
Disk in Drive DFn: is WRITE PROTECTED...................................24
Diskette is BAD - Reset to Prior End-of-Backup?.........................25
Diskette id BAD - Restart from end of Previous Volume...................25
Enter FileName for Exclude patterns.....................................24
Enter FileName for Include patterns.....................................24
Enter Name for Index File to be Saved:..................................26
Enter Name of Old Index File............................................26
Error flushing Output - Backup CORRUPTED!...............................16
Error nn reading Volume Header..........................................16
Error nn reading Volume Header - retry..................................22
Error Seeking Previous End-of-Volume - Cannot Restart...................18
Error writing End-of-Set indicator......................................16
Error writing Output file xxxxxxxxxx....................................20
External Index not saved................................................21
File Name is REQUIRED for Include:Exclude Processing....................20
File xxxxxxx is protected from overwriting - OVERRIDE?..................25
Floppy disk read error Volume xx, Track yy; Error code zz...............19
Floppy disk write Volume xx, Track yy; Error code zz....................22
Format returned error code nn - Aborted.................................17
Insert Backup Set Volume nn in Drive DFn:...............................23
Insert the LAST volume in Backup Set into drive DFn:....................24
Invalid WildCard Pattern specified: xxxxxxxxxxxx........................21
Next header invalid - Attempting to locate next valid header............20
No DISK in Drive DFn:...................................................24
Not Enough MEMORY - Cannot continue.....................................15
Not Enough Memory for Index - Mode set to non-indexed...................19
Not Restarted - Rolling back to last file processed.....................17
Open Failed for "Include":"Exclude" file xxxxxxxx.......................21
Operator Cancel Requested...............................................16
Out of Memory for patterns............................20
Read error - Bypassing file xxxxxxxxxx..................................20
Restore of file xxxxxxxxx is suspect................................19, 20
Rollback - File xxxxxxxxxxxxx set to non-archived status................21
Setting File Comment failed for xxxxxxxxxxx.............................23
Setting Status Bits failed for xxxxxxxxxxx..............................21
Successful Reset - Copy Bad Diskette and retry..........................18
This is not a BACKUP disk - try again...................................22
This is not an Index File...............................................21
Unable to append to existing LOG file - old data lost...................19
Unable to create target DataSet xxxxxxxxx - Error nn -
Bypassing.......................................................20
Unable to locate next file..............................................17
Unable to locate specified directory xxxxxxxxxxxx.......................19
Unable to locate valid end-of-data - Aborted............................16
Unable to open Graphics Library ......................................15
Unable to open Input file xxxxxxxxx - bypassed..........................19
Unable to open Screen - Aborting........................................16
Unable to open Window - Aborting........................................16
Unable to reset file date for xxxxxxxxxxxx..............................22
Unable to RESTART - Indexing Must be Active.............................17
Unable to Rollback - Short on Storage during Checkpoints................18
Write error saving index file - index lost..............................21