Real Time Data Backup -- KeepSafe!
How KeepSafe saved my day!
Wednesday, November 1, 2006 by Brad Wardell | Discussion: Software Development
Today I thought I was going to just crawl under my desk and die.
I worked from home today and was using a VPN to connect to my work machine. I was working on a lengthy documented in Microsoft Word and had been saving periodically during the day. On my last save, Word locked up. Locked up hard.
It turned out that my VPN disconnected me during the middle of the save. No warning, it just had. But Word didn't handle the lost connection gracefully and it died taking out not just my recent changes but the entire document itself.
Because the document was confidential in nature, I didn't have it on the network, only my work computer and now the file was gone. I had a USB backup from some months ago but I'd made so many changes to it that that would have been useless.
What saved me was KeepSafe. I have it installed here and every time I had made a save to the document, KeepSafe had made an archive of each one (I have it set to save the last 10 revisions of .DOC files). So I pulled up KeepSafe, typed in the name my document and pulled the one up the version from 17 minutes before the disaster. I still lost 17 minutes but I could have lost the document entirely (or even if I had daily backups, I would have lost many MANY hours of work -- creative work at that).
I have to say, of all the software I use on my computer, the one I absolutely must have on there is KeepSafe. I've had it save me in the past from more minor stuff but never from a disaster of this magnitude. I had forgotten I even had it installed almost until the sweat was coming down my forehead and I was trying to think of some way to get my file back.
Reply #2 Wednesday, November 1, 2006 10:19 PM
There's only two kinds of computer users....
Those who backup
and
Those who cry...
Reply #3 Thursday, November 2, 2006 12:09 AM
Reply #4 Thursday, November 2, 2006 4:42 AM
Great to know there is something working to help save the day.
Reply #5 Thursday, November 2, 2006 2:48 PM
Reply #6 Thursday, November 2, 2006 3:59 PM
Version 1.1 (which is now available) has a "diff" feature which (if enabled) looks over the revisions and creates "diff" files with the changes between versions instead of storing full files. You can also (manually) enable NTFS compression on the target archive folder if you like.
Reply #7 Thursday, November 2, 2006 4:06 PM
I haven't thought about NTFS compression, silly me. And the diff feature would do the trick also. Thanks for the info.
Reply #8 Sunday, November 5, 2006 5:19 PM
If you've ever lost something as a result of file corruption or hardware failure, you know how painful that can be. To pour salt in the wound, "friends and family" remind you how you should have backed up. Creating backups is a task that's easily put off, and like insurance, makes you question whether going out of your way regularly to safeguard against a potential disaster is really necessary. What are the chances of something happening to you right now?
I have an 80gb drive filled with a number of projects I completed while in college. Sure, I had plenty of opportunities to back up, but given my busy schedule, I hadn't taken the chance to create a back up of my information. Furthermore, I owned a couple hard drives that were a few years older and running okay. One thing I learned from this experience is that you can't possibly take into account all variables to determine probability of an accident.
I lost everything on that drive and still have it tucked away in an anti-static bag for that slim hope I find an opportunity to recover it some day 
I discovered KeepSafe while here at Stardock and it's one of the few apps I couldn't live without. Go through a simple setup choosing file extensions and/or directories to have KeepSafe monitor, tweak the settings a little (save a copy to network directories, etc), and that's all. KeepSafe starts up automatically by default, runs in the system tray, and never bothers you. Take a couple minutes for the setup, and never be concerned with the redundant frustration of backing up again!
I can finally relax, because the worst part of file corruption and hardware failure means simply reinstalling or obtaining an RMA.
The poor 80gb hdd in my closet will sit alone.
Update: This has saved me three times now while working on some gadgets for MyColors. KeepSafe, I sing your praises!
-Mike
[Stardock Support]
Reply #9 Tuesday, November 7, 2006 5:36 PM
Reply #10 Tuesday, November 7, 2006 5:49 PM
A USB memory driver of 2GB should be fine, now if you want to keep old data, you most try a CD or a DVD to keep it in a safe place!
Reply #11 Tuesday, November 7, 2006 9:21 PM
Reply #12 Tuesday, November 7, 2006 9:35 PM
Generally speaking....the first time you have occasion to use/call on Keepsafe it has paid 10-fold for itself.
It has saved me twice...even in pre-release...
Reply #13 Saturday, May 5, 2007 1:59 PM
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Reply #1 Wednesday, November 1, 2006 10:08 PM