Backup and Restore

To anyone from Microsoft who may be reading these posts,

You really need to do some work on the restore side of Live OneCare. I
somehow (slip of the fingers on the keyboard, OOOOPS!, or just a general
dummy) inadvertently deleted the Downloads subdirectory I had created to
hold downloaded/trial software. No big deal. The software I had decided to
pay for was immediately transferred to DVD, sometimes left on the HD or
deleted.

But, I decided this would be a good opportunity to test Live OneCare's
restore function. I'm not pleased with it. The individual file restore
function apparently can't search by subdirectory (I don't know what Windows
Vista does to subdirectories ("flolders" for you semi-Mac users; I, having
cut my teeth in DOS, refuse to call them "folders"!) but the restore
function evidently cannot search on the "English" version of a subdirectory,
having tried several variants). I had to search on *.*, i.e., show
everything in the catalog going back to 1/6/2008 which turns out to be a
lotta files!!

I found a few *.ZIP files but a different search for *.exe, which required
another agonizingly slow catalog creation (no, this is not a dog of a
machine, ASUS Crosshair mainboard, AMD 64 X2 dual core, 4Gb RAM, WD Raptor X
HDs, etc., etc.) showed up nothing. I *KNOW* some of those files were
self-extracting executables but Live OneCare said there were no such files!
I find this hard to believe!

I have been doing backups with Live OneCare since 1/6/2008 every Sunday at
11am. How come Live OneCare showed only the one catalog from 1/6/2008?
Maybe it's the way I have OneCare set up which I don't remember the
specifics.

What I would like to see in a future incarnation of Live OneCare's restore
function is a Windows Explorer display showing the files in their associated
subdirectories with check boxes for you to select the file(s) you want
restored. At the very least, the current dialog box that displays the
search result should be made resizeable. Honestly, some of these
subdirectory strings won't fit into that box! But, the box is not sizeable!
Who dropped the candy on that one?!

And, while your at it, why not create an html file for the user to examine
the backup contents to see if it is even worthwhile to attempt a file
restore? All the files in the backup subdirectory are binary and not
human-readable.

Anyway, there's my input for the next update for what it's worth.

Turner

Microsoft employees are not guaranteed to read these forums, which are 100%
user supported. If anyone posts here claiming to be a Microsoft employee,
it is usually someone who has been improperly supervised at work and doesn't
have enough duties to keep him or her busy. That is soon fixed.

Cheers,

Earle

"Turner Morgan" <tfmorgan@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:#2IeoK8hIHA.4744@xxxxxx

I think you may need to read the Help topics on Backup for OneCare to get a
better understanding of what Backup and Restore in OneCare does.
Unfortunately, the first problem you highlighted is that exe files are not
backed up. OneCare backup is by type and excludes program files such as exe,
dll, com, and similar. It also scans the entire drive for files to backup by
type, but does not check the \Program Files or \Windows branches.
The second thing that comes into play is restore. The choice you make when
beginning will provide the most recent backup or a list of backups to choose
from. The latter is only available with a custom backup.
I agree that the interface is pretty poor and the "wizards" need work. And,
clearly, the way Backup works needs to be explained up front in some way to help
set expectations since I wouldn't expect the average user to go to "Help" to
learn about backup.
A better report of what has been backed up would also be a great addition and
I'm hopeful that this is in the works. Thanks for the feedback.

-steve

"Turner Morgan" <tfmorgan@xxxxxx> wrote:
--
Stephen Boots
MVP Windows Live
Windows Live OneCare Forum Moderator
sboots@xxxxxx

Note that the OP "immediately transferred to DVD" all downloaded files that
he had decided to pay for. Muy prudente en mi opinión. I find myself doing
the same. As soon as the credit card gets charged, I want several copies,
just in case. I view the backup program as a last resort.

Backup of ".exe" files usually doesn't make sense, since they have to be
"installed". Self-extracting archives are an exception.

Saludos,

Earle

"StephenB" <sboots@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:2bbst3ldbmjcosppn2se3sgsobsjacfvns@xxxxxx

"Earle Horton" <0123456@xxxxxx> wrote:
Most definitely a good idea, Earle. However, the OP didn't copy *all* downloaded
programs to DVD immediately:
" The software I had decided to pay for was immediately transferred to DVD,
sometimes left on the HD or deleted."
That would be the reason for the concern in trying to recover the files thought
to be backed up by OneCare.
-steve

--
Stephen Boots
MVP Windows Live
Windows Live OneCare Forum Moderator
sboots@xxxxxx

"StephenB" <sboots@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:fc0vt35f4hg7ri390g5gi5hn655t9le0qd@xxxxxx I read it as sometimes leaving copies of the software on the hard disk, but
always making a copy on DVD. It does appear from the original post, that he
was making a trial run of it. If it was a real run, then he will simply
remember the lessons learned better. Nothing teaches as well as a real
loss. :^)

Cheers,

Earle

Earle,

You read it correctly. The software I paid for I copied to DVD along with a
copy of any emails regarding the transaction and especially including any
email that may contain the "unlock code" or the "registration" number. I
usually then remove the software from the HD, but not always (500Gb is a lot
of space. One gets a little sloppy about the housekeeping!)

I do agree that backing up most .exe files is not needed. Self-extracting
executables are another story.

StephenB, thanks for the info. I shall look into the OneCare help on backup
and restore. If it doesn't do what I expect, I shall search for a separate
utility.

Thanks,
Turner

"Earle Horton" <0123456@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:C7E45A43-B4D1-4D74-8935-B3E32C60446F@xxxxxx