I am looking for a backup utility that can look at a directory or file and tell if it has been changed, if it has, it will replace backup the new copy, otherwise it will not backup the file again, thus saving lots of time. if the directory is changed it would just add the current file to the directory. Does anyone have a suggestion for a good utility that will achieve this? preferably free or open source.

Thanks in advance.

"thus saving lots of time"

I assume you normally get at least 6hrs of sleep everyday - 6hrs of no user interaction is more than enough for your PC to complete even a full disk backup.

Get a program like Drive Image.....I believe it now goes by Ghost, then setup a periodic (once or twice-a-week) backup schedule. Once that is done, you won't have to worry about the frivolous need to overwrite or not to overwrite unchanged data.

Right on Saber.

babbage00.

Differential backup is not for Windows XP because XP is a dynamic OS. In other words the OS keep changing timestamps of way too many files & folders necessitated to run XP.

You should Ghost the whole thing once (as long as you don't install applications or Windows Update) and selectively backup personal files to CD or DVD.

I use Nero & Roxio to take care of my personal files.

i_XpUser

Most (all?) backup programs can do this. There is an 'Archive' attribute assigned to each file as it's created. If a file is changed the 'Archive' attribute is deleted.

Right click on a file and select properties. You will see the 'Archive' bit.

I use an imaging program, like suggested above, so I can't point you to a backup program, but a google search should bring up plenty.

Xp has one, but you have to extract it from the install CD.

Do yourself a favor BACKUP!

The one that came with XP is NTBackup. If your XP is XP Pro it is already installed. Look up under Accessories in the Start Menu.

If your is XP Home follow this procedure to install it.

P.S. Why is that is beyond me - ask the geeks in Redmond :-)

i_XpUser

Well, since the OP stated "I am looking for a backup utility that can look at a directory or file and tell if it has been changed..." I am assuming he is not looking for a system backup utility as Drive Image/Ghost would provide. Instead, it sounds as if he has specific data folders that need to be backup up on a regular basis.

And, if he is like me, he shuts his computer down at night, so doing a backup at night is not an option.

As stated, most backup software should have that capability. Which one you use will depend upon the level of configurability. Free or cheap products may only have limited options for selecting the backup locations, creating rule sets (e.g. don't backup .mp3 files), or for scheduling the backup. They will also depend upon your level of expertise.

Without additional information, I would suggest the "Replicator" application which is part of the free KarenWare products.

http://www.karenware.com/powertools...

Michael J

I use Second Copy 7.0 to do my data backup.

Here's the link... http://www.centered.com/

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