Happy new year everyone. Yes, a little late – I know, but better late than never, right? =)
Anyways, I post today to let you know of an excellent way to back up all of your documents for free.
By using two free applications and a built-in Windows® feature.
Firstly, the applications:
- [ilink url="http://7-zip.org/download.html" style="download"]7-zip[/ilink]
A tool to help creating archives for the backup
Installation: Download the Command-Line Version (Windows 32-bit) and extract the archive to your “C:\Windows\system32″ folder (this is not recommended with general applications, but used for easier access to the program through the Windows command-line tool) - [ilink url="http://www.dropbox.com/" style="download"]Dropbox[/ilink]
Secure backup site
Installation: Download and install their application with standard settings and register at their site for a free 2GB storage (can be upgraded to 50GB or 100GB for a fee).
Now to create a batch file. A batch file is an automated script that can be run on your computer.
I have created one for you already so that bit is already done, you have to edit it to your likings though…
Firstly, open Notepad then paste this text:
[box size="large" border="full"]@echo off
7za a -r -m0=LZMA:d128m:fb273 -mx9 -ms=on -ssw “%USERPROFILE%\Dropbox\backup.7z” “*.*”
pause[/box]
Explanation:
@echo off – This command will either turn ON, or OFF the command you put in a batch file from showing itself.
7za – archivation program.
a – archivation method: add.
-r – recursive add: add all subfolders.
-m0=LZMA:d128m:fb273 -mx9 -ms=on -ssw – archive data (see: 7-zip command-line examples for more info).
“save as” – folder (complete path) to save archive in – if you’re going to use multiple computers to back up, it might be useful to add a “%COMPUTERNAME%” to the filename in this section.
“create from” – folder (complete path) to create archive from – THIS is the thing you want to edit as it defines what to back up.
pause – adds a “Press a key to continue…” at the end so that you get to read what has been done instead of just closing the window.
When you’re done editing, save the file as “backup.cmd” in your Dropbox folder, so that you can easily run it on other computers as well.
After you have installed the two applications and created your batch file, go to your “Start”-menu button and click it, then type: “taskschd.msc” (without quotations) in the “Search for programs or files” text-box.
In the top right corner, you’ll find a link saying: “Create Basic Task”. When you click it a new window appears, start by chosing a random name for your task (I use “Dropbox Backup”) and then click “Next” to select how often you want it to run. I set it to run every day at 5pm – which is usually when I’m done at work. Click “Next” to select what action it should take, which is where you click “Browse” and find the “backup.cmd” in your Dropbox folder.
Review your settings and then select “Finish” and exit the “Task Scheduler”.
You should now get a little black command-line window doing your backup at the time you set in your “Task Scheduler”. If you added the “pause” to the “backup.cmd” you will also get to see what has been backed up.