Backup & Defragmentation
John Hong
This is just a little primer drawn up in order to help OS/2
users to use common compression utilities such as PkZip for
backing up their OS/2 drives.
Another use for this is also to fight against fragmentation.
OS/2's HPFS file system does not fragment like the way FAT drives
do, but it does become susceptible to it when the drive is almost
full. So, the best remedy is to backup the data, format the
partition, then unarchive the backup back to the original
partition and you are back in business.
Prior to doing this, be sure to create boot disks in order
to uncompress the backup files that have been made. You can use
either the Create Utility Diskettes option in OS/2's System
Folder or (a better option) use BootOS/2 in order to make them.
BootOS/2 in particular is more advantageous since it would only
need two 3.5" 1.44 MB diskettes over the three needed by OS/2
Warp 3 & Connect and the four for OS/2 Warp 4. Plus, one can
also use LxLite compression with BootOS/2 in order to save that
little extra bit of disk space necessary. As well, you can
probably use it for an LS-120 or ZIP disk whereas the Utility
Diskettes option would not support it. BootOS/2 can be found at
the Hobbes OS/2 Archive (http://hobbes.nmsu.edu). LxLite can be
found at LEO (http://www.leo.org).
BTW: When I say it was tested personally under an OS/2
system, it means that I had tested it under a bootable OS/2
partition and not just a partition with data on it.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Info-Zip for OS/2 (v2.22)
Works very well under OS/2. Use the following switches:
zip -rS$ (destination/name of backup) *
example:
zip -rS$ F:\BACKUP.ZIP *
Stick unzip.exe onto your OS/2 bootdisks, to restore the
drive simply:
unzip (name of backup)
example:
C: (being where I want it unzipped)
unzip F:\BACKUP.ZIP
Info-Zip is fine if you are just going to back it up to
another partition or have a removable media drive large enough to
fit it. Currently, Info-Zip is not able to handle disk spanning.
It is a future feature to be added according to their home
webpage when 3.0 comes out.
Personally tested under a Warp 4 system (no FP's).
-----------------------------------------------------------------
PkZip for OS/2 (v2.50)
Another that works well under OS/2. Perhaps a little better
than Info-Zip since PkZip does handle disk spanning. Use the
following switch:
pkzip /add /attr=all /dir=full /rec /volume=(drive letter)
(destination/name of backup) *
example:
pkzip /add /attr=all /dir=full /rec /volume=C F:\BACKUP.ZIP *
To enable disk spanning, add the /span switch before the
/volume one.
Take note, use pkzip.exe, do not use pkzip2.cmd or else it
will simply fail and just zip up the volume label in a file
called "all.zip".
Now to uncompress the archive, simply go:
pkzip /attr=all /dir=full /extract /rec /volume=C
(destination/name of backup)
example:
pkzip /attr=all /dir=full /extract /rec /volume=C F:\BACKUP.ZIP C:
Personally tested under a Warp 4 system (no FP's). But, there
was one strange thing that occurred. None of the hidden system
files (OS2KRNL, OS2LDR, etc.) are hidden anymore when using PkZip
to extract the archive. Funny thing since if you were to use
UnZip in order to do this, you'll find out that everything is as
it should be, all the attributes are restored. So hidden files
are again hidden files. This looks like a minor bug in PkZip
2.50's extraction of zip files.
Extra Note: Apparently the geniuses at PkWare designed PkZip
for OS/2 needing the presentation manager. So, using the boot
disks from the Create Utility Disks function will not work. The
only way for BootOS/2 to get this to work is with the TYPE=PM
option. This of course will require a bootable device large
enough to handle the extra data. So really you are going to need
a bootable ZIP or LS-120 device in order to get this working.
With that said, you can use unzip.exe in order to uncompress the
pkzipped files. But, that has a problem too. Currently UnZip
5.32 will not be able to unzip multiple archives (like Zip 2.22).
This is slated for the next major release (UnZip 6.00).
-----------------------------------------------------------------
RAR for OS/2 (v2.06)
Easiest one to use due to its Norton Commander-like
interface. Go into RAR's configuration (press F9, it is the
first item on the menu) and make sure the following are checked
on:
X - Always Solid Archiving
X - Put Recovery Record
X - Read Only
X - Hidden
X - System
X - Archive
X - Save extended attributes
It could also be a good idea to check on multimedia
compression in order to get better compression. The rest is
merely of choice, especially the compression (six methods to
choose) whether to be for the best compression (slowest) or no
compression at all in simply storing the files (fastest).
In order to backup your OS/2 drive, simply hit the "+" key
and push enter in order to highlight all the directories (or
select whichever one's you intend to backup). Push F5 in order
to compress onto a disk/cart and use Autodetect method in order
to ensure spanning across disks/carts. Very easy.
Put "UNRAR.EXE" on board your OS/2 boot disks and you are
able to restore by simply executing:
unrar.exe x (name of backup)
This should have worked, but it didn't! Under a Warp 4 system
(with no FP applied), when the system booted up, once it hit the
PM it gave me a message saying that "Desktop could not be found
in OS2.INI file" and that a temporary desktop would be created.
Unfortunately, that failed and all I had to work with was an
empty background with one OS/2 Window session. I also got the
same message with Warp 4 with FP8 applied. Therefore, it is not
recommended to backup one's OS/2 boot partition with RAR. Works
fine when doing it with a data partition (or any other that is
not OS/2's boot partition) though. Too bad, too. Very easy to use.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
ARJ/2 (v2.62)
I confess that I have not yet tested ARJ/2, but I wouldn't
recommend using it just yet since it is still in a beta stage,
and does not save EA's. But you could use EAUTIL in order to do
this for you, but that is a bit of a chore especially since the
other compression utilities here can do this automatically. So
what would be the point?
ARJ does not provide a switch (from what I can see) to
enable disk spanning either so one would put it in the same boat
as Info-Zip once ARJ is out of the beta stage (in that it will be
useful to backup to another partition or to a removable media
drive that is large enough to fit it).
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I only intend to write about currently supported compression
utilities. In otherwords, LHA and ZOO for instance I simply will
ignore. Neither one has been updated since 1989-1993, and are
relatively old and obsolete given the others listed here.
So, how do I go about backing up/restoring my OS/2 partitions? I
myself have a LS-120 drive and use PkZip since it sports disk
spanning. Backing up is a simple chore as I had already listed
the proper switches, but restoring for some would be difficult
since PkZip for OS/2 requires the PM to be present. With the way
I have my 3.24 GB hard drive laid out it is not. Here is how my
drive is partitioned:
C: - OS/2 Boot - Primary partition (850 MB)
C: - DR-DOS Boot - Primary partition (300 MB)
D: - Logical FAT partition (100 MB) - To share between DOS & OS/2
E: - Logical HPFS partition (850 MB) - OS/2 programs
F: - Logical HPFS partition (700 MB) - Spare HPFS drive
G: - Logical HPFS partition (283 MB) - For Swap
I use a 200 MB swap file in the G: partition. Despite that there
is plenty of room here to use BootOS/2 in order to make a PM
bootable partition here (9 MB needed).
"BOOTOS2 TARGET=G TYPE=PM" is how I used it.
PkZip works flawlessly in this manner thanks to BootOS/2.
So, which is the best compression tool to use? Depends on its
use. If you are talking about backing up to removable media then
PkZip would be the best pick since it currently does support disk
spanning. But if you are talking about backing up to another
partition (as well as removable media large enough to fit the
said backup) than it would be Info-Zip. While each of these
compression utilities may possess some small little quirk, it
looks like the next release of Info-Zip will be *the* one to use.
The people there have multiple archive support on their minds and
are expecting the next major release (Zip 3.00 & UnZip 6.00) to
support it. Can't wait since (unless something majorly changes)
Info-Zip does not require the PM to be present like the way PkZip
currently does.
John Hong
: Backup & Defragmentation 1.0
Just glanced over this and realized I forgot one major point.
You must restore back to the original drive letter. In otherwords, if
your OS/2 bootable partition is D:, then restore back to a D: drive. Do
not try to restore to a E: for instance if your bootable partition is D:.
Annie K.
Hong) wrote:
:Info-Zip for OS/2 (v2.22)
:
: Works very well under OS/2. Use the following switches:
:
:zip -rS$ (destination/name of backup) *
I use zip -R9S to create a zip file of my boot partition on a
different partition. Once you've created the zip file, use zip -R9Su
to keep it updated.
--
Anthropomorphic Hamburger
狂人
You COULD, but there will be a lot of PITA to go through to make it work...
I think I made it once... :)
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John Hong
: > Just glanced over this and realized I forgot one major point. You must
: >restore back to the original drive letter. In otherwords, if your OS/2
: >bootable partition is D:, then restore back to a D: drive. Do not try to
: >restore to a E: for instance if your bootable partition is D:.
: You COULD, but there will be a lot of PITA to go through to make it work...
: I think I made it once... :)
I suppose one could, but it would be a pretty big job to pull
off. Not only does one have to make sure the CONFIG.SYS info is pointed
to the correct drive but also more indepth stuff like OS2.INI and
OS2SYS.INI. Way too much trouble than its worth really...
狂人
at 10:11 PM, jdc...@InfoNET.st-johns.nf.ca (John Hong) said:
>狂人 (nos...@home.com) wrote:
>: You COULD, but there will be a lot of PITA to go through to make it work...
>: I think I made it once... :)
> I suppose one could, but it would be a pretty big job to pull off. Not
>only does one have to make sure the CONFIG.SYS info is pointed to the
>correct drive but also more indepth stuff like OS2.INI and OS2SYS.INI.
>Way too much trouble than its worth really...
Yeah, that's why I said that there will be a lot of PITA (Pain In The Ass)
:)
I'm planning on making a pair of near identical boot partition, and incase
one goes wrong, the other one can be selected so that work can go on, and so
does the repair at the same time... :)
If anyone is interested in suppliments to backup (ie: quick and dirty
semi-backup solutions) that is designed for the boot partition and nothing
else... I'd invite you to visit www.os2ezine.com and search for the Hacker
Card article I've written... :)
ni...@ami.com.au
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
>ARJ/2 (v2.62)
> I confess that I have not yet tested ARJ/2, but I wouldn't recommend
>using it just yet since it is still in a beta stage, and does not save
>EA's. But you could use EAUTIL in order to do this for you, but that is
>a bit of a chore especially since the other compression utilities here
>can do this automatically. So what would be the point?
> ARJ does not provide a switch (from what I can see) to
>enable disk spanning either so one would put it in the same boat as
>Info-Zip once ARJ is out of the beta stage (in that it will be useful to
>backup to another partition or to a removable media drive that is large
>enough to fit it).
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
I have downloaded the new ARJ /2 and did a test backup, test and restore.
I backed up some fairly precious files c/w long filenames to 5.25 x 1.2M
floppies, naming the backup in a long filename. The command was:
arj a -v1200000 -r filename.arj
It made the required files on my hard disk, but problems arose when
transfer was required to the floppies. The workaround was to use the WPS
to copy to floppy. I then did a test ("arj t "...etc), made another
directory on the same drive, and extracted back into the new directory. I
am pleased with the result so far.
Please correct me if I'm wrong, but by using the WPS to copy, am I taking
the EA's with me, and redepositing them on the new drive as it should be?
In my old DOS (DR-DOS) days, I found ARJ to be the most reliable
disk-spanning archiver, and it's really great to see it come to OS/2 at
last.
I hope this helps
NICK
--
-----------------------------------------------------------
ni...@ami.com.au
-----------------------------------------------------------
狂人
program is currently in use and RAR was unable to access it... I've asked
the author to possibly come out with some kind of ability to do backup (like
a small shell program) with ability to unlock some files so that backup can
be performed while the system is running (ie: not using a boot disk)...
And in Warp 3, I have performed MANY, MANY successful backup of desktop
directory... 100% reliability...
John Hong
: Please correct me if I'm wrong, but by using the WPS to copy, am I taking
: the EA's with me, and redepositing them on the new drive as it should be?
What gave you that idea? In fact most of ARJ/2 is still 16-bit
from the documentation I read...
John Hong
: In the part talking about RAR, I think the problem is with some of the
: program is currently in use and RAR was unable to access it... I've asked
Nope. When I did the tests of each of those compression
utilities, I booted to my BootOS/2 partition on G: drive prior to each
backup with the compression utilities on G: drive in order to avoid what
you are suggesting.
狂人
> Nope. When I did the tests of each of those compression
>utilities, I booted to my BootOS/2 partition on G: drive prior to each
>backup with the compression utilities on G: drive in order to avoid what
>you are suggesting.
That's strange, because I had successfully backed up my DESKTOP directory
without any ill effect...
John Hong
: In <781vrg$lar$2...@coranto.ucs.mun.ca>, on 01/19/99
: > Nope. When I did the tests of each of those compression
: >utilities, I booted to my BootOS/2 partition on G: drive prior to each
: >backup with the compression utilities on G: drive in order to avoid what
: >you are suggesting.
: That's strange, because I had successfully backed up my DESKTOP directory
: without any ill effect...
Backup the whole partition and see for yourself. ;-)
Doug Darrow
Our news server has been down for a couple of days so I missed the
beginning of this thread, but, pardon me if I don't understand the
reasoning behind this response. What-in-heck does ARJ have to do with
COPYing using the WPS (WorkPlaceShell)?
So in answer the the question that I see posed above; Yes copying (via
Drag 'n' Drop) using the WPS _does_ copy the EAs to the new drive.
XCOPY from the command line will _also_ copy the EAs to the new drive.
andrew...@my-dejanews.com
jdc...@InfoNET.st-johns.nf.ca (John Hong) wrote:
> ni...@ami.com.au wrote:
>
> : Please correct me if I'm wrong, but by using the WPS to copy, am I taking
> : the EA's with me, and redepositing them on the new drive as it should be?
>
> What gave you that idea? In fact most of ARJ/2 is still 16-bit
> from the documentation I read...
>
Let me, as the author of ARJ/2, bring some clarification into this discussion:
First, an OS/2 program does not to be a 32-bit executable to support EAs,
since the EAs were introduced even earlier than OS/2 1.0 appeared.
ARJ/2 currently does not support EAs and it'll not support them until the EA
storage format proposed by me is approved by ARJ Software, Inc. An extended
header is needed to hold EA data (since mainstream ARJ may also make use of
extended headers some day, compatibility problems may occur), and I discussed
this topic with Robert Jung but the only reply I got from him indicated that
he's still planning to add EA support to ARJ for DOS (but there's no way to
support OS/2 LFNs in DOS sessions!) or, maybe, release ARJ32/2, compiled with
Borland C for OS/2 v 1.5 (those who know this compiler can guess how low the
performance and stability will be). Strangely, but after then (17/01/1999) I
got no e-mail replies from Mr. Jung.
Regarding the use of ARJ for backup - from my point of view, it's a perfect
backup utility. The EA support is the only feature it really lacks.
P.S. If someone uses ARJ/2 v 2.62.02 (dated 09/01/1999), I advise you to look
for v 2.61.03, (since v 2.62.02 has problems with LFNs longer than 128 bytes.)
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
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ni...@ami.com.au
>Let me, as the author of ARJ/2, bring some clarification into this
>discussion:
>First, an OS/2 program does not to be a 32-bit executable to support EAs,
>since the EAs were introduced even earlier than OS/2 1.0 appeared.
>ARJ/2 currently does not support EAs and it'll not support them until the
>EA storage format proposed by me is approved by ARJ Software, Inc. An
>extended header is needed to hold EA data (since mainstream ARJ may also
>make use of extended headers some day, compatibility problems may occur),
>and I discussed this topic with Robert Jung but the only reply I got from
>him indicated that he's still planning to add EA support to ARJ for DOS
>(but there's no way to support OS/2 LFNs in DOS sessions!) or, maybe,
>release ARJ32/2, compiled with Borland C for OS/2 v 1.5 (those who know
>this compiler can guess how low the performance and stability will be).
>Strangely, but after then (17/01/1999) I got no e-mail replies from Mr.
>Jung.
>Regarding the use of ARJ for backup - from my point of view, it's a
>perfect backup utility. The EA support is the only feature it really
>lacks.
>P.S. If someone uses ARJ/2 v 2.62.02 (dated 09/01/1999), I advise you to
>look for v 2.61.03, (since v 2.62.02 has problems with LFNs longer than
>128 bytes.)
Thank you for your replies. My letter was based on an experiment that I
performed and, so far, is repeatable. I still enjoy using ARJ/2, and I
hope the author has success in his negotiations with Mr. Jung.
NICK
>-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
>http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
--
-----------------------------------------------------------
ni...@ami.com.au
-----------------------------------------------------------
John Thompson
>ni...@ami.com.au wrote:
>
>: Please correct me if I'm wrong, but by using the WPS to copy, am I taking
>: the EA's with me, and redepositing them on the new drive as it should be?
> What gave you that idea? In fact most of ARJ/2 is still 16-bit
>from the documentation I read...
16-bit vs 32-bit should make no difference to the ea's, but if
arj isn't designed to handle them, they will be lost.
-John (John.T...@ibm.net)