User's Guide
Backing up your files
Restoring your files

Author
Peter Bennett

My Other Projects
Jampal mp3 library & Jukebox
Tag Backup
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Windows Install

You can install Peters Backup from a zip file or using the setup package. Either way, all files are installed in one directory, nothing is copied to the windows directory.

Download either latest version of the setup file pbackup-xx.xx-setup.exe or the latest version of the zip file pbackup-xx.xx-binary.zip.

To install from the setup package, run the setup program and follow the instructions.

To install from the zip file, proceed as follows. Create a suitable folder (e.g. c:\Program Files\Pbackup). Unzip the package into the folder. Create a shortcut to
"C:\Program Files\Java\jre6\bin\javaw.exe" -Xmx384M -jar pbackup_j.jar
in your Start menu. Substitute the correct location for your javaw.exe

If you install from a zip file, the "pb1" extension will not be associated with the program and will not show the program icon. Therefore it is recommended to install from the setup program.

You need Java version 6 or later. If you install the program using the automatic install you will be directed to a web page where you can download and install it for free.

Non-Windows Install

To install on Linux, Unix or Mac, unzip the zip file install. You will Java 6 or later installed in order to run the program. You can get it from www.java.com.

After install, run the program with the command line "java -jar -Xmx384M pbackup_j.jar" or use the shell script pbackup.sh

Upgrade from version 1.x or 2.x

You can use version 3.x to operate on backups from version 2.x or 1.x. The first time you update or perform an incremental backup on one of those, the backup is upgraded to version 3.x and then can no longer be used with the earlier versions of Peter's Backup.

Language Support

Peter's Backup will automatically display all screens in English, Dutch or German, depending on your language setting in the operating system. If it does not display in the language of your choice, or you want a different language from the operating system, create a file called PBackup_j.l4j.ini in the directory "C:\Program Files\Peters Backup" with one line containing ‑Duser.language=de (for German) ‑Duser.language=nl (for Dutch). On Linux you have to place this parameter on the java command in the shell script pbackup.sh.

Memory Allocation

If you perform backups with hundreds of thousands of files the program may run out of memory. If you find that these backups are not working or that you cannot restore from such large backups, you can increase the memory allocation. Create a file called PBackup_j.l4j.ini in the directory "C:\Program Files\Peters Backup" with one line containing ‑Xmx256m This allocates maximum 256MB to the program. You can try values here up to your computer's memory size, to allow backups with more files. This should only be a problem with over 100,000 files, which would be unusual. On Linux you have to place this parameter on the java command in the shell script pbackup.sh.