problem backing up to a zipped up version on a zip disk

[redmike]

hi,

I started using Total Commander 5.00 a month ago and can pretty much find my way around it.

Have figured out how to synchonize files on my system with files on a remote server.

What I would have thought would have been easier is giving me a problem

I back up to a 100mb zip and one of the folders that I back up separately is "my documents" - I'm using W2K

The folder is around 65mb when compressed.

Now when I go to "synchronize directories" and do "compare" I see a few small files that need to be copied over.

However when I hit the "synchronize" button a whole long process starts and eventually I get an "error" message telling me that the zip disk is probably full.

Not sure if I should be looking at an unzipped version of the zip or a zipped version etc.

Any help would be appreciated.

thanks

Michael

[Pete]

Hello Michael,

it is true, Your zip disk (100 MB) is full. And this is because when You synchronize or do any copy operation to this compressed file, a new compressed file will be generated on Your zip disk. In this file, Your old files and the new files will be copied into.
So actually at this moment You have 2 compressed files on Your zip disk. Your old one (65 MB) and the new one that is build by synchronize process (also 65 MB or even bigger, so around 130 MB in total). After synchronizing Your old file gets overwritten by the new one (leads to a total of 65 MB again).

I do not know, if it is possible within TC to set a special temporary directory for building the new compressed files (not on this zip disk) and after building this file, copying it to the disk with at same time erasing the former one on this disk.

Workaround: Create a BACKUP directory on Your hard disk, do packing and synchronizing into this directory, and in end copy this new compressed file to Your zip disk.

(This You even could do by a batch calling external packer and integrate this batch into menu or button bar in TC. Information about button and menu bar You will find in TC help. Scripting within TC directly is not possible (yet?).)

And finally, download actual version TC 5.51 from TC's website.

Greets
Pete

[redmike]

Workaround: Create a BACKUP directory on Your hard disk, do packing and synchronizing into this directory, and in end copy this new compressed file to Your zip disk.

(This You even could do by a batch calling external packer and integrate this batch into menu or button bar in TC. Information about button and menu bar You will find in TC help. Scripting within TC directly is not possible (yet?).)

And finally, download actual version TC 5.51 from TC's website.

Greets
Pete

thanks Pete, I had a sort of gut feeling that this was the problem but thought that TC would have a built in work-around for this situation.

In the meantime I'll use your suggestions to use the hard drive as an interim device and to download the latest version.

Not sure that my skills, in this area, are high enough to write a batch file and to then incorparate the batch into a button ?

regards,

Mike

[redmike]

Hello Michael,

Workaround: Create a BACKUP directory on Your hard disk, do packing and synchronizing into this directory, and in end copy this new compressed file to Your zip disk.

(This You even could do by a batch calling external packer and integrate this batch into menu or button bar in TC. Information about button and menu bar You will find in TC help. Scripting within TC directly is not possible (yet?).)

And finally, download actual version TC 5.51 from TC's website.

Greets
Pete

I just used the workaround and of course one really only sees how something will work when trying it.

In this case the workaround takes longer than just deleting (or using a new zip disk) what's on the zip and copying a new zipped up version of "my docs" onto it.

At the moment I now have "my docs" and a zipped up copy of "my docs" on my hard drive. Next time I want to make a back up, the zipped up version will be useless and I will still have to copy the entire "my docs" folder onto a zip.

Also even if I go out and buy 250mb zips I will only be able to use 1/2 of their capacity.

Total Commander must I'm sure (fingers and legs crossed have a better solution.

regards,

Mike

[Pete]

Hello redmike, hello Christian,

when I use removable medias such as diskettes and zip, I always do the operations (packing, splitting, synchronizing, etc.) on hard disk first, before I copy the result on that media.

So in Your case I would have "My Docs" and a zipped version of "My Docs" on harddisk. Synchronizing would be between these two "My Docs". After this operation, I copy the zipped, synchronized "My Docs" to zip media.

In Your %TEMP% directory, TC is generating a "_tc" directory for temporarely packing, viewing, etc.
At same time, when You synchromize to a compressed file on zip media this second compressed file is generated on this media. When You synchronize to a compressed file on harddisk, also this second compressed file is generated in the folder of the first compressed file, not in the "_tc" directory.

Maybe this will change in the upcoming version 6.0 of TC.

Christian, what future plans You have concerning using only "_tc" directory for all kinds of temporarely operations?

Greets
Pete

[redmike]

Maybe this will change in the upcoming version 6.0 of TC.

Christian, what future plans You have concerning using only "_tc" directory for all kinds of temporarely operations?

Greets
Pete

thank you for your help but I fail to see how the above is anything but harder than just backing up to a zip direct from my hard drive.

Perhaps we're expecting TC to do something that it was never intended to do. Would be nice if I could just "incrementally" back up folders though

So, here's hoping ...
regards Mike

[redmike]

> Hi,
> You wrote:
> > I have a 100mb zip and my "my documents" folder is about 70mb when
zipped up.
> > Whenver I try the "synchronize folders" command TC starts but then I get
a message "error, Zip may be full".
>
> When a ZIP archive is modified, a copy of it is created with unchanged
files
> copied from the old zip, and the changed files from the harddisk.
Therefore
> you need TWICE the space of the ZIP file for repacking.
>
> Therefore you should leave the ZIP file unchanged, and create a difference
> file with just the changed files. This is easy:
> 1. Compare the "my documents" folder and ZIP archive as usual
> 2. Click the synchronize button
> 3. As target, the name of the zip is shown, e.g. zip:z:\my documents.zip
> 4. Modify this target, e.g. to zip:z:\my documents differences.zip
> 5. Click OK.
>
> Now the new files will be zipped to a new zip file! This will contain only
the
> differences.
>

> Best regards
>
> Christian Ghisler

thanks Christian.

this is a work-around but does not give me a copy of "my documents" - it
give's me a copy of "my documents" plus an added file.

I tried your suggestion a second time, but saved the "changed" folders to a
new place on my hard drive which of course worked.

But then when I tried to synchonize the old "my documents" on the zip with
the new folder I ran into the same problem again.

I am not a programmer but the problem would seem to be that the temp gets
saved on the "target" drive rather than in a "temp" folder on the hard
drive.

thanks again,

Michael