Z-DBackup supports various methods for a 1:1 file backup of your data on the computer or in a network. If you are not sure which of the settings you should activate for optimal results and you just want to create a copy of your data in another location, then you can simply skip the following backup settings, because for a simple copy backup, none of the five different methods must be selected! This is the default setting after a new backup set has been created.

With a copy backup  all selected directories are saved without marking the files as copied (the archive attribute  remains unchanged). A possibly existing backup file is deleted prior to backup. With this backup method, you only need the most recent complete backup to be able to restore all files.

For a simple copy backup, none of the five different methods must be selected! This is the default setting after a new backup set has been created.

The normal backup is a copy backup with the additional feature that the archive attribute  is reset/deactivated. A possibly existing backup file is deleted prior to backup. With this backup method, you only need the most recent complete backup to be able to restore all files.

A series of incremental backups starts with one full backup. At each following backup, only those files that were changed or have been created since the last (full or incremental) backup will be copied. All copied files are marked, i.e. the archive attribute  is deactivated. With this backup method, you need the most recent full backup and all following incremental backups to restore all your files.

 If you want to use an incremental backup set for full backups, you can simply create an additional desktop shortcut  or Z-Cron job  with the action "Full incremental backup"!

A series of differential backups starts with one full backup. At each following backup, only those files that were changed or have been created since the last full backup will be copied. The archive attribute  of copied files is deactivated during full backups, but not during any following differential backups. With this backup method, you need the most recent full backup and only the latest differential backup to restore all your files.

 If you want to use a differential backup set for full backups, you can simply create an additional desktop shortcut  or Z-Cron job   with the action "Full differential backup"!

With this backup method, only files that were changed or created on the day that the backup is run are copied. The files are not marked as copied, i.e. the archive attribute  remains unchanged.
This option also allows to perform an incremental or differential backup using the 'last modified' date of the files. This is useful when archive attributes are not supported (e.g. some NAS or Linux systems).

If this option is activated, only those files are copied which are new or newer than those present in the backup directory. The reference point is an existing backup file. If no backup file is found, the original file is copied.

Like Synchronization mode, but files and directories will be deleted from the target directory if they no longer exist in the source directory.

Before files get delete a dialog appears and you can choose to delete the listed files.
You can deactivate this dialog by activating Use Recycle Bin / directory and choosing the apropriate setting in the configuration window.

Use Recycle Bin / directory
You can specify what Z-DBackup should do with files that will be deleted or overwritten during synchonisation. If this option is activated, Z-DBackup will copy those files to the recycle bin or to a given folder. The Settings  button opens a configuration window.

Backup files newer than...
Select this option if you only want to back up data from after a specific date. The date must be entered in the format "DD.MM.YYYY" and must be between 1987 and 2076.

Windows Task Scheduler
For each backup set, you can choose between Z-Cron and Windows Task Scheduler for scheduled backups. Select this option if you want to use Windows Task Scheduler.

Max. performance
If activated the backup task will run with the maximum performance. You can deactivate it to automatically slow down the backup task depending on the current system load.
Click the button    to set the maximum cpu usage of the backup task or at which level of system load the task should slow down.

File permissions (NTFS Permissions)

NTFS  compatible backups. Extended file info and attributes are included in the backup. Security settings are copied to NTFS  formatted backup mediums and are also included when restoring files. Path lengths of more than 260 characters are supported.

  An NTFS formatted backup volume is required to include security settings in the backup!

 Empty Directories
This option means that empty directories are included in the backup archive. This is helpful if you want to be able to restore your complete directory structure including empty directories.

Directory Structures
The 1:1 file copy of files and directories implies the backup of full directory structures. The option is set by the software and cannot be disabled (it is grayed out). Only for synchronization of one single folder may this option be deactivated.

Clear Archive bit
The archive attribute  of the source files is cleared/deactivated after backup.

Directory Permissions
If this option is selected, the directory access rights are included in the backup.

  Note that this option can lead to problems with backups in a network.

VShadow Copy
If this option is activated, a Volume Shadow Copy is created for the source drive. This allows copying locked files.

  Z-VSScopy is contained in the Freeware Version of Z-DBackup and is itself freeware for private use.
If you want to use Z-VSScopy with the Professional Version of Z-DBackup, you need to purchase a license.

Real time
In conjunction with the VSScopy option, the data is backed up directly from the shadow copy, so you get a consistent backup of directories, Hyper-V or databases even during operation. If this option is set, files that are currently being backed up can still be opened while the backup is running. This allows users to continue working undisturbed, even while the backup is running and they need to access files that are part of the backup for their work. Without the VSScopy option, this setting has no function and is then deactivated in the setup.
 

Asynchronous Copy

Dynamically adjusted buffers and asynchronous file transfer between two hard drives can increase the copy speed when large files get copied.The system load is reduced a little bit. This option is a good choice when the backup contains larger files. But this method could reduce the backup speed in case alot of small files should be copied.

Open files: Z-DBackup automatically backs up open files that are not locked by another application.

  Without the module Z-VSScopy , Z-DBackup cannot copy files that are locked by other applications!

Note
With this button, you can add a textnote to a backup set. The notes can also be accessed from the context menu in the main window. A note can be shown as a message on the screen before or after a backup with this backup set!

Default Settings
This button resets the backup set to the default settings.

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