[Box Backup] Win32 locked files, registry, etc.

[Per Thomsen]

On 3/6/05 2:02 PM, Chris Hane wrote:

> Nick - that makes sense.  Thanks for explaining it.
>
> Just out of curiosity, is it possible to code boxbackup to backup 
> locked files like "outlook".  If so how?  I don't have any experience 
> writing programs of that nature and was just curious how something 
> like that could be accomplished without data loss.

This is a more general problem, not just related to locked files on 
Windows. It also applies to things like open database files (mySQL, 
Oracle, dbm, etc.) on other OSes.

I would not recommend backing up files that can be inconsistent while 
you're reading them for backup. This will give you a false sense of 
security, because the files may be useless when attempting to restore 
them. Use the backup mechanisms for the product (databases, outlook, 
etc.), and back those files up with Box. Or, shut down your database and 
do a snapshot backup of the database files (or your Outlook PSTs)

That said, on desktop machines, over 99% of your files will be fine for 
backup, but there could be inconsistent data in your outlook PST.

Thanks,
Per

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Per Reedtz Thomsen | Reedtz Consulting, LLC | F: 209 883 4119
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