The macbook has 2GB, the iMac 1GB...

The thing is, you can feel the macbook unresponsive for a second, and I don't feel that with the iMac.

Interrestingly, QRecall is more of a resource hog on my Intel Core 2 Duo macbook than on my old iMac G5 ?

It *is* annoying on the macbook to work alongside a backup.

Fred

Precision: I can get start if I enable it in Growl (it's disabled by default it seems), but nothing else.

I have changed the Action completed to be urgent and sticky, the backup is done but no growl

Fred

James Bucanek wrote:Except for the way that the run times are calculated, an Interval schedule behaves exactly like a Daily schedule.

My turn to quote the manual:

An Interval schedule runs an action at regular intervals originating from a reference time.

IMHO this sentence can be improved. It does not RUN the action at regular intervals, it STATICALLY SCHEDULES it at regular interval based on the "Starting From" value. When the action actually runs is not evaluated at all and has no impact at all on the schedule.

Fred

James Bucanek wrote:Since the .svn directory is a folder, you can use the Go To command in the open files dialog or the Finder (Command+Shift+G) to navigate into the hidden directory.

.svn is a delicate example for this method as a repository checked out of SVN will have a .svn directory in EVERY subdirectory. So using GO TO and selecting each one individually is not that an attractive proposition to avoid backing them up For those, a grep pattern on the path would be the best way...

.subversion is a better example of hidden home directory to reveal using the GO TO method.

Unfortunately one is likely to want .subversion backed up (it contains your local subversion config) and maybe not the .svn directories (only contains local state versus the repository)

Just to clarify for any future reader:

# you can reveal folders in the finder using the GO TO method above

# you probably want any .subversion directory in home backed up

# you may not want all your .svn folders backed up but there's no easy way to avoid it with the current (1.0.0(45) beta) version of QRecall

# a good example of a hidden home directory you would not want backed up is .dvdcss (google it to know why).

HTH

Fred

I agree with you: there should not be any difference in behavior between sleeping and power off.

> the scheduler immediately run[s] all actions
> that have missed a scheduled run time
> while the system was shut down.

So backup at 2am on day 1, on day 2 machine off no backup, machine turned on at 1am on day 3 so QRecall does the backup immediately only to re-do it at 2am ? Very useful.
And if machine is off day 2 and day 3, on day 4 you perform the backup 2 times on boot ? (that would be logical with your proposal)
I guess this just needs more ignore rules to make it OK, if a lot more complex than my proposal.

Fred

James Bucanek wrote:Also note that QRecall supports Growl.

I don't think I ever got QRecall to growl anything for me... Growl shows QRecall enabled in the pref pane but I don't think to get any messages?

Fred

OK, so I am suggesting a setting that backs up using this formula:

backup if last backup was N hours/days ago (and other conditions like archive is available, etc)

James Bucanek wrote:

Actions are not scheduled while the computer is off. When you restart, actions will be scheduled to run at their next calculated run time.

If you want a QRecall action to run consistently at 1:00 every morning, schedule your computer to start up at least 30 minutes before.

I understand that if the computer is off/sleeping, the action does not run.

I *don't* understand why something that is to run at an INTERVAL of ONE day does *not* given the chance one hour too late. Again, my only problem is that what QRecall does not correspond to what I understand in the term INTERVAL.

Note: There's an alarm clock for mac out there that makes the mac wake up from sleep at some time: integrating that in QRecall would be smart. You can even program power on I think...

James Bucanek wrote:Now that the log files are up, I can answer the primary question.

Not sure why they did take that long to appear. Did not touch anything, and had them uploaded with my post ???

I agree for 1). Erasing stuff when restoring is a bad idea if it is true. Personally, save for a "restore HD" type restore, I would never restore stuff on top on itself.

For 2 and 3, the label idea (f.e.) is nice. Just set the Podcast directory in brown (say), and it's not backed up.

So I have QRecall set to backup my home to a AFP server every day. It did not run last night, but there's nothing about it in the log? See attached screen shot: it ran the 27th and the next execution is 29th, nothing in log about 28th... (b)

In any case, the capture is set to INTERVAL every 1 day starting from xxx... so why is it not trying to backup ? It did backup on the 27th, more than one day ago... (a)
[we're the 28th at noon as I write this]

Now in the log you can see it was up on 28th at around 2:15? Why didn't it attempt to backup there? (a)

And lastly, looking at the log, (c), there is no schedule using IncyBack.quanta so why is it looking for it? When is it going to delete alias of long gone archives in its Preferences? At the level just before max, messages about this fill the screen as if this was a terrible problem! (no screenshot of this).

So three possible issues:

- (a) INTERVAL does not seem to work as I would expect of interval
- (b) If a scheduled backup is skipped, I think a log entry would be good. Again this is all about visibility on what the scheduler is/was/will be up to.
- (c) alias removal in pref

IMHO for (a) and (b), QRecall job is to backup. Skipping one should be a major issue.

Fred

Not sure I understand what you mean. Usable for who ?

Yes "get the actions to wrap up faster" is what I am suggesting, only I place a limit on "faster". Improving it from 10 to 4 minutes won't be enough IMHO.

James Bucanek wrote:Repairing an archive is an exacting and time consuming process, which is best avoided.

All I am suggesting is to let the user take this decision. I am suggesting an option to cancel by time: click the button, everything off in 5 seconds.

The reason I am still using Retrospect is because, despite all of it flaws, it's the best product out there to backup a laptop (in the backup server mode).

Bring the laptop in: "Backup now or later?". You need to go, just unplug it and it sorts itself out, or click OFF in the client app: finished immediately.

Think of a backup in progress when the guy with the laptop has a plane to catch. He won't wait for QRecall to "clean up". He'll close the lid and go. If QRecall has a cancel button that does it's best in 5 seconds, he may go and click it first. If QRecall takes forever to cancel, he won't bother...

My two cents

Fred

You're going to great length in the software to compress data, but one of the major causes of running out of disk space in my experience has been bad file filters.

My "skip" buttons were for the current file being backed up, so you can skip "leopard_client_9a466.dmg" when you see it go through. You just saved 6.1 GB...

I think I understand from your reply you were thinking next "capture", since you were tying to the display of the next action.