Personal Backup © 2001 - 2025, Dr. Jürgen Rathlev

  Program features    Add-ons    Utilities    Program specifics

• Wizard for the creation of new backup tasks
• Unlimited number of configurable backup tasks
• Backup of complete directory structures
• Function to backup selected single files
• Start backup on demand or run automatically
• Optional encryption using AES on backup (using the zip format will be compatible to WinZip)
• Backup of a single directory by one click using the context menu of the Windows Explorer
• Backup via FTP (optionally with proxy and FTPS (FTP over SSL))
• Many backup options:
• Into single files: as direct copy or compressed using the gz (gzip) or the zip format
• into a directory with drive identifier cloning the original directory structure (default)
• do. without drive identifier directory
• do. separated by root directory
• do. into one directory without root directory

• Into zip archives (optional split into files of a user defined size):
• One zip file (supports files > 4GB)
• One zip file per subdirectory
• One zip file per root directory
• One zip file per directory without drive identifier
• User definable list of file types not be compressed (e.g. for files that are themselves compressed pdf, jpg, docx, odt)
• Integrated function to use Volume Shadow Copies (VSS) on backup
  
• Placeholders for date and other in target directory and zip filename
• Many choices for files and directories:
  • Include or exclude selected subdirectories
  • Filter settings for filenames (optionally regular expressions), file attributes, file age and file size
  • Selection of file types: manually or using a filter mask, display for file types with sorting by name, count or size
• File preview to check filter settings
• Adjustable time gap for timestamp comparison in consideration of changes between winter and summer time
• Running of external programs or scripts before and after backup
• Optional synchronization of backup directories with source directories (alternatively before or after backup) using one of three modes
• Optional creation of security copies: retain an adjustable number of previous versions of the backed-up files with selectable maximum age
• Optional copy of files details (only NTFS) and permissions (only NTFS and network)
• Optional backup and restore of junctions (only NTFS)
• Optional restore of file permissions (only NTFS and network) and file details (only NTFS)
• Optional password protection to prevent from overwriting of task file
• Optional mail delivery after backup including short report and log file as attachment (also TLS)
• Optional log file of all actions (e.g. backup and restore) with printout
• Optional log of FTP and SMTP communication to debug connection issues
• Function to delete old log files
• Creation of desktop shortcuts to simply start selected backups, optional with subsequent shutdown, log off or hibernation
• Internal backup schedules (see screenshot at the right):

• Up to 16 individually-configurable automatic tasks are supported at different times, on logon or logoff or once per week on logon
• Different types of alternating backups: One full backup using the mode Copy or Full (new) in combination with several differential or incremental backups
• Wizard for using Windows Task Scheduler for backups
• Comprehensive command line options to automate actions e.g. using Windows Task Scheduler or batch files
• Automatic check for updates on starting the program (to reduce the traffic on the download server, checking is made weekly) or manually update
• Internal restore function of saved files:
• From backup into single files
• From backup in zip files (single or separated by folders)
• Dialog for selecting files for restore
• Restore using FTP connection
• Automatic decryption
• Additional functions for verifying and cleaning up the backup
• Many user definable program preferences
• Languages: German, English, French, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, Polish, Portuguese, Hungarian, Ukrainian and Russian

Included Translations:

Click on language to show desktop.

• English: J. Rathlev
• German: J. Rathlev
• French: J. Rathlev, Xavier Lasserre
• Dutch: TheDutchJewel
• Italian: Andrea Rubini
• Spanish: M. R. Bobrek
• Portuguese: Havokdan
• Polish: Jacek Pazera
• Hungarian: Robert Kovacs
• Russian: Kopejkin, I. Laktionov
• Ukrainian: Kopejkin

Note: If you feel that a translation could benefit from improvements or corrections, I would be pleased to hear from you. Anyone wishing to help will find information on how to proceed here.

Download of translation files

Overview of included add-ons

In addition to the main program Personal Backup the installation file contains the following tools:

• TbBackup: Backup of Thunderbird data
• PbStarter: Run backups under a different account as protection against ransomware
• PbPlaner: Create alternating backup schedules for execution with Windows Task Scheduler
• PbRestore: Restore backed-up files or directories optional from alternating schedules
• DeviceBackup: Backup files from a portable device
• PbWatchdog: Monitor selected directories for changes and automatic start of the required data backups
PbUninstall: Uninstalls the program with optional deletion of associated user files

This package contains amongst others programs useful for automating backup processes, manipulating packed files and to rescue data from damaged zip archives.

Console programs

The programs described below must be started via the Windows command prompt. Some are particularly suitable for installation in batch files.

• WinTouch (Version 2.0 - July 2020)
  The Linux Touch command allows the creation of files and the modification of file timestamps. WinTouch is a command line tool providing these function on the Windows platform. The syntax of the options is modified slightly and adapted to Windows conventions. The number of specified file names or paths is not limited. Each must be separated by a space. If a file path itself contains space , it must be enclosed by quotation marks. Each option is identified by a leading "/" or "-" character. If a file does not exist, it will be created.
  

  Calling the program: WinTouch [options] file1 [file2 [file3 ...]]
  	file1,file2,...	Names of files to be processed (may include full paths)
  	/cwa	Select the timestamps to be modified: c = create, w = last write, a = last access (default = w)
  	/r	Transfer the selected timestamps from the reference file1 to file2, file3, ... (reference)
  	/b:n	In connection with option /r, subtract n seconds from timestamp of reference file (back)
  	/f:n	In connection with option /r, add n seconds to timestamp of reference file (forward)
  	/d:[[YYYY]MM]DD	Set selected timestamps of file1, file2, ... to a fixed date
  	/t:hh[mm[ss]]	Set selected timestamps of file1, file2, ... to a fixed time
  	<none of r,d,t>	Set selected timestamps of file1, file2, ... to the current date and time

• CheckRun (Version 1.1 - February 2024)
  This console program checks whether a specific application is running or not. In the first case, open files may be blocked for access during backup. The program generates an ExitCode which can be checked in a batch file using the command if errorlevel .. or by any calling program:
  ExitCode = 0 : The specified application is not active.
  
  = 1 : The specified application is active
  Example:
  CheckRun PersBackup
• CheckFile (Version 2.0 - February 2024)
  The program checks if a file has set some selected attributes or is locked by another application. This check can be done before starting a backup to ensure that the backup will run without any problems. Calling the program:
  CheckFile <filename> [/wait:<n>] [/attr:<RHS>]
  
  filename : name of file to check (including the full path)
  /wait:<n> : wait for n seconds before checking the file
  /attr:<RHS> : attributes to be checked (any combination) (R = read-only, H = hidden, S = system file)
  without option /attr : check if the file is locked
  The program generates an ExitCode which can be checked in a batch file using the command if errorlevel .. or by any calling program:
  ExitCode = 0 : the specified attributes are not set or the file is not locked
  
  = 1 : The specified attributes are set or the file is locked
  = 2 : the specified path does not refer to a file
  = 3 : no parameter were specified
  Examples:
  CheckFile "C:\Windows\WindowsShell.Manifest" /attr:rh
  
  Returns ExitCode = 1 if the attributes "read-only" and "hidden" are set for the file, otherwise ExitCode = 0
  CheckFile "E:\Thunderbird Mail\parent.lock" /wait:5
  
  Will wait for 5 seconds and then check if the specified file is locked by a running Thunderbird application (ExitCode = 1), otherwise ExitCode = 0
• CheckDrive (Version 3.1 - July 2021)
  You can use this program in a batch file to check whether a removable drive (e.g. USB or CD burner) is available or not. If available, in addition you can use the option /nudge to activate a sleeping drive.
  Note: With Personal Backup 5 it is no longer necessary to start this program as external program before backup, as its check for availability has been integrated into version 5.
  Calling the CheckDrive program:
  CheckDrive <Drive|Volume> [/prompt] [/user:name|pwd]
  
  <Drive> : Destination drive to be checked for
  <Volume> : Volume name of a destination drive
  /nudge : Nudge the drive for activation
  /prompt : Prompt the user to insert a medium
  /user:name|pwd : Network logon name & password
  The program generates an ExitCode which can be checked in a batch file using the command if errorlevel .. or by any calling program:
  ExitCode = 0 : OK
  = 1 : drive not available
• ConfirmMsg (Version 1.0 - February 2024)
  The program displays a message window on the screen with a text that can be can be specified by the user via the command line. After clicking one of the buttons Yes or No, the window will be closed and an ExitCode is transferred to the calling application.
  Calling the program:
  ConfirmMsg.exe "<Message>"
  
  <Message> : text to be displayed
  
  ExitCode = 0 : The button Yes was clicked.
  = 1 : The button No was clicked.
  Example:
     ConfirmMsg.exe "The backup was started - Continue?"
• ShowVol (Version 1.2 - January 2021)
  Calling the program from the command prompt will display a list of all connected drives. The following items will be displayed for each drive:
  • Internal device name
  • Volume GUID of in the format \\?\Volume{GUID}
  • Mount point (drive letter)
  • User-specified volume name
  • additional information like drive type or file system

  Example:

  Device name: \Device\HarddiskVolume3 Volume GUID: \\?\Volume{f2dea506-d100-11de-815a-806e6f6e6963}\ Mount point: C:\ Volume name: System ...

  Drives not mounted (hidden drives) have no drive letter assigned. To address such drives in Windows Explorer, you can use the Volume GUID instead.
  Example: \\?\Volume{f2dea506-d100-11de-815a-806e6f6e6963}\Windows\System32
  In addition the program can be used to determine the drive letter or, if the drive is not mounted, the Volume GUID associated with a given volume name.

  Example 1:	ShowVol System "System" is mounted as "C:\"
  Example 2:	ShowVol HiddenPart Volume "HiddenPart" is available but not mounted Volume GUID: \\?\Volume{xxxxxxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxx-xxxxxxxxxxxx}

• Wait
  Insert this program into your batch file to wait for a specified time (in s): e.g. Wait 2
• SetExitCode
  Insert this program into your batch file to set the ExitCode (read from batch command if errorlevel ..) to a specified value and to overwrite any exit codes from applications called beforehand: e.g. SetExitCode 5 (see here)
• Eject
  This is a small, free program to open the tray of your CD/DVD/Blu Ray or similar drive from a batch file. A short manual by WebGeek, Inc. is included.
  Note: Eject returns another ExitCode (error = 0, success = 1) as usual (error = 1, success = 0). If you want to query this value in Personal Backup when executing an external program, you need to change the ExitCodes appropriately. This can be done with this batch script:

  eject.exe %1 %2
  IF ERRORLEVEL 1 GOTO Label1
  EXIT /B 1
  :Label1
  echo Errorlevel 1
  EXIT /B 0
  

The programs described below can be used to manipulate Thunderbird mail folders and packed files and system information can be displayed.

• TbRecover (Vers. 1.1 v. October 2022)
  Use this program to recover deleted Thunderbird mails. Thunderbird saves the mails of each folder in the mbox format. This is plain text and can be reviewed using a common text editor. If you are deleting or moving a mail, it will not be deleted immediately from the folder (or the mbox file) but only marked as deleted at which the entry X-Mozilla-Status is used for this purpose. The mail will finally be deleted not before the associated folder will be compacted.
  As long as this has not been done, a deleted mail can simply be recovered by changing the above mentioned status word. You can use a text editor to do so but it is easier to use the provided utility program TbRecover. After start the program will automatically search for your Thunderbird mail profile and select the associated mail directory as default. The user has to search the list for the account and the mail box where he wants to recover deleted mails. After clicking the button, the program will scan this mail box and display how many deleted mails were found. After confirmation by the user, the recovery will be started. Optionally, the undeleted mails can marked as unread to make it easier to identify these mails on next start of Thunderbird.
• ViewShare (Vers. 1.0 - Februar 2024)
  This program can be used to display a list of the network resources connected under the logged-in user.
• SplitZip (Version 3.3 - October 2022)
  This program splits a large zip archive into several small files. The maximum size can be set. Each split file is a fully-functional zip archive.
  Without any command line parameters, the program starts in interactive mode. To use it for batch processing, the command line must contain at least the name of the zip archive.
  Command line parameters:
  SplitZip <ZipName> [Directory] [Size] [/quiet]
  ZipName : Name of zip file to be split
  Directory : Location for split zip files (default: Temp)
  Size : Maximum size of each split file in MB (default: 700)
  /quiet : Do not show progress status
  The program generates an ExitCode which can be checked in a batch file using the command if errorlevel ..:
  ExitCode = 0 : OK
  = 1 : Zip file not found
  = 2 : Destination directory could not be created
  = 3 : At least one file in the archive is larger than the maximum size
• UnZip (Version 3.3 - October 2022)
  Use this program to restore data from damaged zip archives. It scans a zip archive without using the directory. All recognized files can be extracted. The program can also be used on encrypted archives and even on archives with encrypted filenames. A test of integrity of the compressed files can be made on scanning.
• DecZip (Vers. 1.0 - December 2022)
  This program can be used to unpack Zip archives with encrypted file names, such as those generated by Personal Backup.
• UnpackZip (Version 1.1 - April 2021)
  If you have been using the mode compress single files as zip and want to change to a mode without compression (that means 1:1 copies), you can reorganize the destination directory using this small utility program. It will replace all these zip files by the unpacked original file.
• UnpackGz (Version 1.1 - April 2021)
  If you have been using the mode compress single files as gz and want to change to a mode without compression (that means 1:1 copies), you can reorganize the destination directory using this small utility program. It will replace all gz files by the unpacked original file.
• Plugin for WinMerge
  This plugin allows gz, gze and enc files generated by Personal Backup during backup to be unzipped and/or decrypted and displayed with WinMerge.
  This facility is very useful if you wish to check the differences between a backed-up text file and the current version prior to a Restore. The Restore function of Personal Backup offers the option of using WinMerge for this purpose. If files have been zipped and/or encrypted during backup such a comparison is not directly possible. The plugin will unzip and/or decrypt these files automatically prior to loading them into WinMerge. Files with extensions other than gz or enc will be loaded by WinMerge directly.
  Installing the plugin
  Create a subdirectory MergePlugins in the installation directory of WinMerge and copy the file PbUnpack.dll from this package into that subdirectory. Select the option Unpack automatically in the Plugins section of the WinMerge main menu. On loading, WinMerge will recognize, and automatically unzip and/or decrypt and display all gz and enc files.

Tools for USB drives

On Uwe Sieber's webpage you will find several very useful tools to mange USB devices like drives or sticks:

• Drive Tools for Windows for mounting and unmounting USB drives.
• USB Drive Letter Manager for Windows to assign, for example, always the same drive letter to a USB drive.

• All above utilities (7.30 MB, updated 2021-04-15)
• WinMerge plugin (including Delphi sources, 1,28 MB, updated 2018-03-20)
• Gammadyne's Free DOS Utilities (eg. Wol.exe, StartAs.exe)