Backup set properties

General

First you have to choose a file name for your backup set. This file will hold information on what to backup and how to do it.

The comment is optional and only to help you keep track of your backup sets. Any text is allowed. The same goes for the creator and category fields.

File operations

A backup set is composed of one or more file operations, or items to backup. These items can be folders or files. You can add how many files and folders to a backup set as you like. The big box lists all items to be backed up when this set is run.

By pressing the Add folder or Add file buttons you can select what to add to you backup set. Once you have an items in the list you can right click to edit it. You can read more about the settings available for backing up folders and files.

Startup

Start modes: If set to start normally NH Backup will start to backup right away when launched. The countdown option can be useful if you're running scheduled backups and want to give the user the possibility to abort the backup before it has started so not to interrupt the person's work. Paused mode will require that somebody hits the Start button before the backup starts.

The start minimized and start trayed options are also useful if you don't want the users of the computer to be interrupted in their work. Start trayed will place NH Backup as a small icon next to the system clock in the lower right corner on the screen.

System priority is used to tell Windows how high to priority NH Backup when portioning out processor power to simultaneously running applications. If set to idle the backup will proceed very slowly but other running application will run undisturbed by the backup. The reverse is true when real-time in selected.

Shutdown

Finishing modes: Show results are useful if no log is created. If a log is written you can instead select the shut down program option. The reboot with force and restart with force options forces Windows to restart/reboot even though open applications might have unsaved information. With any of these two options selected there is a real risk that unsaved data is lost.

Logs: NH Backup can create both text and HTML log files of and place them in a folder of your choosing. They will be created when the backup has finished. (Tip: Setting the log path to the desktop is an easy way to determine if the backup really ran as scheduled or if something came in between.) If you choose not to automatically create log files you will be given a opportunity to create a log of the backup process after the backup has finished (if NH Backup finish mode is set to show results).

Web logs and email notification is perfect for users that are interested in the outcome of a backup operation, but not very interested in having to walk to the computer to find it out. In order to use these features you are required to create an account. The account is free and extremely easy to set up. (You are required to enter your email address, but only because it might be necessary to contact you if your account status changes. We take privacy very serious and your email address will not be passed to others.)

Schedule

For information on how to set up scheduling with NH Backup, please refer to the scheduling guide.

AutoRun

The AutoRun feature lets you run backup sets automatically when a new drive is connected to the computer. More info on the concept of AutoRun and how to set it up.

History

The history tab shows record of all backup set startups. The records are stored in the backup set file (.nhb) with a link to the full log file. You therefore have the option of deleting both the records of the startups and the actual log files. Deleting log files is typically not necessary, but can be justified if disk space is limited. The backup set records on the other hand doesn't take up any (measurable) disk space, but can slow down NH Backup. If you get several hundred records and feel that NH Backup is getting slower to open and save the backup set file (for example when you select or double click on the backup set in the backup set manager), then it might be necessary to delete them.