Now that we have convinced you why you should backup, of course you now want to know how to do it. There are a few ways to proceed and we will detail them in the next section.

Backing Up Escape Using a Tape Drive System

If you are using a tape drive system, this typically means you are backing up either the whole hard drive or selected folders on the drive. Usually this is done on what would be considered the main server on your system, but can be any computer where the data must be saved. If you are running the client/server version of ESC, you can make an easily restorable backup in ESC using a tape drive system by simply going to UtilitiesàBack up your data, accept the default download location of c:\mssql7\backup and click the backup button. ESC will do a fast backup to the default directory previously indicated. When the backup is completed, it will create a file called service.dat_bak. This file is actually a complete backup of all the information in your database and can easily be restored using the Restore Your Data option in Utilities.

Some systems are on a timed backup and others are manually set, either way, when you do your tape backup, make sure to include the c:\mssql7 directory in what will be backed up. The last part of the backup routine is to do a once a week maintenance of the backup file. The weekly maintenance is to delete the service.dat_bak file from its location in the c:\mssql7\backup directory. This is necessary to conserve a computer’s hard drive space since continual backups without deleting will make the backup file grow larger each time.

To explain this further, let’s say that we start a backup routine on Monday thru Friday, and do a backup every day. This would give us 5 days of full backups located in the c:\mssql7\backup folder on the computer’s hard drive. Every time a backup is done, it simply adds the backup to the existing file (service.dat_bak) instead of overwriting it. This means that the service.dat_bak file grows in sized every time you back up! If the back up file is not deleted at least once per week, it may grow to such a large size as to slow system performance or even fail the backup because not enough space remains to accept a new daily backup. This is a critical part of the backup process and should not be ignored.

Backing Up Escape Using a CDRW or ZIP Drive System

If you are using either a CD rewritable (CDRW) or a ZIP drive system, the backup procedure can be different than using a tape drive. With a CDRW or ZIP, you can choose to backup as you would a tape drive (backup ESC to the hard drive and then back up the hard drive contents), or you could choose to backup directly to the CDRW or ZIP disk. If you back up directly to the CDRW/ZIP, you will save two steps in the process. First, you would not have to do a weekly maintenance of your hard drive to remove the back up file, as the backup file (service.dat_bak) would be saved directly to the disk. Second, you would not have to worry about making sure your tape backup is setup properly, as the backup to the CDRW/ZIP would occur immediately and not as part of a timed backup or included with other files.

For example, let’s say that we start a backup routine for Monday thru Friday, and do a backup every day. This means we should have a CDRW/ZIP disk for each day of the week that would contain the service.dat_bak backup file. When the next week begins, we would delete the prior weeks backup from the disk and do another backup for the current day to that disk thereby continuing the cycle. The backup procedure you choose will be based upon equipment you currently have or will buy and which data on your system you will need to backup. It can not be stressed enough that a failure to have a consistent backup procedure in place and functioning, will undoubtedly lead to a loss of data sometime in the future. The fate of your business may depend on your ability to recover from a failed computer or hard drive. So, protect yourself, your customers and your earning potential and backup, backup, backup!

A note on restoring a client/server database: Because we use SQL to handle the database in a client/server system, restoring a backup couldn’t be easier. Simply reinstall the software on the computer that crashed, copy the service.dat_bak (substitute “service” if your database has a different name) to that hard drive, and log into ESC and go to Utilitiesàrestore your data and navigate to where the bak file is located.

Single User Notes

If you are running a single user system, the back up and restore routine is a bit different. When you back up a single user database, the backup file that will be created will be called Service.mdd (or if the database is named something else like Plumber.mdd). The database name may not be the same, but the mdd extension will be. You can use any of the above methods to back up this database and you would be protected from data loss. To restore this database, copy the mdd file back to your computer and rename the extension from mdd to mdb. Changing the d to a b will allow the software to read the file. Lastly, copy the renamed service.mdb file (overwrite the file with the same name) into the coastal directory and log into ESC, that’s all there is to it.

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