Backup FAQs - OS 9 Version

Q: What happens if BackJack cannot get a connection right away?

If the start of a session fails (BackJack cannot connect to the server for any reason), a countdown window will appear and count down from 15 minutes. When it reaches zero, BackJack will attempt the connection again. If unsuccessful, BackJack will either continue this process until the connection is made or the 'Stop' button is clicked by the user.

Q: Will BackJack back up a file or folder that is in use?

All files and/or folders that are scheduled to be backed up should be closed before the session begins. If the files/folders are in use when a backup occurs, you will receive an email indicating that there were problems with the backup and to check your Log file. If the file was in use, the Log will indicate that.

Q: Why does my backup seem to take longer than I think it should?

Since BackJack uses the internet to transfer files, it is subject to normal slowdowns that may be encountered.

Also, BackJack was designed to be a 'good citizen' while running in the background. There are two very important tasks that must be completed on your computer before BackJack can transmit a file to our secure servers. The first is compression and the second is 128-bit encryption. BackJack will take a lot longer to perform these tasks while running in the background thereby enabling you to work in other applications with minimal impact.

Tip - for maximum efficiency, ensure BackJack is running in the foreground (ie. if you configure BackJack to launch automatically through the night, it will be in the foreground automatically)

When BackJack is performing a backup, there is a progress screen that shows you the status of your backup. The status bar itself acts as a good indicator of how much time is remaining before completion. Also, there is a field at the bottom of the progress screen that will show you the exact activity taking place at that moment for each file being backed up. For example, it will tell you that it is Preparing, Compressing, Encrypting, Transferring or Confirming.

Q: What happens if a backup does not execute properly as scheduled?

If there has been a problem, for whatever reason, and BackJack was unable to execute a regularly scheduled backup, it will attempt to retry the backup as soon as you relaunch the program. You will see a countdown window that counts down from 15 seconds to notify you that it is going to try to re-attempt the failed backup. You have the choice of letting the backup proceed or deferring it until the next scheduled date and time.

Q: I started my backup last night and when I came in this morning, it was still going? What should I do?

The rate at which BackJack is able to back up files depends on a number of different factors - how many files are being backed up (ie. is it several large files or many smaller files) and your connection speed to the Internet. You can let BackJack continue to run in the background or you can stop the backup by pressing Command + Period (.) The information that has been backed up to this point will be on our servers and the next time you execute this backup it will start from where it left off. You will receive an email indicating the items that were successfully backed up. If you need to force the quit for any reason, the information up to that point will still remain backed up; however, the session will not have been properly closed and you will not receive an email from us.

Q: What happens if there is a problem during a backup session? (ie. connection is dropped, computer gets turned off, hydro goes out, etc.)

The session will of course be stopped part way through. The next time you go to do a backup, it will carry on like normal. The information that was already backed up is being stored safely on our servers. You shouldn't notice any problems except that you won't receive an email for what was backed up during that first session.

Q: Why do I receive an email message after each backup session?

We wanted to provide a convenient way to let you know that the server had successfully captured the information for a session. The email message simply confirms this for you.

We also wanted you to be able to remotely monitor a computer and have the email sent to you directly so you can keep track from anywhere in the world. System Administrators can have all the emails sent directly to them if they want so they can monitor all backups.

Q: My confirmation email says there were more than 50 items that encountered problems during the backup, but my backup set only contained 20 items. How can that be?

This relates to the above question as well. Since BackJack tries a files 3 times before giving up, in this case it would put 60 entries (20 items x 3 times) into the log.

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