SafeStore 2

Pricing

Bundles with external drives, network attached storage, or pen drives available. Please phone.

System Requirements

• RiscPC, A7000, RiscStation, Iyonix, RISCube or A9
• RISC OS 3.5 and higher
• 16Mb of RAM
• Storage for backups
• VirtualRPC compatible

Recommendations

SafeStore is a thoroughly modern backup program, designed for those of us who never seem to get round to backing up. You can set SafeStore up, and it will then automatically backup your data without getting in your way - it can work whilst your computer is idle, and backup as frequently (or infrequently!) as you wish.

The software can back up to all manner of devices - other folders on your main hard drive, external backup drives, USB pen drives, network shares (ie. backup to other machines, or peripherals connected to other machines), or even via FTP to the internet! SafeStore can automatically log you on to your network connection, and disconnect when done, if you wish.

The software integrates into your RISC OS computer, either as a stand-alone program or as a plugin for the standard Configure screen (the one you see when you double click !Boot). The idea is to make backup just another system task that you set up, and then let the computer get on with it. By being hassle-free, you never know, it might actually get done!

The software has many advanced features, such as the ability to ignore certain files/folders, and set different schedules for each and every job. We'd anticipate most users will set up a number of backup jobs - different work folders will need more/less frequent backup.

The system also introduces a sophisticated "smoothness" slider, which allows you to dynamically increase/decrease system responsiveness as needed, allowing you to get on with work while the backup proceeds in the background.

Of course, if you find all this talk of automatic backup off-putting, you can set up and trigger backup jobs manually, for "full control". However, despite being something of a control-freak when it comes to his computer, R-Comp's Andrew Rawnsley had this to say - "It's amazing how reassuring it is to know that SafeStore is quietly storing away my key files and email, and whilst I don't normally like automated solutions, I certainly wouldn't want to go back to the insecurity I had before."

You can even use SafeStore to back up documents stored on other computers (the source folder can be a network location, too) which means that SafeStore can co-ordinate all your backups, copying your files from place to place, ensuring all your systems are safe. And, with the FTP backup system, you could even automate your website uploading!

Several people have asked about incremental/differential backup with regard to SafeStore. We can confirm that SafeStore only copies changed files, but checks the destination files during copy to correctly detect which files need to be backed up. The reason for this is that many non-ADFS filing systems get the date/time stamps wrong, which can result in everything being copied. SafeStore isn't fooled by such things, and checks files to see what needs to be done. In version 1.02 or later, you can speed things up further by assuming that the destination is unchanged, so that only the source folders are checked for changes. This can result in extremely swift backups.

User Comments

"Safestore has already done what I needed. And I have managed to configure it to my specific needs. Once again, my thanks for the excellent software."

"Safestore is even better than I expected. Its versatility is so useful. Over the past few days, I have found several files which need a regular backup. Adding additional files was so easy."

Pricing