Ocster Backup Pro 8 Copyright 2013 Ocster GmbH & Co. KG All rights reserved.
Table of Contents Introduction... iv 1. Features... 1 2. Creating New Backup Plans... 3 Overview... 3 Creating Image-Based Backup Plans... 6 Creating File-Based Backup Plans... 8 3. Performing Backups... 11 Starting Backups... 11 Manually Pausing the Backup... 11 Automatic Pausing... 11 4. Viewing Backup Reports... 13 5. Restoring Backups... 14 6. Managing Backups... 17 7. Backing Up and Restoring Outlook Data... 19 8. Getting a Quick Status Overview... 20 9. Rescue System (CD/DVD/USB Stick) - Bare Metal Restore... 21 10. FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions)... 24 11. Support / Contact... 25 12. System Requirements... 26 13. About... 27 iii
Introduction Ocster Backup Pro 8 is a great backup software that was designed from the start to work fully automatic. You simply specify what you want backed up and when and then the software takes care of the rest. Ocster Backup Pro 8 is really easy to use and requires no technical knowledge at all. With the software's scheduled automatic backups you simply select what to back up and when and that's it. The software will automatically keep your data safe! iv
Chapter 1. Features Fully Automatic: Creates fully automatic backups of your data Easy to use Full system backup (Image Backup): Backup of your whole computer or of complete hard disks Infinite Incremental Image Backup: Unique technology that reduces the space requirements for image backups by approximately 50%! Backups are stored in VMDK files: if you do a full system backup (image backup) then your data will be stored in the standardized VMDK disk format. This format is understood by many other applications as well. File backup: Backup a selection of files, folders and application data Outlook Support: Back up your Microsoft Outlook emails and calendars with a single mouse click. Internet Explorer Favorites/Bookmarks Backup Windows Contacts Backup: Easily back up your Windows Contacts folder (Windows Vista or higher) Thunderbird Support: Emails, settings, calendars, etc. from Mozilla Thunderbird can be backed up with a single click. Firefox Support: Convenient backup for your Mozilla Firefox bookmarks and settings Automatic Pause: Backups are done in the background and are automatically paused to prevent them from slowing down other programs. Various system characteristics are monitored, e.g. CPU usage, I/O usage, fullscreen applications, etc. Stop & Resume: Backups can be stopped and resumed at any point. This is handy when the computer needs to be shut down, for example. 1:1 File Copy Mode: The software offers an optional mode where the files and folders to back up are simply copied into the backup folder, instead of being put into archives. This allows you to directly open them, right from the backup folder. Automatic shutdown of the computer after backup Sleep mode control: Optional: prevent the computer to go to sleep during backup (also depending on wether or not the computer is battery powered). Backup Reports: Detailed backup reports can be generated each time the backup is updated. The contents of the reports can be configured. Backup Report Emails: Backup reports can be automatically sent to an email address. That way you can be up-to-date on the state of your backups even when you are on a business trip or if the computer is simply a server in your attic. Restore individual files: The contents of the backups can be browsed and files and folders can be restored individually. Network support: Files and folders on network drives can also be backed up. The backup data can also be stored on network drives if that is desired. 1
Features Encryption: Backups are strongly encrypted and protected with a user password. The encryption algorithm can be configured, if that is desired. Compression: Backups are compressed intelligently to save space. Different compression types are available: from fast ones with moderate compression to slower ones with excellent compression. Scheduled: Backups can be started either automatically at scheduled times or manually by clicking a button. Storage Types: Backups can be stored on hard disk, USB sticks, network drives. Incremental backup: after an initial full backup only the changes to the previous state are stored. This saves space and reduces transfer times. Open File Support: Files and folders that are in use can be backed up as well. Hard Link and Symbolic Link Support: Hard links and symbolic links can be backed up and are properly restored as hard links and symbolic links. Special Files Compressed, encrypted and sparse files can also be backed up. Compression Algorithms The software supports the following compression types: ZLib, LZMA Quick, LZMA Normal, LZMA Best Small File Optimization Through smart uses of compression the software can achieve high compression rates, even with many small files. 2
Chapter 2. Creating New Backup Plans Overview To create a backup plan, follow these steps: First, click on "Create New Backup Plan" in the main menu. 1. Select the destination or import an existing plan Choosing a new location: If you simply want to create a new backup plan, then you need to choose a folder where the backup data will stored. This folder should not be on the same hard disk as the files that you would like to back up. Otherwise if the hard disk is broken your backup will be gone as well. If you would like to store the backup on a network share then you can enter or select the corresponding network path (e.g. \\MyMachine\MyShare). If you have a network drive connected to the network share then you can also simply select that drive. Once you have selected the folder where the backup is stored you can also assign a name to the backup. The name must be unique for the folder you selected. Importing a backup plan from an existing backup: If you already have an existing backup and simply want to re-import the backup plan that was used to create it, then you should select this option. Simply select the folder where the backup was stored and click on next. If the backup is protected with a password then you will have to enter it now. Afterwards you are done. 2. Enter network login for target location If you have selected a network location for the backup then you will be asked for the corresponding login credentials for the location. The software needs these so that the backup service can access the network share. If you did not select a network location then this step will be skipped automatically. 3
Creating New Backup Plans 3. Select which files and folders to back up. On the next screen you select what should be backed up. The options are split into categories, which are listed on the left side of the screen. To go to a category, simply click on it. There are several high-level options for selecting the data from special folders or certain applications with a single click. You can also manually select files and folders, if you want, and even add filters to exclude some files. 4. Enter network logins If you have selected any files and folders that are located on network shares then the program will ask you for the corresponding network logins. If you did not select any network locations then this step will be skipped automatically. 5. Choose wether the backup should be encrypted Next you can select wether you want to encrypt your backup. Encryption is used to protect the backups with a password and prevent other people from accessing it. IMPORTANT: Please note that if you enable encryption and you lose your password then the whole backup will be unusable forever. Only activate encryption if you really need it. 6. Select the encryption type If you have chosen to encrypt your backup in the previous step then you can now select how the encryption is done. All the supported encryption algorithms offer solid protection against all but the most serious hacking attacks. However, if you have a favorite algorithm or want really high military grade protection you can select your favorite here. If you don't know what to choose here you should simply leave the default selection. It provides good protection and is also quite fast. 7. Select the compression algorithm Ocster Backup Pro 8 supports multiple different compression algorithms that help to reduce the size of your backup. There is a trade-off between the speed of the backup and the quality of the compression. Select the compression type that you would like to use. If you don't know what to choose here you should simply leave the default selection. It is a good all-round compression type. 8. Select when the backups are done On the next screen you specify when automatic backups should be done. The scheduling is very flexible. In addition to simple daily or weekly backups you also have the option to create advanced schedules with as many daily, weekly or monthly start times as you like (in any combination). You can also specify that the backup should only start on every second (or third, or fourth,...) scheduled time (this is controlled via the so-called "step size"). For example, you could create a backup that will only start every two weeks instead of every week. 4
Creating New Backup Plans You also have the option to disable automatic backups. In that case the backup is never started automatically and you have to start it manually. 9. Choose what happens when a scheduled backup was missed Sometimes it may not be possible for the backup to start at the scheduled times. For example, your computer could be switched off, or your backup hard drive may not be connected. The default setting in these cases is to create a backup at the next opportunity. For example, if your computer was turned off at the scheduled time then the backup will automatically start when you turn it back on (note that only one backup will be made, even if multiple scheduled start times were missed). This is the recommended setting for normal users. However, there are some special cases in which you might want a backup to be made ONLY at the scheduled times. If that is the case then you can select that missed backups should simply be skipped and the next backup should happen at the next scheduled time. 10. Power Settings On this page you can activate the option to automatically shut down your computer after a backup has been made. This is useful, for example, if the backups are started at the end of your work day. Note that a countdown will be displayed before the shutdown happens and you will be able to abort it at any time. The second setting on this page allows you to select wether or not the computer is allowed to go to sleep during a backup. The recommended setting is to allow it to go to sleep if the computer is running on battery power (only applies to notebooks or tablet PCs), but to prevent sleeping if it is plugged into normal power. Note that these settings only control the sleep mode while a backup is being made. Your computer can still freely go to sleep at other times, no matter which setting you select. 11. Configure Backup Reports The software can generate a report each time it performs a backup. These reports are stored in the archive [13]. This screen is used to configure how detailed these reports are and how many of them are stored. Please note that the reports can become quite large for high detail settings if the backups contain a lot of files. 12. Backup Report Emails If you have chosen to store backup reports then you can also let the software send the report to you by email each time a backup was done. A free Ocster account is required to use this feature. 13. Time to keep old files The software can keep old versions of your files in the backup if you want it to. That way if you have accidentally deleted a file or need an older version from two weeks ago you can still retrieve it from your backup. This screen allows you to specify if old versions should be kept and how long you want to keep them. 14. Done On the next screen you are asked what kind of backup you would like to make. There are two main possibilities: complete hard disks (image based backup) or a selection of your files, folders, settings and application data (file based backup). 5
Creating New Backup Plans Image based backup backs up everything on your hard disk. You can easily restore your whole computer if you have a hardware problem and you can be assured that all your data is backed up. But it also requires more space on your backup medium. File based backup requires less space, but it also means that you need to select what to back up. Also, your operating system and applications cannot be backed up in this mode, just files, settings and application data. 1. Backup your whole computer or a complete hard disk (image based backup) [6]. 2. Backup a selection of files, folders and application data (file based backup) [8] Creating Image-Based Backup Plans Creating an image-based backup plan is pretty easy. Just follow these steps: 1. Select the destination or import an existing plan Choosing a new location: If you simply want to create a new backup plan, then you need to choose a folder where the backup data will stored. This folder should not be on the same hard disk as the files that you would like to back up. Otherwise if the hard disk is broken your backup will be gone as well. If you would like to store the backup on a network share then you can enter or select the corresponding network path (e.g. \\MyMachine\MyShare). If you have a network drive connected to the network share then you can also simply select that drive. Once you have selected the folder where the backup is stored you can also assign a name to the backup. The name must be unique for the folder you selected. Importing a backup plan from an existing backup: If you already have an existing backup and simply want to re-import the backup plan that was used to create it, then you should select this option. Simply select the folder where the backup was stored and click on next. If the backup is protected with a password then you will have to enter it now. Afterwards you are done. 2. Enter network login for target location If you have selected a network location for the backup then you will be asked for the corresponding login credentials for the location. The software needs these so that the backup service can access the network share. If you did not select a network location then this step will be skipped automatically. 3. Select which drives you would like to back up. 4. Select whether or not you would like to compress the backup data. Backups are always stored in a standardized format called VMDK (VMware virtual disk). The advantage is that you can use your backup data in other applications that understand this format as well. Normally you should enable compression, since it makes the backup data smaller and even speeds up the backup process. However, if you plan to import your backup disks in another application then you might want to check first if that application supports compressed VMDK files. Not all of them do. 6
Creating New Backup Plans 5. Select how many backups your would like to keep. You can tell the software to keep old versions of your backup data. That can be very useful if you want an old version of a file or if it takes a few days until you find out that your system has had a problem. In such cases it is nice to be able to go back to a backup from a few days ago. Ocster Backup Pro 8 supports incremental backups. That means that only the differences between two backups are actually stored, making the backups much smaller. You can select what type of incremental backup you want: Infinite Incremental Backup: Only one full backup is ever made. All backups following this are incremental ones. This makes backups a lot smaller and faster than normal incremental schemes. Technical background: The infinite incremental backup is made in a special way - it actually uses a socalled "Reverse Incremental" procedure. Because of this the backups do not suffer from problems that are common with other incremental mechanisms. Backup quality does not degenerate over time and old backups can easily be deleted, without the need to merge their data into newer backups. Regularly create new full backups: First a full backup is made. Then follow some small incremental backups (you can configure how many) and then a new full backup is made. And so on. The advantage of this scheme is that you can have multiple independent full backup. So if one of them gets damaged then you still have other independent backups to fall back on. However, please note that the overall size of the backups will be considerably larger than with Infinite Incremental backup. You can configure how many incremental backups you want between two full backups. If you specify 0 then only full backups will be made. The total number of full backups that are going to be kept depends on this setting and the total number of backups you want to keep. 6. Select when the backups are done On the next screen you specify when automatic backups should be done. The scheduling is very flexible. In addition to simple daily or weekly backups you also have the option to create advanced schedules with as many daily, weekly or monthly start times as you like (in any combination). You can also specify that the backup should only start on every second (or third, or fourth,...) scheduled time (this is controlled via the so-called "step size"). For example, you could create a backup that will only start every two weeks instead of every week. You also have the option to disable automatic backups. In that case the backup is never started automatically and you have to start it manually. 7. Choose what happens when a scheduled backup was missed Sometimes it may not be possible for the backup to start at the scheduled times. For example, your computer could be switched off, or your backup hard drive may not be connected. The default setting in these cases is to create a backup at the next opportunity. For example, if your computer was turned off at the scheduled time then the backup will automatically start when you turn it back on (note that only one backup will be made, even if multiple scheduled start times were missed). This is the recommended setting for normal users. 7
Creating New Backup Plans However, there are some special cases in which you might want a backup to be made ONLY at the scheduled times. If that is the case then you can select that missed backups should simply be skipped and the next backup should happen at the next scheduled time. 8. Power Settings On this page you can activate the option to automatically shut down your computer after a backup has been made. This is useful, for example, if the backups are started at the end of your work day. Note that a countdown will be displayed before the shutdown happens and you will be able to abort it at any time. The second setting on this page allows you to select wether or not the computer is allowed to go to sleep during a backup. The recommended setting is to allow it to go to sleep if the computer is running on battery power (only applies to notebooks or tablet PCs), but to prevent sleeping if it is plugged into normal power. Note that these settings only control the sleep mode while a backup is being made. Your computer can still freely go to sleep at other times, no matter which setting you select. 9. Configure Backup Reports The software can generate a report each time it performs a backup. These reports are stored in the archive [13]. On this screen you can select wether or not you want backup reports to be generated. 10. Backup Report Emails If you have chosen to store backup reports then you can also let the software send the report to you by email each time a backup was done. A free Ocster account is required to use this feature. 11. Done Creating File-Based Backup Plans 1. Select the destination or import an existing plan Choosing a new location: If you simply want to create a new backup plan, then you need to choose a folder where the backup data will stored. This folder should not be on the same hard disk as the files that you would like to back up. Otherwise if the hard disk is broken your backup will be gone as well. If you would like to store the backup on a network share then you can enter or select the corresponding network path (e.g. \\MyMachine\MyShare). If you have a network drive connected to the network share then you can also simply select that drive. Once you have selected the folder where the backup is stored you can also assign a name to the backup. The name must be unique for the folder you selected. Importing a backup plan from an existing backup: If you already have an existing backup and simply want to re-import the backup plan that was used to create it, then you should select this option. Simply select the folder where the backup was stored and click on next. If the backup is protected with a password then you will have to enter it now. Afterwards you are done. 2. Enter network login for target location 8
Creating New Backup Plans If you have selected a network location for the backup then you will be asked for the corresponding login credentials for the location. The software needs these so that the backup service can access the network share. If you did not select a network location then this step will be skipped automatically. 3. Select which files and folders to back up. On the next screen you select what should be backed up. The options are split into categories, which are listed on the left side of the screen. To go to a category, simply click on it. There are several high-level options for selecting the data from special folders or certain applications with a single click. You can also manually select files and folders, if you want, and even add filters to exclude some files. 4. Enter network logins If you have selected any files and folders that are located on network shares then the program will ask you for the corresponding network logins. If you did not select any network locations then this step will be skipped automatically. 5. Choose wether the backup should be encrypted Next you can select wether you want to encrypt your backup. Encryption is used to protect the backups with a password and prevent other people from accessing it. IMPORTANT: Please note that if you enable encryption and you lose your password then the whole backup will be unusable forever. Only activate encryption if you really need it. 6. Select the encryption type If you have chosen to encrypt your backup in the previous step then you can now select how the encryption is done. All the supported encryption algorithms offer solid protection against all but the most serious hacking attacks. However, if you have a favorite algorithm or want really high military grade protection you can select your favorite here. If you don't know what to choose here you should simply leave the default selection. It provides good protection and is also quite fast. 7. Select the compression algorithm Ocster Backup Pro 8 supports multiple different compression algorithms that help to reduce the size of your backup. There is a trade-off between the speed of the backup and the quality of the compression. Select the compression type that you would like to use. If you don't know what to choose here you should simply leave the default selection. It is a good all-round compression type. 8. Select when the backups are done On the next screen you specify when automatic backups should be done. The scheduling is very flexible. In addition to simple daily or weekly backups you also have the option to create advanced schedules with as many daily, weekly or monthly start times as you like (in any combination). You can also specify that the 9
Creating New Backup Plans backup should only start on every second (or third, or fourth,...) scheduled time (this is controlled via the so-called "step size"). For example, you could create a backup that will only start every two weeks instead of every week. You also have the option to disable automatic backups. In that case the backup is never started automatically and you have to start it manually. 9. Choose what happens when a scheduled backup was missed Sometimes it may not be possible for the backup to start at the scheduled times. For example, your computer could be switched off, or your backup hard drive may not be connected. The default setting in these cases is to create a backup at the next opportunity. For example, if your computer was turned off at the scheduled time then the backup will automatically start when you turn it back on (note that only one backup will be made, even if multiple scheduled start times were missed). This is the recommended setting for normal users. However, there are some special cases in which you might want a backup to be made ONLY at the scheduled times. If that is the case then you can select that missed backups should simply be skipped and the next backup should happen at the next scheduled time. 10. Power Settings On this page you can activate the option to automatically shut down your computer after a backup has been made. This is useful, for example, if the backups are started at the end of your work day. Note that a countdown will be displayed before the shutdown happens and you will be able to abort it at any time. The second setting on this page allows you to select wether or not the computer is allowed to go to sleep during a backup. The recommended setting is to allow it to go to sleep if the computer is running on battery power (only applies to notebooks or tablet PCs), but to prevent sleeping if it is plugged into normal power. Note that these settings only control the sleep mode while a backup is being made. Your computer can still freely go to sleep at other times, no matter which setting you select. 11. Configure Backup Reports The software can generate a report each time it performs a backup. These reports are stored in the archive [13]. This screen is used to configure how detailed these reports are and how many of them are stored. Please note that the reports can become quite large for high detail settings if the backups contain a lot of files. 12. Backup Report Emails If you have chosen to store backup reports then you can also let the software send the report to you by email each time a backup was done. A free Ocster account is required to use this feature. 13. Time to keep old files The software can keep old versions of your files in the backup if you want it to. That way if you have accidentally deleted a file or need an older version from two weeks ago you can still retrieve it from your backup. This screen allows you to specify if old versions should be kept and how long you want to keep them. 14. Done 10
Chapter 3. Performing Backups Starting Backups Usually backups are started automatically by the program at the scheduled intervals, unless you have explicitly requested that they have to be started manually when creating the backup plan. However, all backups can also be started manually, wether they are scheduled or not. This is done from the Manage Screen [17]. Follow these steps to start a backup manually: 1. Go to the Manage Screen. 2. Select the backup plan you would like to start. 3. Click on the "Start Backup Now" button. 4. The backup will now start. Please note that it can take a while for it to finish, especially if it is the first time this backup is run. Manually Pausing the Backup You can pause a running backup process at any point by clicking on the "Pause" button. After pausing a small pause icon will flash. The backup will remain paused until you click on the "Resume" button. Automatic Pausing Ocster Backup Pro 8 will monitor the usage levels of your computer and automatically pause any running backup if processing power is needed for another program. This feature is called "Automatic Pausing" and it ensures that the backup will not slow down your computer when you do other things, so you can let it run in the background unnoticed. The backup will automatically resume when enough free resources are available. 11
Performing Backups The conditions that trigger the automatic pausing are quite complex. The program monitors various aspects of the system, like CPU activity, I/O activity and even things like wether an application is in fullscreen mode or not. It is optimized to detect all instances where you would NOT want the backup to run. Automatic pausing can be disabled temporarily in the backup progress screen. Simply remove the check mark from the box at the bottom of the screen and automatic pausing will be disabled for this particular backup run. It will be automatically re-enabled after the backup run stops. 12
Chapter 4. Viewing Backup Reports The software can create a report every time it creates or updates a backup. These reports contain statistical information about the backup, like the number of files and folders that have been changed or deleted, or the number of errors that occurred. Reports can also contain detailed information about the contents of the backup if they have been configured that way. To open the report archive select "View Backup Reports" in the main menu. You will see a list of all reports that are currently stored in the archive. To open a report simply select it an click on Open. The program will then generate prepare the report as an HTML file and open your web browser to display it. Note You can also let the software send you these reports by email whenever a backup is done. This can be selected in the backup plan settings [3]. 13
Chapter 5. Restoring Backups There are two ways for restoring a backup: you can do it from the Manage Screen [17] or via the "Restore Backup" item in the start screen. This chapter describes the latter option. With this option you can also restore backups that you do not have a backup plan installed for. I.e. backups you made on another computer, or before reinstalling your system. Follow these steps: 1. In the first screen you will be asked to select the folder that the backup is stored in. The program will also display the backups it already knows about, so if the one that you want to restore is one of those then you can simply select it. 2. If the backup is protected by a password then you will have to enter that next. This is the password that you selected when you created the backup plan for this backup. If the backup is not password protected then this step will automatically be skipped. 3. The following steps depend on what kind of backup you have selected. If you have selected a file-based backup then please follow these steps: a. Select which files and folders should be restored. Place a check mark next to the files and folders you would like to restore. Placing a check mark next to a folder will select the folder and all of its contents. Double click on a folder to open it and browse through its contents. If you see a smaller check mark next to a folder then it means that only some of its contents have been selected. You can check or uncheck multiple entries at once by selecting multiple entries in the list and then clicking on the check box of one of them. 14
Restoring Backups You can also go back in time and access older versions of backed up files. To do this simply select the corresponding date and the program will display the state of the backup as it was at the end of that day. How far you can go back depends mainly on the setting of the backup plan that specifies how long old versions of the files are kept. b. Select the directory where the restored files and folders should be stored. To prevent dangerous automatic overwriting of system files, you can only restore into an empty directory. c. The next screen allows you to select how the access permissions of the restored files and folders will be set. The options are to either use the default permissions (recommended) or to restore the original permissions that the files and folders had when the backup was made. The latter option is intended only for experts and normal users should usually leave the box "Use default access permissions" checked. If you do not check the "Use default access permissions" box then please note that if the backed up files were originally stored on a different computer or the operating system was reinstalled, then restoring the original access permissions can mean that you won't be able to access the restored files without a few technical tricks. d. When you click Next a summary screen is shown that displays the settings you have made. e. When you click Next again then the restore process will start. A progress screen is displayed until the restore operation is complete. If you have selected an image-based backup (a backup of a complete hard disk or partition) then you need to select what kind of data you would like to restore: Browse the backups or restore individual files or folders This function allows you to create a virtual drive from the data of one of your backups. Simply select the drive to restore and the date of the backup and click on "Open". A new Windows Explorer window will open and show the contents of that backup. You can browse through the virtual drive as if it were a normal hard disk. You can even open or copy files directly from it. Overwrite the contents of an individual drive, but not a whole hard disk ("without boot information") This option is intended for cases where you want to overwrite the contents of a hard disk partition (i.e. of a drive like "D:"). If there are other partitions (drives) on the same hard disk they are left untouched. IMPORTANT: you can only use this function to overwrite existing partitions. You can not restore to a blank hard disk that does not have any partitions. Use the option to restore a complete hard disk ("with boot information") for those cases. You will see the backed-up drives on the left and the drives in your system on the right. Use your mouse to drag&drop a backup drive from the left to the desired destination drive on the right. You can overwrite more than one drive if you like. Once you have selected what you would like to restore simply click on Next. The software will then restore the data. Once the restore process is complete you should restart your computer. Restore a complete hard disk ("with boot information") 15
Restoring Backups Use this to restore a complete hard disk. All data on the hard disk is overwritten. It does not matter whether the disk is blank or not. You will see the backed-up hard disks on the left and the hard disks in your system on the right. Use your mouse to drag&drop a backup from the left to the desired destination disk on the right. You can assign multiple backups to multiple disks if you like. When you are done making the selection click on Next to begin restoring. Once the restore process is complete you should restart your computer. 16
Chapter 6. Managing Backups To manage existing backup plans click on "Manage Backup Plans" in the main menu. The screen allows you to control and observe backup plans. If you have more than one backup plan then the screen will only show one at a time. You can change which one is displayed by clicking on Select Backup Plan in the top right corner. The screen allows you to do the following: Start and resume backups manually Just click on the Backup Now button on the left side (it will change to a Resume button when a backup is currently paused. Modify a backup plan Click on the Change Plan button on the left side. The program will then display the plan settings screens that you already saw when you created the backup plan [3]. In this version of the software it is not possible to change the location where the backup is stored or the encryption password. View backup reports Click on the "View Reports" button on the left side to open a list with all available backup reports for the current plan. See View Backup Reports [13]. Restore a backup Click on Restore on the left side. The Restore process is described here [14] in more detail. Verify a backup Click on the Verify button on the left side to verify the integrity of a backup. Verification is only necessary for backups that are stored locally. It is not needed for backups on Ocster Secure Storage because the data centers automatically maintain the backup's integrity. 17
Managing Backups After clicking on verify the program will display a progress screen and afterwards the result of the verification. Delete a backup plan together with all backup data Click on Delete on the left side. You will be asked to confirm the deletion by entering the word DELETE in a text field. Get status information about a running backup When the backup is currently running then you will see various progress information in the main area of the screen. Get information about the finished backups When the backup is not currently running then you will see information about the last backup run. You can also open a short log that contains all errors that may have occured (click on Show Log). 18
Chapter 7. Backing Up and Restoring Outlook Data Ocster Backup Pro 8 supports backing up your Microsoft Outlook emails and calendars. To include these in your backup plan simply check the corresponding checkbox when creating the plan. To restore your data into Outlook follow these steps: 1. Restore the backup, just like every other backup (see Restore [14]). 2. After restoring, click on "Open destination folder" or manually open the folder you restored to in a Windows Explorer window. 3. You will find a folder called "_outlook_". This folder contains your Outlook PST files, which in turn contain your data. 4. Open Microsoft Outlook. 5. Open the "File" menu and select "Import and Export". 6. Select "Import from another program or file" and click on "Next". 7. Select "Personal Folder File (.pst)" and click on "Next". 8. Click on "Browse" and open the "_outlook_" folder that was restored (see above) and the PST file in it. Once you have selected the PST file, click on "OK" to close the file dialog and then on "Next" to continue. 9. On the next screen you can select what parts of the data should be imported and where it should be stored in your Outlook database. In most cases these settings can be left at their default value. Click on "Finish" to continue. 10. Outlook will now import your data. 19
Chapter 8. Getting a Quick Status Overview The easiest way to get a quick status overview is on the main menu screen. In the area at the bottom is the "Backup Status" list that displays one line for every backup plan. It indicates if the latest backup was successful, had an error or if a backup is currently running. You can also click on an entry in the status list to directly go to the manage screen [17] for that plan. 20
Chapter 9. Rescue System (CD/DVD/USB Stick) - Bare Metal Restore Overview The software allows you to create a rescue CD, DVD or USB-Stick. This rescue system is intended for two kinds of situations: 1. To restore a backup to your main hard disk. This cannot be done while your normal system is running, so you need the rescue system for that. 2. To restore a backup when your system is so damaged that it does not start anymore. Important: The rescue system can only be used to restore image based backups at the moment. I.e. complete backups of one or more hard disks or partitions. Use the normal windows application to restore just selected files and folders. Creating the rescue system You will find instructions on how to create the rescue system on this website: http://www.ocster.com/ocsterrescue-disc Using the rescue system The rescue medium is bootable. That means that your computer can start directly from this medium, without using your normal operating system. Please note that simply starting the rescue system will not yet make any changes to your computer. Backups are never restored automatically. The rescue system will ask for confirmation before any data is restored. 1. If you are using a CD or DVD: Put the disc it into your disc drive. IMPORTANT: if you are using an external drive with a separate power supply then please make sure that you connect this power supply, even if it usually works without it! Some computers will not be able to boot from the drive otherwise. Note that this is only important if the external drive actually provides a separate power supply - if it does not have one then none is needed. If you are using a USB Stick: Plug the stick directly into your computer. Please do not use a USB hub, as some computers are not able to boot from USB sticks that are connected via a hub. 2. Restart your computer. IMPORTANT: If you use Windows 8 or later then please make sure that you use the "Restart" function to reboot the computer. DO NOT use the "Shutdown" function with Windows 8. It prevents the computer from starting any other boot media. 3. The rescue system should now start. After a few seconds you should see a simple boot menu labelled "Rescue System". If you see this menu then you can proceed to the next step. If your normal Windows system tries to start, or if you get a message about a missing operating system then your computer must first be told that it should try and start from CD/DVD or USB (depending on what kind 21
Rescue System (CD/DVD/ USB Stick) - Bare Metal Restore of rescue medium you use). This is specified in the computer's BIOS / UEFI settings. Unfortunately, these settings are accessed in a slightly different way for every computer. But on most computers you need to perform the following steps: a. Note that you ONLY need to perform these additional steps if the rescue system does not start! If it does start then skip these troubleshooting steps and continue with the process below. b. IMPORTANT: Changing the BIOS / UEFI settings is a pretty technical and risky process. If you make a mistake then the result can be that your computer will not start anymore! If you have any doubts regarding your ability to make the correct changes, then we advise you to ask an expert for help! c. First you need to open the BIOS / EFI settings. Usually this is done by pressing a certain key multiple times quickly when the computer begins to start. For most computers it will be one of the following keys: F2, F1, DEL, ESC, F10. You can try pressing one of these quickly and multiple times directly after restarting your computer. If it does not bring up the settings, then restart the computer and try the next key. d. Once you are in the settings you need to navigate to the screen that contains the boot settings. There should be instructions shown on how to navigate to the different screens (for example, with the cursor keys, TAB, F-keys or similar). e. Next you need to look for a setting that indicates the "Boot order" or "Startup order" or similar. This will be a list that defines in which order the computer tries to boot from the connected storage devices. You need to change this order so that the drive with the rescue system (either CD/DVD or USB, depending on what medium you are using) is tried first. USB sticks are sometimes called "USB HDD", CD drives sometimes have the word "Optical" in their name. IMPORTANT: Please be careful when changing this. Please do not remove entries from this list. Only change the order. f. Once you have made these changes you need to save the settings and restart the computer. Look for instructions on the screen on how this is done. There is usually a menu entry called "Exit" or "Quit" that will show options for saving and exiting the settings. g. If the settings are correct then the rescue system should start and the start menu should be displayed (as described above). 4. The start menu of the rescue system is only shown for a few seconds. It allows you to select how the rescue system should be started: in normal mode or in "Safe Mode". When you start the rescue system for the first time and do not encounter any problems (see below) then you should choose normal mode. If you do not make a selection within a few seconds then the rescue system will automatically start in normal mode. 5. The rescue system will now load. Note that this can take up to 15 minutes - please be patient!. If the rescue system does not load properly or you see long graphical distortion then you should restart the computer and choose one of the "Safe Mode" option from the rescue system start menu. In safe mode the rescue system may be a little bit slower because it uses fewer hardware drivers, but it works the same otherwise. 6. When the rescue system has loaded it will show a language selection screen. Please select your preferred language there. 7. If your computer has a wireless network adapted then the rescue system will ask for the settings to access your local network. You can usually skip this step, unless you need internet or network access to restore your backup. 22
Rescue System (CD/DVD/ USB Stick) - Bare Metal Restore 8. Next it asks for your general location in the world. This is needed so that time information can be displayed in the correct time zone. 9. On the next screen you are asked to select the type of keyboard you use. On the left side you can select the keyboard language (usually the same as your own language) and on the right side you can select the type of keyboard. If you do not know what to select on the right side then you can usually simply leave the default selection. 10. The general configuration process is now done and the rescue system will complete the startup process. This can again take several minutes to complete. 11. The rescue system will automatically start the restore application. This is almost identical to the restore functionality in the normal backup software on Windows. First it will ask you to select the folder that contains the backup data. Please note that you do not have to select any sub-folders or files inside the backup data folder. Simply selecting the backup data folder itself is sufficient (the software will later allow you to select what exactly you want to restore from the backup data). 12. In the next step you select what restore mode you would like to use: Overwrite the contents of an individual drive, but not a whole hard disk ("without boot information") This option is intended for cases where you want to overwrite the contents of a hard disk partition (i.e. of a drive like "D:"). If there are other partitions (drives) on the same hard disk they are left untouched. IMPORTANT: you can only use this function to overwrite existing partitions. You can not restore to a blank hard disk that does not have any partitions. Use the option to restore a complete hard disk ("with boot information") for those cases. You will see the backed-up drives on the left and the drives in your system on the right. Use your mouse to drag&drop a backup drive from the left to the desired destination drive on the right. You can overwrite more than one drive if you like. Once you have selected what you would like to restore simply click on Next. The software will then restore the data. Once the restore process is complete you should restart your computer. Restore a complete hard disk ("with boot information") Use this to restore a complete hard disk. All data on the hard disk is overwritten. It does not matter whether the disk is blank or not. You will see the backed-up hard disks on the left and the hard disks in your system on the right. Use your mouse to drag&drop a backup from the left to the desired destination disk on the right. You can assign multiple backups to multiple disks if you like. When you are done making the selection click on Next to begin restoring. Once the restore process is complete you should restart your computer. 23
Chapter 10. FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) 10.1. How does Automatic Pausing work? Ocster Backup Pro 8 will monitor the usage levels of your computer and automatically pause any running backup if processing power is needed for another program. This ensures that the backup will not slow down your computer when you do other things, so you can let it run in the background unnoticed. The backup will automatically resume when enough free resources are available. 10.2. How can I backup or restore my Microsoft Outlook emails and calendar? The process is described here [19]. 10.3. How can I backup data via a network? Ocster Backup Pro 8 fully supports the backup of data from and to network locations. Simply select the network location or network drive where you would otherwise select a path on your local hard disk. 10.4. What kind of encryption is used? You can select the type of encryption when you create the backup plan. Most major encryption methods are supported. 24
Chapter 11. Support / Contact If you have any questions or problems with the program, please select Help->Contact the Support Team from the program menu. That will bring up a screen where you can send a message to our support departement. 25
Chapter 12. System Requirements Windows 8 and 8.1, Windows 7, Windows Vista or Windows XP (the 64 Bit version of each operating system is also supported) 512 MB RAM Free space on hard disk: ca. 125 MB 26
Chapter 13. About Company address: Ocster GmbH & Co. KG Marie-Curie-Str. 1-3 26129 Oldenburg Germany http://www.ocster.com 27