 The magazine of the Melbourne PC User Group Windows Flash! Ross Alcock rossyfix@bigpond.com |
Occasional presentations from the Windows SIG, as presented to the June Meeting by Ross Alcock
Networks
If we restrict ourselves to home computers, a network is a group of computers and peripheral components
connected together. The reason you have a network is to share your files and printers. You can share other
bits but it becomes a little more complex. To make a network each computer needs a Network Interface Card or
NIC, plus some cable.
There are two basic types of cable, 10Base2 and 10BaseT 10Base2 is coaxial cable like round TV cable which
has a centre core, an outer wire and plastic cover; 2 wires hence Base2.
10BaseT is four sets of twisted pairs in a plastic cover; "T" for twisted. A better quality twisted pair
cable is called CAT5 or Category 5 twisted pair. This allows you to use a faster 100 Mbit/s protocol. The
10Base is 10 Mbit/s. For home use the 10 Mbit/s NICs are fine as they can use either cable type.
The 10Base2 cable is simple. It uses a bayonet type connector, a "T" piece on each NIC and the computers are
daisy-chained together with a terminating resistor at each end. e.g. four computers would need three cables
and two terminators.
Twisted pair wire is a superior way to connect the computers but to connect more than two computers you need
an extra component called a Hub. Each computer is connected via cable direct to the Hub and that forms what
is known as a "star" configuration. If you have only two computers you can use a twisted pair crossover
cable.
The networking software comes with Windows for Workgroups as well as Windows 95, 98, 2000 and NT. Once you
have installed and configured the software you can transfer files from one computer to the other and you can
share all the printers attached to computers on the network.
Like all "new-to-you" software and hardware, this can be difficult until you succeed with it. Find an
experienced friend to help you on your first attempt.
Backing Up
The most common backing-up scenario is - at the end of your working session you perform your session backup.
As the backup gets bigger you may decide to invest in a Zip drive or similar. If you are tired, backing up
can often be a chore that you feel you could do without - and it's not unusual to "screw up" or to forget
some important data.
A list of files in a script that controls a backup program is one good solution.
Simple is good! Reliable is essential! PKZip and its Windows cousin are both.
If you use PKZip, you can use only short filenames. A batch file can be written containing all the commands
to do a PKZip backup. This is okay, but long filenames with complete folder information is much better.
A command line add-on is available for WinZip7 and WinZip8. This add-on comes as an executable Zip file
called wzbetacl.exe. You can find this and WinZip (if you don't have it already), at http://www.winzip.com. When you double-click on wzbetacl.exe it produces a set
of files that will install wzzip.exe, wzunzip.exe, some .DLL files and a Help file.
Using wzzip.exe allows you to store a list of the files, or groups of files and/or folders - everything you
want to be backed up - in a "list" file. This list file contains all the long filenames and folder
information.
Once you have created the list file, written a batch file that suits your system and then created a shortcut,
performing a backup becomes a very simple affair, a single mouse click on your shortcut. Occasional changes
or additions to the list file is all you will need to do in the future.
Simple As a Pimple!
You can distill all this information from the Help file that comes with wzbetacl.exe
The heart of this backup system is the command line:
wzzip -rP -u "backup.zip" "@backup.LST"
The parameters after wzzip do the following:
| -r Recurse into subfolders P Store all folder information specified on the command line -u Update: add files that are new or have changed |
The following is a simple example of a Backup.LST list file.
| "C:\My Documents\*.*" all f les in My Documents and its
subfolders "C:\WinProgs\N4Y0138\b*.dat - all .dat files starting with b in MYOB8 "C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book\*.wab" |
A more comprehensive description and a sample set of backup
files is available from rossyftx@bigpond.com
Reprinted from the August 2000 issue of PC Update, the
magazine of Melbourne PC User Group, Australia
