OS/2 e-Zine! - Workplace Shell Backup v4.01

Workplace Shell Backup v4.01

- by Stephen Turk

So you've installed OS/2 and all the fanciest desktop enhancements you could get your hands on. You've installed 3D icons for all your objects. You've thrown up a snazzy background bitmap. You've carefully arranged, tweaked and decorated your desktop to create the ultimate artistic expression. Now one system hiccup could jeopardize all your hard work and set you back to the plain green desktop and grade school icons that IBM thinks is appealing. You could be faced with the task of recreating your desktop from scratch--if you can ever get it back the way it was at all.

One way to prevent this is to use New Freedom Data Center's WPS Backup Utility. This incredibly simple utility does exactly what its name implies, it backs up the WPS and related files. In the event of a system glitch which damages your desktop, you can then run the simple restore program and have a functioning OS/2 desktop in no time.

Installation

This shareware program comes with a REXX install program which copies the files to a specified directory and sets up a shadow of this folder on the desktop. During testing the install program displayed strange behaviour (it would not accept the parameter WPSbkup for the name of the directory--the name suggested in the documentation--and it did not complete the process by creating the shadow of the folder on the desktop) but did its main job well enough. The whole process can be done from the command line or by double clicking the INSTALL.CMD icon from your Drives object. Despite the problems installing, the documentation described clearly what was supposed to happen and it was no problem to drag a shadow of the folder to the desktop to see how the finished product would presumably look.

Saving Your Investment

The documentation also very clearly tells users how to protect their investment in their desktop. Once installation is complete, double-clicking the WPSbkup Utility icon starts the backup process. This backs up the desktop right there and then and the whole process is over very quickly. In fact it is so quick (around 20 seconds on the 486DX2 66 with 8 meg of RAM that I used as a test system) that I was worried something had gone wrong. Nothing had though, it's just a quick and simple process. During backup a dialog window opens and displays the status of the operation. When it's finished you will find an extra file in the WPS Backup folder which contains a compressed version of your desktop. This isn't like a compressed graphic file, it's a few system files and other information compressed into one convenient package for later retrieval.

In case of a meltdown the restore process is just as simple, if not just as graphical. If your desktop is unavailable, how can you use your mouse to manipulate objects to restore that desktop? Of course you can't. Restoring your desktop will mean aborting the normal OS/2 boot sequence by using the Alt-F1 key combination during boot and choosing "C" (for command prompt) from the boot options. From this command line you can switch to your WPS Backup directory and run the WPSrest.exe utility. If all goes well, a reboot will take you back to your prize desktop. Although I had no emergency to restore from, running the restore utility went smoothly and all seemed in order upon completion.

The Options

The program is fairly customizable. From the WPSbkup Administration utility you can select a different directory in which backups will be created (backups are stored in the same directory as the program files by default), set the number of backups to keep (only one is kept by default, the older ones being deleted), view the contents of existing desktop backup files, extract user specified files from existing desktop backup files, specify files you wish to backup along with the desktop (CONFIG.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT, etc.) and a few other things. Especially nice is the ability to specify additional files to back up. Often when bad things happen to your system it's not just your desktop that becomes damaged. You may want to back up additional .INI or .SYS files to prevent future headaches.

Conclusion

This program is shareware and will remind you each time you use it of how many trial uses you have left. Amazingly, registration is only US$15 for private use. Corporations however, will pay significantly more--US$150 per site license--although a flat rate is charged for more than 10 licenses. At this price, for an individual, this simple, quick graphical desktop backup is a steal. Even at the higher price for corporations, it may be a good deal in the long run considering the time (and anxiety!) that it may save. It's definitely worth exercising the theory of shareware and checking it out.

Workplace Shell Backup v4.01
New Freedom Data Center
Registration: US$15 (private) US$150 (corporate)

Stephen Turk is a salesman at a computer retailer and part time trouble shooter. He has been using OS/2 for one year and has survived more than one desktop crash.

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