How to tell if archive passes integrity test

[randle]

As part of creating an archive, I check its Integrity by including "Integrity" in the archive script. The integrity test runs after the archive is created but the progress window closes so fast after the integrity check that I have no idea if it was successful or not. I find no log file to get this info. Is there any way to keep the progress windows open long enough to tell if the integrity check was successful? If the integrity check finds a problem, will it stop at that point so you can read the info? If the integrity check closes after it has run, can you assume that it was successful? Thanks.

[Paragon_Tommy]

Use the pause command after "Integrity" to pause the screen:

PAUSE:

Specifies timeout (in seconds). If the input value is 0, it waits for pressing any key.

[randle]

Can't seem to make it work. Please give me an example of how to use it in the script. This is what I have:

apply all

Integrity

pause(0)

// Exiting
// exit(0)

[SIW2]

Hi John,

Do you need a colon after Pause:

Not sure, never used it - might be worth a try

[randle]

Tried it first with the colon and didn't work. Must be a syntax error somewhere. Guess will have to wait for Tommy to check back in, probably Monday. Thanks for the suggestion.

John

[Howard Kaikow]

-{ Quote: "As part of creating an archive, I check its Integrity by including "Integrity" in the archive script. The integrity test runs after the archive is created but the progress window closes so fast after the integrity check that I have no idea if it was successful or not. I find no log file to get this info. Is there any way to keep the progress windows open long enough to tell if the integrity check was successful? If the integrity check finds a problem, will it stop at that point so you can read the info? If the integrity check closes after it has run, can you assume that it was successful? Thanks." }-

If the integrity check in Paragon is anything like the check in certain well known competitor's products, all it is doing is verifying "checksums" to determine whether the recorded archive is self-consistent. It is not comparing to data on the drive (that would take a long time).

When I first started using image backups, I wrote a few programs that could be used to verify the file content in the archive. Some of those programs are:

GetDiskSpaceUsed (http://www.standards.com/index.html?GetDiskSpaceUsed)
ReadFile (http://www.standards.com/index.html?ReadFile)
GetFileTypeDistribution (http://www.standards.com./index.html?GetFileTypeDistribution)
CompareDrives (http://www.standards.com./index.html?CompareDrives)

[randle]

Thanks for the explanation. I often wondered exactly what the verification process does. I did notice that the HDD activity light shows no activity during the check, which confirms your statement that the archive is not being compared with the data on the HDD. In your opinion, do you really think running the verification on a recently created archive is really worth the extra time and effort it takes? How often does the verification fail? Not very often in my experience. Running chkdsk frequently on your HDD seems to do the most good. If chkdsk passes, usually the verification passes. Thanks for your input.

John

[Howard Kaikow]

-{ Quote: "Thanks for the explanation. I often wondered exactly what the verification process does. I did notice that the HDD activity light shows no activity during the check, which confirms your statement that the archive is not being compared with the data on the HDD. In your opinion, do you really think running the verification on a recently created archive is really worth the extra time and effort it takes? How often does the verification fail? Not very often in my experience. Running chkdsk frequently on your HDD seems to do the most good. If chkdsk passes, usually the verification passes. Thanks for your input.

John" }-

I NEVER run a backup without doing a compare.
Verification may not fail often, but what if it does when you need that backup?
Ain't worth the risk.

In any case, even if a verification passes, at some later date, there is always the possibility that the media cannot be read, small chance but possible.

Always have at least two backups on separate media, with both NEVER simultaeously connected to the comouter, or even plugged in to power.

[randle]

Good advice! Thanks.

John

[Paragon_Tommy]

Hello Randle,

It should just be "Pause 0"

The script manual can be found here:

http://download.paragon-software.com/doc/script_man.pdf

[randle]

OK. Now the end of my script looks like this:

apply all

Integrity

Pause 0

// Exiting
// exit(0)

But that produces this error when I try to run the script:

http://home.roadrunner.com/%7Epringle/misc/error.JPG

Any ideas? Thanks.