How to tell if archive passes integrity test

Discussion in 'Paragon Drive Backup Product Line' started by randle, Oct 23, 2009.

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  1. randle

    randle Registered Member

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    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.
     
  2. Paragon_Tommy

    Paragon_Tommy Paragon Moderator

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    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.
     
  3. randle

    randle Registered Member

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    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)
     
  4. SIW2

    SIW2 Registered Member

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    Hi John,

    Do you need a colon after Pause:

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

    randle Registered Member

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    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
     
  6. Howard Kaikow

    Howard Kaikow Registered Member

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    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
    ReadFile
    GetFileTypeDistribution
    CompareDrives
     
  7. randle

    randle Registered Member

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    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
     
  8. Howard Kaikow

    Howard Kaikow Registered Member

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    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.
     
  9. randle

    randle Registered Member

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    Good advice! Thanks.

    John
     
  10. Paragon_Tommy

    Paragon_Tommy Paragon Moderator

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  11. randle

    randle Registered Member

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