






                            Fastback Plus

                     New Features in Version 2.10


                             Introduction

     Version 2.10 has added some exciting new features since the
     manual was printed. These features include:

        o Improved compression algorithms

        o Password protection for your backups

        o Ability to restore Macintosh backups made with Fastback II

     This readme file contains information about the new features  and
     how to use them.

     For information about the new data compression algorithms,  go to
     line 36.

     Instructions for  making  and  restoring  backups  with  Password
     Protection begin on line 53.

     To learn how to restore backups that were  made  on  a  Macintosh
     using Fastback II, scroll to line 121.

New compression algorithms

     Version 2.10 incorporates new compression algorithms that improve
     overall  performance by doing more compression in the same amount
     of time.

     The new algorithms are automatically called  into  use  when  you
     select  a  Data  Compression method from the Options menu, so you
     really don't have to do anything differently.   You  will  notice
     these differences, however:


       1.  the Save Time method now does more compression than it used
           to, and

       2.  the Save Disks method is faster than before.

Password Protection

     Version 2.10 now allows you to protect your Fastback Plus backups
     from  unauthorized  use  with  an  optional  Password  Protection
     system.  Once you define a password for a backup set, no one will
     be able to restore the backup without knowing the password.

     Password Protection  is  available  as  an  option  only  at  the
     advanced  user  level,  where you will see it as the last item on
     the Options menu.

Making a password protected backup

     To protect your backup set, choose Password Protection  from  the
     Options  menu.  You will be prompted to enter a password of up to
     40 characters (spaces are not allowed).

     When you have typed your password and pressed the <ENTER> key, it
     will  disappear  from  view  and you will be prompted to enter it
     again for  confirmation.   This  protects  you  from  inadvertent
     typing errors.

     Be sure to use a password you will be able to remember.   If  you
     forget  your  password, you will be unable to restore the backup!
     After you have entered your password, make  your  backup  as  you
     normally would.  It will now be password protected.

Restoring a password protected backup

     When you are  ready  to  restore  your  backup,  select  Password
     Protection  from  the  Options  menu,  then enter and confirm the
     password exactly as you did for backing up.  If you have  entered
     the correct password, you may now restore the backup normally.

     If, however, you entered an incorrect password  --  or if you did
     not  enter  a  password at all  --  Fastback Plus will detect the
     discrepancy when it begins the restore, and you will be presented
     with a Password Mismatch error message.

     Simply press the <SPACE> bar  and  enter  the  correct  password.
     Once again, you will be prompted to re-enter it for confirmation.
     If you have entered the correct password, the restore will resume
     normally.

Notes and cautions

     Fastback Plus versions prior to 2.10 will not be able to  restore
     password protected backups.  A user trying to restore a protected
     backup  will  receive   the   message   ``Invalid   record   type
     encountered,  attempting  to  continue.''   If  you  plan to make
     backups on one PC and restore them on  another,  make  sure  both
     machines  have  version 2.10 installed.  Contact Fifth Generation
     Systems for information  about  upgrading  earlier  versions  of
     Fastback Plus.

     For security reasons, passwords are not  saved  as  part  of  any
     setup  file.   If  you  forget  your  password there is no way to
     restore the backup.

     Passwords may be set automatically  with  keystroke  macros,  but
     this is not recommended unless effective precautions are taken to
     prevent unauthorized viewing of the macro file.

     The  password  protection  system  in  Fastback  Plus  is   fully
     compatible  with  that of Fastback II.  Therefore, files backed up
     on a Macintosh to be restored on a PC (see the following section)
     can be password protected.

Restoring Macintosh backups

     Version 2.10  can  now  restore  backups  that  were  made  on  a
     Macintosh  using Fastback II, providing a safe and easy method of
     transferring large groups of  files  between  the  two  machines.
     Since  there  are many differences between DOS and the Macintosh,
     be sure to read this entire section carefully  before  attempting
     to restore Macintosh backups.

Converting to DOS format

     Before you can  restore  Fastback  II  backups,  you  must  first
     convert  the  files  to  DOS format.  To do this using Apple File
     Exchange, you must have either an FDHD (superDrive) or  an  apple
     PC  5.25"  drive.   Apple  File  Exchange  is  on  the  Macintosh
     Utilities Disk 2.  Make sure you are using System  version  6.0.3
     (or later) and Apple File Exchange 1.1.1 (or later).

     You can also use TOPS, Rapport, DOSMounter or any other  reliable
     method to convert the Macintosh backup stream to a DOS file.

     After your files are converted, use the DOS REN command to rename
     each  stream  file to [FILENAME].001, [FILENAME].002, etc., where
     [FILENAME] is different for each backup stream.  The filename must
     be  exactly  8 characters  long,  and the extension  of the  first
     diskette must be .001.  You may use a naming convention similar to
     Fastback Plus',  where  each filename represents the drive letter,
     the date, and a sequence letter.  For  example,  C900117A.001 would
     be the name  of  the first backup for drive C: on January 17, 1990.

Restoring the converted backups

     Once you have converted and renamed your Macintosh backup streams
     into DOS files, you may restore them as you normally would except
     that you must select Regular DOS Drive and Path as  your  Restore
     Source.

     When you make this selection, you will be prompted for the  Drive
     &  Path and the set name.  Simply type in the correct path of the
     drive you are restoring from (for example, type  ``A:\''  if  you
     are restoring from your A: floppy drive.

     Next, tab to the Backup Set Name field and enter  the  [FILENAME]
     of the previous step.

     If you are not sure of the file name, you may press the F3 key to
     display  a  directory of the backup path.  Tab to the file window
     and highlight the correct filename, then press the  <Insert>  key
     to copy it.

     When the path and file name  are  correctly  entered,  press  the
     <Esc>  key  until you return to the Main Menu, then continue your
     restore as usual.

Reconciling Mac & DOS differences

     There are several differences between the DOS and  Mac  file  and
     system  conventions  that  may  need  to be reconciled for proper
     operation.  Specifically,

       1.  Macintosh  file  and  folder  names  can  include   special
           characters  (such  as  ?,  *,  [,  etc.), that DOS does not
           allow.

       2.  Macintosh file and folder names can be  longer  than  those
           supported  by DOS.  DOS path names must be 66 characters or
           less, while DOS file and directory names may  be  up  to  8
           characters  long  followed  by  an  extension  of  up  to 3
           characters.

       3.  The Macintosh system uses each file name to refer to both a
           ``data  fork''  and a ``resource fork''  --  in effect, two
           files per filename.  MS-DOS supports only a single fork per
           filename.

     Fastback  Plus  reconciles  these  differences  by  removing  the
     characters  listed in the following table from Macintosh file and
     folder names:

                  _______________________________________
                   All values from 0 - ASCII space   ' '
                  _______________________________________
                   Question mark                      ?
                  _______________________________________
                   Asterisk                           *
                  _______________________________________
                   Comma                              ,
                  _______________________________________
                   Forward slash                      /
                  _______________________________________
                   Semicolon                          ;
                  _______________________________________
                   `Greater than' sign                >
                  _______________________________________
                   `Less than' sign                   <
                  _______________________________________
                   Equal sign                        =
                  _______________________________________
                   Left bracket                       [
                  _______________________________________
                   Right bracket                      ]
                  _______________________________________
                   Backslash                         \
                  _______________________________________

     The resulting path names are limited to 66 characters in total, 8
     characters  per  level, to conform to DOS requirements.  This may
     mean that a very deep Macintosh path cannot be recreated in  DOS,
     which is simply a limitation of the operating system.

     Finally, the filtered filenames, are processed according  to  the
     following rules:

       1.  If the filename contains one or more periods (.), then  the
           processed  file  name will consist of up to the first eight
           characters  before  the  first  period,  followed   by   an
           extension of up to the the first three characters after the
           last period.

       2.  If the filename contains no  periods,  then  the  processed
           filename  will  consist of the first 8 characters, followed
           by an extension of up to the next 3 characters.

      Examples
           __________________________________________________________
                                   Path Names
           __________________________________________________________
                     Macintosh                  DOS Conversion
           __________________________________________________________
            LEVEL1;LEVEL1_LEVEL2;LEVEL3      \LEVEL1\LEVEL1_L\LEVEL3
            MPW;FB;DRIVERS                   \MPW\FB\DRIVERS
            MPW VERSION 3;FASTBACK II;C      \MPWVERSI\FASTBACK\C
            MPW*VERSION?;FASTBACK/II;C       \MPWVERSI\FASTBACK\C
           __________________________________________________________
                                   File Names
           __________________________________________________________
            word sample document             WORDSAMP.LED
            floppy_handler.c                 FLOPPY_H.C
            floppy_handler.c.o               FLOPPY_H.O
            floppy handler.a                 FLOPPY_H.A
           __________________________________________________________

      Miscellaneous notes

           In  the  process  of  converting  filenames,  two   similar
           Macintosh  filenames  may result in identical converted DOS
           names.  If this happens,  and  the  file  is  selected  for
           restoration,  a  warning  dialog  will  appear.  The dialog
           allows  the  user  to  1)  confirm  the  overwrite  of  the
           identical  filename, 2) restore the file using a guaranteed
           file  name  (consisting  of  the  filename  body  plus   an
           extension  of  ``.001,''  ``.002,''  etc.), or 3) abort the
           restore.

           Macintosh time and date stamps  are  converted  to  IBM  PC
           compatible  stamps  to  within  1  second  accuracy, so the
           Overwrite  Older  Files  Only  option  can  be  used   with
           confidence and behaves identically on both systems.

           For both PC to Mac and Mac to PC transfers, only  the  data
           fork  of  the  Macintosh file system is used.  The resource
           fork  of  a  Macintosh  file  normally  does  not   contain
           information  that  could  be used on an MS-DOS system.  The
           data fork is generally used for  storing  text  information
           (the  primary  use  of  cross-platform restores), and it is
           this  information  that  is  restored  to   the   converted
           Macintosh file name on a PC.
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