Instant On, TMCopy and automatic backups in Windows 95©

Last edited: December 15, 2003 08:09 AM

Do you have a customer who wants automatic backups? Here’s an inexpensive easy to install solution. Using a freeware utility called InstantON and a Touch Menus utility called TMCopy, you can provide automatic, unattended backups. You can backup to a zip drive, local drives, or network drives.

To get started I’ll outline the steps and then go over them in detail later.

        *          Step 1 – Install TMCopy
        *          Step 2 – Install InstantON
        *          Step 3 – Configure InstantON
        *          Step 4 – Step away from the computer

Step 1 Installing TMCopy

    TMCopy is a Touch Menus utility that simply copies files from a source to a destination. Sounds similar to XCOPY or COPY commands huh? Why in the world would we need to re-write this functionality you ask? Well, read the TMCopy documentation for the answer. For now, just install the application and it’s associated PIF file.

    Download the TMCopy zip file from the download section and unzip it in the TOOLS directory. That’s it, you’re done!

Step 2 Installing InstantON

    InstantON is a freeware utility created by Intel. It can maintain system power usage and maintain a list of scheduled tasks. We do not utilize the power usage capabilities of this product.

    Below is an excerpt from the Readme.TXT file that comes with the product:
    (a few modifications have been made to it)

        Installing the InstantON Scheduler

            During installation, InstantON tests your system’s ability to Suspend. If you have not succesfully suspended and resumed your system before you install InstantON, your system may not be able to go into Suspend and it may hang or produce unpredictable results. Follow the directions in “System Requirements” to ensure that your system can successfully suspend and resume before installing InstantON.

        To install InstantON:

          1. Run the self-extracting setup file, ION.EXE, by copying it to a temporary directory (such as /temp) and running it. This will unzip the necessary files and also launch the InstantON setup application.
          2. If you have not installed InstantON before, go to step 3. If you have previously installed InstantON on your system, you must stop the InstantON Service Agent before over-installing. Double click on the Service Agent icon near the system clock in the task bar, then choose the Stop Service Agent menu item in the File menu.
          3. When the installation is complete, reboot your system as directed for the changes to take effect.
          4. After the reboot, the InstantON Service Agent will check your system’s ability to power down and back on. There may be a period when the system is taken to a low power state. If your system does not come back from this low power state within 60-90 seconds, move the mouse or press a key to bring it back to full power.

        Removing InstantON Software

            You must stop the InstantON Service Agent before removing the InstantON Scheduler software. Double click on the Service Agent icon near the system clock in the task bar, then choose the Stop Service Agent menu item in the File menu.

            To remove the InstantON software, choose Control Panel from the Start menu, then choose Add/Remove Programs and select InstantON. The software is immediately removed.

Step 3 Configuring InstantON

    Once you’ve completed the installation, you’ll need to configure InstantON to run TMCopy. To do this you need to run the InstantON Scheduler.

      1. Either select the Scheduler shortcut from the Start Menu OR right click on the InstantON icon in the system tray area and select View Schedule. This will launch the Scheduler and you’ll notice a Welcome screen that explains how InstantON Scheduler works. Once you’ve read it, you can click on the “Show this message next time….” box to disable this message from showing the next time you launch it. (unless of course you LIKE this message box)
      2. Choose New from the Application menu.
      3. Select C:TOOLSTMCOPY from the Add Application dialog that comes up. Do not select TMCopy.EXE, you want to select the PIF file instead.
      4. Select Schedule from the Ready to Schedule dialog.
      5. Select Repeated Times in the Schedule dialog.
      6. Select a convenient time for the backup to take place, when the system is not likely to be in use; for example, 3:00AM
      7. Click OK.
      8. Select Properties in the Ready to Schedule dialog.
      9. Fill in the parameters field with the desired command line switches for TMCopy.
          For example:
          /INIT /UNC=\counter1c-drive /APPDIR=Blimpie /AUTOCLOSE /LOGIN /CHANGED

          This would copy the application directory called Blimpie and it’s subdirectories to the c drive on the server Counter1. It would also close down when finished, and only copy those files that had changed since the last time it was run.
      10. Click OK.
      11. Click OK on the Ready to Schedule dialog.

    The schedule has been created and you can now close the InstantON Scheduler.

    Now you need to configure some advanced options of InstantON.

      1. Right click on the InstantON icon in the system tray area and select Advanced Options. This will bring up the Advanced Options dialog.
      2. In the Appearance area, turn the two options ON (Show sign-on at startup, Show icon in tray bar)
      3. Click Save.

Step 4 Step away from the computer

    You’re all done! Step away from the computer and relax, knowing that your customer now can enjoy all the security automatic backups bring.