Yes, I have something like this on two 486 systems. I'm using the DOS tool "PIMAGE.EXE" (Partition Image) to backup partition C: to D:. Whenever I want to try some software, I update the backup. If something goes wrong, I can restore it. Since it backups the partition as an image, it even works fine for Windows 95 without killing long file names (which xcopy would).

It seems however that Partition Image only exists in German language.

There was a DOS tool (xxcopy) that had a lot more options than normal xcopy. Maybe it can do a "sync-copy" like robocopy.

Keep in mind that your copy won't copy boot and system files, and that there were some applications or games (Microsoft Word 5.5 and La Colmena comes to mind) that created "illegal" files as an anti-piracy device.

Wouldn't use MS Dos xcopy either DrDos one was far superior and could even make disk images. Having backup on a partion on the same drive as the OS just doesn't make sense at all. If the hdd goes west you lost everthing including the backup. Use another drive. Thes days you can set up a SD card as your backup solution with card holder that allows the card to slide out the back of the system and make a couple of copies just in case.

Yeah, it has been a long time since I have used DOS again so I am unfamiliar with all the tools available.
UNIX is just so much easier and it comes with lots of tools for backups.

Are there any UNIX commands available on DOS
Tools like
Tar
CPIO
Compress
Gzip
Dd
Etc...

A quick search http://reimagery.com/fsfd/unix.htm

Caluser2000 wrote:

A quick search http://reimagery.com/fsfd/unix.htm

I’ll try it.

Caluser2000 wrote:

Having backup on a partion on the same drive as the OS just doesn't make sense at all. If the hdd goes west you lost everthing including the backup. Use another drive. Thes days you can set up a SD card as your backup solution with card holder that allows the card to slide out the back of the system and make a couple of copies just in case.

That's quite obvious for most I guess. But Intel486dx33 asked for exactly that.

For me, I have the backup on a second partition, as it's not meant for disaster recovery when the hardware fails. It's for setting the system back when some software went crazy, or if after some time I just want to revert back to a clean install. I use CF cards anyway, which I all have additionally stored on my NAS.

A secondary partition or even second harddrive is not a backup!
Backup is a separate data storage, preferrably in another physical location, UPSed and monitored.

What you are doing, is more like a system restore point, not a backup.

Please don't start a nonsense discussion. A backup means a second copy of something. Not more and not less. We are not talking about rules or the definition of "backup" for server backups in a company. This is about retro systems. We are not even talking about vital data that really deserves a backup.

derSammler wrote:

Caluser2000 wrote:

Having backup on a partion on the same drive as the OS just doesn't make sense at all. If the hdd goes west you lost everthing including the backup. Use another drive. Thes days you can set up a SD card as your backup solution with card holder that allows the card to slide out the back of the system and make a couple of copies just in case.

That's quite obvious for most I guess. But Intel486dx33 asked for exactly that..

For some folk it isn't obvious, other wise it wouldn't have been mentioned by the OP in the first place.

derSammler wrote:

Please don't start a nonsense discussion. A backup means a second copy of something. Not more and not less. We are not talking about rules or the definition of "backup" for server backups in a company. This is about retro systems. We are not even talking about vital data that really deserves a backup.

For all intense and purposes a backup means exactly that and it is not done on the same media as the active operating system.

derSammler wrote:

Please don't start a nonsense discussion. A backup means a second copy of something. Not more and not less. We are not talking about rules or the definition of "backup" for server backups in a company. This is about retro systems. We are not even talking about vital data that really deserves a backup.

Some big companies or servers or whatever are not relevant here at all...

Well, I could attach a external SCSI drive and do my back up that but I think the dual CF card solution is quietest, fastest, and best hardware solution.
I have a NIC card installed too so I can “gzip” up the backup and ftp it to my NAS drive.

I could write a .bat file to automate this process.
Restore.bat
NASrestore.bat
Backup.bat
NASbackup.bat

And for recovery, I can create a DOS boot disk with all the drivers needed to access my NAS and perform a restore
From it if needed.

I have a secondary partition on my 386 and 486, they contain install files for my software and drivers as well as functional copies of C:\DOS and C:\WINDOWS

GigAHerZ wrote:

A secondary partition or even second harddrive is not a backup!
Backup is a separate data storage, preferrably in another physical location, UPSed and monitored.

What you are doing, is more like a system restore point, not a backup.

Consider I have backed it up to a tape; if the tape goes bad does that also mean I never backed it up in the first place as well?

Yes, they did use “Colorado tape backup” in those times but I don’t know how reliable they would be today and if the tape cartridges are still reliable ?

What about a Zip drive ?
Can you Perform a full system recovery from a Zip drive and are they DOS bootable ?

Yes the internal IDE Zip and LS120 drives are bootable if the system supports them. For external one you can make Dos boot floppy disk to access them the just sys the new hdd with the same system files(for example dos version using sys C: if the new hdd is formatted. Or format/s C: if it is not) then transfer the operating system/data from Zip/LS120 to the new hdd.

Some Dos operating systems have Zip and LS120 built in. Such as later versions of IMS REAL/32, which is a real time multi-user Dos for use on 386 and above systems and has built-in FAT32 support. REAL/32 also supports multiple Dos/user sessions but only one win3.1 session. Its roots are in Digital Researches Multi-User Dos of the '80s, which can be traced back to Concurrent CP/M and MP/M. In REAL/32 you have a selection on installation to choose muti-user which is kinda like linux in that you can swap between virtual terminals mode or single user mode which is what most Dos variants are..

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiuser_DOS#REAL/32

You see Dos history is far more interesting than than your usual run of the mill MS/IBM offerings would have you believe.

Intel486dx33 wrote:

I was wondering if anyone has a secondary partition or drive on there 386 or 486 running DOS/Win3x that they use as a backup drive.

My father used to have a second drive in his 386DX40 (250MB?). It was used for data mainly. The applications were on C:, on the other hand.
For backups, he used floppies and PC-Backup/-Restore (DOS), which were part of PC-Tools (by Central Point Software).
And a streamer, too. If memory serves, it was an external 5,25" QIC tape-drive (SCSI ?) operated by an ancient SyTos software (DOS).