directories to ignore during backup?

  • Thread starter Thread starter George Neuner
  • Start date Start date
G

George Neuner

Hi all,

Has anyone put together a list of what data various popular programs
keep in the subdirectories of

"Documents and Settings\<user>,
"Documents and Settings\<user>\Application Data", and
"Documents and Settings\<user>\Local Settings"

Some of those files are crucial to back up, others just inconvenient
to lose. But some of those directories appear to be crammed full of
cached internet files, old installation binaries, temporary program
data, etc. that nobody needs. It seems like there is a whole lot of
stuff in there that is useless to be backing up all the time.

George
 
George said:
Hi all,

Has anyone put together a list of what data various popular programs
keep in the subdirectories of

"Documents and Settings\<user>,
"Documents and Settings\<user>\Application Data", and
"Documents and Settings\<user>\Local Settings"

Some of those files are crucial to back up, others just inconvenient
to lose. But some of those directories appear to be crammed full of
cached internet files, old installation binaries, temporary program
data, etc. that nobody needs. It seems like there is a whole lot of
stuff in there that is useless to be backing up all the time.

George
Click to expand...

You just answered your own question.
Browse the folders and if it looks like good data then it needs to be
backed up. I have Firefox and I can see in Application Data where they
store the data. Same with other programs. And I can see that other
programs just make folders for temp files or current data that can be
lost. That or I don't care if its lost.

Just ask yourself, what programs you create files and where are those
files, like Word, or Email. If you can find those the rest is just
junk. Setup settings is a plus if you can find them. I use
Filezilla for FTP, and found the settings file.
 
You just answered your own question.
Browse the folders and if it looks like good data then it needs to be
backed up
Click to expand...

Why do that when it's simpler to get someone else to give you the
fruits from their labor?
 
Hi all,
Has anyone put together a list of what data various popular programs
keep in the subdirectories of

"Documents and Settings\<user>,
"Documents and Settings\<user>\Application Data", and
"Documents and Settings\<user>\Local Settings"

Some of those files are crucial to back up, others just inconvenient
to lose. But some of those directories appear to be crammed full of
cached internet files, old installation binaries, temporary program
data, etc. that nobody needs. It seems like there is a whole lot of
stuff in there that is useless to be backing up all the time.

George
Click to expand...

The easiest IMO is to simly back up My Documents if you've used it
properly. If you want the others you mentioned, fine; they are useful
too. You'll also want to be sure you're getting the Favorites folder
and your email dbx files.

Before doing a backup, do a Disk Cleanup (Accessories, System Tools) and
it'll minimze a lot of the junk files for you.

It's a presonalized thing: YOU have to decide what you want to backup
and what you don't need. No one else has the exact same situation as
you do.
 
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