By default, the backup catalog (.bkc) is stored both on the destination CD, DVD or Blu-ray disc and locally. To see if the catalog will be stored locally too, select Backup Properties for a backup job, go to Advanced and see if the Use local catalogs (.bkc) option is checked.
If it is unchecked the backup catalog is stored only on the destination. The recommended option is to leave it checked.
When the backup process starts, Backup4all searches for the ".bkc" file locally (by default, assuming that you didn't uncheck the option Use local catalogs), then:
- If the catalog file is found, Backup4all will make a new version for the backup job. If you wish to write the new backup version on a separate CD, DVD or Blu-ray disc (this is recommended) then you should set the Ask for a new disk before backup option.
- If the backup catalog is not found locally (was deleted by mistake) or if the Use local catalogs option is unchecked, Backup4all will ask for the last CD, DVD or Blu-ray disc used for the backup. When it finds the backup catalog, Backup4all will make a new version for the files in the backup job.
- If the catalog file is not found on the destination either, Backup4all will start with a new full backup
Backup4all will automatically span the backup over multiple media if the size of the backup job does not fit on a single CD/DVD/Blu-ray disc. For each disc Backup4all will assign a different label for future identification. We recommend marking the CD, DVD or Blu-ray disc with this label.
When spanning multiple CD, DVD or Blu-ray discs, Backup4all will create independent zip files, meaning that if you have a backup that spans over 3 CDs and if one of the CDs becomes unreadable, you will still be able to access and recover the data on the other 2 CDs.
It is recommended to always leave the Test after backup option ( Backup Properties- >Advanced ) checked, especially if your backup is written on CD, DVD or Blu-ray disc. In case of disk spanning, Backup4all will test your backed up data after each individual written disc. This way if one of the discs has errors you know before the backup job is finished and you can interrupt the backup process in time.
Note that when backing up to CD, DVD or Blu-ray disc Backup4all requires additional free space on the drive where the Temporary Folder is located (at least 700Mb when backing up to CDs, 4.7Gb when backing up to DVDs or 25GB when backing up to Blu-ray discs).