Turning on live backup

Why

A daily backup protects the state as of the last due time. A live backup adds changes a few minutes after a file is saved, so if a drive fails you lose at most the last few minutes of work. It works best with a drive that is connected all the time or often.

Before you start

You need a backup template, ideally with the “Dated versions (recommended)” layout.
An encrypted backup needs the password remembered in Windows Credential Manager (see “Encrypting a backup”).

Step by step

In the menu on the left, click “Templates” and select the template.
In the “Schedule:” field, choose “Live”.

You can choose the same option in the wizard (step 4) and in the “Save template” window.

How it works

The program watches the folders in the backup. After a series of changes, it waits until nothing has changed for a minute and a half, and then adds the changes to the backup. When changes keep coming, it adds them after 15 minutes at the latest, and the same template at most every 5 minutes.
When the backup drive is connected, the program immediately adds everything that changed while it was away.
The first backup is full; later ones add only the changes.
The changes of one day go into one version, today's, instead of creating a new version every few minutes. The date in the version name is a UTC date, so a new backup day may start at a different hour than midnight on your clock.
With Sigelith timestamping, the first top-up of a new day closes yesterday's version with a seal. The program no longer changes a sealed version, and further changes go into a new one.
When a folder cannot be watched, for example on a network drive, the program adds the changes every 15 minutes.

What you should see

Below the “Schedule:” field, the program describes this mode. There is no notification after a successful top-up, because one would appear every few minutes. You see the result of the last top-up on the “Templates” page (“Last run”).

What next

A drive that is always connected can be lost together with the computer, for example in a fire or a burglary. Keep a second backup somewhere else (see “Setting up an off-site backup”).
Earlier days remain as separate versions. How many to keep: see “Choosing how many versions to keep”.

If something goes wrong

Changes do not reach the backup: check that the program is running (the icon by the clock), that the backup drive is connected, and that scheduled backups are not paused (the menu of the icon by the clock).
The notification “The scheduled backup failed”: the program tries again after 30 minutes. The details are in the log (see “Where to find details: the program log”).
The notification “Scheduled backup paused”: top-ups wait for your decision (see “The backup stopped because many files look encrypted”). They resume when a backup from this template, started manually (“Run backup” on the “Templates” page), finishes successfully.