Software for Automated Backups 7242

Err ok... OP here...

Maybe i didn't make my intentions clear...

What i want to do is to backup some files (and directories) to a USB drive.

- The list of files and directories may change over time, so it would be good if it can be easily maintained (like in a .rc file). Of course, i can put all these in the shell script itself, and modify the shell script as the list of files changes, or i could just get the shell script to read of the config file. didn't say its hard, just exploring the possibilities.

- Second thing is that the USB drive may not be mounted all the time. Maybe i went to sleep forgetting to mount it that day, maybe one of those days i may be using the PC late into the night and preferably it can "remind" me to mount it. Not suggesting that it must be one way or another, just exploring the possibilities and deciding which is the best way.

- Third thing is scheduling of the job of course. Like what everyone mentioned, cron is the way to go, but what i was doing previously was just exploring the possibilities, and now i know.

i have never written shell scripts before, and have never used cron before either, but i am willing to learn both. i NEVER said that i DO NOT WANT to use a shell script (with "cp" or "rsync") with cron, and i NEVER said that its hard either. In fact, in my OP, i even posited it as one of the options. What i wanted to do was to throw up a discussion and explore all the possibilities. Maybe there *was* a better option to shell scripts and cron, maybe someone has already written something that fits what i want, but without posting and asking, i'll never know.

Thanks and Regards, Edwin