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FEBE 101 - The
Basics of Backing Up |
| Note:
While this page refers to FEBE, the instructions for TEBE
are very similar. You may also want to see the Profile Restore Tutorial. Any data backup regime or program should allow you to specify the basic concerns of
 To access, click: Tools > FEBE > FEBE Options |
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What to backup FEBE allows for two basic types of backups. A "Selective" backup allows you to specify exactly what parts of Firefox to include. Extensions and themes are rebuilt as separate, installable files (.xpi or .jar). These files can be installed in any Firefox installation just as if they were pulled from the Firefox Add-ons page (AMO). Simply open them with File > Open File... The optional additional items are backed up (or actually exported) as .json or .fbu files. JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) is an industry standard text-orientated, human readable format. FBU (FEBE backup) is just a renamed zip file and can be opened with any zip reader. A "Full profile" backup includes everything contained in your Firefox profile. It is all or nothing and cannot be selectively restored (at least not easily). A restored profile will look exactly the same as when the backup was performed. |
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Where to backup Here is where you specify the location of your backups. It can be a physical hard drive, flash drive, CD or DVD. Generally speaking, if FEBE can find it with the browse button, it should work. You can have each backup placed in its own folder by checking "Use timestamped directories" and specify how many backups you want to keep. If performing a backup creates a folder that puts the count over the "Maximum backup directories to keep", FEBE will delete the oldest one. |
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When to backup FEBE can schedule a backup on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. Of course, Firefox must be running for the backup to take place. A warning will occur one minute before the backup starts. A tone will sound every 10 seconds and the statusbar icon will flash. If you want to cancel the backup during this warning period, click the toolbar icon. If canceled, you must manually reschedule in FEBE options. FEBE can also remind you to backup every so many days. When this prompt appears, you can click a button to backup at that time. A manual (on-demand) backup can be performed by clicking Tools > FEBE > Perform backup. If you have the FEBE icon displayed in the toolbar (View > Toolbars > Customize...) you can start the backup by clicking it. |
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How to backup. There are several options that determine how the backup operates. You can have FEBE ignore disabled extensions, play sounds signaling a successful (or unsuccessful) backup, display the progress window, and more. You may want to include a copy of FEBE in the backup. This can be useful when restoring to another computer where FEBE is not installed. |
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 Some useful links: |
Another option is to have a copy
of the backups stored online. FEBE can automatically upload the
backup to your Box.net
account. Box.net offers different plans for online storage including a free 1GB option. This option should be sufficient for most FEBE users. There is, however, a maximum size limit of 25mb for each individual file. If your full profile backup is greater than 25mb in size, it cannot be uploaded to the free account. Other individual backup items (such as bookmarks, cookies, passwords, extensions and themes) are nearly always less than 25mb and should upload without problems. Box.net premium accounts start at $9.95 US per month for a 10GB storage space. A free 14 day trial is available for all plans. If you sign-up using the link to the right, a portion of your payment will go to help defray FEBE development costs. |
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