Question about lha and large archives

liquidsmoke · 26 October 2019, 10:57

im currently in the middle of using lha on dopus to create an archive on my pcmcia cf card

im creating an archive rather than just copying the files because lha will probably preserve amiga file permissions and any strange formatted files, whereas just copying to a fat32 cf wouldnt

first, how long is it going to take on a stock a1200 to lha 2gigs worth of data? days??

second, the memory usage seems very large. after 30minutes lha has already used up all 4mb of my fast ram

third, lha in dopus doesnt seem to produce any output onscreen as to what its currently doing. is that normal?
i know the file is being created as ive checked the cf card

fourth, how do i stop the archive process if its taking too long?

dodke · 26 October 2019, 11:33

For backups I'd recommend trying something like ABackup:
http://aminet.net/package/disk/bakup/abackup

If you don't want to risk rebooting the system it will probably stop at some point after running out of memory.

liquidsmoke · 26 October 2019, 12:17

yeah i think it must haqve ran out of memory.

i looked at my amiga after an hour and there was only a black screen and no keys worked.

the lha idea is out.

ill lookup that abackup

malko · 26 October 2019, 12:25

I am using the following in the startup-sequence :

Code:

setenv lhaopts -2D3arex

then use lha from the shell and you will see the progression.
Never had a 'stuck' like you described and I also archive my system like this.

Just give another try

-Acid- · 26 October 2019, 12:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by liquidsmoke

third, lha in dopus doesnt seem to produce any output onscreen as to what its currently doing. is that normal?

Even when making big archives with a lot of memory on WinUAE it takes a long time for output to start in dopus, I think it's because it reads all of the file names before it begins output to the screen and this could be what is eating up all of the memory as well.

I prefer to make zip archives using WinUAE rather than lha, it seems much better suited to huge files.

daxb · 26 October 2019, 13:17

I guess using LHA on an A1200 to archive GB of data is not a good idea. For small archives <=10MB it is ok. For LHA options read the lha.guide. For DOpus output you can activate it where you define the LHA command line. Both LHA and DOpus have output options. CTRL + C should break LHA. In a shell you can type "status" to get the process number and with "break" you can break it. Scout/XOpa can break/kill tasks too.

If you are not fixed to fat32 for the CF card I would use the same filesystem that is used on the source device. Then use a backup tool like http://aminet.net/package/disk/bakup/BackUp

idrougge · 27 October 2019, 01:04

LhA will use a lot of RAM creating an archive. To prevent this, you need to temporarily reassign T: to some disk with enough memory.

Korodny · 27 October 2019, 16:18

I wouldn't backup 2 gig of data at once, that's pretty much asking for trouble. Depending on your setup, your file system might not be able to handle files that big, you might run out of memory, LhA might have a bug...

I did use LhA for backup purposes in the past, for the very same reasons you do. You can disable compression, that's what I'd recommend - it speeds up the process a lot and reduces the risk of failure. And don't backup everything into one file, make several smaller backups ("SYS:", "Games/" etc.).

Code:

lha -aezrx a <BACKUP.LHA> #?

(quoted from memory, doublecheck this command line before you use it)

Using DOpus introduces new problems. E.g., you can have either Lha recurse into directories ("-r" option) or DOpus ("recursive directories" flag) - if you do the latter, DOpus will try to collect all filenames in all directories and then hand them over to LhA in one giant command line that exceeds the actual length limit. Also note that "output window" needs to be checked if you want to see LhA's progress.

Can you post the exact configuration of your LhA menu or button? The command line, all the flags, stack size...

daxb · 27 October 2019, 17:00

With -r you have already -x. With a you have already -a. So you don't need -xa.

Maybe you can use -Qq (quick add) to speed up archiving lot of files. See lha.guide for what it does.

liquidsmoke · 27 October 2019, 17:18

ive given up on lha or any sort of backup solution.

in the end i settled for opening my amiga, taking out the sd card and copying all the data i needed to my pc. then making a disk image of my sd card

26 October 2019, 10:57	#1
liquidsmoke Registered User Join Date: Oct 2019 Location: UK Posts: 107	Question about lha and large archives im currently in the middle of using lha on dopus to create an archive on my pcmcia cf card im creating an archive rather than just copying the files because lha will probably preserve amiga file permissions and any strange formatted files, whereas just copying to a fat32 cf wouldnt first, how long is it going to take on a stock a1200 to lha 2gigs worth of data? days?? second, the memory usage seems very large. after 30minutes lha has already used up all 4mb of my fast ram third, lha in dopus doesnt seem to produce any output onscreen as to what its currently doing. is that normal? i know the file is being created as ive checked the cf card fourth, how do i stop the archive process if its taking too long?

26 October 2019, 12:25	#4
malko Ex nihilo nihil Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: CH Posts: 4,856	I am using the following in the startup-sequence : Code: setenv lhaopts -2D3arex then use lha from the shell and you will see the progression. Never had a 'stuck' like you described and I also archive my system like this. Just give another try

27 October 2019, 16:18	#8
Korodny Zone Friend Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: Germany Posts: 812	I wouldn't backup 2 gig of data at once, that's pretty much asking for trouble. Depending on your setup, your file system might not be able to handle files that big, you might run out of memory, LhA might have a bug... I did use LhA for backup purposes in the past, for the very same reasons you do. You can disable compression, that's what I'd recommend - it speeds up the process a lot and reduces the risk of failure. And don't backup everything into one file, make several smaller backups ("SYS:", "Games/" etc.). Code: lha -aezrx a <BACKUP.LHA> #? (quoted from memory, doublecheck this command line before you use it) Using DOpus introduces new problems. E.g., you can have either Lha recurse into directories ("-r" option) or DOpus ("recursive directories" flag) - if you do the latter, DOpus will try to collect all filenames in all directories and then hand them over to LhA in one giant command line that exceeds the actual length limit. Also note that "output window" needs to be checked if you want to see LhA's progress. Can you post the exact configuration of your LhA menu or button? The command line, all the flags, stack size...

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26 October 2019, 11:33	#2
dodke Registered User Join Date: Feb 2018 Location: London / UK Posts: 112	For backups I'd recommend trying something like ABackup: http://aminet.net/package/disk/bakup/abackup If you don't want to risk rebooting the system it will probably stop at some point after running out of memory.

26 October 2019, 12:17	#3
liquidsmoke Registered User Join Date: Oct 2019 Location: UK Posts: 107	yeah i think it must haqve ran out of memory. i looked at my amiga after an hour and there was only a black screen and no keys worked. the lha idea is out. ill lookup that abackup

26 October 2019, 13:17	#6
daxb Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Germany Posts: 3,303	I guess using LHA on an A1200 to archive GB of data is not a good idea. For small archives <=10MB it is ok. For LHA options read the lha.guide. For DOpus output you can activate it where you define the LHA command line. Both LHA and DOpus have output options. CTRL + C should break LHA. In a shell you can type "status" to get the process number and with "break" you can break it. Scout/XOpa can break/kill tasks too. If you are not fixed to fat32 for the CF card I would use the same filesystem that is used on the source device. Then use a backup tool like http://aminet.net/package/disk/bakup/BackUp

27 October 2019, 01:04	#7
idrougge Registered User Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Stockholm Posts: 4,332	LhA will use a lot of RAM creating an archive. To prevent this, you need to temporarily reassign T: to some disk with enough memory.

27 October 2019, 17:00	#9
daxb Registered User Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Germany Posts: 3,303	With -r you have already -x. With a you have already -a. So you don't need -xa. Maybe you can use -Qq (quick add) to speed up archiving lot of files. See lha.guide for what it does.

27 October 2019, 17:18	#10
liquidsmoke Registered User Join Date: Oct 2019 Location: UK Posts: 107	ive given up on lha or any sort of backup solution. in the end i settled for opening my amiga, taking out the sd card and copying all the data i needed to my pc. then making a disk image of my sd card

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