As mentioned last week, we sometimes receive support requests from people where the best option is to restore data from backups. All too often we find out they have not been diligent in keeping their backups current, and some have never even started them! Is there really no solution for them? For people who have used Time Machine but haven’t connected their backup drives in some time, there may be hope as Time Machine keeps a local hidden backup too. (mehr)

If there’s one difficult question to ask in Support, it’s: “Do you have current local backups of your DEVONthink databases?” Too often, the answer is, “No” or “I’ve been thinking about starting backups, but I need to restore my data now!” This is a heartbreaking response to hear, and one we want to hear less and less. (mehr)

DEVONthink does not have a system for automatically backing up everything. DEVONthink has a setting in its Preferences > Backup that controls how many internal metadata backups are done. These backups can be used in a troubleshooting situation by selecting Tools > Restore Backup. (mehr)

Backups are something that every computer user is supposed to do but nobody really enjoys doing it. Apple’s Time Machine makes it a lot easier, at least when you have a second hard disk or a Time Capsule. However, if you’re like me and you don’t want to clutter your desk with yet another piece of hardware you might like Haystack Software’s Arq. (mehr)

Why-o-ever it may happen, databases can go corrupt. Be it a damaged file system, a system hang, or, Heaven forbid!, a DEVONthink crash. But, no reason to panic. First, run Tools > Verify & Repair. If DEVONthink cannot repair the database or if you are sure that you’ve lost some data, it’s time for the internal backups. By default, DEVONthink keeps two internal backups of the database index files that you can revert to at any time. (mehr)