batch file as backup: delete oldest file(s)?

[xcopywarrior]

Hi, and thanks in advance for reading.

I frequently use batch files for backing up important files, etc.  Scheduling is done through Windows "Scheduled Tasks" applet.  For example, "xcopy c:\stuff\* \\pc2\c$\backup\"...  Simple xcopy stuff.

What I would like to do is to be able to keep a week's worth of revisions of a given file, with the batch commands simply killing off the oldest copy and adding the newest copy.  The object is to have, at any given time, the five most recent versions of the file in backup.

Since I'm not really a programmer, just a simple batch file guy, I don't know how to do this.  Any ideas?  The simpler (more reliable), the better!

Thanks in advance!

[gpl]

The oldest filename can be grabbed like this :

Code: [Select]

Set FileName=
> $temp$ Dir /b /od "path"
Set /P FileName=<$temp$
Del $temp$

This does a directory listing of the directory identified above as path - into a file, sorted in order of date (oldest first). The set statement takes the first line from the file and places it into the variable (the oldest file)

Good luck
Graham

[GuruGary]

To make sure I understand, you are looking for code that will keep 5 backup copies of C:\Stuff?  So basically what you want is C:\Stuff to be backed up to:
\\pc2\C$\Backup\Stuff1
\\pc2\C$\Backup\Stuff2
\\pc2\C$\Backup\Stuff3
\\pc2\C$\Backup\Stuff4
\\pc2\C$\Backup\Stuff5
and then on day 6, the Stuff 5 gets deleted, and everything gets bumped up a number?

[xcopywarrior]

Graham - Thanks a lot, I will try this.

Gary - Yep, that's the idea.  The c:\stuff folder contains .bak files that get written every night.  I'd like to keep the five most recent .bak files in the backup folder, with the oldest effectively being replaced by the newest every night.  This is probably simplified by the fact that I'm not dealing with a messy folder filled with files and sub-folders, etc.

In the backup folder, at any given time, I'll have five and only five files - just the five most recent backups.  On day six, and every day thereafter, the oldest gets canned and the newest gets written.

Thanks, guys!

[GuruGary]

I think this is what you want:

Code: [Select]

@echo off
setlocal
set NumBackups=5

if exist C:\Backup\Stuff%NumBackups% rd C:\Backup\Stuff%NumBackups% /q /s
for /l %%a in (%NumBackups%,-1,2) do call :BumpDir %%a
xcopy C:\Stuff C:\Backup\Stuff1\ /e /h /k /c
goto :EOF

:BumpDir
set /a Prev=%1-1
if exist C:\Backup\Stuff%Prev% ren C:\Backup\Stuff%Prev% Stuff%1
goto:EOF