diff --git a/README_SETUP.md b/README_SETUP.md
index 46d4c43f78f4f5331fc334a0ef1a99ccc898f940..740734a4ca58474ae2102d8d8dc84aaccad84f5e 100644
--- a/README_SETUP.md
+++ b/README_SETUP.md
@@ -6,18 +6,18 @@
 - make
 
 ## Create the configuration
-* Create an empty `.config` file. For the default values and the meaning of these default
-  values see [config.defaults](config.defaults). For each parameter that you 
-  want to change, add a corresponding line in your `.config` file. You probably 
-  want to change the passwords. As plain password are stored in the `.config` file, 
-	make sure nobody else can read it.
+* Create an empty `.config` file. For the default values and the meaning of
+  these default values see [config.defaults](config.defaults).  For each
+  parameter that you want to change, add a corresponding line in your `.config`
+  file. You probably want to change the passwords.  As the passwords are stored
+  unencrypted in the `.config` file, make sure nobody else can read it.
     * If there is no `mysql-config-editor` (`MySQL 5.5`. and `MariaDB`) then the
-      user is needs to provide the `MYSQL_USER_PASSWORD`, that is the password of
-      the `MYSQL_USER`. 
-    * If you are using MariaDB and the `root` database user uses pam authentication,
-      no pasword string is required. You can set the `MYSQL_USER_PASSWORD`
-      to an empty string. But you need to be logged in as root for the
-      installation and upgrade process.
+      `MYSQL_USER_PASSWORD` must be provided, that is the password of the
+      `MYSQL_USER`.
+    * If you are using MariaDB and the `root` database user uses pam
+      authentication, no pasword string is required.  You can set the
+      `MYSQL_USER_PASSWORD` to an empty string.  But you need to be logged in as
+      root for the installation and upgrade process.
 
 ## Setup the SQL database for CaosDB
 
diff --git a/configure b/configure
index 3336e74882c193c208e40d45c73c8aa2a042b5c1..01ea52def0f7693c0096316cc804dda0ed659c65 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -24,6 +24,6 @@
 
 # Do to the new way environment variables are handled and how config files are
 # read, this file is obsolete
-echo "CURRENTLY NOT SUPPORTET"
+echo "CURRENTLY NOT SUPPORTED"
 exit 1
 
diff --git a/tests/test_utils.sh b/tests/test_utils.sh
index e490fa66649a0c6e1aa2c921799c9a90ee74d105..f75395838b55d6fe72588fb81646657abe169486 100755
--- a/tests/test_utils.sh
+++ b/tests/test_utils.sh
@@ -43,19 +43,17 @@ echo -n 'size of database... '
 # check size of database
 num=$(mysql_execute "SELECT COUNT(*) FROM entities" | sed 's/COUNT(\*)//')
 if [ $num -gt $MAX_ENTITIES ]; then
-    echo "There are more than $MAX_ENTITIES entities..."\
+    failure "There are more than $MAX_ENTITIES entities... " \
             "Do not run this on a production instance!"
-    exit 1
 elif [ $num -lt 5 ]; then
-    echo "There are less than 5 entities..."\
+    failure "There are less than 5 entities... " \
             "Please use this with a database with some example content!"
-    exit 1
 fi
 echo '[Ok]'
 
 ###############################################################################
 # Below we create a dump, then run tests, and create a dump again. Afterwards
-# the dumps are checked if they are not empty and whether they differ. 
+# the dumps are checked if they are not empty and whether they differ.
 # This should make sure that tests interfere somehow with the real database.
 # This also provides a very basic test that sql dumps work.
 ###############################################################################
@@ -63,8 +61,7 @@ echo '[Ok]'
 # creating a dump of current db
 backupdir=$(realpath 'tmp_backup')
 if [ -e "$backupdir" ]; then
-    echo "Temporary directory $backupdir already exists. Please remove it"
-    exit 1
+    failure "Temporary directory $backupdir already exists. Please remove it"
 fi
 echo -n 'creating initial dump... '
 BACKUPDIR=$backupdir $UTILSPATH/backup.sh > /dev/null
@@ -90,10 +87,10 @@ done
 echo '[Ok]'
 
 echo -n 'comparing dumps... '
-if [ ! -z "$(diff *)" ]; then
-    echo $(diff *)
-    echo "The second dump differs from the first one. This possibly means that tests changed the real database."
-    exit 1
+if ! diff -q * > /dev/null ; then
+    diff *
+    failure "The second dump differs from the first one. This possibly means " \
+            "that tests changed the real database."
 fi
 echo '[Ok]'
 rm -r $backupdir
diff --git a/utils/backup.sh b/utils/backup.sh
index 4fc133c6eedd6a222f50eaaef78c874e4102704b..bdc345cfe1e956024fbd8492c6a1a2d65acc2cdd 100755
--- a/utils/backup.sh
+++ b/utils/backup.sh
@@ -32,7 +32,7 @@ if [ -z "$UTILSPATH" ]; then
 fi
 
 # The directory which the dump is to be stored to. Do not change it here. Use
-# the the environment variable instead.
+# the environment variable instead.
 BACKUPDIR="${BACKUPDIR:-../backup}"
 
 # Load settings from .config and defaults #####################################
@@ -48,16 +48,16 @@ function backup() {
     # Assert backup dir
     mkdir -p "$backupdir"
 
-    datastring=$(date -u --rfc-3339=ns | sed 's/ /T/g')
-    backupfile=${BACKUPDIR}/${DATABASE_NAME}.${datastring}.dump.sql
+    datestring=$(date -u --rfc-3339=ns | sed 's/ /T/g')
+    backupfile=${BACKUPDIR}/${DATABASE_NAME}.${datestring}.dump.sql
 
     if [ -e "$backupfile" ]; then
-        failure "dumpfile already exists."
+        failure "Dumpfile '$backupfile' already exists."
     fi
 
-    echo "Dumping database $database to $backupfile ... "
-    $MYSQLDUMP_CMD $(get_mysql_args_nodb) --opt --default-character-set=utf8\
-          --routines  "$database" > "$backupfile"
+    echo "Dumping database $database to $backupfile ..."
+    $MYSQLDUMP_CMD $(get_mysql_args_nodb) --opt --default-character-set=utf8 \
+          --routines "$database" > "$backupfile"
 
     success
 }