Backup Software

wuench

Senior Member
Ok, the state of backup software seems to have taken a real turn since I last looked at it years ago. Back in the day there were one or two "go to" vendors. Now there is a bunch of software options. I have tried a few, Acronis True Image Home 10, Stompsoft's PCBackup, and NTI BackupNOW

My requirements are as follows:
  • Runs as a service (NTI BackupNOW doesn't)
  • Handles backup failures gracefully - If a backup job fails I want it to notify and still run other jobs. I had Acronis backup my laptop every night, but if it wasn't on it just hangs there waiting for confirmation of the error, no other jobs run. (Where do the find these developers??? Elementary school?)
  • Erases DVD Media automatically and reliably backs up to it- Acronis doesn't do erase, PCBackup should but errors out on my dvdrw drive. BackupNOW seems to do this well
So does anyone run software that meets these requirements? Or am I asking too much?

AND PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DON'T TURN THIS INTO A WINDOWS HOME SERVER DISCUSSION...
 
I would definitely recommend Genie Backup, I use it to burn my backups to DVD-RW on a daily basis, all automated. Runs as a service as well.
 
EMC Retrospect?
I got a 5 user license free with my Infrant (now Netgear) ReadyNAS. It works Ok for me so far.
 
I use an online backup service called backup.com. This company offers backup up to 20GB. Everyday my critical files are backed up OFF Premise. It is automatic and can run at anytime of the day you choose and as often as you choose (even hourly) as well as manually anytime you want. It's a no-brainer! You don't have to think about it or remember to do it or change your backup media. Obviously the larger the backup the greater the cost but overall it is very cost effective solution. Also, in my experience, approximately the last 30 backups are available to restore from - not just the last one. You have complete control over what files you want to backup.

Other non-critical or non-changing files can be backed up locally as needed.

As well as backup for crashes, it's great for quickly restoring a file that you may have messed up for one reason or another. The restore feature is fast and easy. A broadband connection is best particularly when a large amount of files are concerned.

As with most of us, I started using this service after several near disastrous crashes where I had no backup or had not done it recently. I have now been using it for years at home and at my business and have found it to be extremely reliable.

There are other online services as well. Just thought I would chime in with another option. Hope its useful info.

Boomer
 
I use an online backup service called backup.com. This company offers backup up to 20GB. Everyday my critical files are backed up OFF Premise. It is automatic and can run at anytime of the day you choose and as often as you choose (even hourly) as well as manually anytime you want. It's a no-brainer! You don't have to think about it or remember to do it or change your backup media. Obviously the larger the backup the greater the cost but overall it is very cost effective solution. Also, in my experience, approximately the last 30 backups are available to restore from - not just the last one. You have complete control over what files you want to backup.

Other non-critical or non-changing files can be backed up locally as needed.

As well as backup for crashes, it's great for quickly restoring a file that you may have messed up for one reason or another. The restore feature is fast and easy. A broadband connection is best particularly when a large amount of files are concerned.

As with most of us, I started using this service after several near disastrous crashes where I had no backup or had not done it recently. I have now been using it for years at home and at my business and have found it to be extremely reliable.

There are other online services as well. Just thought I would chime in with another option. Hope its useful info.

Boomer

Ok, but if your computer crashes and thus no internet connection, what good is an offsight back up that you cant get to? or is there something i am not seeing? thanks!
 
You can log on to the account from any computer and restore to any computer. All you need is your account number and password. In the event of a complete crash you would reinstall all the programs on the new equipment. Then restore the critical files e.g. data files, .ini files etc. The service I use restores the files to a separate directory, not to the actual directory. This allows you to copy the files when and as needed.

Actually, I just installed Mosey on my laptop right now to give it a try - Thanks Damage!

Boomer
 
I would definitely recommend Genie Backup, I use it to burn my backups to DVD-RW on a daily basis, all automated. Runs as a service as well.


I am testing the 30 day trial of Genie Backup and so far so good. It seems to meet all of my requirements and doesn't use a proprietary format for backup so my files are retrievable without even needing the program. That's perfect for me. Also it seems to have all kinds of options including scripting. I think this may be the one.

Thanks to all of you for the ideas. I knew CT wouldn't let me down... :)
 
There is also Carbonite (spelling). For $50 a year you get unlimited off site backup space. I haven't tried it, it just sounded good. :)
 
Cinemar is doing some beta testing on Windows Home Server and am impressed so far!
Super easy to configure backing up of all of your LAN's PCs.
This will be a very nice OS to run our products. Hopefully it's priced reasonably.
 
Another nice thing about Genie is that is supports many other things, including AES-256 encryption. I personally will not use any online storage facility, considering how hard it is for companies lately to keep data secure or reliable. I just use Genie to backup the data to a local FTP server and external HD, in case the DVD fails.
 
Cinemar is doing some beta testing on Windows Home Server and am impressed so far!
Super easy to configure backing up of all of your LAN's PCs.
This will be a very nice OS to run our products. Hopefully it's priced reasonably.

Just looked at the Microsoft page on Home Server and there was not very much info. The impression I got was that this will automatically back up your files, especially your important photos. It will make it easier to share photos with others. You should not be doing anything with you PC except sharing photos... etc.
 
Another nice thing about Genie is that is supports many other things, including AES-256 encryption. I personally will not use any online storage facility, considering how hard it is for companies lately to keep data secure or reliable. I just use Genie to backup the data to a local FTP server and external HD, in case the DVD fails.

you can pick and choose what you put up there. there's certain files of mine that aren't that private but would be a PITA to lose, such as intranet pages, some scripts, etc. one of my backup jobs creates a tarball of those files, encrypts it and then that one file gets picked up by the online backup. it's not my main backup, just another backup backup. i also take a monthly backup to our other house for offsite storage just in case.
 
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