Backup Software Functions to Look Out For

It's probably true to say that most backup software applications available will do a reasonable job of making a backup. That does not mean that all backup software is created equal, and choosing the one that suits your requirements is worth spending a bit of time and effort on. Try to look deeper than the bells and whistles of the interface to see if the software offers flexible operation with all the functions you need.

Backup Software Also Restores!


All too often, shoppers evaluating backup software give lots of attention to the backup process, and very little to how fast and how easy it is to restore the system after it has gone down. This is understandable considering that backups may be a nightly operation, but it is when you need to restore a downed system that your backup software really justifies its cost. You want this process to be as fast and as painless as possible.


File-by-File Backup Software, Imaging, or Both?


To be competitive in today's market, backup software must offer both the more traditional file-by-file backup and "imaging" technology. An organization gets the best of both worlds by having both approaches available


In a file-by-file backup, the software goes through the operating system with guaranteed file integrity, while in an image backup, it bypasses the operating system and does a bit level backup of a hard drive. This is perfect for quickly restoring a failed hard drive, but file-by-file is better for backing up key files, especially complex ones such as a relational database.


Backup Software Compression


Not all backup software offers you file compression, but yours should as uncompressed backup files take up a lot more storage space, and this becomes increasingly significant as your collection of backup files grows.


Flexibility of Backup Software


Your backup software should offer you the options of manual backups or automatic scheduling, and both full and incremental backups. Another useful feature that is becoming more common is the ability to run backups in the background without interfering with other applications. This allows you to run backups whenever you want without waiting for downtime.


Backup Media Compatibility


Where do you intend to store your backup files? Make sure that your backup software allows easy transfer to a variety of media: CDs, external hard drive, tape drives etc. so that you have the flexibility to change your media in the future.


User Friendly Backup Software


Having Backup software that is so difficult and unfriendly that people won't use it is almost as bad as no backup software at all. Choose backup software that has a simple, friendly, intuitive interface and provides logs that don't need a manual and an IT degree to decipher.


Weigh the backup software's functions against your backup needs. Do you want to backup only critical files, or are you backing up your whole operating system too? Are you backing up one or two stand alone desktop PCs or a network of them? Do you want to take images of the hard drive?

Backup Software Functions to Look Out For

It's probably true to say that most backup software applications available will do a reasonable job of making a backup. That does not mean that all backup software is created equal, and choosing the one that suits your requirements is worth spending a bit of time and effort on. Try to look deeper than the bells and whistles of the interface to see if the software offers flexible operation with all the functions you need.

Backup Software Also Restores!

All too often, shoppers evaluating backup software give lots of attention to the backup process, and very little to how fast and how easy it is to restore the system after it has gone down. This is understandable considering that backups may be a nightly operation, but it is when you need to restore a downed system that your backup software really justifies its cost. You want this process to be as fast and as painless as possible.

File-by-File Backup Software, Imaging, or Both?

To be competitive in today's market, backup software must offer both the more traditional file-by-file backup and "imaging" technology. An organization gets the best of both worlds by having both approaches available

In a file-by-file backup, the software goes through the operating system with guaranteed file integrity, while in an image backup, it bypasses the operating system and does a bit level backup of a hard drive. This is perfect for quickly restoring a failed hard drive, but file-by-file is better for backing up key files, especially complex ones such as a relational database.

Backup Software Compression

Not all backup software offers you file compression, but yours should as uncompressed backup files take up a lot more storage space, and this becomes increasingly significant as your collection of backup files grows.

Flexibility of Backup Software

Your backup software should offer you the options of manual backups or automatic scheduling, and both full and incremental backups. Another useful feature that is becoming more common is the ability to run backups in the background without interfering with other applications. This allows you to run backups whenever you want without waiting for downtime.

Backup Media Compatibility

Where do you intend to store your backup files? Make sure that your backup software allows easy transfer to a variety of media: CDs, external hard drive, tape drives etc. so that you have the flexibility to change your media in the future.

User Friendly Backup Software

Having Backup software that is so difficult and unfriendly that people won't use it is almost as bad as no backup software at all. Choose backup software that has a simple, friendly, intuitive interface and provides logs that don't need a manual and an IT degree to decipher.

Weigh the backup software's functions against your backup needs. Do you want to backup only critical files, or are you backing up your whole operating system too? Are you backing up one or two stand alone desktop PCs or a network of them? Do you want to take images of the hard drive?

Old School is Still Cool – The Amazing CD Backup Plan

Keeping a Backup and Why it is Important

 

If you're still wondering why the heck would you need to backup your files, then imagine yourself seeing all your files mangled by viruses and you can't do anything about it. Or a problem could only be solved by using a system recovery CD, wiping out all your data in the process? Or you run FDISK and accidentally remove a partition on the wrong drive? Or your hard drive dies, taking your data with it? Mistakes will always happen and all disc drives eventually expire. Without a backup it is a disaster, with a backup it is reduced to a very large nuisance.

What are the Files That You Need to Backup

 

A private user only needs to back up files that they have created or modified themselves. Computers use both program and data files; programs can be reloaded from the original discs, but your data can only be reloaded from backup copies.

 

Making a backup is simpler if you store all your files in one place. Letting each program use its own default storage file results in you data being scattered all over your hard drive. If you are using Windows 98 or Me put everything into My Documents, in Windows 2000 and XP use Documents and Settings.

 

What are the Requirements to Make a Backup?

 

There a choice of methods you can employ to make backup copies of your files. You can simply drag and drop the files you've created to a CD, copy them using the XCOPY command, use a third party CD mastering program to copy your files, or you can use Windows or a third party backup programs to create a backup to CD.

 

If you have software such as DirectCD drag-and-drop is extremely easy and you can use a CD-RW, but it is labor intensive if you have a lot of files, hard to keep organized, and you will need compatable software to read the disc.

 

Using the XCOPY command allows you to copy files from a specified folder made after a specified date, eg 'XCOPY "\Documents and Settings"*.* /s/d:03-15-02 K:\' copies everything from Documents and Settings created after 03-15-04 to the specified drive.

 

A CD mastering program, such as Nero, allows you backup your files to a CD-R. While this takes more steps than drag-and-drop, the resulting disc can be read by almost any CD-ROM, CD-R, or CD-RW drive without installing a compatible UDF reader program first. The disadvantage with these methods is that they are unable to create a backup larger than the media it is stored on. If this is a problem, you will need a true backup program capable of 'media spanning'.

 

Backup programs is different from ordinary file saving by compressing files, storing many files in a single file proprietary to the backup program, and using the 'Archive' file attribute should you ask for a backup of changed or new files only. They often allow Backups to be stored as files for transfer to CD later, and a disk image to be available for data recovery.

Old School is Still Cool – The Amazing CD Backup Plan

Keeping a Backup and Why it is Important


If you're still wondering why the heck would you need to backup your files, then imagine yourself seeing all your files mangled by viruses and you can't do anything about it. Or a problem could only be solved by using a system recovery CD, wiping out all your data in the process? Or you run FDISK and accidentally remove a partition on the wrong drive? Or your hard drive dies, taking your data with it? Mistakes will always happen and all disc drives eventually expire. Without a backup it is a disaster, with a backup it is reduced to a very large nuisance.]

What are the Files That You Need to Backup


A private user only needs to back up files that they have created or modified themselves. Computers use both program and data files; programs can be reloaded from the original discs, but your data can only be reloaded from backup copies.


Making a backup is simpler if you store all your files in one place. Letting each program use its own default storage file results in you data being scattered all over your hard drive. If you are using Windows 98 or Me put everything into My Documents, in Windows 2000 and XP use Documents and Settings.


What are the Requirements to Make a Backup?


There a choice of methods you can employ to make backup copies of your files. You can simply drag and drop the files you've created to a CD, copy them using the XCOPY command, use a third party CD mastering program to copy your files, or you can use Windows or a third party backup programs to create a backup to CD.


If you have software such as DirectCD drag-and-drop is extremely easy and you can use a CD-RW, but it is labor intensive if you have a lot of files, hard to keep organized, and you will need compatable software to read the disc.


Using the XCOPY command allows you to copy files from a specified folder made after a specified date, eg 'XCOPY "\Documents and Settings"*.* /s/d:03-15-02 K:\' copies everything from Documents and Settings created after 03-15-04 to the specified drive.


A CD mastering program, such as Nero, allows you backup your files to a CD-R. While this takes more steps than drag-and-drop, the resulting disc can be read by almost any CD-ROM, CD-R, or CD-RW drive without installing a compatible UDF reader program first. The disadvantage with these methods is that they are unable to create a backup larger than the media it is stored on. If this is a problem, you will need a true backup program capable of 'media spanning'.


Backup programs is different from ordinary file saving by compressing files, storing many files in a single file proprietary to the backup program, and using the 'Archive' file attribute should you ask for a backup of changed or new files only. They often allow Backups to be stored as files for transfer to CD later, and a disk image to be available for data recovery.

Deciding Among Backup Media Platforms

Considerations in Choosing Backup Media

 

Matching the capacity of the backup medium to the amount of data you intend to backup is very important, especially as hard disks capacities grow. The more disk or tape swaps required to perform a backup, the less likely it is that you will do it routinely. ideally, the whole backup will fit on one tape or disk so that you can leave it to run and do something else. You don't need to back up the whole hard disk every time, so a backup media that can hold most of it will usually suffice.

Optical Backup Media

 

CD-R have a capacity of about 650 MB, and despite not being reusable some people use them for backup. One big advantage is that the backups are readable by any CD-ROM drive, but even though the cost of an individual disc is low it can still become a very expensive way to do backups if you need several discs per time.

 

CD-RW are a good flexible, reusable, general-purpose medium that is certainly usable for backup. It has disadvantages; the capacity is only average at 650 MB, and the CD-RW disks are essentially proprietary in that only compatible reader software can read them.

 

Tape As Backup Media

 

Backups are large, sequential writes ideally suited tape drives, and tape is making a comeback as a backup device. As hard drives keep growing tape is the only medium of a similar capacity that is growing to match them. For the drives, and per-gigabyte basis for the media, it is inexpensive. It is reasonably reliable, simple to set up, and has a lot of support for drives and software. Performance can be less than ideal, especially when random access is needed to specific files on the tape. Usually this only needs to be done when restoring data.

 

Using Removable Drives for Backup

 

Removable Hard Disk Equivalent Drives such as Iomega's Rev drive or various portable hard drives, have a large enough capacity to be suitable for backups. These drives have a reasonable performance (about twice the speed of a CD/DVD drive) and good reliability. The disadvantages are that they are proprietary and expensive.

 

An interesting backup method not often used is removable hard drives. The price per gigabyte of hard disks is compares favorably to drives such as the Iomega Rev and they give a very high performance, random-access capability, standard interfaces and exchangeability, and excellent reliability. The disadvantage is that additional media means buying an additional drive, and often removable drives can only be removed with the power off.

 

Network Backup

 

For networked PCs, copying data over the network from one PC to another is a viable alternative to using removable drives. By duplicating each PC's information it is possible to protect each individual PC without the expense of tape drives or removable storage. Disadvantage are that viruses can travel over a network, and if all the PCs are in one building there is no off-site storage. A better solution is to use a centralized removable storage backup device to automatically back up all the PCs connected to the network.

Deciding Among Backup Media Platforms

Considerations in Choosing Backup Media


Matching the capacity of the backup medium to the amount of data you intend to backup is very important, especially as hard disks capacities grow. The more disk or tape swaps required to perform a backup, the less likely it is that you will do it routinely. ideally, the whole backup will fit on one tape or disk so that you can leave it to run and do something else. You don't need to back up the whole hard disk every time, so a backup media that can hold most of it will usually suffice.

Optical Backup Media


CD-R have a capacity of about 650 MB, and despite not being reusable some people use them for backup. One big advantage is that the backups are readable by any CD-ROM drive, but even though the cost of an individual disc is low it can still become a very expensive way to do backups if you need several discs per time.


CD-RW are a good flexible, reusable, general-purpose medium that is certainly usable for backup. It has disadvantages; the capacity is only average at 650 MB, and the CD-RW disks are essentially proprietary in that only compatible reader software can read them.


Tape As Backup Media


Backups are large, sequential writes ideally suited tape drives, and tape is making a comeback as a backup device. As hard drives keep growing tape is the only medium of a similar capacity that is growing to match them. For the drives, and per-gigabyte basis for the media, it is inexpensive. It is reasonably reliable, simple to set up, and has a lot of support for drives and software. Performance can be less than ideal, especially when random access is needed to specific files on the tape. Usually this only needs to be done when restoring data.


Using Removable Drives for Backup


Removable Hard Disk Equivalent Drives such as Iomega's Rev drive or various portable hard drives, have a large enough capacity to be suitable for backups. These drives have a reasonable performance (about twice the speed of a CD/DVD drive) and good reliability. The disadvantages are that they are proprietary and expensive.


An interesting backup method not often used is removable hard drives. The price per gigabyte of hard disks is compares favorably to drives such as the Iomega Rev and they give a very high performance, random-access capability, standard interfaces and exchangeability, and excellent reliability. The disadvantage is that additional media means buying an additional drive, and often removable drives can only be removed with the power off.


Network Backup


For networked PCs, copying data over the network from one PC to another is a viable alternative to using removable drives. By duplicating each PC's information it is possible to protect each individual PC without the expense of tape drives or removable storage. Disadvantage are that viruses can travel over a network, and if all the PCs are in one building there is no off-site storage. A better solution is to use a centralized removable storage backup device to automatically back up all the PCs connected to the network.

Commercial Software That Allows Easy DVD Backup

Everyone has been thinking about their DVDs and wishing there was a simple way to backup them. As everybody knows, DVDs don't come cheap. Another piece of common knowledge that you can throw in to that mix is that DVDs aren't durable. You may have just spent a hundred dollars on the complete first season of your favorite TV show only to find the discs unreadable because your kids gained control of the discs.

If you have young children in your household, you really have to start considering what options exist in allowing you to make backups of your DVDs.

A DVD's worst nightmare is the dirty hands of a seven year old child. The child will get dirt all over the disc, scratches on the disc from rough handling, and if the disc is still readable after that, then you'll probably soon see the DVD flying through the air as if it was a Frisbee.

Because of this great limitation to the wonderful DVD format, it makes perfect sense for any family with small children to consider making backup copies of your purchased DVDs.

Thankfully several software companies have seen the need for software that allows users to easily make backup copies of their DVDs, and now such software is readily available both on the internet and at your local software store.

1CLICK DVD Copy is one of the greatest pieces of DVD backup software there is available. With one click, the software will quickly make a backup copy of any DVD movie. The publisher of this software states that you can easily have a backup copy burned within fifteen minutes!

DVD Wizard Pro is another excellent piece of DVD backup software. While it does not offer all of the advanced capabilities of 1CLICK DVD, it is cheaper and offers other abilities to the user such as the ability to easily create backup copies of your Playstation 2 and XBOX video games.

Cosmi DVD Ripper is a value priced piece of computer software that allows users to easily create backup copies of their DVDs. Priced at under ten dollars, Cosmi is not without its own set of problems. If your DVD movie is longer than a hundred minutes, then you'll have to find another piece of software; Cosmi for some reason is only capable of copying the first hundred minutes.

After recommending a couple software titles, this list would not be complete if it did not list any worthless pieces of DVD backup software.

Roxio Easy DVD Copy is one product that's hard to recommend. While the product's box promptly displays 'Copy Hollywood DVDS' this is simply not the case. Roxio Easy DVD Copy will only copy unprotected media, which is very unfortunate considering the fact that ninety nine percent of commercial DVDs are encoded with copy protection. Roxio believes that after creating trust with millions of computer users, they can pull a fast one. Roxio Easy DVD Copy is simply a horrible product, and especially with its retail price of fifty dollars.

Commercial software is not your only option for making backup copies of your DVDs; several free pieces of software are out there waiting to be utilized.

Besides commercial software, a lot of free applications exist on the internet that allow you to backup your DVDs. Unfortunately, these pieces of software are not exactly the easiest things to use, but if you wish to save some money and just spend your time learning how to use the free software, in the end it's your best choice.

Commercial Software That Allows Easy DVD Backup

Everyone has been thinking about their DVDs and wishing there was a simple way to backup them. As everybody knows, DVDs don't come cheap. Another piece of common knowledge that you can throw in to that mix is that DVDs aren't durable. You may have just spent a hundred dollars on the complete first season of your favorite TV show only to find the discs unreadable because your kids gained control of the discs.


If you have young children in your household, you really have to start considering what options exist in allowing you to make backups of your DVDs.

A DVD's worst nightmare is the dirty hands of a seven year old child. The child will get dirt all over the disc, scratches on the disc from rough handling, and if the disc is still readable after that, then you'll probably soon see the DVD flying through the air as if it was a Frisbee.


Because of this great limitation to the wonderful DVD format, it makes perfect sense for any family with small children to consider making backup copies of your purchased DVDs.


Thankfully several software companies have seen the need for software that allows users to easily make backup copies of their DVDs, and now such software is readily available both on the internet and at your local software store.


1CLICK DVD Copy is one of the greatest pieces of DVD backup software there is available. With one click, the software will quickly make a backup copy of any DVD movie. The publisher of this software states that you can easily have a backup copy burned within fifteen minutes!


DVD Wizard Pro is another excellent piece of DVD backup software. While it does not offer all of the advanced capabilities of 1CLICK DVD, it is cheaper and offers other abilities to the user such as the ability to easily create backup copies of your Playstation 2 and XBOX video games.


Cosmi DVD Ripper is a value priced piece of computer software that allows users to easily create backup copies of their DVDs. Priced at under ten dollars, Cosmi is not without its own set of problems. If your DVD movie is longer than a hundred minutes, then you'll have to find another piece of software; Cosmi for some reason is only capable of copying the first hundred minutes.


After recommending a couple software titles, this list would not be complete if it did not list any worthless pieces of DVD backup software.


Roxio Easy DVD Copy is one product that's hard to recommend. While the product's box promptly displays 'Copy Hollywood DVDS' this is simply not the case. Roxio Easy DVD Copy will only copy unprotected media, which is very unfortunate considering the fact that ninety nine percent of commercial DVDs are encoded with copy protection. Roxio believes that after creating trust with millions of computer users, they can pull a fast one. Roxio Easy DVD Copy is simply a horrible product, and especially with its retail price of fifty dollars.


Commercial software is not your only option for making backup copies of your DVDs; several free pieces of software are out there waiting to be utilized.


Besides commercial software, a lot of free applications exist on the internet that allow you to backup your DVDs. Unfortunately, these pieces of software are not exactly the easiest things to use, but if you wish to save some money and just spend your time learning how to use the free software, in the end it's your best choice.