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(More customer reviews)AutoBackUp Revisited - 19 January 2009
I wrote my original review about two and a half years ago and gave it four stars. The AutoBackUp product I reviewed at that time was version 1.6.xx. The software has since devolved... as opposed to evolved. Beginning with Version 2.0.xx it was completely rewritten and has never worked properly since. It would take excruciatingly long times (DAYS!) to create its initial backup files. Then it would hog CPU time while performing its updates. It also began creating enormous log files that would eventually fill all available hard drive space (gigabytes and gigabytes!).
I rolled back to the original v1.6 for a while but even that began to act erratically after several months of stability. Finally I removed the program from my system. I replaced it with the freeware XXCOPY. I wrote a couple of batch files using XXCOPY to create and maintain backups of my data files. Now when I'm done with a session, I start a batch file for each backup location and my ~25 gig backup files are updated completely in about 1/4 hour. It isn't instantaneous, but it is almost as effective and I haven't had any of the aggravation that I experienced with AutoBackUp.
I no longer recommend AutoBackUp; I give it zero stars and ask that you disregard my earlier review. --------------- Original review ----------------------
I bought AutoBackUp on a whim when I saw it for sale in a retail store with a hefty rebate attached to it. I thought when I was buying it that this was a total backup package, but it's not. The packaging doesn't really claim that it's a total system, but neither does it explicitly say that it isn't. That aside, this seems to be extremely good at doing what it was designed to do: back up your DATA files.
First, some things this software does NOT do:
1) Does not back up operating system files.
2) Does not back up installed program files.
3) Does not back up Windows Registry.
4) Does not compress backed up data.
5) Does not currently support backup to CD or DVD.
So you still need a utility like Norton Ghost in the event of a catastrophic system failure.
What good is it, then? Plenty good:
1) It creates and maintains backups of any DATA files you select. Selection can be made by folder, file type, or a few other criteria. For instance, you can tellit to back up JPEG files and it will search your drives to find all .jpg files and back them up.
2) It can simultaneously create many backups at various locations on your computer, or even at an internet site. You can have a backup on a separate partition, a separate internal hard drive, an external drive, etc. or send it to an offsite storage location via the internet.
3) Once the backup files are created, AutoBackUp maintains them in close to real time. For example if you created a backup file for photos from your digital camera then every time you download new pics to your master file, AutoBackUp automatically copies the new pics to the backup location(s) as well!
4) If your backup is to a device that is unavailable - say a USB drive - then AutoBackUp keeps a list of updates to the backup file and makes the modifications as soon as the device is available.
5) It maintains several layers of backed up files. If you make changes to a Word document and save it periodically, it gets backed up every time you save it. There is a user control that lets you select how many copies of a changed file to keep.
6) There is very little impact on system speed. When you perform an operation on a file that is being monitored for backup, the program saves to backup as soon as it detects low CPU usage. This usually occurs within a few seconds of your saving the changes at the master file level. If you are running CPU intensive tasks, however, AutoBackUp will wait until CPU activity has slowed down before performing backup operations.
7) Restores can be made from an entire backup file or from selected elements of the file.
8) Backup files can be encrypted and password protected.
9) It lets you know it is working. When sending files to backup, a small pop-up window is generated to let you know what operation is taking place. The pop-up goes away when the operation is complete. An operation log is also maintained for each backup file on the system. I found the pop-up window useful for the first day or so, but when I was confident the program was working it became annoying, so I disabled it.
Installation only took a couple of minutes. Set-up and execution for initial backups of about 5.5GB to two internal hard drive locations took about two hours with the backup creations running simultaneously. Updates to the backups are continuously monitored by the program and changes are almost instantaneous.
Two final notes: First, the software requires a unique activation code for each computer installation. Mine came with three codes, allowing use on three computers. Second, AutoBackUp is only compatible with Windows 2000 or XP.
If you want to investigate a little further on your own, a visit to the manufacturer's website should be helpful. Navigate to the support section for the FAQ and forum.
To sum things up, this truly is "set it, forget it" software. Once it's installed and functioning, you'll never have to worry about maintaining data backups. This software takes care of it automatically. Highly recommended.
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