When my dearly beloved Buffalo Backup started acting funky, and I could no
longer access my backup files, I panicked. I needed a new solution, and I
needed it fast! I searched Amazon for a replacement backup unit, but they all
seemed to be getting bad reviews these days. So i turned my attention to
online backup services. Having heard radio personality Kim Komando mention Carbonite
many times, I thought I would check it out. As luck would have it, they
offered a 15 day free trial, so I downloaded the software, installed it and
ran it through its paces. I am VERY happy with the results.
Once installed, Carbonite
sits quietly in your Windows task bar. If you click on the icon, a window
pops up letting you know your status. Carbonite
works quietly and transparently in the background, using very little
system resources. In fact, even though it backed up almost 25 GBs of files, I
never saw any degradation in my laptop's performance. Carbonite
does warn you that the initial backup of a large quantity of files can
take several days. It took about 3 days for me. Was it worth it? You betcha.
Unlike my Buffalo Backup which stayed in my home office, I can
access my backed up files on Carbonite's
Internet-based service whenever and from wherever I want. I maintain two
offices: one at home and one downtown. This means that even when I am not
home, I can easily access my files simply by navigating with Windows Explorer.
Carbonite shows
up as a backup drive. I just drill down to the folders or files I want, and
click to restore them to my laptop. It took less than a minute to retrieve two
files -- about 16 MBs. And best of all, if I am ever on the road without
my laptop but can access the Internet from a public PC, I can login to the Carbonite
web site and remotely access any files I want.
How do you know if Carbonite
backed up your files? Carbonite
flags files not backed up with a small yellow dot, and it flags files it did
backup with small green dots. Thus far, I am 2/3 of the way through my 15 day
free trial. At the present annual subscription price (7/09) of $54.95, I think
Carbonite is
both a God-send and a bargain. To learn more about Carbonite
and receive your 15 day free trial, please click here.
Carbonite - Automated Backup Services
