Altaro Backup FS

An Intelligent and Automatic Backup Solution

$99

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Platforms: Windows XP, 2003, 2007, Vista (x32, x64), 7(x32, x64)

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Altaro Backup FS, Backup Files Software Screenshot

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Backup Files Software, Altaro Backup FS Screenshot

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Do you know what's wrong with most data backup solutions? The human element! The point in any backup process that's most prone to failure is the person who's responsible for running the backup. Sometimes they're out of the office, sometimes they forget to run it, and the worst part is that you don't realize that you have no recent backup until disaster strikes! The best backup solution for any individual or business is one that backs up files intelligently and automatically, which is exactly how Altaro Backup FS is designed.

Altaro Backup FS protects Windows servers and PC workstations from data loss, by offering Continuous Data Protection, a unique system where your file changes are detected automatically and files get backed up without requiring human intervention! With Altaro Backup FS, you always have the option of backing up to a NAS device, a server, or USB peripheral, and restoring a file can be accomplished in seconds. Of course, you have the freedom to schedule automated backups throughout the day, or only when file changes are detected.

Just a little research reveals little bonus features that place Altaro Backup FS worlds beyond any other backup solution on the market! No longer will you have to wait for open, in-use files to be closed before backing up -- Altaro Backup FS is fully capable of backing up files even if they're in use. When you restore a file, you can elect to have that file automatically emailed to a specific list of people, so everyone gets back on track immediately! And whenever Altaro Backup FS executes a backup, you'll get a report confirming it for the ultimate peace of mind!

Finally, with Altaro's exclusive BackInTime technology, finding and restoring a file couldn't be easier. It only takes seconds!

Review Written by Derek Lee

The Conversation

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Merle One Hi,
what are the differences with OopsBackup ?

Jul 12 2011 at 12:38am Copy Link

Altaro Software A list of differences between both Altaro Oops!Backup and Altaro Backup FS can be found at

http://www.altaro.com/compare-backup.php

Altaro Software - Jul 12 2011 at 12:41am Copy Link

karel De Wever This discount price is for a version for 1 PC.
What if we want to use it for more PC's/ Server ?

Jul 12 2011 at 1:54am Copy Link

Altaro Software Hi Karel,

Each license is for 1 PC/Server so if you have more PCs/Servers that you want to install it on then you need to buy multiple licenses.

You can buy multiple licenses at the same discount level as a 1 PC license.

Altaro Software - Jul 12 2011 at 2:10am Copy Link

Frank Stephens I thought that Oops!Backup was buggy when it was here, but someone convinced me that it might have value so I bought a license. It still needs a great deal of work. It's super-slow to list "snapshots", it's geared toward generating a "pretty" display rather than a useful one (I'd prefer a normal Windows Explorer display), it makes poor use of screen real estate and tooltips, and it slows my computer (not CPU-bound) when saving/checking. There may be other problems, I'm not using it right now because of the issues, and I did test the "5x faster" version.

To be honest, I haven't found any partial or most full backup solutions to be useful. FileHamster, Genie Timeline, Acronis, and Paragon were all buggy. I'm giving up on these partial solutions, they just waste my money, I'm sticking with StorageCraft ShadowProtect Desktop. Developers always miss the most important feature of software, which is that it should work.

Jul 12 2011 at 2:51am Copy Link

Gonzo @Frank Stephens
I you want an imaging backup solution, you should try Image for Windows/Linux/DOS by TeraByte Unlimited.
I also heard (but haven't tried it myself) that Ocster Backup is a very good tool.
Finally, there are many free backup solutions (not sure how they work, but you could give these a try).

Jul 12 2011 at 3:03am Copy Link

Altaro Software @Frank

Hi Frank,

I remember your comments the first time that Oops!Backup was reviewed on BitsDuJour - if I recall well we had quite of a discussion :)

I understand that maybe you might not like our product which is ok I guess. We have thousands of customers that like it but sometimes there are also users that choose to go elsewhere due to different requirements etc. - we totally understand that.

If you want we can work with you over email to look into the issues you are experiencing but I have a feeling that you're past that. But if you do please let me know.

All in all - thanks for at giving our product a chance. :)

Altaro Software - Jul 12 2011 at 3:10am Copy Link

Frank Stephens David Vella, I bought a license to Oops!Backup because you did answer my questions and I thought that the product had potential. But it has issues, some of which I listed, and I don't see development effort being placed into fixing them. I can't tell what the PC performance-impacting issue is, when tools like Process Explorer don't show a CPU or DPC issue, then I have to assume it's something more complex, perhaps I/O blocking or a problem with threads or giving up control (although that should show up as a CPU issue). I did renew my support in case you do work on the product some more, but I won't continue renewing without improvements.

Gonzo, I've tried Ocster Backup, Paragon, Macrium, and numerous other backup utilities via Giveaway of the Day, and have bought other utilities here on BDJ including Image for Windows, Acronis, and others, and purchased others directly, like FileHamster. I haven't found any that compare even remotely to ShadowProtect (Acronis isn't too bad in terms of features, though lagging ShadowProtect, but it is bad in terms of reliability and hardware support).

Jul 12 2011 at 3:36am Copy Link

Noggin The Nog I am investigating this in the hope of learning about it in time to decide whether to accept the current offer on Bits du Jour.

I wish to use this software for backing up .pst files.

I do not see how to set up the software for continuous data protection. So far as I can see, you can only set it up to backup with at predetermined intervals of time – for example, every 15 minutes.

Having made a backup and then received some emails, I made another backup manually rather than waiting for the scheduled backup, and I found that the program was writing another copy of the .pst file that Outlook archives to, which had not changed since the first backup. It also wrote another copy of the .pst that contains the inbox that had received the emails – the default .pst in the language of Outlook, and did not write a copy of any of the other .pst files included in the folder that comprises the backup set. There are 2 odd factors here. Firstly, I wonder why the apparently unaltered .pst is being re-written. Secondly, I wonder why it is necessary to re-write the whole of the altered .pst given that ‘Reverse Delta Technology’ is selected. I rather expected some sort of increment to be written in light of how you describe the Reverse Delta Technology.

Could you please shed light on these matters?

Jul 12 2011 at 5:15am Copy Link

Altaro Software @Noggin

You can increase the frequency of backups up to every 5 minutes. This means that Backup FS will take a maximum of 1 backup every 5 minutes to ensure best performance.

Despite this if a file changes and the last backup was older than 5 minutes ago the file will be backed up immediately.

Regarding the PST file you are correct that the file is at first copied twice to the backup drive. Subsequent backups will then only backup the changes using the ReverseDelta Technology. The reason for this is to allow for the most recent version to be restored by simply copying the PST file from the backup drive and for best performance.

Therefore after the first two backups - incremental backups are taken.

Finally keep in mind that the PST file is continuously changing. Even if you have not received any new emails. Backup FS will not backup the PST file again unless it had changed.

Altaro Software - Jul 12 2011 at 5:28am Copy Link

Merle One @David Vella : thanks David for the link to the comparison chart. Regarding pst copying, it seems to me that even after the first backup, the full modified .pst files are copied to the backup destination during each backup, *then* the reverse delta mechanism is applied with previous version, thus saving space on the destination while keeping version. But the whole pst is copied.

@Noggin : even if untouched, as soon as a pst is loaded by outlook, it is seen as modified by the system, hence it will be taken into account during next backup. At least that's how it happens on my system.

Jul 12 2011 at 6:25am Copy Link

Noggin The Nog You say: "Despite this if a file changes and the last backup was older than 5 minutes ago the file will be backed up immediately. "

Do you mean that if the frequency is is less than every 5 minutes, file changes older than 5 minutes will be backed up?

You say: "Even if you have not received any new emails. Backup FS will not backup the PST file again unless it had changed."

My experience is that outlook updates the .pst even when no emails have been received, so that your software keeps rewriting the backup even if the file has not changed except in respect of the time when it is shown as last having been updated.

You say: "Subsequent backups will then only backup the changes using the ReverseDelta Technology.". But it appears to me that the program first writes the whole file being backed up, and then creates an incremental file by comparing it with the previous version. This no doubt produces the result, but uses more system resources than merely writing an incremental file.

How may the software be transferred to another computer?

How much is the annual maintenance for the software?

Jul 12 2011 at 8:48am Copy Link

Altaro Software 5 minutes is the highest backup frequency possible. Therefore a changed file is backed up immediately unless the last backup was less than 5 minutes ago. In the case that 5 minutes haven't passed since the last backup then Backup FS will wait till 5 minutes have elapsed to take the next backup. This simply ensures that backups do not occur more often than every 5 minutes for performance and backup size reasons.

Yes when Outlook is open it continuously modifies the PST file. Since the file has changed then we must back it up. To prevent frequent backups of your PST file the backup frequency should be set to daily. This is set by default.

Yes you are correct in that the whole file is copied to the backup drive and then a delta is calculated and stored on the backup drive. ReverseDelta is a space saving technology. This is necessary to be able to backup to USB drives and NAS drives.

The software can easily be transferred to another computer, by installing Backup FS on the new computer, attaching the Backup Drive and choosing migrate. This will not restore any files but will restore your backup plan settings and license key information. You can then choose to restore files or continue backing up as you were on the last computer.

The annual maintenance fee is 25% of the license fee and includes free support and upgrades. The first year of maintenance is included free. This is optional and your Backup FS license will never expire.

Altaro Software - Jul 12 2011 at 9:06am Copy Link

Roger Thomasson Folks, just to be clear, today's promotion is not for Oops!Backup. Same company, entirely different products :-)

BitsDuJour Admin - Jul 12 2011 at 3:58pm Copy Link