Putting aside the very old-school methods such as copying CD and DVD-discs the most common being a manual backup using backup software that came with external hard drives and a special stand-alone backup software. I decided to compare three external hard drives from different manufacturers and their backup software.
- First - WD My Passport 500 GB;
- Second - Iomega eGo Drive, 500GB also;
- Third - HP Portable Hard Drive, 500GB.
Most of all I liked the WD product for its small size and lack of sharp corners (which are especially useful when you have a lot of things at your backpack). HP has the lightest portable drive and Iomega highly valued by girls for a stylish look. The interface of portable hard drives from WD and HP is USB 3.0, an Iomega - USB 2.0. Native backup program from WD called WD SmartWare which is bundled with the device was first tested. The interface is simple and clear: left - user's PC disk selection menu, right - portable hard drives which will be used for data written. The program is fully localized which is an added plus.
As we can see, the developers decided not to go via traditional route offering the user to select a directory with important data and broke all the information stored on the disk by type: pictures, music, documents, videos and more. This approach immediately gives orientation to the average user which is thinking - I've got the music, there are photos and a lot of windows in a folder of some obscure files. WD SmartWare works correctly with the same type multiple drives and do not mix them which are important for the active use of the same external hard drive.
€Backup€ tab - you can select a local drive which will be used to back up and select files for backup. The backup process is reflected by a striped progress bar in the upper left corner of the screen and color-filled rectangle that indicates the data type. When you reconnect the drive SmartWare will scan the disk for the changed files and keep updated on the portable drive.
To restore data you must go to the €Retrieve€ tab. Here you can select the restore functions: restore all files or put them into a separate folder. During maintaining directory tree all backed up files are stored on the WD My Passport in a folder named for the network name of the PC. This makes it possible to use the same disk for backups from different systems without fear of loss of previously stored data in case you don't have the program to restore your
lost files.
Quick Protect is €native€ a backup software from Iomega. As we can see from the software interface the program is designed for advanced users. Bookmarks allow us to mark directories and / or drives where from information will be stored on a portable drive. And we can select the drive for data storage. Quick Protect can use other drives including network. On the options tab you can specify the number of changed files which the program will keep. Quick Protect activity can be traced to pop up next to the clock in the bottom right corner of the screen. As we can see the program operates on the principle of "one-time setup it and forget it". Not bad.
Next was to go via "native" HP utility but unfortunately she flatly refused to work with the native disk. I didn't want to arrange "dancing with a tambourine" to find out why it doesn't work. Therefore, her place was taken by first backup program that has fallen when searching Google: Cobian Backup. The structure of the main window is a lot like Quick Protect but it has much more options. First asked the methods of €how€ data backup and backup €type€. The second tab is the most simple - create a list of directories and / or drives for which you need to create a backup. The third tab is setup of backup frequency. You can even set a specific time when Cobian Backup will be auto activated and when files will be moved to backup. Array tab - you can setup backup encryption. Backup process recorded by two progress bars in the main window. Conclusion: In order to fully use Cobian Backup you need to know the basic things about file system structure at least.
So, we'd tested three backup utilities and most liked is WD SmartWare of course. It is extremely simple to use and the brain does not loaded with the options and at the same time it is predictable and works without glitches. A Cobian Backup and Quick Protect are advised to advanced users who want to control the process of backing up from "A" to "Z" and have a lot of time and wish to configure the program.
Sincerely, George.