Carbonite Online Backup Review Part 2 - Using Carbonite
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In Part 1 of the Carbonite Online Backup Review we discussed how to start your Carbonite account and install the software.
In Part 2 we're going to examine the Carbonite interface and learn how to restore files using the Carbonite tools.
So, let's dive in!
In Part 2 we're going to examine the Carbonite interface and learn how to restore files using the Carbonite tools.
So, let's dive in!
Here's my favorite link:
Opening the Carbonite Interface
Let's go ahead and take a look at the Carbonite InfoCenter. The Carbonite InfoCenter allows you to control Carbonite in just about every way. You can load the InfoCenter 2 ways.
The first way would be:
1. Clicking "Start" for XP or the Vista Globe
2. Click "All Programs"
3. Click Carbonite
4. Click Carbonite InfoCenter
The second way to load the Carbonite InfoCenter would be:
1. Double click on the lock in your system tray (on the right bottom of your screen).
Great! Now let's take a look at the InfoCenter below:
The InfoCenter is comprised of 5 major tabs (on the left):
1. View Status
2. Set Options
3. Restore Files
4. Get Support
5. About
I'll briefly describe each tab below.
The first way would be:
1. Clicking "Start" for XP or the Vista Globe
2. Click "All Programs"
3. Click Carbonite
4. Click Carbonite InfoCenter
The second way to load the Carbonite InfoCenter would be:
1. Double click on the lock in your system tray (on the right bottom of your screen).
Great! Now let's take a look at the InfoCenter below:
The InfoCenter is comprised of 5 major tabs (on the left):
1. View Status
2. Set Options
3. Restore Files
4. Get Support
5. About
I'll briefly describe each tab below.
The View Status Tab
Backup Status and Restore Status
The View Status Tab simply shows you the status of your backup or restore.
Some of the stats that you should pay some attention to are:
- "Your Backup Contains" - this field shows you the total size of your backup and the number of files.
- "Awaiting Backup" - this field basically says "You've just added or changed some files and I need to back them up"
Some of the stats that you should pay some attention to are:
- "Your Backup Contains" - this field shows you the total size of your backup and the number of files.
- "Awaiting Backup" - this field basically says "You've just added or changed some files and I need to back them up"
The Set Options Tab
The set options tab has 3 options and they are pretty important. So, lets look at each one of them.
Option #1:
"Display Colored Status Dots On My Files and Folders" is checked by default.
A green dot means that the file or folder is in your backup set and is currently backed up.
A yellow dot (look's orange to me) means that the file or folder is in your backup set, however it's not backed up yet.
No dot means that the file or folder is not currently in your backup.
Hint: If you want to add a file to your Carbonite backup set just right click on the file and then click "Carbonite" --> "Backup This Up".
Option #2:
Set Carbonite's Internet Usage To Low Priority
If you use an internet voice service like Vonage or Skype make sure you check this option to avoid any potential voice issues (gaps in sound). Setting Carbonite to a lower priority only slows your backups a little bit.
Option #3:
"Put Carbonite Into Recover Mode"
When Carbonite is in Recover Mode it will not backup new or changed files in your backup set, nor will it delete any.
Why would you ever choose Recover Mode? 2 reasons come to mind:
1. Testing. Before you make a risky change to an important file put Carbonite into recover mode. If your test doesn't work out then you can restore to an earlier version. Since Carbonite was in recover mode your failed "test" wasn't backed up.
2. Happy with your configuration. If you have your computer "right where ya want it" and you have a full backup then putting Carbonite in recover mode will allow you to return to your good state should something undesirable happen to your files.
Option #1:
"Display Colored Status Dots On My Files and Folders" is checked by default.
A green dot means that the file or folder is in your backup set and is currently backed up.
A yellow dot (look's orange to me) means that the file or folder is in your backup set, however it's not backed up yet.
No dot means that the file or folder is not currently in your backup.
Hint: If you want to add a file to your Carbonite backup set just right click on the file and then click "Carbonite" --> "Backup This Up".
Option #2:
Set Carbonite's Internet Usage To Low Priority
If you use an internet voice service like Vonage or Skype make sure you check this option to avoid any potential voice issues (gaps in sound). Setting Carbonite to a lower priority only slows your backups a little bit.
Option #3:
"Put Carbonite Into Recover Mode"
When Carbonite is in Recover Mode it will not backup new or changed files in your backup set, nor will it delete any.
Why would you ever choose Recover Mode? 2 reasons come to mind:
1. Testing. Before you make a risky change to an important file put Carbonite into recover mode. If your test doesn't work out then you can restore to an earlier version. Since Carbonite was in recover mode your failed "test" wasn't backed up.
2. Happy with your configuration. If you have your computer "right where ya want it" and you have a full backup then putting Carbonite in recover mode will allow you to return to your good state should something undesirable happen to your files.
The Scheduler
Carbonite automatically backs up files in your backup set. You should leave this as the default option.
In my opinion Carbonite's ability to automatically backup new and changed files is instant...and amazing!
If you don't want Carbonite to backup files automatically you can setup a custom backup schedule (like in the middle of the night for example).
This is option is particularly useful if you're adding a lot of new data and you don't want a slow internet connection while Carbonite is backing up all that new data.
The Restore Files Tab and Restoring Previous File Versions
If you need to restore files then just click the restore files tab. Now, click "Select Files and Folders To Restore".
Once you click that it will open your Carbonite Backup Drive (see image below)
The window in the top center allows you to browse your backed up files. Once you find a file that you want to restore you can just right click it and then click restore or click restore to if you want Carbonite to restore the file or folder to an alternate location.
Once you restore the files you'll get a summary report of the files that were restored (see the image below)
While I'm on the subject of restoring files there is another way to restore previous versions of your backed up files!!! This is my favorite feature of Carbonite. Restoring previous versions is simple.
Here's how:
1. Right click on a Carbonite backed up file (the file should have a green circle on it).
2. Click Carbonite
3. Click Restore Previous Versions
4. This will bring up a previous versions window with other versions of the file by last backup date.
5. Click the file version that you want to restore and click OK. Once the file has been restored you'll have the current version of your file and the previous version (see image below for example)
The Support Tab
Got a Carbonite question? Without having to call anyone you can find almost any answer to your Carbonite questions by using the support tab.
You can type in a custom question or just choose a Carbonite subject.
You can type in a custom question or just choose a Carbonite subject.
The About Carbonite Tab
The About tab tells you:
-Carbonite Version and Build Date
-Your Activation Code
-Your Registration info such as email and serial number
-and...you can of course renew your Carbonite Subscription
-Carbonite Version and Build Date
-Your Activation Code
-Your Registration info such as email and serial number
-and...you can of course renew your Carbonite Subscription
Other Backup Links
- Free Online Backup Software - Get 2GB Of Free Online Storage
- Do you have important files on your computer? Family photos, financial data, music, documents and the list...
- How Do I Backup My Computer - 3 Ways To Backup
- How Do I Backup My Computer ? This is a very common asked by so many of my clients. There are dozens of ways to backup your computer and in this article I'm going to show you how to perform 3 of them. And...
Here's my favorite link:
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Blog Posts from Google
- Carbonite Launches Pro Carbonite Online Backup
- Online backup specialist Carbonite announced Carbonite Pro, a version of its online backup service specifically designed for small to medium-size businesses ...
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