https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ocster-backup-pro-4/ en Tue, 17 Aug 2010 01:02:56 +0000 hourly 1 FeedWriter https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ocster-backup-pro-4/#comment-120179 Mon, 16 Aug 2010 21:02:56 -0400 https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ocster-backup-pro-4/#comment-120179 https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ocster-backup-pro-4/#comment-120178 Mon, 16 Aug 2010 19:52:15 -0400 https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ocster-backup-pro-4/#comment-120178 https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ocster-backup-pro-4/#comment-120177 really concerned with being able to restore every single bit of data should take the time to find and vet an application that does exactly that. But I do have a few rules/habits that might help someone avoid the problems you'd described: I. Avoid long backups by running them right before bedtime - or while away from the computer. II. Always validate backup archives, always. III. Make multiple archives if you have doubts. If one is corrupt move on to the next. IV. Layered protection. I manually create restore points weekly on my machine, create full backup images with Acronis bi-monthly, and create Windows backups monthly - I've also saved the first image from the fresh install, just in case it all goes to hell. Re, today's gaotd: Anyway, with all of the good free (or really good paid) versions out there I just can't see putting my trust in a product that I won't know if I can trust until it's too late.]]> Mon, 16 Aug 2010 19:20:39 -0400 https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ocster-backup-pro-4/#comment-120177 https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ocster-backup-pro-4/#comment-120176 Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:22:59 -0400 https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ocster-backup-pro-4/#comment-120176 https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ocster-backup-pro-4/#comment-120175 Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:47:04 -0400 https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ocster-backup-pro-4/#comment-120175 https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ocster-backup-pro-4/#comment-120174 Mon, 16 Aug 2010 14:18:22 -0400 https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ocster-backup-pro-4/#comment-120174 https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ocster-backup-pro-4/#comment-120173 Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:05:14 -0400 https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ocster-backup-pro-4/#comment-120173 https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ocster-backup-pro-4/#comment-120172 Mon, 16 Aug 2010 11:54:54 -0400 https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ocster-backup-pro-4/#comment-120172 https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ocster-backup-pro-4/#comment-120171 [though compression does take some], but file or data I/O [moving those copied files to wherever they're stored]. If your PC/laptop is busy transferring lots of data on internal hard drives/partitions full speed ahead, things can grind to a halt just as effectively as if you've maxed out your CPU -- less so over a network or USB, though you can quickly eat up available bandwidth. [data mirroring is a more expensive solution where everything written to hdd is written to more than one hdd]. During a backup Ocster Backup Pro simply pauses itself if your PC/laptop has a lot going on, resuming once things quiet down a bit, & you can override the pause manually. [RE: Installation, I like portable software because it's fully independent (I guess I could say modular), where installation means putting the main folder on your hdd, & removal simply means deleting it. No muss, no fuss, no Windows or conflicting software problems. The complete Open (Star) Office suite will run off a USB stick, including Java support, no Windows install needed. The same with the VLC media player, which handles almost any audio/video. Some folks (myself included) are concerned with how much installation effects (or potentially could effect) Windows & other installed programs.] Installation of Ocster Backup Pro has a moderately heavy impact on Windows IMHO -- if you're just trying it out, I'd suggest backing up 1st or using a VM [Virtual Machine] to check it out. It installed versions of Microsoft's Visual Studio runtimes, though it seems to do it correctly, in the WinSxS folder [I've had major problems from apps that installed these runtimes improperly]. Setup also added a folder to Docs & Settings that mirrors somewhat the User Profile -- I didn't see any problems, but I haven't lived with Ocster Backup Pro either, & I have seen problems from this sort of thing when/if Windows or other apps use these alternate locations instead of the originals [or locations you set]. Impact to the registry is high because of the runtimes & the Windows Installer they use -- the Windows Installer records a lot of data in the registry, & if not used properly, those install records can haunt you with other apps that also use Windows Installer... not sure there's a fix now that Microsoft pulled their popular Windows Install Cleanup app. It does add a Windows service, though it doesn't add a driver like many backup apps, so 32 bit vs 64 bit should be irrelevant. The program folder weighs in at about 20MB, but if space is at a premium [e.g. on a netbook] it can be compacted [UPX etc] to roughly half that -- please note that I didn't give it a terribly thorough testing after compaction, & you'd want to test it thoroughly before relying on it that way. All in all, while I personally don't like the impact of installation, Ocster Backup Pro doesn't seem a bad app if it does what you want/need. I prefer file backups that use plain old zip compression in a format that can be uncompressed by all sorts of apps, including on the command line -- I use file-based backup mainly when I [may] need quick, easy access to individual files, across different versions, installs, or VMs of Windows. For work-type projects I manually copy or save to alternate locations based on milestones rather than time intervals. Partition copy &/or image backups are quicker, but individual file extraction can be a pain. [BTW, if you use virtual disks or hard drives, partition copy/image backups can be a faster way to transfer data via the network or to an external drive, as neither Windows nor your AV software will be looking at individual files.]]]> Mon, 16 Aug 2010 11:45:08 -0400 https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ocster-backup-pro-4/#comment-120171 https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ocster-backup-pro-4/#comment-120170 http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=c26efa36-98e0-4ee9-a7c5-98d0592d8c52&displaylang=en Not too sure if I found any "automatic" features, though.]]> Mon, 16 Aug 2010 11:26:41 -0400 https://www.giveawayoftheday.com/ocster-backup-pro-4/#comment-120170