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Redefining the Impossible

Mozy

Mozy

Submitted by Peter on Fri Aug 10 2007 07:33 about 1 year ago

Following my ruminations on online backup I'm giving mozy a try with the 2G free space plan. I selected 800M of stuff to backup and it's still working on uploading it. The signup wasn't problem free with one or two timeouts and the setup program was disdainful about my upload speed, saying it wasn't good enough but allowing me to proceed anyway. It will take a few days to backup everything. The backup seems to be interrupted whenever I use the computer (like Google Desktop Search) probably because Windows is so poor at multitasking disk intensive applications. How often do I stop using the computer for more than a minute? Not very often it seems (is it coffee time yet?).

There is a web-based interface that will let me restore files and would presumably let me download them to wherever I happened to be. It doesn't seem to let you view the files online in your browser which would be very handy, especially for pictures, you can only download the files. Overall it is not as flexible as xdrive promises but it could be handy one day.

Mozy adds a 'Mozy Remote Backup' virtual drive to windows explorer but for me it refuses to open: I click on it but the selection bounces away in buggy fashion. I presume it is supposed to show the folders and files I have backed up and allow me to restore them with drag and drop.

Maybe I should bite the AOL bullet and try xdrive. It would be more flexible even if backup was not totally automatic and didn't offer file versioning. It also gives 5G of space for free but I just cannot help feeling that AOL don't give anything away without a catch. Will they start emailing me .iso disk images?

What I should really be concentrating on is having something like Mozy to backup everyday work in progress and a source control system such as Subversion to handle the versioning of project files. That is the best option. The source control system only holds working code, I don't believe in checking half-finished rubbish in every day just so it is backed up. The backup system is there to save your behind if your hard disk goes down or you accidently delete a file.

Filed under: backup mozy xdrive

Dean not logged in Says:

Fri Aug 10 2007 12:16 about 1 year ago

I, just as soon as I get the time, will give xdrive a go. Used it years ago when you go 2MB free. Then they started charging...

Mike Says:

Wed Aug 22 2007 14:07 about 1 year ago

Hi Peter,

Mozy and Carbonite don't offer versioning, n = 1 is not versioning... (in my opinion they don't really offer back-up but I am picky). Don't get me wrong, they do offer a level of recoverability by providing offsite storage however it doesn't really protect against the most common data loss problems, file corruption and data deletion.

Corruption: If a file becomes corrupt/infected locally then it isn't long before the online "version" is corrupt to, assuming it is backing up automatically.

Deletion: If you accidentally or intentionally delete a file then you only have a 1-month window to realize that the file is gone. Most data deletion is either realized immediately, (and can be recovered from the recycle bin), or not for many months (taxes, Christmas letters, the perfect sunset photo, resume etc.)

There are lots of companies, (I'd recommend my company but...), that offer a better back-up solution although Mozy’s price is hard to beat. I wonder if it will last or if it will be like all the other free services that don’t exist anymore.

Ps. I’m partial to Starbucks Grande Americano (with room) as a pick-me up.

Dean not logged in Says:

Fri Aug 24 2007 12:28 about 1 year ago

Tried xdrive or rather tried to try xdrive, fell at the AOL screen name part... even once I'd "faked" a US "identity" is still would not assign a name.

Peter Says:

Mon Sep 03 2007 14:02 about 1 year ago

I did more research and only found bad things reported about xdrive so I haven't bothered. I also found a web hosting package that would give me 165G bytes for $5/month. Since I now have 8G of photos (>5000) to back up I need something more serious than a free account.

Peter

Anonymous Says:

Tue Nov 06 2007 18:06 about 1 year ago

I've been using Remote Backup Systems (RBS) for online backup.All the other online storage companies seem to have too many bugs in the system, I went with RBS, they have been around for years and is an established player in the market.

remote-backup.com/kb/

Peter Says:

Wed Nov 07 2007 09:20 about 1 year ago

These people don't seem to sell online storage space, just software to backup to your own offsite server. Prices start at $899 for a five client pack.

Not really what I am looking for.

Peter

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