Has anybody used Carbonite for online backup?

12/29/2006 01:29:29 PM · #1

Heard the name on an NPR segment and went to investigate. Sounds pretty interesting. Unlimited backup of data for $5/month. Of course uploading 300-500 gigs is going to take you a while, but the program works in the background and once it's uploaded, restoring would be much, much faster.

Carbonite Backup

Anybody have any experience with these folks?

Whoops: a pretty bad title. Obviously meant "has anybody USED Carbonite for online backup?"

Message edited by author 2006-12-29 13:30:13.

12/29/2006 02:15:45 PM · #2

I take it I'm on the cutting edge then?

thegrandwazoo

Nikon D750

12/29/2006 02:24:15 PM · #3

I heard that on NPR too ... You are so cutting edge Doc!

Message edited by author 2006-12-29 14:24:26.

12/29/2006 02:35:18 PM · #4

Thanks 'Waz. You are just being friendly cuz you beat me in WPL. ;)

I did get a 300 GB external drive for christmas to backup my photos, but because I have photos on the laptop and on my desktop and because my laptop drive is generally full (and underperforming because of it), I was thinking of just using the 300GB drive as my main place to keep photos so I could swap between machines. But then I'd need something else for real backup and wondered, why not online? I only have 40-50GB of photos at the moment and so uploading would probably take only about a month. But then I don't have to worry about a house fire or something crazy like that. Plus external drives go obsolete so fast.

thegrandwazoo

Nikon D750

Carl Zeiss 50mm ZE f/1.4 Planar T for Canon

12/29/2006 02:43:12 PM · #5

Sounds good! I just took a look at the site, 50 bucks a year for an off site back up seems to be a great deal.
I am thinking about it for one of my work machines. Thanks for the reminder of the NPR broadcast.

Edit: change 6 to 5 LOL

Message edited by author 2006-12-29 14:50:33.

fotomann_forever

12/29/2006 02:56:20 PM · #6

Looks pretty nice, thinking about using it myself.

yanko

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

12/29/2006 03:18:28 PM · #7

Looks good but how long have they been around? I noticed their Google PageRank is only a 3 which is the lowest of all the competitors they list in their pricing comparision list. Their domain name has been registered since '99 so I'm guessing they just now got around to using it? Or where they someone else before they used this domain name? I didn't catch that NPR spot so maybe I just need to get some good reviews from them before going with a virtual unknown.

Message edited by author 2006-12-29 15:28:36.

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

12/29/2006 03:23:36 PM · #8

The NPR piece was about people's predictions for the next "hot thing" for 2007 (like YouTube in 2006). This guy said that Carbonite was not the first company to offer online storage, but the first company to do it "right". I'm not sure what that means, if it's the pricepoint, the method of backup, or what. That's mostly why I was asking around here.

fotomann_forever

12/29/2006 03:25:28 PM · #9

Go try it out for us Doc :-)

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

12/29/2006 03:27:58 PM · #10

Originally posted by DrAchoo:

AOL has apparently taken over one of those older systems -- Xdrive -- which has been around since about 1996 or so.

They are currently offering 5GB of free storage ... I can't find (maybe without signing up) if more space is available.

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

12/29/2006 03:46:48 PM · #11

I've been looking through their sites. Here are a few potential questions. (I've emailed them).

1) Not a question, but this works as a backup not a primary storage space. Files which have been deleted will be deleted from backup after 30 days.

2) With this in mind, I emailed them as to how things work with an external hard drive that isn't always plugged into the desktop.

3) Because Carbonite is always uploading new files, it may interfere with Vonage or other VOIPs. I was thinking about going to Vonage and wonder how much of an issue this is. I'd have to have to pause it every time I answer the phone.

DefyTime

Canon EOS-7D

12/29/2006 03:54:33 PM · #12

Well I just downloaded their free trial. They did say they will not back up external hard drives...that's where all my stuff is. Going to have to put it back on the computer to use this? Also it says it updates files when you do...if you erase something...it won't do the same will it?

DefyTime

Canon EOS-7D

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

12/29/2006 03:56:44 PM · #13

Originally posted by DrAchoo:

1) Not a question, but this works as a backup not a primary storage space. Files which have been deleted will be deleted from backup after 30 days.

Well then it's not really going to work for our needs...I want to get this stuff off my computer...not keep it there and online.

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

12/29/2006 04:08:18 PM · #14

It would be simpler and not much more expensive (if your time counts for anything) to just buy another external hard drive, and keep it with your weekly (or so) backups off-site, like at the office or a friend's place.

I don't like using any of these "systems" which do stuff automatically, at least when it comes to files and file management -- dragging and dropping them manually is plenty easy already.

fotomann_forever

12/29/2006 04:10:14 PM · #15

Originally posted by TomFoolery:

Originally posted by DrAchoo:
1) Not a question, but this works as a backup not a primary storage space. Files which have been deleted will be deleted from backup after 30 days.

Well then it's not really going to work for our needs...I want to get this stuff off my computer...not keep it there and online.

That's what I was thinking.

thegrandwazoo

Nikon D750

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

12/29/2006 04:11:53 PM · #16

Originally posted by fotomann_forever:

Originally posted by TomFoolery:

Originally posted by DrAchoo:
1) Not a question, but this works as a backup not a primary storage space. Files which have been deleted will be deleted from backup after 30 days.

Well then it's not really going to work for our needs...I want to get this stuff off my computer...not keep it there and online.

That's what I was thinking.

Yeah that's no good...

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

12/29/2006 04:15:43 PM · #17

Why do you need to get them "off" your computer in the first place? With USB/FireWire as fast as they are, and disks as cheap as they are, I just keep adding more/bigger disks as needed.

12/29/2006 04:38:25 PM · #18

Well, some of the potential benefits would be to have a backup off site. That way if a bomb lands on your house, you have a backup.

I agree that the fact that it isn't primary storage space is limiting. I'm still gonna see what they say about the external drive. Perhaps I can keep it connected to my desktop, keep my files on it and then they backup onto Carbonite.

The hassle comes from the fact that I do most of my PS work on my laptop, but the HD is 100GB and it computer really bogs down when the HD gets full. I don't want to carry around an external HD along with the computer (which is heavy already). So I'm still trying to find the best way to have files accessible but still safe.

12/29/2006 05:20:13 PM · #19

That sounds good.

I have been using Connected Online backup for several years now. It worked great (again, it's backup, not primary storage). But it was expensive--currently around 16.45 a month for 5GB. But it saved me many times when I've altered a file and then later regretted it (I'm talking about programming files and not images, but same difference). My point is that having a spare copy (or three--connected kept the last three versions of each file) that's automatically backed up is a great feature.

I recently found Mozy backup, free for up to 2 GB, and I now use that for my critical data. Obviously, not good for a lot of files. They also have an unlimited plan for the same price. They compare themselves to Carbonite here.

I have been using it for a few weeks. I have to say that it's significantly slower to backup than Connected was. And there are a couple days it missed due to connectivity issues. But you can't beat the price!

01/11/2007 01:01:41 PM · #20

FWIW, here's an update.

I have been running both Mozy for almost two weeks, and Carbonite for more than a week. Seeing which I like better.

Carbonite has the advantage that it works right from explorer. It works pretty well overall. It has some disadvnatages though: it doesn't offer encryption for sensitive files (e.g., financial files). I like the integrated into Explorer interface. But on the BIG negative side: it doesn't back up files you've stored on external USB drives.

Mozy will backup USB drives, and offers encryption. But unfortunately, it seems to have more problems connecting to the server, and I haven't had a successful backup in more than 8 days. The support has been very good (at least responsive) and they say they are working on the server problems.

Will let you know as things progress. I currently have a $5 monthly subscription to Mozy (which I will drop if the problems don't fix themselves soon). I am on the trial for Carbonite, but I might choose a minimum subscription just in case Mozy never works out! But in the long term, I'd have to rearrange my files to keep using carbonite to deemphasize the USB storage.

01/11/2007 02:11:09 PM · #21

Originally posted by nshapiro:

Thanks Neil. I dropped the Carbonite idea because of the external drive issue. So Mozy can back up external drives? What do they cost for say up to 100GB of data?

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

01/11/2007 02:38:28 PM · #22

Originally posted by DrAchoo:

Thanks Neil. I dropped the Carbonite idea because of the external drive issue. So Mozy can back up external drives? What do they cost for say up to 100GB of data?

Yes, it will. You get unlimited backup for $5 a month. It's cheaper to do it a year at a time, but it's still on trial for me. I say give it a try--it's only $5. I'm curious if you have the server connect problems I've been having!

Jason_Cross

Nikon D50

01/11/2007 02:45:40 PM · #23

Originally posted by DrAchoo:

I have multiple lines with an IP phone, and I don't have a problem on with my Comcast internet when I send huge amounts of data and people are on the phone. However I had DSL, and if someone was on the phone I could not send any data or the phones would loose connection.

01/11/2007 06:08:40 PM · #24

Here's a question about Mozy. It seems to encrypt the data before its sent. Does that effectively double the use of your drive? In other words, do you need to store the regular version and the encrypted version on your HD?