Frequently Asked Questions
Here are some common questions and answers
about Remote Data Backups.
If you have any additional questions and cannot
find the answers in the Remote Data Backups program
Help system or our
online backup support, please
call us free of charge, 24/7, and we would
be happy to answer them for you personally. |
|
*$10 more for monthly billing. |
Tip: To search this page, press Ctrl-F. Also try
our Knowledge Base.
- What are the
advantages of offsite backups?
- What features
does Remote Data Backups have?
- How does my
current backup system compare with Remote Data Backups?
- What are the
disadvantages of tape drives?
- What are the
disadvantages of CD-RW drives?
- What are the
disadvantages of Zip drive?
- What are the
disadvantages of mirrored drives or RAID system?
- What are the
disadvantages of external or portable hard drives?
- What are the
disadvantages of Jaz drives?
- How do I register a
new account?
- How do I pay for an
account?
- How do I cancel an
account?
- How do I transfer
an account to another computer?
- How many computers
can an account have?
- Where can I find my
account number?
- What if I lose my
Personalized Encryption Key?
- Who can access my
data?
- Is my data safe and
secure?
- Is my contact
information private?
- Can anyone delete
data off of the data center if they wanted to?
- Is Remote Data Backups
HIPAA Compliant?
- How do I upgrade or
downgrade my account size?
- How is the Remote
Data Backups password different from the encryption key?
- Is there any risk or
obligation to try Remote Data Backups for a 30-day free trial?
- What if I have AOL, MSN,
Prodigy, Compuserve, Juno or similar ISP's that force me to log in. Will I
still be able to run Automatic Backup?
- Can I use Remote Data
Backups if I have a firewall?
- How are software
upgrades handled?
- How do I remove
Remote Data Backups from the original system after I transfer the account to
another computer?
- Where do I get the
Remote Data Backups software if my hard drive crashes or if I lose my
computer?
- Can I schedule the
computer to shut down when the backup finishes?
- How much data can I back
up?
- How long will my first
backup take?
- How long will daily
backups take?
- How often can I back
up?
- What types of files
can or should I back up?
- Can I back up my
network drive?
- Some files were not
backed up. What should I do?
- A scheduled backup
did not occur or complete. What should I do?
- How do I back up
Windows 2003 Server?
- Can I back up two or
more computers with one online backup account?
- The log shows "total
files selected for backup exceeded the limit". What should I do?
- Why is my first backup
so slow?
- Half of my backup
finished, but when I start again it indicates it is only a few percent done.
Why?
- What is the difference
between total, optimized and compressed file backup size?
- How can I see how much
disk space a disk or folder is using?
- How can I run Remote Data
Backups as a Windows Scheduled Task?
- My account is full. How
can I reduce my account space usage?
- Can I use my computer
while Remote Data Backups is backing up?
- How can I copy files
from computers over a network?
- What is the largest
file that can be backed up?
- Can I restore just the
operating system and/or the complete system if it becomes corrupt?
- Can I access my data
remotely from another computer?
- How can I share data
and files back and forth between accounts?
- How long is my data
stored offsite?
- Can I restore
previous versions of a file?
- How do I recover an
existing account?
- When using Remote
Access, why do I see a red X instead of my
folders?
- Where can I see a list
of files that were backed up?
- How do I restore my
files to another directory?
- What is the
background of Remote Data Backups?
- Who uses Remote Data
Backups online backup service?
- How will I be
rewarded for informing others about Remote Data Backups?
- How do I receive
credit for referring a user to Remote Data Backups?
- What is the
difference between the affiliate and reseller programs?
- How do I become an
affiliate?
What are the advantages of
offsite backups?
Offsite backups
are a better protection for your data than onsite backup solutions like
tape, DVD
and other unreliable and expensive storage media. Your files are protected from
natural and human disasters, and the
automated backup process saves time
and money. 
What features does Remote
Data Backups have?
Features
of our industry-leading online data recovery service include
automatic backup,
data security,
file restores,
Easy System Restore,
10-File Versioning,
30 day extended archiving,
remote file access,
file and account sharing,
30-day free trial download, and
free 24/7 support, all through very
affordable pricing plans.
How does my current backup
system compare with Remote Data Backups?
Ask yourself some
questions about your current or proposed backup
system, compare Remote Data Backups with other backup solutions and compare
your backup solution side by side with Remote
Data Backups. We are convinced that our backup solution will give you better
data protection and save you time and money.
What are the disadvantages of
tape drives?
Drives cost $240 to thousands of dollars and tapes
cost $50 - $100+ each.
- Is it set up properly and how often do you actually use it?
- Is it an older or obsolete model (more than 3 years)?
- How old are the tapes you are using (Are they more than
one year old)?
- How many tapes (at $50 to $100 each) do you use? (A
minimum of 5 to 9?)
- More disadvantages of tape
drives.
What are the disadvantages of
CD-Rs and CD-RWs?
Drives cost $100 to $250, blank 680 MB CD-Rs
cost 50 cents to $1 each.
- How long does it take you to back up each time . . .
actual time?
- Is the 680 MB limitation on CD-Rs ever an obstacle (i.e.
files larger than 680 MB)?
- Do you have more than 680 MB of data to back up?
- Do you have to use multiple CD-Rs?
- How much time does that take you?
- What quality of CD-Rs do you use (are they less than 50
cents or nearly $1)?
- More disadvantages of CD-RW
drives.
What are the disadvantages of
Zip Drives?
Drives cost $100 to $150, Zip disks cost $5 to $10
each.
- How often do you actually use it? Once a week, month,
whenever?
- How many disks do you use?
- Do you rotate them and take them offsite regularly?
- More disadvantages of Zip
Drives
What are the disadvantages of
mirrored or RAID systems?
Drives or RAID systems cost a few
hundred to multiple thousands to buy and set up.
What are the disadvantages of
external or portable hard drives?
Drives cost $100 to thousands
of dollars each.
What are the disadvantages of
Jaz Drives?
Drives cost $250 to $500 each and 1 GB disks cost
$50 to $100+ each.
- Is it always attached to the computer it is backing
up?
- Do you use multiple cassettes or just the one that came with
the drive?
- Do you rotate them and take them offsite regularly?
- More disadvantages of Jaz
drives.
How do I register a new
account?
Simple. Just go to
www.remotedatabackups.com and
click on the 30-day free trial button and
follow the prompts. Please feel free to call us and we would be more than happy
to personally walk you through the entire setup process (It only takes 10-15
minutes), free of charge.
All packages include Remote
Access, 10-File Versioning,
Extended File Recovery and
Account Sharing.
How do I pay for an
account?
Use our 30-day free
trial with no credit card information, risk or obligation. When your free
trial is over, we will ask if you would like to continue with the service
annually or on a month-to-month basis. You can pay online by going to the
Support page and clicking
Make a Payment.
We would be more than happy to walk you through the setup
process step by step (it only takes 10-15 minutes), and we would be more
than happy to educate you on all the finer features and functions of the
service before your free trial is finished. Once you see how easy the service
is to set up and install, we are confident that you will be impressed.
How do I cancel an
account?
Call us and we will cancel your account. Make sure to
record your account number and
encryption phrase before uninstalling. To
uninstall the Remote Data Backups
software, simply go into the "Control Panel" and select "Add/Remove Software"
and follow the prompts to remove it. We will continue to archive your data for
an additional 30 days for you... just in case you change your mind.
Feel free to give us a
call and we would be more than happy to assist you.
How do I transfer an
account to another computer?
- Back up the old
computer.
- Important: Record the
account number and encryption key from your Remote Data Backups account.
Print out two copies and keep them in separate, safe locations.
- Uninstall
Remote Data Backups on the old computer.
- Download and
install Remote Data Backups onto the new
computer. Click on the package for which you originally signed up.
- During this process,
re-establish the existing
account onto the new computer and enter in your account number and your
Personalized Encryption Key.
- Perform a file
restore to move the data (but not Windows itself) from the old computer to
the new computer.
Feel free to give us a call and we would be more than happy to
walk you through this process free of charge.
How many computers can an
account have?
One. Each computer requires its own account. You
can access your data from multiple computers with our
Remote Access feature, but you can only
back up data from one computer at a time. You can easily transfer an account
from one computer to another, but that account cannot be backing up both
computers at the same time.
Where can I find my account
number?
Right on the Remote Data Backups
 Home
screen. If you ever need your account number, we can provide you with that, but
we cannot provide you with your Personalized
Encryption Key. We highly recommend that you print multiple copies of this
information during the install process and store it securely offsite.
We cannot help you if you lose your encryption key.
What if I lose my Personalized
Encryption Key?
We cannot help you if you lose your
Personalized Encryption Key. Your encryption
and decryption key is designed for your security. If
you do not have access to the original software and do not have the
printed page that you were prompted to print during the
installation, then you willl not be able
to access your backup! With 128-bit AES Encryption there is no "reset" key.
- To view your encryption key if your Remote Data Backups
software is running, click on the
Options
Menu, select
Security, and click View Encryption Key.
- To print your encryption key, click the Print button.
Change number of copies to 2. Click OK. Store the printout copies in two
separate, safe locations.
Who can access my
data?
Only you and those to whom you give access. There are two
ways to give someone access to your data: by giving them your account number
and encryption key, or through account
sharing. We cannot access your data.
Is my data safe and
secure?
Your data is protected by many
safety and security features, including
AES encryption,
SSL, redundant offsite storage at two
mirrored data centers,
10-file versioning, and
30-day extended archiving.
Is my contact information
private?
We use your contact information to serve you. We do
not sell your contact information to outside parties. For more information,
read our privacy policy.
Can I or anyone else delete
data off of the data center if we wanted to?
Absolutely not!
This is one of the advanced safety features built into the service itself with
our 30-day Extended Archiving function.
If you delete something off of your system that was designated for backup, it
will remain at our data centers for an additional 30 days to protect you
against Sabotage Situations. Even if you,
or your IT people, were to call and ask to delete the data off at our end, it
could not be done. It will just automatically delete itself after the
30-days... and not until then!
If you do not need to restore any data, you can just
download our software again and start a new
account.
Is Remote Data Backups HIPAA
Compliant?
Online backup services are not intended as HIPAA
solutions and your use of online backup services will not assist with or ensure
HIPAA compliance. Remote Data Backups is not itself a HIPAA compliant data
protection and recovery system. For example, one specification of HIPAA
compliance is that backups are kept for years. To store data longer than 90
days with Remote Data Backups, you would have to make a complete copy of your
files every 30 days and store the copy in a separate directory that you back
up. Remote Data Backups uses file encryption, secure file transfer and
offsite redundant storage which may not
meet the data privacy and security
requirements of the Easy System Restoreth Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of
1996.
How do I upgrade or
downgrade my account size?
Complete these steps:
- Important: Record the
account number and encryption key from your Remote Data Backups account.
Print two copies and keep in separate, safe locations.
- Restore any previous
versions of files you want to keep. (There is no need to restore current
versions.)
- Uninstall
Remote Data Backups.
- Download the Remote Data Backups
package you want to use (100 MB, 4 GB, 10 GB or 30 GB).
- Install and set up this
package like you did with your previous account.
- Run the first
backup.
- Important: Go to our upgrade page and complete the upgrade form so
we can cancel your old account and adjust your billing to reflect your usage on
both old and new accounts.
How is the Remote Data
Backups password different from the encryption key?
| |
Encryption
Key |
Password |
| Purpose |
External
security: Assures that data is secure whenever data is sent over the
Internet for backups and restores |
Internal
security: Prevents unauthorized file retrieval by users who can view the
encryption key |
| Content |
8 or more
characters (letters and/or numbers) |
6 or more
characters, case is not important |
| Required? |
Yes:
Required on every Remote Data Backups account |
No:
Optional, added protection (normally you can leave it blank) |
| Visible? |
Yes: Visible
in Remote Data Backups by clicking Options > Security, View Encryption Key
|
No: Cannot
be viewed |
| Changeable? |
No: Never
changes (if you lose it, we cannot find it or reset it!) |
Yes: Can be
changed by clicking Options > Security, Change Account Password |
|
|
Is there any risk or obligation
to try Remote Data Backups for a 30-day free trial?
Absolutely
none! All we want you to do is try our service out for yourself free of charge
for 30-days. We will not even ask you for your credit number. Once you see how
easy it is to set up (only takes 10-15 minutes) and use, we are
confident that you will be impressed. We will walk you through all the advanced
functions and features the service offers, in addition to automatically backing
up your data offsite every night for 30 days. Download a 30-day free trial now!
What if I have AOL, MSN, Prodigy,
CompuServe, Juno or similar ISP's that force me to log in. Will I still be able
to run Automatic Backup?
Only if you can have the online
service automatically enter your password and automatically connect. Some ISP's
force you to physically type in your password and sometimes they will not allow
third party software to initiate the connection. If this is the case, you will
have to manually create the internet connection first before you can back up.
This is simply done by clicking on your Internet icon and then clicking on the
"backup now" button within Remote Data Backups.
Can I use Remote Data Backups
if I have a firewall?
Yes. For maximum data protection, in
addition to Remote Data Backups online backup software, we recommend that you
use a firewall and virus protection software. A firewall protects your
incoming and outgoing connections from abuse by untrusted software. Some of the
most popular software firewalls include Norton Personal Firewall (part of
Norton Internet Security), ZoneAlarm, McAfee, Sygate and Tiny.
Typically your firewall will not interfere with Remote Data
Backups because the agent is installed and run locally. Our software actually
initiates the connection to the data centers from your computer and not by a
request from our data centers.
If you get a message that Remote Data Backups could not connect
to the data center (e.g. the connection was refused, the data center is busy or
unreachable, or a dialog box saying "Waiting to Retry: Next backup session will
begin in: ..."), it may be because your firewall is not allowing the
connection. If so, open your firewall software, select "Allow Remote Data
Backups to connect to the Internet" and select "Remember this connection next
time".
- If you have a SOCKS proxy firewall, you will have to provide
your firewall's IP address and the port to use within the Remote Data Backups
Connection
Settings, in the Options menu. You will not have to reconfigure your
firewall or anything else.
- If you have a Non-SOCKS compliant firewall, you will need to
configure both the Remote Data Backups software and your firewall.
If you are asked to retry or cancel the connection and suspect
your firewall or router might be causing the connection problem, temporarily
disable or shut down your firewall or remove your router from the network and
try backing up again. A reboot may be necessary. If the backup connection
works, you know the firewall or router was the issue, and you can troubleshoot
it further.
The two IP numbers Remote Data Backups uses to connect to the
data centers are primary 12.159.133.17 and secondary
140.239.229.17. You may need to tell your firewall to allow your
computer to connect to these IP numbers. Port numbers often used are 738
and 739. Remote Data Backups uses port 16384 to connect to the data
centers.
For more information about connection problems and solutions,
see the Troubleshooting section in the Remote Data Backups
Help
screen.
How are software upgrades
handled?
Free of charge! We will continuously be providing you
with updates and new releases to our software free of charge. We will inform
you via email when new updates are available and we will walk you through the
simple install process step by step over the phone free of charge.
We are currently using version 6.2 and will be releasing version
7.1. You will not need to reinstall anything, as all the changes are on the
server side
If you would like to upgrade to a larger Remote Data Backups
package, see the upgrade instructions.
How do I remove Remote Data
Backups from the original system after I transfer the account to another
computer?
The procedure is the same as for other Windows
software packages. Go to your "Control Panel" and click on "Add/Remove
Programs". Then select Remote Data Backups to be removed and follow the
prompts.
Where do I get the Remote Data
Backups software if my hard drive crashes or if I lose my computer
completely?
Load Windows so you can access the Internet, go to
our website and download the same package
you originally had signed up with. During the install process, choose "re-establish an
existing account" and enter in your account number and your
Personalized Encryption Phrase. Within a few
minutes, you will be able to retrieve your data with a few clicks of the mouse.
If you want to restore your system to exactly the way it was, choose the
Easy System Restore tab and select the
data that you want to restore. You will be able to "roll back the clock of time" and
restore your new hard drive to exactly the way your old one was before
it crashed. We would be more than happy to walk you through this process step
by step over the phone free of charge 24/7.
Can I schedule the computer to
shut down when the backup finishes?
We are not aware of a way
to make the computer to shut down after a scheduled backup is complete.
However, you can start the backup yourself and have the computer
shut down when the backup is finished:
- In Remote Data Backups, click the Options menu and select
Backup Schedule to see the
Schedule screen.
- Put a check in the box next to "Prompt for backup each time
Windows exits".
- When you are finished with the computer for the day, click
the Windows Start button, click Shutdown or Turn Off Computer, and click
Shutdown again.
- A dialog box should pop up asking whether or not you want to
proceed with the backup. Click OK.
- The backup should start immediately. Once the backup is
complete, the computer will shut down.
How much data can I back
up?
We offer a variety of different
offsite data backup solutions to fit your
needs:
How long will my first backup
take?
That depends on your broadband connection and its
transmission rate. Typically, if you have a
DSL, Cable modem, or T-1 you should be able to back up your entire drive in one
night. Once your first backup is done, it will not have to be done again and
daily backups typically take only a few minutes a day since we only send
Delta Block incremental level changes,
even with 56K dial-up modems.
How long will daily backups
take?
Since we only send Delta
Block level incremental changes after the initial backup is done, daily
backups typically take only a couple minutes a day.
For example: If you have a 100 MB accounting file that is
changed every day, we do not actually resend that 100 MB file every night. We
only send the Delta Block incremental changes within that file itself;
subsequently daily backups are extremely fast. Typically, they take only a few
minutes a day. You will be impressed.
How often can I back
up?
You can back up as often as you like. There are many
different ways you can manually and automatically configure your backups:
To schedule when backups occur, click the Options menu and click
Backup Schedule to see the
Schedule
Settings - Schedule window.
- You set the specific times and days you want the daily
backups to automatically occur.
- You can also manually back up as many times as you wish
throughout the day.
- You can choose to have it automatically prompt you whenever
you exit Windows.
- You can set it up to automatically prompt you when you first
turn your computer on.
- You can have it automatically back up whenever it detects an
Internet connection after a set time has elapsed since your last backup.
What types of files can or
should I back up?
You can back up and recover any Windows
system file or data file, including the entire
Windows system if you have a
10 GB or 30
GB account. Our clients back up a large variety of
file types for many types of businesses. Back up
your mission-critical data: anything that would be time-consuming and costly to
replace. Select the offsite backup
solution that meets your needs and budget.
Can I back up my network
drive?
Remote Data Backups is designed to back up a single
computer and does not currently support backing up network drives.
To back up more than one computer on the same Windows or Novell
network to a single online backup account using network drives, we offer a
mapped drive backup
solution. Also see How can I copy files from
computers over a network?
To map a network drive in Windows XP, Click the Tools menu and
click Map Network Drive. Select a drive letter such as Z: Click Browse and use
My Network Places to select the computer drive or folder you want to back up.
Click OK. Make sure "Reconnect at logon" is checked. Click Finish.
Warning: Network drive letter assignments can easily
change and network drives can easily be disconnected, so you will need a
mechanism to assure that your network drive is actually backed up.
Does
Remote Data Backups protect music files (.mp3, .wma, etc.)?
By
default Remote Data Backups will not back up compressed music files (.mp3,
.wma, etc.) because of obvious legal reasons (lawsuits from the recording
industry). However, you can select these files yourself in the Advanced Backup
Options screen. Note that when you suddenly start including all of your music
files, you could go over your backup plan limit, preventing your backups from
running until you deselect files.
Some files were not backed up. What should I
do?
Remote Data Backups software does not back up open
files which were in use by another application when the backup was in
progress. If you are attempting to back up open files, you will see a red
warning message on your
Home
page indicating " x files
were not backed up" or " Backup
Warning! It has been y days since your last totally successful
backup!".
Click the
Log
tab, double-click the last backup entry, and scroll to the bottom of the
Log
Details page to view the path to the files that were not being backed up,
and any error messages that might explain the problem. Files "in use by
another application" were open files. Tip: We strongly recommend
that you check the log files regularly
to assure that your backups are occurring as
scheduled. Tip: Write down (or copy using Ctrl-C) the path of the file so
you can easily find it in the
Backup
View.
If they are not critical data
files, and you wish to avoid seeing the error message, deselect them from
the
Backup
View by finding each file (press Ctrl-F and type the file name), clicking
the green check mark next to the file, and clicking OK to change it to a red X.
We recommend deselecting non-critical open files so that you will be aware of
any new error messages.
- Some files always stay open, e.g. Dell Management Console or
a wireless keyboard or mouse.
- Temporary or cache files created by Norton Antivirus 2004 or
Windows XP Service Pack 2 (e.g.
C:\WINDOWS\SoftwareDistribution\EventCache\*.bin) are not needed.
- Some of the open files may be in use by spyware programs.
Consider using adware and spyware removal programs like AdAware and
SpyBot.
If they are critical data files,
close them by closing the program and try backing up again.
- Remove programs in the Startup folder of your Programs menu
so that they do not start when Windows starts.
- Right-click each program and click Delete.
- Look for other programs that start when Windows starts.
- Click Start > Programs > Accessories > System
Tools > System Information. Click the + next to Software Environment and
click Startup Programs. The Program column lists the applications, and the
Command column lists the paths and filenames of the programs.
- If you are not sure what any of these programs are, go to
www.sysinfo.org and search for the
program's filename. The results may give you an idea of how to uninstall the
program.
- Look in the system tray (at the bottom of your screen, next
to the clock on the Windows Taskbar) for programs to close.
- Right-click each program and click Close or Exit.
- The Windows Task Manager shows any running applications and
processes.
- Press Ctrl-Alt-Del.
- Select any programs you want to stop and click End Task.
Caution: Do not close processes if you do not know their purpose, as they may
be important system tasks.
- Sometimes restarting the computer is necessary to close an
open file that an application did not release before closing.
Some critical open files must be backed
up but cannot be closed easily or without disruption or must remain open
all the time. Examples include server files like Microsoft Exchange and SQL
Server. We recommend using third-party software like
Veritas BackupExec or
Microsoft NT Backup to take snapshots of these open files. You can then
backup the snapshot files. You will find that purchasing this software and
using it with our service is far less expensive than finding a backup solution
that supports open files.
Also, you can write a batch file to
shut down open files and schedule it in Windows Scheduled Task Wizard to run just prior to the
scheduled backup time. Then have a subsequent batch file reopen the file after
an elapsed time. A batch file is simply a text file with a .bat extension that
acts like a program. It contains the full path of the program(s) you want to
run, one per line.
A
scheduled backup did not occur or complete. What should I
do?
When troubleshooting a problem with many possible causes,
proceed by eliminating variables.
Click the Remote Data Backups
Log
tab, double-click the last backup entry, and scroll to the bottom of the
Log
Details page to view the paths to the files that were not being backed up,
and any error messages that might explain the problem. Tip: We strongly
recommend that you check the log files
regularly to assure that your backups are occurring as scheduled.
Try performing a manual backup. Click
the Backup Now button from the
Home
screen.
If none of your files were
backed up, and a manual backup does not work, you may have a connection problem
such as a firewall that isn't letting Remote Data
Backups connect to the Internet.
If you do not have a firewall problem,
check your system tray (in the lower right corner of your screen, next to the
clock) for any other running programs that might be interfering with the
backup. Close or disable them all and try backing up again. If the backup now
succeeds, enable the programs one by one and try backing up until you identify
the interfering program.
Check when backups were scheduled to
occur. Click the Options menu and select Backup Schedule to see the
Schedule
Settings - Schedule screen. Make sure it is scheduled to back up regularly
(we recommend daily). Try scheduling a backup to occur five minutes from now
and see if it starts by itself in five minutes. If this works, the connection
is probably fine. Firewalls are not usually scheduled to restrict connections
to certain times.
If manual backup works but scheduled
backup does not, make sure the computer is actually switched on and connected
to the Internet at the time when it is scheduled for backup. We usually
recommend that you leave your computer on overnight.
You may also need to disable some of
your power management options. In Windows XP, click the Start button, move to
Settings and click Control Panel. Double-click the Power Options control panel.
Select the Power Schemes tab and change "Turn Off Hard Disks" to "Never".
Select the Hibernate tab and make sure "Enable hibernation" is unchecked. Click
the "APM" tab and make sure "Enable Advanced Power Management support" is
unchecked. If your scheduled backups now work, you can again enable these
settings until you know which caused the problem.
If you are using Windows 2003 Server,
make sure you are logged in as a user (an administrator if you are preforming
system backup) and Remote Data Backups is minimized.
If nothing else seems to solve the
problem, try rebooting the machine. This clears the computer memory of any
inconsistencies and generally assures that all program settings agree with what
is in memory.
For more information about connection
problems and solutions, see the Troubleshooting section in the Remote Data
Backups
Help
screen.
How do I back up Windows 2003
Server?
It is necessary to leave both Windows 2003 Server and
Remote Data Backups open for a scheduled backup to occur. You can minimize
Remote Data Backups.
Can
I back up two or more computers with one online backup
account?
Remote Data Backups allows only one account per
computer, and you will need to install and use two separate accounts. If both
computers are on the same network, you can map a drive on a second computer to
a network drive on the first computer, and use
Offsite Data Backups to
back up the network drive as if it were a local
drive.
The
log shows "total files selected
for backup exceeded the limit". What should I do?
This message
indicates that you have used all the space on your Remote Data Backups account.
You have these options:
Why is
my first backup so slow?
See the data transmission speeds page for technical
details and in-depth explanation.
There are many variables that affect upload speeds, so it is
impossible to provide an accurate estimate of backup times.
Upload speeds are often slower than download speeds,
particularly with cable modem and satellite connections. Most connections are
designed this way because most users download much more data than they upload.
What your ISP usually advertises is the maximum, not necessarily a typical
speed.
Simply let the first backup run overnight so it does not
interfere with your work. Subsequent incremental backups will be much
faster.
Half
of my backup finished, but when I start again it indicates it is only a few
percent done. Why?
If your backup was interrupted (e.g. your
Internet connection was stopped), you can continue the backup where you left
off. You do not have to back up anything that was already backed up because
Remote Data Backups is an incremental
backup system. The percentage you see refers to the percentage of your data
which remained to be backed up, not the percentage of your full backup.
What is
the difference between total, optimized and compressed file backup
size?
- Total file size is the amount of data that is on your
system that was backed up in the most recent backup.
- Optimized size is the
delta block incrementals, in other
words the portions of the backed up files that were actually changed. Also, for
full system backups, system files already on our system do not need to be
uploaded.
- Compressed size is the size of the information after
compression which is actually sent to the data center.
The bottom of the log
file shows all three file sizes. The
Home
screen shows only total and compressed file sizes. Because the data is both
optimized and compressed, the amount of data actually sent to the data center
is relatively small, and the incremental backup is fast.
How can
I see how much disk space a disk or folder is using?
In My
Computer or Windows Explorer, right-click the disk or folder and select
Properties. You will see the size or used space in KB, MB or GB. This is
approximately the amount of space that would be used on your Remote Data
Backups account when you back up the disk or folder.
- Previous file versions and deleted files do not count toward
your account usage.
- Also, by default, temporary files such as deleted files in
the Recycle Bin are not selected for backup.
Once you know how much data you need to back up, you can select
one of our online backup plans.
You can also select files from within
Remote Data Backups to see how much space they take. In the left column of the
Backup
View screen the "Total selection" must be less than the "Backup limit". In
the
Retrieve
View screen, if you select My Computer or the entire C: drive you will see
the amount of data available for recovery; this will be less than the backup
limit if you are showing only the most recent version of all files.
How can
I run Remote Data Backups as a Windows Scheduled Task?
You can
use the Windows Scheduled Tasks to back up according to a more fine-tuned
schedule, e.g. more than once per day. The easiest way is to use the Scheduled
Task Wizard and then modify the results. You can also create a task by
right-clicking in the Scheduled Tasks window and clicking New >
Scheduled Task.
- Click Start > Programs >
Accessories > System Tools > Scheduled Tasks.
- Double-click Add Scheduled Task. The Scheduled Task
Wizard will open. Click Next.
- Scroll down to Remote Data Backups and click once to
select it. Click Next.
- Select to perform the task Daily and click
Next.
- Select a time to perform the task and click Next.
- Enter the username and password of the account that will be
used to run the backup and click Next. (Note: accounts with
administrator rights will be able to back up any file on the system, but user
accounts might not.)
- Click Finish. A scheduled task named Remote Data
Backups will appear in the Scheduled Tasks window.
- Right-click the Remote Data Backups task and click
Properties.
- On the Task tab, in the Run field, you should see something
like C:\PROGRA~1\REMOTE~1\OLBackup.exe. Add -b to the end so that it
reads C:\PROGRA~1\REMOTE~1\OLBackup.exe -b. This will assure that Remote
Data Backups runs a backup as soon as the task starts. (Other useful switches:
-be will also exit Remote Data Backups when the backup finishes. -be0 will also
log out of Windows. -be1 will shut down Windows. -be2 will reboot Windows. -bi
exits Remote Data Backups even if there are errors such as
open files.)
- If you want to run a backup more than once per day, click the
Schedule tab. Click the Advanced button. Check the Repeat
task box. To back up 3 times a day, repeat the task every 8 hours. The
duration should be 24 hours. Click OK.
My
account is full. How can I reduce my account space usage?
If
you are trying to stay below the limit of your account size, there are many
ways to reduce the number and size of files you are backing up:
- In Remote Data Backups you can deselect files without
deleting them from your hard drive.
- Click the
Backup
View tab and click Files Needing Backup. Click the Size button at the top
of the window to sort the files by size. Deselect any large files you do not
need to back up.
- Click the Explore to Pick Files button. Then deselect
entire folders that you do not need to back up.
- Deselect specific music, graphic and video files you do
not need to back up, particularly those that come installed with Windows. Click
the
Backup
View tab. Press Ctrl-F, or click the Operations menu and click Find, or
click on the magnifying glass in the upper right corner of the window. Type a
filename or wildcard (e.g. *.mp3) and click Find Next. To deselect a file from
the backup, click on the green checkbox to change it to a red X.
- Click Options > Advanced Backup Rules > File Types.
Deselect extensions of file types you do not want to back up.
- Run Disk Cleanup.
- Click Start > Programs > Accessories > System
Tools > Disk Cleanup.
- Select Downloaded Program Files, Temporary Internet
Files, Recycle Bin, and
- Temporary Files. We do not recommend compressing old
files.
- Uninstall programs you are not using.
Remove unused
software such as online services that came installed with the computer when you
bought it.
- Search My Computer for large files to deselect from your
backups or delete from your computer.
- Click Start > Search > For Files and Folders, or
click the Search button in Windows Explorer or My Computer.
- In the "Look In" box, select the drive or folder you want
to search.
- In the "What size is it?" section, select Large (More
than 1 MB) or Specify size (in KB), select at least and type in 500 or another
size.
- To list all files in a drive or folder, you can type *.*
in the File Name box.
- Click the Size button at the top of the Size column to
sort the files by size.
- Compress large files or groups of seldom used files using
Windows compression or WinZip. (We do not recommend this type of compression
for critical data because recovery may be impossible or more difficult in the
event of damage to the compressed file.)
Can I
use my computer while Remote Data Backups is backing up?
Remote
Data Backups takes little CPU time except for the first few minutes when
scanning drives and files. You should be able to use most applications without
a problem. Just be aware that any open files will not be backed up and you will
see error messages in the log files
about them. In particular, the large Outlook .pst file will not be backed up if
Outlook is running, so we strongly recommend closing Outlook before starting a
backup.
How can
I copy files from computers over a network?
In some cases, you
may need to copy files from one or more computers over a network to a central
computer, and then back up those files from a single Remote Data Backups
account. Caution: This could save you money, but it is less reliable
than installing Remote Data Backups on each computer and does not manage file
versions or deleted files. Also see Can I back up my
network drive?
To copy a file, folder or drive over the network, you can use My
Network Places, select a folder on a remote computer, press Ctrl-C to copy it,
select a folder on the local computer, and press Ctrl-C to paste the copied
folder into the current folder.
A more powerful way to copy multiple files is the DOS
xcopy command. For example, to copy the entire Documents and Settings
folder from a shared C drive on a computer named Client1 to the Backups folder
on a computer named Server, if you are on the Server computer, you would click
Start > Programs > Accessories > Command Prompt, type xcopy
"\\Client1\C\Documents and Settings" C:\Backup /s, and press Enter. The /s
option indicates that all subdirectories should be copied. For more help on the
xcopy command and its options, type xcopy /? and maximize the Command
Prompt window to see all the lines.
To save typing the next time you want to execute this command,
you could create a batch file. A batch file is an executable text file with a
.bat extension (e.g. copymyfiles.bat) which can be created and edited
with a text file like Windows Notepad and run like any other program. Each line
of a simple batch file is a DOS command or program name to be run. For example,
if you wanted to copy the Documents and Settings folders from six different
computers, you could use six xcopy commands, each on a separate line. To run
the batch file, double-click it in Window Explorer or My Computer.
Once your batch file is working and thoroughly tested, you can
use Windows Scheduled Tasks to run it once a day
before Remote Data Backups runs, or any other time interval you choose.
What
is the largest file that can be backed up?
Our backups use a
32-bit addressing scheme which restricts the largest backup file size to about
3.6 GB.
Can I restore just my
operating system and/or the complete system if it becomes
corrupt?
Yes, with our advanced
Easy System Restore function, you will
have the ability to restore either just your operating system or your entire
computer with just a few clicks of a mouse. This is one of our flagship
features that is included with our 10 GB Server
Backup and it is a very powerful tool to have at your disposal.
Imagine the ability to "go back in
time" and restore either just your operating system or your entire
computer to the way it was when things were still working right.
All you have to do is use this feature once for it to
pay for our Remote Data Backups service many times over. Even if your
hard drive crashed, you could restore your
new hard drive to look exactly the way the old one was before it
crashed. You wouldn't even need any of your original install disks
except for your Windows install disks.
Can I access my data remotely
from another computer?
Absolutely. You will be able to access
all your information literally from any computer with Internet access
24/7. Simply click on the Remote Access
link on our website, enter in your account number and
Personalized Encryption Key and you will be
able to easily download your data to that computer. This feature works great if
you want to access your office data from home or while on the road. This
feature is included with all of our packages and it is a very powerful and
convenient tool to have at your disposal.
How can I share data and files
back and forth between accounts?
It is very easy to share files
back and forth between computers with our advanced
File Sharing, which is included
with all of our packages. All you need is two Remote Data Backups accounts and
you can either share just specific directories or the entire computer with each
other. This works great if you have an office and a home computer that you want
to share files back and forth.
You can share either a single specific directory or the entire
drive with another account and have the capability to transfer files from one
to another with just a few clicks of a mouse 24/7. This also works especially
well for very large files (up to 4 GB) that you would otherwise be
unable to send back and forth by e-mail or CD-RWs.
How long is my data stored
offsite?
The last 10 versions
of your files will be kept at the data center for up to 30 days... just
in case you want to "go back in time" and restore a file as it was on a
particular day.
If a file was deleted off your system, our
Extended File Recovery feature will
keep this data available to you for an additional 30 days (just in case you
have a disgruntled employee or some
unforeseeable circumstances).
If you de-select your data from your backup selection, we will
also keep it available to you for an additional 30 days.
Can I restore previous
versions of a file?
Yes, with our
10-File Versioning feature, you will be
able to "go back in time" to a previous version of a file and restore it
exactly as it was saved on that particular date. You never know when you need
to restore a previous version of a file due to it being corrupted, saved over,
accidentally (or even purposely) deleted, changed, or by any other
number of unforeseen reasons.
How do I recover an existing
account?
Simply go to our website with your new computer and
download the same software package you
originally downloaded from our website. During the
install process choose "re-establish an existing
account" and enter in your account number and your
Personalized Encryption Key and within a few
minutes you will be able to retrieve your data. That is all!
If you ever find that you need to use one of our advanced
functions to recover or access your data, please feel free to give us a call,
24/7, and we would be more than happy to walk you through it free of
charge.
When using Remote Access, why do
I see a red X instead of my
folders?
Remote file
access requires Java to be installed and enabled on your machine.
- You can download and install the Java Plug-in from
Java.com.
- If Java is installed but not enabled, enable it as
follows: Click the Start menu, go to Settings and click Control Panel.
Double-click the Java Plug-in control panel. Click the Browser tab. Make sure
the box next to your browser (Internet Explorer, Netscape or Mozilla) is
checked. Click the Apply button. Close the control panel.
- Your browser's Internet security and other settings
may also prevent you from using Java. In Internet Explorer, click the Tools
menu and select Internet Options. Click the Advanced tab. Scroll down to the
Java (Sun) section. Make sure the box next to "Use Java 2" is checked. Click
the Security tab. Click the Custom Level button. Click the Enable radio button
in the Scripting of Java Applets section. Click OK.
- If you have tried the above and still cannot get Internet
Explorer to work with Remote Access, it might be quicker to download a
different browser such as Netscape which includes and enables Java by
default.
Where
can I see a list of files that were backed up?
There are
several ways to see files that were backed up.
- In the
Log
screen of Remote Data Backups you can see lists of files backed up each day.
- In the
Retrieve
View screen you can see a list of all files have been backed up in a
Windows Explorer-like tree.
- If you know the file name and/or extension, you can
search for it by pressing Ctrl-F or clicking
Find
File in the Operations menu. Type the file name and/or extension (e.g.
report.doc or *.doc) and click Find Next.
- Use the Remote Access
feature to see a similar file tree.
How do I restore my files to another
directory?
Follow these steps. For more information, see the
backup and restore instructions.
- Start Remote Data Backups.
- Click the
Retrieve
View tab. Click the Retrieve Now button at the bottom of the screen.
- You will see the
Retrieve
Preferences dialog box. Decide whether you need to restore files to their
original locations or to another directory. If you restore files to another
directory, it is a good idea to use the original directory structure. "Retrieve
original directory structure" should be checked.
- Click OK.
What is the background
of Remote Data Backups?
We have been a leading provider of
online backup and disaster recovery services since 1999. For more information,
see About Us in the
Corporate Information section.
Who uses Remote Data Backups
online backup service?
Our extensive
client list includes over 50
franchise organizations with thousands of
locations. Read our nearly 100 client
testimonials to see how well our offsite backup service has met their
needs.
How will I be rewarded for
informing others about Remote Data Backups?
When you
tell your friends, clients and business
partners about our secure offsite backup solution, you will be protecting
their data from disasters and enhancing their partnership with you.
Also, if work with many people who would benefit from our
service and you join our no-cost offsite
backup Affiliate or Reseller Partner Program, you will earn financial
rewards for each client who purchases our service and mentions you as the
referral.
How do I receive credit
for referring a user to Remote Data Backups?
You need to do two
things for us to reward you for signing up a client to our service:
- Sign up as an
online backup affiliate.
- When you or the client install and set up Remote Data Backups, put
your name in the Affiliate Partner field on the
Name and
Address screen.
When the client pays for their account, we will send you a
check.
What is the difference
between the affiliate and reseller programs?
A comparison of
our partner programs is at the bottom of our backup partner page. The
online backup affiliate program is
meant for partners with a small number of clients. The
online backup reseller program is for
partners who work with many clients over a long period of time. If you are
unsure how many clients you are likely to have, we recommend that you
sign up as an affiliate.
How do I become an
affiliate?
Go to our Online
Backup Affiliates page and fill out the
sign-up form at the bottom of
the page. Once you sign up, you will have access to our
Partner Extranet which includes sales and
marketing materials and client tracking. When your clients pay for our service,
we will send you a check.
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