Burlier Backup Software Helps Safeguard Data

When you pick a backup program, be sure it has the features and capabilities that will complement your intended backup routine. Many of the drives we tested shipped with a limited or older version of backup software. If you feel constrained by your software--or if the device you want to use doesn't have software--take a look at how the major backup programs compare.

At the top of our chart is EMC Dantz's Retrospect Professional 7, our Best Buy. You can upgrade from the bundled versions of Retrospect Express 6.5 for $50, a bargain considering that version 7 costs $95 if you buy it off the shelf. Retrospect can back up open files. The Professional edition includes a host version and a client version, as well as two client licenses; you can use it to back up as many as three PCs via your host computer. The user interface's wizards are easy to follow, so long as you select the correct task first.

StompSoft's $60 BackUp MyPC 2005 is almost as powerful as Retrospect Professional and, with its wizards and Windows Explorer-like interface, is easy to use. It will back up to and from network drives, as long as they're mapped (though the license agreement says you can't use it over a network). BackUp MyPC 2005 can back up open files, too; however, unlike Retrospect Professional 7 it can't do backups using native file format, which reproduces your existing file and folder structure without applying a proprietary compression scheme.

NTI's $80 Backup Now 4 Deluxe has most of the same options as BackUp MyPC, but also provides a disk-imaging application for creating an exact duplicate of your hard drive. It organizes tasks into easy-to-follow steps, with buttons labeled '1', '2', '3', 'Start', and 'Schedule'. The software worked fine when connected to a USB or FireWire drive, but it froze for 30 seconds or so whenever we used a network drive.

You can set NovaStor's versatile $50 NovaBackup Professional 7.2 to run other applications before or after it conducts a backup--useful if, for example, you want to run a spyware check prior to backing up your drive. NovaBackup has a sleek interface, and its many customizable settings are simple to understand and follow. The software can back up to network drives, but like most backup apps NovaStor's license says you can run it on only one system; additional licenses cost $50 each. Another $56 add-on provides open file backup.

If you want to back up multiple computers on a network, CMS Products' $70 BounceBack Professional 6 ($49 upgrade from Express) is a steal, as CMS says you can install it on any computer that's using the same backup device--and even explains how to do so. The software lets you save multiple versions of your files and synchronize files between two systems. It does native file backups, and allows you to create a bootable hard drive--a boon if your PC supports booting from a USB device, or if you want to remove the hard drive from your backup device and swap it into your PC.

Tanagra's $30 Memeo 1.5 provides folder-monitoring capabilities. After the initial backup, it backs up new or changed files automatically, immediately, to almost any kind of backup device, including to an FTP server. It won't back up system files or program files, so it's inappropriate for full system backups.

Iomega's $70 Automatic Backup Professional 3.2 can perform full system backups, or back up just certain files. Like Tanagra's Memeo, it can monitor folders for new or changed files, and back up multiple versions of files. If your backup drive isn't available, the software will temporarily store any changed files until the target becomes accessible, even if it's a network drive. The software is easy to use, as well: For example, defining a network target for backup is simpler than with most of the other tools here.

Alan Stafford