Retrospect Express 5.5: Better Basic Backups

Last year's version of Retrospect Express Backup software from Dantz Software performed capably as a light-duty backup program with the unique ability to restore backups in one pass. Regrettably, however, that version lacked disaster-recovery features offered by competitors such as Backup Exec from Veritas.

Dantz's new $50 Retrospect Express 5.5 remedies that deficiency--sort of. Express can now create an ISO 9660 (an international file system standard for CD-ROMs) image of your boot partition for use when your system commits digital suicide. You also need a separate CD mastering program, however, to burn the ISO image file to CD-R.

Express is a cross-platform program with a somewhat atypical interface that's easy to use once you become familiar with it. Selecting or deselecting individual files to back up involves previewing them. You can define and reuse the backup rules for file types, such as .exe, but you can't reuse the selection of individual files in Express. (You can do that with Dantz's more expensive backup software.)

Express offers scripted unattended backups, plus a wizard to help you create new backup scripts. Its support for tape backup is limited to OnStream ADR (advanced digital recording) drives or drives that use Travan cartridges.

I ran into a bit of trouble in my tests when my shipping copy took 15 minutes, 53 seconds to back up 560MB to my 10X Ricoh CD-RW--a time I'd have expected from a 4X drive. Dantz claims that the software throttles back to compensate for packet-writing problems with Ricoh drives.

If you need a basic backup program, this is worth a look.

SUMMARY

Retrospect Express 5.5 PRO: Easy to use. CON: Limited tape-drive support, incomplete disaster recovery. VALUE: Inexpensive, capable backup program that possesses limited disaster-recovery features. Street price: $50 Dantz Software 800/225-4880 www.dantz.com