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Genie-Soft's new Genie Backup Manager Pro 7.0 is a solid product. With the addition of disaster recovery and a little more attention to visual detail, it might very well have landed one spot higher on our recent backup software chart.
I liked the program's nice blend of power and ease of use, as well as the Swift Restore feature that creates a self-executing restore file--a great way to transfer files to other computers.
The $70 (as of 5/25/06) GBM Pro offers two interface modes: normal, featuring standard restore and backup panes in a step-by-step format and providing access to advanced features; and simple, which has the same wizard-based workflow but a cleaner look, with no tools or advanced options. GBM Pro also includes a variety of Agents that let you back up common settings and data for popular programs such as Outlook and Outlook Express, as well as Microsoft's Exchange and SQL servers.
In lieu of the proprietary compression schemes that other programs on our chart employ, Genie saves backups as standard .zip files. The .zip format is nearly universal and facilitates the Swift Restore functionality. When GBM Pro isn't using compression, it creates native file backups that you can access without the program. Though native backups are less secure, they're useful because you can restore them using Windows Explorer. GBM Pro uniquely lets you encrypt native backups--however, they then lose their advantage, as you'll need the program to restore them.
GBM Pro will back up open files only if you buy and install the optional File Access Manager ($40 purchased separately, $25 bought with the main app). The add-on works well, but competitors NovaBackup 7.3 and BackUp MyPC Deluxe 2006 both include this functionality for free.
Genie Backup Manager Pro performed without a hitch in my tests, and it supports a multitude of media formats: a number of tape drives, CD/DVD, and even Blu-ray Disc. The sole defect I spotted was a minor cosmetic glitch (wrong-colored folders in the selection tree).
Jon L. Jacobi
