jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I like the idea of online backup, but in over thirty years, I've never needed it. I would have paid almost $2,000 for piece of mind. I don't know if I deserve that much security.

I do like the idea of the full mirror backup, but only if it would work with a new computer, but it probably wouldn't. If I got a larger C: drive, the mirror would let me copy everything over to the new drive. Of course, I could also use an external drive to make a mirror copy.

I've never been one to spend a lot of money on insurance. I've had life insurance for years, and I haven't collected on it once. I bet I'll never see that money.

mainshipper Loc: Hernando, Florida

I use it for everything but photos because I have too much to backup. Carbonite advertises "unlimited" storage but in reality they only give you <200GB. Once you cross that threshold the transfer rate slows to a crawl and is really not practical beyond that point. It also needs to run on an "always on" PC so the backups are continuous.

crimesc324 Loc: West Palm Beach, Florida

I use it on all my computers, have accessed it to download data from an old laptop to a new one and it was easy. I think it is well worth the cost. I had my house broken into once and my computers stolen. Luckily they left the external HS's but the next day I got Carbonite too.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I hate unlimited that is limited.

mainshipper Loc: Hernando, Florida

It's explained in the fine print.

One other thing, they won't let you backup network drives which is where I have all my data so to get around that I have it running on a Windows Home Server instance where I have a copy of everything apart from my two NAS boxes. On my network I backup my PCs to the Windows Home Server nightly but only keep critical data on the network storage.

Gitchigumi Loc: Wake Forest, NC

Would external backup drives solve the problem? Use one drive to mirror the system drive and another to backup the backup? I could see that working in most cases, but not in the event of a fire or flood... Then, having remote backup would be best.

strikerazde Loc: Phoenix, AZ

I'd be a little careful with places like Jimmy Drive. He has not been around very long. I have no idea if he is storing files in a data center or in his garage, are they striped on an array or on a single drive. Are they on Storage devices such as centera and replicated for safety. Are they kept in redundant data centers?

There are others besides Carbonite but can't remember them all now. I would just use a company that has been around for a while and are storing files in a secure data center. I use Carbonite myself.

donrosshill Loc: Delaware & Florida

Does Carbonite do a Mirror back up of your entire system. Programs and files??

hj Loc: Florida

Is it true that only files are backed up and not the operating system and neither are the applications backed up?

saichiez Loc: Beautiful Central Oregon

Things I have encountered on clients using Carbonite.

Can get pricey. You won't know the real price until you see their quote. Have one client who pays a couple of hundred a month to have his medium sized company on Carbonite.

Takes Veeeery long to get your files restored.. sometimes days. Not good in a situation where you need to get back up and running fast, such as in business recovery.

Always do a test restore, no matter how good the reviews, to see if the backups are valid. I can certainly tell you stories about backup systems that were never "test restored" and did not function properly when a real disaster occurred. In other words, when you need it, will it work as promised and bail you out of a jam.

"Passing the Buck" on responsibility. If you read the contracts very carefully on all these "cloud" systems, I think you will find that they say, contractually, that they are not "liable" for the value of lost data they cannot provide.

The "Passing the Buck" comment comes in when you actually think you can pass ultimate responsibility to a third party. The phrase "don't quit your day job" comes to mind.

In a few words, continue to do your own, redundant, data backups. Cloud backups should only be considered another level of redundancy in backing up date. They ONLY qualify as an off-site redundant method, and still subject to the vagaries of the stability of the internet.

If they shut down one weekend and don't come up on Monday, have you ever tried to find the principals who own or control an internet site????

I have, and I have seen clients who lost their backups because web sites go down permanently more than one might imagine.

I had one client who set up a "professional" web site backup, and quit backing up locally. Turned it all over to the web site sytem. They failed in the biz, and he never saw his stuff again. Foolishly, he had a portion of his work "ONLY" on that web site.

No recourse, no recovery....

Ever asked to see the P&L and financial sheets of a Web Site before doing business with them, as well as a CEO name and a list of the Board of Directors.

Would you run "YOUR" business that way?

As far as the time Carbonite has been in business, they started from Staples in 2006, as one of the early "Online backup Systems". OK, so I guess 6 years is a long time in internet stability.

I'm 70 years old, and I still do business with companies I started with when I was twenty years old. Now that is history. Six years in business is not necessarily the sign of a long standing, and traditional company.

bee7474 Loc: Selah, Wa

Carbonite is great, have used it twice. Took 8 days and 7 nights to download all my stuff on a new hard drive. Check Kim Comando for discount. Bee

Bozsik Loc: Orangevale, California

I have had Carbonite for 2 1/2 yrs. It has not backed up all of my file yet. If you have a large photo index, and shoot a lot, it slows down after 300gigs to a few megabites a day. It will then take a month to back up each gigabite.

I called their tech support, and they said I would have to upgrade the service which would cost hundreds of dollars more a year. My service expires in October and I am not sure if I will continue with them.

The backup is great, but if you have a large number of files it is too expensive in my opinion. I have always been saving on external drives.

ratzthree Loc: Midwestern USA

Thanks for your insight. My dance studio is celebrating its 39 year this month and we have been doing business with the same costumers, photogs, printers, etc for most of those 39 years. Like you, I know longevity. Six years is very new. I am going to get all my pics backed up then see how I like it. I already use an external drive.
Again, thank you so much for sharing your thoughts.

jerryg Loc: NE Pa

Can't back up programs only data, pics, etc

donrosshill Loc: Delaware & Florida

After reading these latest post I think my decision is to continue using my external solid state drives for file backup.
Thanks to everyone for the valuable information.
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