| Q |
How Much Space am I Using? |
| A |
The backup limits are based on the total
size of the file selection for your backup. Although all files
are compressed before sending to the data center, we do not
base the limit on this compressed size because we also store
multiple versions of files and removed/deleted files for a
period of time. Since you can modify the size of your backup
set directly from the Backup View in the software you will
have complete control to manage your backups. To see the size
of your backup open The BackUp Solution and click on the Backup
View tab. After the scan completes you will see the size of
your next backup (new and changed files since your last backup),
your total file selection and your backup limit. The total
file size must be less than the backup limit or you will receive
an error message during your backup to deselect files or upgrade
your plan. If you would like to request an upgrade you can
file out the form on our upgrade page.
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| Q |
How to Upgrade |
| A |
Starting with version 7.1 we can now upgrade your account automatically from the data center. Just fill out this form and we will be able to set your account to upgrade during the next backup. You can check your software version by opening The Backup Solution and then clicking on Help -> About. If your version is less than 7.1.5 you can upgrade your software by downloading and running the setup file from our reinstall page. You do not need to uninstall your software first. Just download and run the setup file in order to upgrade to the latest version.
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| Q |
How to Change the Backup Schedule |
| A |
Most people set the schedule to backup automatically each day. You can modify your backup schedule at any time by opening The BackUp Solution and clicking on Options -> Schedule. Always provide at least a 15 minute time frame for the backup to start. If the From and To times are the same then the backup will start randomly at any time. These times are to provide a random time for the backup to start. The backup will continue outside of this window to actually complete the process. The option to “backup on connection to network if not backed up for X hours” is normally used for laptop computers that are not always connected to the Internet. This ensures that when they are connected a backup will occur. Normally this option is deselected when using the backup on a desktop computer.
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| Q |
Can you Stop and Restart the Backup |
| A |
You can stop and restart the backup at any time. The software maintains databases to track the files stored at the data center. Because of this you can stop the backup at any time and when it is restarted only those files that have not already been sent to the data center or have changed since the last backup will sent. The database files are compared against the data center during every backup to ensure their integrity and are automatically corrected based on the files stored at the data center if there are any inconsistencies or errors in the files.
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| Q |
How Long Will the First Backup Take |
| A |
The initial backup will be the most time consuming because all files need to be encrypted, compressed and sent to the data center. Although we employ the most sophisticated technologies available there will still be a large amount of data sent. Your upload connection speed will be the limiting factor in this process. You can check you upload speed using a test such as http://www.dslreports.com/stest to see the data transfer rate you should expect. Remember, that with a broadband connection (cable or dsl) your upload speed is normally much slower than your download speed. You can stop and restart the backup at any time and many people will complete the backup over a couple of nights. Once the initial backup is complete you will see the real benefit of the software with daily backups only taking a few minutes. You will also find that when you do need to retrieve files you will get much higher transfer speeds when using a broadband connection.
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| Q |
How do You Include Mapped Drives |
| A |
The following instructions are based on version 7.1 and above of the software. If you are currently using version 6.2 you can upgrade your software by going to our reinstall page and downloading and running the appropriate setup file. You can check your version by opening The BackUp Solution and clicking on Help -> About.
Mapped drives should only be used in a stable network environment and should be checked regularly to ensure that the mapped drives have not been dropped due to Windows reporting the mapped drive as invalid or unavailable during the backup. Proper configuration of the network is your responsibility and while we will work with you in configuring the software to include the mapped drives we can not provide support for your network itself. We suggest separate accounts for each computer if you are not comfortable with configuring mapped drives. This is the best solution since each computer is running the backup independently and not relying on the network or users to access the files. With our multiple account discounts the cost difference is often fairly small and if the data is important on each computer well worth it.
Configuring for Mapped Drives During Installation:
Configuring for Mapped Drives After Installation:
If you have already installed the software and you do not see the files on your mapped drives you will need to change the Connected Agent Service to run under a user login account with administrator rights.
- To make this change first go to the Windows Services panel. You can open Services through Control Panel or by going to Start -> Run and type "services.msc" and click OK.
- Find Connected Agent Service and double click to open the properties and then click on the logon tab
- You will need to change the logon from "local system account" to "This account". To choose the correct account you can click on Browse -> Advanced and then Find Now (this is for Windows XP - NT and 2000 will be slightly different)
- You can now select the correct user with administrator rights (typically Administrator) to run the backup under. Click OK to go back to the logon tab and then enter the Windows password for the user. The password is not prefilled and you must type in the correct password for the user account in the two boxes
- Click "Apply" and then click on the General tab and stop and restart the service to apply the new logon
- Open The BackUp Solution and click on the Backup View tab. After the scan complete click on Options -> Advanced Backup Rules -> Drives and remove any red X's from the mapped drives you want to include in the backup. Click Okay and you should now see your mapped drives and files which you can include in the backup
Check Mapped Drives Regularly
You should open The BackUp Solution often and click on the Backup View to ensure all mapped drives are included in the backup. Mapped drives will be dropped if the backup runs and Windows reports the drive as invalid or unavailable. If this happens you will need to click on Options -> Advanced Backup Rules -> Drives and remove the red X from the drive. Any backup rules you have created for the drive will not be lost.
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| Q |
What
is Stored at the Data Center and Available for Retrieval |
| A |
File management is automatic. Iron Mountain
maintains the following data retention settings on the Data
Centers for our customers:
Files older than 10 versions or 90 days are deleted, but
your most recent version is always kept.
Files that have been deleted from your system will be deleted
from the Data Centers 90 days later.
Files that you backed up then de-selected from your backup
set will be deleted after 7 days.
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| Q |
How to Configure the Software with a Firewall |
| A |
If you use a personal firewall software such as Norton or McAffee, you do not need to make any changes in the software. You should receive a message when during the registration or first backup that The BackUp Solution is attempting to use your Internet connection. You will need to always permit/allow this connection for the backup to work. If you are having connection problems with the backup you should check your personal firewall application rules to ensure that cobackup.exe, olbackup.exe or agentsrv.exe are allowed access to the Internet. If you have a hardware firewall configured on your network you will most likely need to create a rule to allow traffic on port 16384 which is used for all activity with the data center. You will find more information related to firewalls on our firewall support page along with information regarding proxy firewalls.
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