Paragon Disk Backup 8.0

Paragon Drive Backup 8.0 Personal

Price: £25.95 ($49.95)

Supplier: Paragon Software Group

System Requirements: Pentium Processor 233MHz or higher, 128MB RAM (256MB recommended), 30MB free Hard Disk Space, Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP

The value of stored data on a PC never actually enters the user’s mind until that fatal day arrives when the computer crashes and the data becomes unrecoverable. It is at this moment that we hear the familiar cry ‘why didn’t I backup my hard drive.’

Well, Why didn’t you backup your hard drive? The task, after all, has never been so straightforward and with Paragon’s Drive Backup software you can have a safe backup image of your hard drive in no time at all.

Go With The Flow

From the time you launch Paragon Drive Backup to the completion of the backup image you are guided step by step by a set of simple, user friendly, wizards. No longer do you need to second guess the application, the wizard driven interface just flows from screen to screen, gently guiding the user to the ultimate goal of a achieving a viable hard drive backup. It matters not whether you are intent upon backing up the entire hard drive or just individual partitions - be that primary, extended or logical - Paragon Drive Backup has the power to meet your every need.

Fig: 1 paragon Disk Backup Wizard

Fig 1: Drive Backup has easy to use wizards throughout

Time Capsule

As well as the usual repositories for the contents of your drive backup image, i.e., Network drive, Partition, Second Hard Drive or CD/DVD, Paragon Drive Backup also has the capability to create its own Backup Capsule. This acts as a ‘safe haven’ for the imaged copy and is easily created using the Backup Capsule Wizard.

From the Backup Capsule Wizard the user can stipulate the size of the capsule prior to its creation; it is also possible, at a later time, to shrink or enlarge the Capsule size to meet the user’s requirements.

Fig 2: Backup capsule

Fig 2: Position of the Backup Capsule is indicated by the orange lozenge shape

While the Backup Capsule is an important safeguard, it can have a downside. By default the Backup Capsule is created on the last primary partition or last logical drive within an extended partition of the hard drive. However, if you have a number of partitions on your hard drive, and later decide to delete the Backup Capsule partition, say in favour of backing up to CD/DVD, Drive Backup will add the originally allocated space of the Backup Capsule to the end of the C: drive, thus extending the size of drive C. To prevent this from happening the better option is to delete the Backup Capsule partition from within Windows via Disk Management (Control Panel>Administrative Tool>Computer Management>Disk Management), instead of using Drive Backup’s built in Delete Backup Capsule option.

It should also be noted that if the drive is already partitioned and, during the initial creation of the Backup Capsule Partition, the user allocated more space than is readily available on the drive, Drive Backup will conversely shrink the C: partition in order to accommodate the Backup Capsule. This can have a devastating effect if the C: drive is shrunk below the optimum required by the operating system and may result in start-up problems. It is therefore, wise to ensure enough free space is available prior to the creation of the Backup Capsule.

Spot The Difference

It is a well known fact that backup images are only as good as the last image taken; therefore, if you just make one backup and leave it sitting there for a few months then, should a disaster occur, you are only going to be able to recover to that same backup you created months earlier. This isn’t a good strategy. If it becomes necessary to restore the backup you really need the most up to date copy, not something you haven’t used for a number of months.

Fig 3: Differential Backup

Fig 3: Differential Backup helps keep your image up to date

There are two ways of backing up data: The first is to keep creating a new copy of the hard drive every week or so. This, however, means that you will then require additional partitions to be made available to copy the ‘repeat’ backup image to, or you will need to delete the original image and replace it with the latest one.

The second, and by far the more logical, is to create a differential backup. A differential backup simply spots the changes made between the previous image and the current one and copies only the ‘new’ data to the original backup image. This, inevitably, saves both time and effort.

On Schedule

Although life can be somewhat repetitive, no one really like repetition. In most cases it is better to ‘set it and forget it’ rather than constantly having to be reminded to do certain labour intensive activities.

Fig 4: Scheduler

Fig 4: Schedule a backup when you want to

Backing up a hard drive or partition is one such repetitive job which, ultimately, one can never quite find the time to do. Fortunately Paragon Drive Backup has its own built in scheduler that enables the user to quickly set a specific date and time for each backup, with Drive Backup’s scheduling application able to set the backup process to begin at system start up, logon, or on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

Verdict

Backing up one’s hard drive can be a monotonous affair, particularly so if you are the type that hates a regular routine. Paragon Drive Backup is a no hassle application that takes the stress out of backing up a hard drive or partition. It’s revolutionary hot copy feature also enables you to copy the hard drive/partition without even leaving the Windows environment, allowing you to continue, uninterrupted, with your daily work. While there are numerous hard drive backup applications on the market, for sheer ease of use and user friendliness Paragon Drive Backup is second to none!

Ease of use: 9.5
Features: 9.8
Value for money: 9.8
Overall: 9.7