If you are like many of us, totally dependent on your email program, you have probably worried at one time or another what you might lose if your system crashed. You would lose your address book, your contact list with all those email addresses you have accumulated over the years, and every email you have saved. If you have organized all your emails into folders, you would lose that too. Not a pretty picture huh? Backing up email and email programs can be a nightmare. You feel like you need to be a brain surgeon to find all the files you need to make a proper backup, and Outlook Express like to hide critical files in the darndest places on your computer. Unless you really know what you are doing, and where things are, a perfect backup by hand is next to impossible.
Anyone who has been reading CompuQuickTips for any length of time knows Mrs. Wizard's "backup speech." You can replace software, even your computer. You cannot replace your personal files. When they are gone, they are gone!
The latest version (Version 8) of Genie Backup Manager keeps getting better and better. Not only does it work great with my new Vista machine, It takes away all the guesswork, and will seamlessly back up some of the most difficult things to back up by hand. It will handle quite a few email programs, like Outlook Express, Outlook, even Incredimail. You won't have to worry about losing your address book, folders, even your old emails and account information. You won't waste a single brain cell. They are all perfectly safe with Genie Backup Manager.
The latest version is very dependable. Once you have your backups set up, set a schedule and forget it. Even if you are working and have a file open, Genie Backup Manager somehow manages to back up your files without interrupting a thing. It is amazing. There is nothing confusing about it, and you will like that a LOT!
The best backups are away from your computer. Send your files to a removable hard drive or recordable CD. If you have a huge hard drive, you can send them to a special folder, then copy the backup files to a recordable DVD. Or you can send your backup directly to a recordable CD or DVD. I LOVE recordable DVD's! The hardest thing for you will be to choose where to send your backup.
Online Backup Service ... The Genie folks were kind enough to let me check out their new Online Backup Service. It is as easy to set up and use as a regular backup. Everything is comfortable and familiar, and it was so fast I almost felt as though the files were going to one of my own hard drives, instead of their server... amazing. It is a great way to add another layer of protection to your backups. Having your precious personal files backed up on another drive or CD in your home or office is certainly a necessity, but to have another copy at a totally different location is real protection. You can access your files anytime you want, from wherever you are. All you need is your user id, password, and an Internet connection. When you visit their website, be sure to check out their online backup options. I have a feeling a lot of people are going to find it to be a very valuable service.
My personal favorite backup scenario with Genie Backup Manager is the Mirrored Backup. The first time you run it, all the files and folders you have selected are sent to your special backup place. After that, each backup job simply compares the files, replaces any that have changed, and deletes any that are not with the originals any more. Only files that have been changed or deleted are affected. This is a great time saver for those of us who like to backup frequently. My updates take minutes instead of hours and I don't need to keep track of files I change or delete. Genie Backup Manager does it all for me.
I still don't recommend attempting to back up entire systems, mainly because restoring is usually a miserable experience, and if you were having system issues before the crash, why would anyone want to restore a damaged system? I am very impressed with Genie Backup manager options to back up really hard and personally important things like the Registry, Internet Explorer Favorites and settings, Windows Address Books, even your Desktop and Fonts. I don't know about you, but it would take me weeks to get my Fonts folder back to normal if my hard drive crashed.
Genie Backup Manager certainly qualifies as a GEM
It is very easy to download and install. It is easy enough for a beginner to use, but major geeks will appreciate the more detailed and powerful features also available in the software.
There is a Pro version available, as well as a Home Edition which is suitable for most users. Cost will range between $49.95 and up. You can download a FREE trial version. To learn more and decide which is best for you, be sure to visit the Genie-Soft web site.
Genie Backup Manager