Free Backup Software: EASEUS Todo Backup 1.0

Free Backup Software: Easeus Todo Backup 1.0 File Name: EASEUS Todo Backup 1.0
Version: 1.0
Publisher: Chengdu Yiwo Tech Development
OS: Windows 2000/XP/2003/Vista/Server 2008

Back up and restore data on your system, partition, or hard disk. EASEUS Todo Backup is a freeware. You can use this freeware to backup the system or important data to a safe place. With it you can create mirror image, clone disk, upgrade small disk to bigger one. You can also backup your data into hard drive or CD/DVD.

Main Features:

  • Backup system partition to image:
    Backup the entire system partition, including the system state and all files to an image file. Easy to store and restore.
  • Backup partition or disk:
    Backup the whole disk including the operating system and all data to an image file. Easy to restore or migrate to other disks.
  • Restore hard drive and operating system in Windows:
    all the previous backed up disk and system image can be restored within minutes.
  • Restore the system partition by bootable CD.
  • Create a bootable CD and restore when there is a boot failure.
  • WinPE bootable CD: If you fail to restore with Linux based bootable CD, we recommend you to use WinPE CD which is more powerful.
  • Compress image file: The image file will be smaller if the compress level is higher, so it will save more space and it is more convenient to store and transfer.
  • Image file splitting: There are different upper limits for different storage, so it is necessary to split the image and fit different storage devices.
  • Backup priority: It will be faster to complete the operations if the priority is higher.

EASEUS Todo Backup is a backup and restore solution for a good reason: with detailed instruction wizards, your computer will be in a safe condition within minutes without the help of an IT specialist to backup your system state, partition and disk. EASEUS Todo Backup can backup your system partition to quickly get the system up and running in the event of a system crash or hardware failure. It allows you to backup and restore disk or partition after viruses attack, unstable software download, hard drive failure. Meanwhile, EASEUS Todo Backup is useful if you want to upgrade the older smaller hard disk without reinstalling the operating system and applications once again.

Free Download EASEUS Todo Backup 1.0

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Tips For Choosing Hard Drive Backup Software

Hard Drive Backup Software Hard drives fail. Operating systems crash. And then there are all those spammers and hackers. As a computer user, you need backup software. Backup software is a kind of insurance policy for your important data. If you back up your files on a regular basis, you won’t have to worry about losing all of your hard work and precious data if your hard drive fails.

Data backup is more critical than ever before, especially for small businesses where data losses can damage the bottom line. The best backup software is both reliable and customizable, allowing you to customize and automate the data backup process.

Before You Buy Hard Drive Backup Software

1. Match the Software
Different users (home user, home office, small business, large business) have different needs. Backup software that’s a perfect fit for one user may be totally wrong for another. If it’s too difficult to use, you’ll find too many reasons not to use it.

Businesses may need to back up data from multiple operating systems, and from users and computers that are spread across a number of locations. Home and home office users usually only have one or a few computers to worry about, so they can choose backup software that has a fairly straightforward set of features.

2. Try It Before You Buy It
Many software developers offer trial versions of their software. In many cases, these are fully-functioning versions of the software that stop working after a specified period of time, usually 15 to 30 days.

When you find a program that sounds interesting, download the demo and put it through its paces. You should be able to install the program easily, create a simple backup, and restore from the backup, without spending a lot of time reading manuals or help files. Don’t overlook the manual or help files, though; they explain important features, such as backup types, schedules, compression, and restoration.

3. Backup Media
The three most popular types of backup media for home and home office users are hard drives, optical media (such as CDs or DVDs), and online file storage services. Hard drives have fallen so much in price in recent years that they have become both the easiest and the most economical method of storage.

Online file storage is an attractive option, because you can access your files from anywhere. But it can take a long time to back up data to or restore data from a remote location, and most services charge a monthly fee. In addition, you never know whether the service might suddenly go out of business.

4. Backup Types: Full and Incremental
The first time you back up your data you perform a full backup. Full backups can take a long time to perform, because of the amount of data being backed up.

Incremental backups only back up the data that is new or has changed since the last time you performed a backup of the same data. Incremental backups are faster to perform, but can be slower when it comes time to restore files, because you may need to restore the full backup and all subsequent incremental backups, before you get to the data you need. For this reason, it’s a good idea to perform a new, full backup once a week, and incremental backups daily.

5. Backup Types: Archival
An archival backup is different than a normal backup, because the data is permanent and doesn’t change. An archive is a snapshot of data at a specific moment in time. Optical media (CDs and DVDs) are the most popular media for archival backups, because they’re inexpensive, easy to use, and easy to catalog and store.

Home office users use optical media to store monthly or yearly backups of their business data, for easy retrieval at tax time. Home users might store family photos or other important files on optical media.

You can use backup software to archive data or archive the data manually, as needed.

6. Shopping Tips
If you plan to use backup software with optical media, make sure the software can handle it on its own. Some software requires other software to burn the data to a CD or DVD; this is fine if you already have that other software.

Most backup software can compress data while it writes to the backup media. This helps reduce the size of the backup, so it takes up less space. It’s best if the software uses a standard compression format (or no compression at all, if you don’t need it). If it uses a proprietary compression scheme, you may need to reinstall your OS and the backup software before you can restore your data.

Top Hard Drive Backup Software

  • 2BrightSparks SyncBackSE Backup Software
  • EMC Dantz Retrospect Professional Backup Software
  • Norton Ghost Backup Software
  • Acronis True Image Backup Software
  • BounceBack Professional Backup Software

These are selection of top backup softwares for small business users that meets the criteria and will give you the data backup protection you need.

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10 Tips For Choosing Hard Drive Data Recovery Software

10 TIps For Choosing Hard Drive Data Recovery Software Hard drive damage primarily results in data corruption. The damage can be caused due to various logical factors like improper system shutdown, file system corruption, software bugs, metadata structure damage, and operating system malfunctioning.

Most computer users wind up needing to recover lost data at one time or other. Luckily, you can choose hard drive recovery software to help retrieve your lost files. There are many options available, so you need to know what to look for before you buy hard drive data recovery software.

  • Check to make sure the software you buy will support the file type you need restored before you buy hard drive recovery software. Not all hard disk recovery utilities are the same.
  • The recovery software should recover your data after all the logical corruption scenarios like virus attack, boot sector corruption, accidental deletion, partition damage, and file system corruption.
  • The software should use high end scanning algorithms to completely scan and recover lost, missing, or inaccessible data from your hard drive.
  • The application should support recovery from all kinds of storage media like hard drives, CD, DVD, USB flash drives, and more.
  • The recovery utility should recover all kinds of different file formats like .DOT, .DOTX, .XLT, .XLW, .XLB, .XLTX, .POT, and .POTX.
  • The recovery tool should be embedded with all the latest features like disk imaging, disk cloning, Find file option, S.M.A.R.T and more.
  • The tool should provide a preview of all the files and folders, and provide an option to the user to select and recover files as per his/her requirements.
  • Use price as your guide when you buy hard drive recovery software. There are a lot of different programs on the market, which can be overwhelming. The price generally ranges from 75 dollars for an undelete program up to 400 dollars for more powerful programs used by professionals. If you stay within 80 to 120 dollars, you will have a good utility that can accomplish a lot.
  • Choose hard drive data recovery software that is user friendly. The directions should be easy enough for you to run the program on your own.
  • The software should be completely non destructive.

See my another post: Best Data Recovery Softwares 2009

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HP Recovery Partition

HP Recovery Partition Many HP computers are shipped with a recovery partition on the hard drive. This separate and dedicated partition is used for backup and recovery of system files and drivers in case the system becomes unstable. Using the recovery partition allows you to restore the HP to its original state.

Note: Backup your data often using HP Recovery Manager or other backup software to multiple sets of drives to avoid losing important files in the event of a system crash.

How to Boot an HP Recovery Partition?

  1. Press the power button to start the HP. Press and hold the F11 key to launch the HP Recovery Manager from the recovery partition.
  2. Backup any files you want to save. Follow the HP Recovery Manager instructions to save any important files before continuing with the recovery process.
  3. Continue the recovery process. After backing up files to an external device or CD/DVDs, select the option to perform a system recovery.
  4. Obtain and install updates for the HP. After your system reboots, use HP update manager as well as Windows update to restore all critical updates to your HP computer.
  5. Make a set of recovery disks. Use HP Recovery Manager and select “Advanced Options” to create a set of recovery disks that can be used in the event that your HP cannot access the hard drive.

How to Repair an HP Recovery Partition?

Many newer Hewlett Packard (HP) computers can be recovered from data stored on a partition on the hard drive. If this partition or the data stored within it becomes damaged, you will not be able to restore your computer’s files in the event of data loss. Fortunately, the HP recovery partition can be repaired without too much difficulty. However, it’s important to back up your files because you will have to format your hard drive and reinstall your operating system to repair the damaged partition.

  1. Navigate to the Hewlett Packard website. Search on the model name and number of your computer. Under “Select a product,” choose the model computer that matches the one you own. Under “Product Quick Links,” click “Software and driver downloads.”
  2. Select your operating system. Scroll down to “CD-ROM order page: Recovery Disks” and click on the link. If the recovery disks for your model computer are no longer available on that page of the HP website, search for your computer model in the HP Parts and Accessories store area. If HP doesn’t have the recovery CDs in the store, order them from an auction site such as eBay or check a reputable computer parts retailer. Back up all of your data to removable media while you are waiting for the CDs to arrive.
  3. Disconnect all peripheral devices from your computer when you get the recovery CDs. Leave only the power cable, monitor, mouse and keyboard connected. Place the first recovery CD in the optical drive you use to boot your computer. Restart your computer.
  4. Select “Advanced Options” from the recovery CD menu. Select “Exit to DOS.”
  5. Type “FDISK” at the command prompt. Press “Enter.” Press “Y” and press “Enter” again.
  6. Press “1” to create the DOS partition and make it active. Press “Y” and then “Enter” to continue. Ensure that the first CD from your recovery disk set is still in the optical drive you use to boot the computer. Press the “Esc” button to restart your computer.
  7. Follow the instructions on the screen to restore the recovery files from the CDs to the recovery partition. Remain near the computer so that you can supply the additional CDs when prompted to do so. After the files have been rewritten to the recovery partition, the HP software will begin to recover your computer’s files from the partition.

If necessary, enter your computer system’s BIOS setup program to change the boot priority so that the computer boots from the CD drive, then restart the computer again.

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Purchasing A Hard Drive Recovery Disk Rather Than Requesting A Data Recovery Service

Hard Drive Recovery Disk/Disc If you experience hard drive data loss, there may be a number of effective solutions available to you. One of these solutions may be to purchase special software directly from your hard drive’s manufacturer. Depending on the cause of your data loss and other circumstances of your situation, recovery disks may or may not work. There are many types of hard drive failure that make it impossible to recover all or some of the data. However, if data is able to be recovered, purchasing a recovery disk can be much more affordable than requesting data recovery services from a technician.

  1. Determine if your hard drive or computer is currently covered by a warranty by reading through the documentation that came with either or both. If your hard drive is currently covered, read the warranty details to find out if data loss is also covered and how you should act upon the warranty in cases of data loss. This may save you the expense of ordering a recovery disk in the first place.
  2. Verify the manufacturer of the hard drive. If your hard drive was pre-installed in your computer when you bought it, you should be able to find the manufacturer identified in the documentation that came with the computer. If you purchased the hard drive separately, any saved packaging or documentation will identify the manufacturer. If you can’t find any helpful documentation, you may have to open your computer case and look at the label on the hard drive. This usually isn’t difficult and may only require a small screwdriver or no tools at all. Specific instructions for opening a computer case vary by manufacturer and model, however, so you will have to refer to instructions provided by the actual computer manufacturer.
  3. Visit the hard drive manufacturer’s website using a working computer. Explore the site to find the section covering data recovery options. If there is no such specific section, find the support section.
  4. Carefully review all of the data recovery options if they are listed. Typically, this will consist of software-based solutions like recovery disks as well as technician-based solutions like live recovery services. If you see specific information about recovery disks, read that section carefully.5. Contact the manufacturer’s live support staff if you have questions about the recovery disks offered through the site or if you cannot find information on recovery disks. You should be able to find a toll-free support hotline or a live Web chat feature through which you can contact a support representative. Work directly with the representative to make sure the recovery disk they offer is appropriate for your situation and needs, but keep in mind that there is no guarantee that your manufacturer offers recovery disks.

    6. Purchase a recovery disk either from the site or directly from the support representative if you determine that this is still the best course of action. You will likely need a major credit card to do this.

Note: Make sure you understand the difference between a hard drive recovery disk and an operating system recovery disk. An operating system recovery disk, which typically ships with new computers or operating system software, will not help you recover hard drive data. A hard drive recovery disk, which does not always ship with new hard drives or computers, is designed to help you restore data in the event of accidental data loss. It may not be possible to know if your hard drive data is recoverable until after you purchase and attempt to use the recovery disks. If you are concerned about this, check with your hard drive manufacturer’s support staff to find out if you can get a refund if the disk does not help.

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Top 3 Best Free Antivirus Softwares Download

Top 3 Best Free AntiVirus Softwares Download In today’s world having anti-virus software is not optional.  A good anti-virus software will perform real-time and on-demand virus (See my another post: Top 10 worst computer viruses) checks on your system, and warn you if it detects a virus.  The program should also provide a way for you to update its virus definitions, or signatures; so that your virus protection will be current (new viruses are discovered all the time).  It is important that you keep your virus definitions as current as possible.

Antivirus software provides an essential layer of protection from a multitude of virus, trojan, worm, spyware, adware, dialer, keylogger and rootkit infections. Traditionally antivirus softwares just detected virus and spyware removers just detected spyware but nowadays the boundaries between antivirus and spyware removers are unclear. Most current antivirus have at least reasonably good detection rates of all forms of malware.

Pay for antivirus softwares from the biggies Symantec/Norton or Mcafee and it’ll cost roughly £50 per year. Yet you can also take advantage of a variety of decent free softwares, I looked at several free antivirus softwares which are vital in protecting your computer from virus threats and other types of malware.

1. Avira AntiVir Personal – FREE Antivirus

Best Free AntiVirus Softwares: Avira AntiVir Personal Avira AntiVir Personal is a comprehensive, easy to use antivirus software, designed to offer reliable free of charge virus protection to home-users, for personal use only, and is not for business or commercial use. Available for Windows or UNIX.

// The best free antivirus program, outstanding detection of malware, light on resources
// Quite a few false positives, occasional update problems, advertisements with each update, no e-mail scanning

Read more about Avira AntiVir Personal
Free Download Avira Antivir Personal From Download.com

2. Avast! Home Edition

Best Free AntiVirus Softwares: Avast Home Edition Free Antivirus represents the best FREE antivirus protection currently available on the market. This edition is FREE OF CHARGE for non-commercial & home use only.

// Good for silent security, full real-time capabilities, fairly light on resources
// Detection rates lower than AntiVir, many false positives, confusing interface

Read more about Avast! Home Edition
Free Download Avast! Home Edition

3. AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition

Best Free AntiVirus Softwares: AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition download and installation is only available for single computer use for home and non commercial use.

// Good for silent security, least amount of false positives, e-mail scanning capabilities
// Detection rates lower than AntiVir, limited antirootkit, heavy on resources, installs toolbar by default, advertisements

Read more about AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition
Free Download AVG Anti-Virus Free Edition From Download.com

These three free antivirus softwares are excellent free antivirus programs that provides a real alternative to the major commerical antivirus software.

You can increase your protection if you run on demand scans with another antivirus. On demand scans can be run regularly to check for virus, trojan, worm, spyware, adware, keylogger, rootkit and other malware that may have been missed by your main antivirus scanner. If you have a good preventive security strategy in place, however, the extra protection an on demand antivius scanner offers is minimal.

You can also use one of the free antivirus programs mentioned above as an on-demand antivirus scanner. One advantage is that you can set scheduled scans if you wish.

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Computer Data Storage Types And Data Storage Devices

Computer Data Storage Types And Data Storage Devices With the increasing use of technology, usage of digital data has increased to no limits. In order to store this enormous amount of data, we need more powerful and secured data storage devices. Development teams all over the world are working around the clock to make better devices which would be small and inexpensive, but at the same time having more capacity and security.

These are the types of data storage used in computers. Advancing technologies these days are increasing the access rate and the capacity of these data storage devices.

Computer Data Storage Types

1. Data Storage Types – Primary Storage
Basically, primary storage is the memory part of the computer itself. Primary storage includes the Random Access Memory (RAM) and Read Only Memory (ROM).

2. Data Storage Types-Secondary Storage
Hard disks, magnetic tapes and all other data storage devices are included in the secondary storage. They are external to the processor and are used to increase the storage capacity of the computer. The secondary storage is non-volatile and can retain information even after the computer is switched off.

3. Data Storage Types – Tertiary Storage
Tertiary data storage is the third data storage out of the three types of data storage. The tertiary devices includes the storage devices that are connected to the computer in the form of removable mass storage devices. Tertiary storage is often used to store those files that are rarely accessed by the computer user.

Computer Data Storage Devices

Computer data storage devices refers to computer components which can retain the data in digital format, to be used for computing at some point of time in the future.

Disk Storage
Disk storage is a category of computer storage devices, wherein the data is recorded on a round and rotating surface, two-dimensional in nature. Disk drivers are used to record or retrieve information from these disks. Though these days, the term disk storage is mostly used to refer to a hard disk, it also refers to floppy disks and optical disks.

Floppy Disk
A floppy disk is a thin flexible medium of magnetic storage which is encased in a square plastic shell. A floppy disk is read and written by a floppy disk drive. This small storage device was invented by IBM in 1969. It comes in three sizes – 8-inch, 5¼-inch and 3½-inch. Floppy disks enjoyed wide popularity from the 70s to the 90s, but post 90s they were overshadowed by devices which had more capacity and were faster. The use of floppies has almost ceased, though limited use can be still seen in some places.

Compact Disk
Compact disk, more commonly referred to as a CD, is an optical disk used to store digital data. After its introduction in the market in 1982, this technology was followed with the launch of CD-ROM, CD-R, CD-RW, VCD, SVCD and Enhanced CD. CD-ROM and CD-R are widely used in the field of computers. A standard CD having a diameter of 120 mm can hold up to 700 MB data. An estimated 200 billion CDs were sold all over the world by the year 2007.

Digital Versatile Disk
Digital versatile disk, more commonly referred to as DVD, is an optical storage device used for data storage in computer technology. Although they share the same dimensions as the CDs, DVDs have the capacity to store six times more data than the compact disks. DVD-video is used to store video content while DVD-audio is used to store audio content. The original DVD is more often referred to as Standard Definition DVD (SD-DVD). High-definition DVDs were discontinued after the Blu-ray optical disk was introduced into the market.

Blu-Ray Disks
Blu-ray disks, also referred to as BD, are optical disks manufactured by Sony for the storage of digital data. Its is most commonly used in gaming, high definition video storing, etc. Though it is of the same size as a CD or DVD, it can store up to 50 GB data. This technology uses a blue-violet laser to read the data, and hence is referred to as blu-ray disk. These optical disks have overshadowed other optical storage devices due to their high storage capacity.

Hard Disk Drive
A hard disk drive is a non-volatile storage device used to store digitally encoded data on rotating platters having magnetic surfaces. Being non-volatile means it can retain the data stored on it even when it is not powered. Hard disk drives were invented by an IBM team, led by Rey Johnson on 14th December, 1954. Earlier, hard disk drives were a removable form of data storage, but today it has become a sealed unit with fixed media. The first hard disk had a capacity to store 5 MB data on fifty 24 inch platters. Today, the capacity has risen to more than a 100 gigabytes, and is still increasing by the day.

Flash Memory
Flash memory is a non-volatile memory in computer technology which can be electrically programmed or erased. Flash memory devices commonly used today include USB flash drives and memory cards.

USB Flash Drive
USB flash drive is a type of memory storage device that consists of NAND-type flash memory, integrated with Universal Serial Bus (USB) interface. The USB flash drives are removable as well as rewritable. Although they are smaller than a floppy disk, their storage capacity ranges from 64 MB to 128 GB. Some USB drives allow as many as 1 million erases and write cycles, while some have a 10 year data retention capacity.

Memory Cards
Flash memory cards are solid electronic flash memory devices used to store data in digital format. These cards are often used in hand-held as well as mobile computers. They are rewritable and non-volatile in nature. Though small, they have a high capacity and can store data of around 8 GB or more.

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Top 5 Online Backup Service: Mozy

Mozy Online Backup Serive Mozy is a simple and safe way to back up all the important stuff on your computer. A copy of your data is stored in a secure, remote location for safekeeping, so that in the event of disaster your data is still retrievable.

How Mozy Works?

  1. Sign up for an account.
    Create a MozyHome user account which will allow you to download MozyHome software. Its quick, easy and our step-by-step instructions will guide you through the process.
  2. Download and install software.
    MozyHome downloads in just seconds, and the installation is simple and fast.
  3. Select files to be backed up.
    Simply check the boxes next to the backup sets, or types of files you want to back up, and MozyHome does the rest. In addition to selecting files by backup sets, you also have the option of selecting specific files and directories.

Free to try (Home Users)
No setup fee, no monthly payments, no credit cards, no hassle. Sign Up Now (Hot!)

Customer Reviews:

1. “I prefer Mozy.

Walter S. Mossberg, The Wall Street Journal

2. “MozyHome is excellent value.

Ben Pitt, Computer Shopper

3. “Best For Automatic Backup: Mozy

Mark Spoonauer, Inc.com

4. “The MozyHome Unlimited offering gets a nod for best value

RickVanover, NotebookReview.com

5. “Since [implementing MozyPro], the solution has saved the school 75 percent in backup costs.

Bridget McCrea, Campus Technology

Mozy Price:
MozyHome Unlimited is for personal, non-commercial use only. Business users check out MozyPro.

MozyHome: Each computer costs $4.95/month (MozyHome)
MozyPro: Desktop Licenses: $3.95 + $0.50/GB per month
MozyPro: Server Licenses: $6.95 + $0.50/GB per month

Accounts can be billed monthly, annually, or biennially. You can get one month FREE when you sign up for an annual account or three months FREE with a biennial subscription.

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Backup Now! Free Backup Softwares Roundup

Free Backup Softwares Roundup! Freeware backup software is finally becoming more common — perhaps because of the explosion of large storage devices. Whatever backup option you choose, make sure you choose one and get started early. You can always use another backup method later as your needs grow. The tools below are some of my favorite free backup softwares.

Free Backup Softwares:

  • Autobackup: is considered to be one of the best no-frills freeware tool for backup. You need a create a list of paths that have to be checked and a backup mirrored copy is created of all the files that are found in those files and have been modified since the last backup.
  • TaskZip: is a small little tool that runs as a system agent. It automatically archives all specified files and folders into a single zip file. You can also specify a password for the zip file. Unfortunately, this tool does not provide the feature of restoration.
  • Lou Backup: is a very easy to use backup tool that is meant to backup Visual C source code files but can also be used to backup folder structures. It also supports the backup of multiple projects, directories and provides features of folder exclusion and backup of only modified files.
  • Comparator: is optimized for use on a single computer and provides the feature of folder monitoring and data synchronization. Although the data backup and data restore features are excellent, the amount of input it requires is a little more than desirable.
  • NTI BackupNow: has an excellent user interface when compared to most of the freeware tools. The only drawback of this tool is that you will have to specify the exact location of the files that you need to copy. For example, there is no option of selecting that you need a backup of your emails. You will have to provide the path of your PST or any equivalent file. Further, no encryption is present; hence it may not be suitable for some users.
  • Genie Backup Manager: is a very fast tool that is capable of backing up the Windows registry, favorites, Outlook data and other system files along with all regular data. The latest version of the tool has a disaster recovery option that allows the user to backup and restore the Windows Operating System along with all the data. As per a review that I was reading, there as are so many flexible options available, it ends up confusing the users!
  • SyncBack: is the freeware version of the commercial backup software ‘SyncBackSE’ and does not require installation. This tool can take all kinds of backups and also features a built in FTP engine which can store the backed up data on an FTP site. However, there are few features like network optimization which are disabled due to the fact that this is a freeware.
  • EASEUS Todo Backup: can backup your system partition to quickly get the system up and running in the event of a system crash or hardware failure. It allows you to backup and restore disks or partitions after viruses a attack, unstable software crash, hard drive failure, etc. It is also useful when you want to upgrade an older smaller hard drive without reinstalling the operating system and applications.

One great idea that I think will become commonplace soon is that of remote backup or online backup.

Remote Backup Softwares
Remote backup software work like any regular backup software. The important difference is that instead of storing the backup on a tape drive or a separate location, these softwares send the backup over the Internet or Intranet to online backup servers. The backup can be scheduled during the time frame when the computer is not in use. The entire process is completely automated and most employees do not even realize that such a process is in place. These kinds of backups are usually a part of the disaster recovery plan of large organizations.

Depending on your needs and the needs of your organization, it is very vital that you have a scheduled backup process in place. For some of us, the data that is stored in the computers help us earn our daily bread and water and there is no way to afford the loss of the data. If your organization is a little big in size and can afford a licensed version of a backup software, then it is more advisable as you will also receive all the newer versions and patches when you purchase the software. Backup your data and sleep soundly.

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Usb Flash Drive Data Recovery

USB Flash Drive Data Recovery USB flash drives have become one of the major sources of data transferring sources since 2000. And along with this, the rate of data failure due to virus attacks and device failures is also increasing day by day. Many data recovering software products are available in the market but due to the lack of knowledge and mishandling even a simple recovery becomes a nightmare for the user.

Many a time we lose important information from the USB flash drive by accident. Find out here how to do a USB Flash Drive Data Recovery by using some simple methods.

Most of us use the USB (Universal Serial Bus) flash drive for storing necessary data that has to be transferred from one system to another. A USB flash drive is an external data storage device that allows the user to store data temporarily. This data can be transferred from one system to another by connecting the flash drive to a particular system’s external hard drive port, i.e. the USB port. A USB flash drive is popularly known as a pen drive. It is a very convenient and handy device but sometimes the USB flash drive fails to operate due to some unknown reasons. Given below are some methods for USB flash drive recovery.

Tips for USB Flash Drive Data Recovery

Many times your USB flash drive does not open when you click on the icon that appears in the windows browser after you connect the USB flash drive to the USB port of the CPU. This may happen if the USB drive is corrupted or if some computer virus has entered the drive. In such cases, the first thing to try is to right click and select Open/Explore.

If neither of the two options work, then try scanning the drive with an antivirus software. If the pen drive is not working due to virus, scanning the pen drive with an effective antivirus is a good option for USB flash drive data recovery and can restore the USB.

If scanning also does not help, the only option left is to format the drive. Formatting will erase all the files from the drive, therefore, before formatting, create a backup of all your important files. To format the drive, right click on the drive icon, select format, select quick format option on the format window, follow the ‘prompt’ messages (something like a warning message saying that ‘if you format your drive, all the data stored in it will be lost’), select OK or Cancel (this will stop the format process). The quick format takes few minutes, depending on the size of the data to be erased. Once the formatting is done, your USB will become as good as new and you can use it as before.

Well, I hope you know how to format your computer ’cause sometimes even this option fails and you have to format the flash drive in a more tedious way. For this method, you will need a bootable CD (compact disk) of your operating system. Restart your desktop computer after you have inserted the bootable operating system CD in the CD drive and let the USB flash drive be connected to the USB port. When the computer is restarting, press F8/F2/Del key (depending on your configuration) immediately. Browse to the booting configuration options and change the first bootable device to your CD drive. Now, save the changes and restart your computer. Your PC will start booting from the CD and the installation process will begin. Follow the ‘prompt’ messages till the point where the window will display the names and sizes of all the existing drives. Here you have to select the drive indicating your USB drive and select format option. The USB will get formatted. Now, if you want to continue with the installation process, go ahead, else repair the existing operating system or you can quit. Be assured your flash drive will be formatted and will work fine.

If the matter is more serious than this, search for the warranty card (hope you can find it and hope the warranty period is not expired) and take the USB flash drive straight to the dealer.
That was a brief about the methods of USB flash drive data recovery. However, to avoid any of the above situations, treat your USB flash drive well. Do not remove the drive without stopping it. Always go to the lower right side of your screen on the taskbar where a green arrow appears after you have connected the USB, click on it and click on your USB flash drive name. Only after the message ‘Remove Drive Safely’ appears, physically remove your USB drive, else go to the icon of the USB drive, right click on it and select ‘Eject’. Also, never remove the USB while some data transfer is going on from a computer to USB or vice-versa. Doing so may corrupt your data. Never leave any file or folder of the USB open when you want to disconnect or remove the USB flash drive. This can also cause some serious problems to the data as well as to the drive.

Hope the above USB flash drive data recovery methods will help you in your attempts at repairing your USB! And if you have any experiences or additional methods of repairing the USB, please feel free to share them here.

Data recovery handled professionally is the best solution for any kind of data loss from your pen drive, hard drive, memory stick or any other storage device. A systematic scan of the damaged device is essential for starting the right type of action for each attempt at data recovery. Depending on your file system combination, the drives operating system and document types there are different ways to handle data loss.

It is always best to consult with expert guidance for scanning and determining your data loss type and severity because even a minor mistake can permanently erase your files and data forever.

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