Carbonite

How Carbonite Works

Once it's set up, Carbonite automatically backs up whenever your computer is connected to the Internet. Unlike other subscriptions, Carbonite's pricing allows you to back up all of your businesses computers, external hard drives, NAS devices and Windows servers for a flat fee — annual or monthly.

Easy Setup

1. Install Carbonite on all devices you want to back up.
2. Perform an initial backup. Backups happen behind the scenes, so you can go on with business as usual while yours is in progress.
3. Check out file status at a glance: Carbonite uses a colored dot system to let you know which files are backed up.
4. Perform a test restore of any backed-up file. It's quick and easy.
5. Convenient Access. Just log onto your Carbonite account and click "View Files."

Carbonite offers cutting-edge data protection at the best price.

Backing Up

Two ways to back up:

Automatic Backup (Recommended) — Any data files located in C:\Users (or C:\Documents and Settings\ for Windows XP users) will be backed up, including any located in the Documents and Desktop folders.

Advanced Setup — Select which files will be included in your backups and let you schedule when a backup will take place.

Backup Status

PC users: View the back-up status of a file/folder by checking the colored dots next to the file/folder name on your PC. Locate files by opening folders such as My Documents, My Pictures, and My Music, or use the Carbonite Backup Drive to view all the files/folders you have selected for backup.

Mac users: View the back-up status of a file/folder by checking the colored dots next to the file/folder name inside the Carbonite Preference Pane, or use the Carbonite Backup Drive. A green dot on the bottom left corner of the file/folder's icon lets you know it has been backed up. If there is no dot, the file/folder has not been selected for a Carbonite backup.

Viewing Files & Folders

View all the files and folders selected for back up with the Carbonite Backup Drive. For easy access, just click on the Windows Start button and select Computer (in Windows XP, it is called My Computer), then select Carbonite Backup Drive. Once the Carbonite Backup Drive window is displayed, you will be able to view all of the files in your backup exactly as they are organized on your computer. To see what files and folders are included in your backup, double-click the Backed-Up Files icon. To see the individual files selected for back up, click through top-level drives and folders until you see the file names.

The Carbonite Backup Drive also displays the following information about each file/folder:

• Size - file size or total size of a folder's contents
• Version - file's backup version number (does not apply to folders)
• State - file/folder's backup state (currently backing up, scheduled to be backed up, successfully backed up)
• # of Files - total number of files in folder (individual files always have "1")
• Last Backed Up - date and time file/folder was last backed up. To display these columns, position the cursor over one of the column headings (e.g. Name, State, Version), then right-click and select the column you want to display.

Technical FYI

Carbonite safely backs up all files with the exception of:

• Temporary files and operating system files.
• Files contained in hidden system folders (or super-hidden folders).
• Individual files that exceed 1 TB in size (note: to include large files in your backup, right-click on them and select "back this up" in the Carbonite menu).
• Files located on networked disk drives*.

Carbonite will not back up files and folders in the root of your C:\ drive by default, with the following exceptions:

• C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\AOL\C_AOL*\organize\*
• C:\Program Files\AOL*\download\
• C:\QuickenW\
• C:\Program Files\Quicken\
• C:\Program Files\QuickenW\
• C:\Program Files\Intuit\Quickbooks*\
• C:\Program Files\PalmOne\*\
• C:\Palm\
• C:\1Actwin\Database\
• C:\Actwin2\Database\
• C:\Act\Database\
• C:\My Documents\Act\Database\
• C:\Program Files\Symantec\Act\Database\
• C:\Program Files\Act\
• C:\Program Files\Sage Software\Peachtree\Company\
• C:\Program Files\Peachtree\Company\
• C:\Program Files\PeachW\Company\
• C:\Lotus\Work\

While Carbonite Business does not support backing up mapped or networked drives, you are able to back up NAS (Network-attached Storage) devices.

Carbonite is the most secure way to back up your files. With each backup, Carbonite saves encrypted copies of your files on multiple disk drives using RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) technology, which greatly reduces the chance your files will ever be lost.

To ensure each backup is correct, Carbonite regularly checks your backed-up data against the files on your computer. In the rare instance of discrepancies or errors, we will resend any files that are needed to accurately complete the backup process.

Using a state-of-the-art backup infrastructure, Carbonite protects both the privacy and safety of your data. We use a combination of industry standard technologies like RAID 6 and strong encryption with unique capabilities specific to the Carbonite File System.

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