[bj nick]

I would like to be backed up online. I have Ghost but I would prefer an online solution....I recently had a fire scare and I just think it would be best. I am a home user, not a business, but I want to be able to backup my entire drives...my whole system basically, a la Ghost or the others...so that in case of disaster (I've had them) I can just restore my whole system. Is this unreasonable/unrealistic? What software would you recommend? What kind of pricing am I looking at?

I've checked out Mozy, Crytonite, a few others...not sure they are what I want/need....

thanks for any feedback!

[DoubleHelix]

An entire system image is going to be huge, so there isn't likely to be a free solution. I'm also not aware of an application that creates an image directly to an online storage location. You'd have to create the image, and then upload it. Again, the file could be huge. You're looking at some type of monthly fee not to mention the time it would take to upload the image.

[calvin-c]

Backing up your entire drive online is unrealistic IMO. New retail desktops often start with 250GB drives & it's not uncommon to see them with 500GB-and then people add more. Even laptops now often have 100GB or more. (Of course this is capacity but if you intend to back up your entire drive then it makes sense, IMO, to scale the backup to the full capacity of the drive. Otherwise why not start by deciding what you want to back up?)

So, let's assume it's 250GB. And let's assume you have a very high-speed symmetric connection of 10Mbps. (Many connections are asymmetric with download speed being up to 10 times faster than upload-and for backing up you'll be uploading. Further, in my experience very few home users have anything near that speed-but I think it's coming.)

So let's assume that. 10Mbps is 1.25MB/s. 250GB (HD measurement) = 244,140,635 MB (PC measurement) but drives capacities are rounded (usually upwards) so let's assume a maximum of 240,000,000 MB. At 1.25MB/s that's 192,000,000 seconds or 53,000 hours (about 6 years unless I've screwed up my calculations-which I probably have since that doesn't seem reasonable).

Most backups are compressed, but the compression ratio is going to depend on your mix of files. Pictures normally compress well-but GIF's (to use one example) are already compressed so they don't. Nor do executables. Backup software & device manufacturers seem to assume a 'normal' ratio of 2:1. I don't trust that (my drives more often compress at 1.6 or 1.7:1) but let's take that. Assuming the compression is faster than the transmission (or that you perform the backup offline as DoubleHelix suggests) then it cuts the amount you need to upload to 125GB-which still comes out to about 3 years.

Which brings us back to my original statement that backing up your entire drive online is unrealistic IMO. Decide what you need to back up (if you keep track of what you install & where you got it then you should be able to reinstall software) & measure that. Cost-wise I'd invest in a removable media backup device & store my backups off-site. A safe deposit box is cheaper than online storage. (At least today-electronic storage costs seem to constantly drop while bank charges seem to constantly rise. If this trend continues then sooner or later they'll meet.)

[bj nick]

Ok, I'll amend my requirements......I'll make the backup image with Ghost, but I'd like an online service to backup my critical files....and I don't mind paying a nominal fee....

[bj nick]

Actually, I sent the last message before the lengthy response that precedes it, but I appreciate it anyway. Of course I agree it's unrealistic. So, my revised question is....which, between Mozy, Cryptonite and the others, is the best deal on online backup for, say, 2-10 GB's of backup?

[DoubleHelix]

You said you weren't sure that these services met your needs. What exactly are your needs? They all offer 2-10GB of space. What else are you looking for?

[yipee2]

I've been using Mozy for 5 months and am very happy with them - price and service.

Idrive.com look good but can't recommend as I have no experience with them.

Adrive.com seem new - free up to 50GB apparently - again, can't recommend them yet.

[bj nick]

The services offer what seems to be similar features, and I just want to hear from people what their experiences have been so I can decide which one to use.