Data Backup

I had been using Carbon Copy Cloner v4; then saw a good deal for Data Backup 4. I decided to go with DB 4 because of Prosoft's great reputation for data recovery. Unfortunately, I never got DB 4 working reliably for a clone. I have the latest iMac with SSD so hardware is the latest and greatest. Now I'm back to CCC and have upgraded to v5. Definitely a more logical interface than DB 4. No problems with CCC 4 or now with CCC 5.

I have been using Data Backup since version 2.0 and have found it to be absolutely reliable, making clones, synchronizations, and versioned backups to CD's, DVD's, drives, etc. The interface is clean and intuitive, and the documentation is terse, complete and wellI written. I've timed it with Superduper, Ca;rbonCopy Cloner, and ChronoSync and it is at least as fast or faster. These are all excellent apps. and I have used them all. There was a brief problem with Yosemite upgrade, but support was in prompt in replying and the problem was fixed within a few days. I recommend this app without hestiation.

Ok i can see most of the reviews are so old , but i only have one thing to say here , this app is reliable .. thats it : )

I was a user of Data Backup for years; started with version 1. I had problems with its log files not appearing when requested. Here's my recent reply to their last tech support email regarding my problem. It's been nearly 2 months and I've heard nothing. I guess you forgot me; my problem with your software not working as it should must be too small for you to care about. Funny thing. SuperDuper!, a backup product I bought to replace you works great. No mysterious EXECUTOR. No BS. No 2 months of silence from Tech Support (none needed). It just works and does EVERYTHING it says it will do. In fairness, the backups seem to be fine, but if the software doesn't do the simple things like retrieve log files, how can the more important tasks be trusted?

Why is Data Backup 3.1.1 only a 16MB disc image and this latest 3.1.3 version is a whopping 100.4MB disc image? (The installer package is 14.4MB for v.3.1.1 and 99MB for v.3.1.3.) A lot of changes under the hood?

I used this utility for several years now and it is a trusted utility; one that I rely on for my day to day work. It has been extremely reliable and I have only had two minor issues with "executor" but both of those issues where taken care of by John (Technical Support). Support is excellent, time sensitive, and also very helpful. Can ask for much for than that - a winning combo. A most recommended application.

For me personally, the instructions did not seem to sufficiently explain some of the features and the trouble thereby that results. It took a while to figure out how to create a bootable clone for example. It wasn't clear that it required it's own partition. And to restore the clone elswhere required that the clone be cloned to it's destination to be bootable, not "restored." I also had a problem with not sufficiently understanding what would happen to the rest of the files/folders on my external HD when I performed versioned backups. They disappeared into a double secret area that required a call to tech support. However, the customer service/tech support is excellent, and by the way, not out-sourced. I used them yesterday to resolve the versioned backups issue. John couldn't have been more technically proficient, patient responsive, interactive. It took some time and was a little tedious but the issue was completely resolved and I now know more about how the software works. The functionality of the product is excellent and other than issues directly related to my lack of understanding, Data Backup works as described by Prosoft.

I've used Data Backup without trouble for at least two years without incident until Snow Leopard came out. The introduced 3.1 for Snow Leopard compatibility. It still isn't compatible. In fact, I finally realized the backups were doing strange things like running at odd times, more than it should on the schedule and thus I had no confidence in the backups it was creating. Support has been responsive but they have been telling me this is going to be fixed soon and Snow Leopard came out 3 months ago. The 3.1 still has not been updated with a fix. The last I heard from support is that its going to be fixed soon but I had this odd feeling the developer has gone a missing. This is not cheap software. I decided to get Get Backup 2 which complements Time Machine nicely and works fine with Time Machine. In fact, everything I have worked with Time Machine shortly after it came out. SuperDuper, another excellent backup and cloning software was Snow Leopard compatible almost from the get go. I used to be a Retrospect user before Data Backup and switched to Data Backup as I liked its rotational capability. I tried Retrospect v8 which is Snow Leopard compatible but it really is overkill for my needs. If Data Backup worked like it used to, it would be great. However, it doesn't and I am left with little confidence in their ability to deal with this issue of making their software SL compatible. This is backup software and its used for safety. This is appalling that this program is being marketed on here as Snow Leopard compatible. If you buy it, check your logs if you have it doing scheduled backups or even just manually backup. You'll find the time stamps in he logs make no sense. So how can you trust anything that is backed up if it has to be restored. I'd stay away from this program even if they paid you to take it let alone you paying them. My ratings are based solely on this does not work with Snow Leopard after 3 months and I had to invest in another Backup program which should never have been the case.

Data Backup 3 is very good as a backup and archiving program. It fills in that spot that SuperDuper and Time Machine miss. It suffers a bit in its interface and ease of use, but I've never had a problem with it.

I've been using DataBackup for several years now. Contrary to other reviews, I've not had any trouble with it at all. No "internal errors" - nothing. For me (currently on 10.5.8) DataBackup "just works" and I'm delighted with it. I use it in conjunction with Super Duper. I'm a semi-retired Mac programmer, and so I've used it "in both directions" (meaning backup and restore both) and it's been there for m 100% of the time. Neither have I had trouble with the company; they have been quite responsive the few times I've dealt with them.

This application is not compatible with Snow Leopard, won't even launch. Prosoft's website has claimed an upgrade will be released "in the next few days" since the release of Snow Leopard, but there is still no compatible version. This is simply unacceptable for a critical utility such as this.

This backup software does all that I want (backing up my harddrive, cloning, maintaining a copy of my PDF library on a Flashdrive). I think their support deserves some praise: they recently very efficiently resolved a problem I was having, quickly providing me with very clear, comprehensive information. In fact it is probably the most professional support experience I've had. They obviously want the software to work for you.

I've had major problems with Data Backup over two versions: version 2 and the new version 3. I've really wanted to like this app as a highly recommended alternative to Retrospect. But I've had a series of problems over the years including executor problems and 'internal errors' once I finally got past the executor problems. What's worse, when I contacted tech support they just wanted to sell me the upgrade to version 3 rather than help with my problem. I had to be persistent and send more emails before they would actually provide tech support. Bad sign. Like a fool, I went ahead and upgraded to version 3 anyway (hoping it had been improved with the upgrade) after the executor problem had finally been solved by tech support only to encounter 'internal errors' when making routine, albeit extremely slow performing backups with version 3.0.5 (on a system I keep clean and running smoothly by performing routine weekly and monthly maintenance with the best utilities and no hacks). When this happens the backup stops. When you resume the backup after having to quit Data Backup and restarting, it doesn't pick up the backup where it left off, but starts over making it extremely slow. But it never finished a single complete backup due to 'internal errors' that are never explained so there's no way to solve the problem. Needless to say, I no longer use it because it simply doesn't work and tech support is slow and unresponsive. After doing much research including reading Joe Kissell's excellent Take Control eBooks, I now use dedicated apps for dedicated backups: Time Machine + an Apple Time Capsule for automatic hourly archive backups; the excellent SuperDuper for automatic bootable duplicates to an external drive; and CrashPlan Pro and BackJack for automatic offsite backups over the Internet. Once it's all set up as explained in Joe's eBooks it works consistently like a charm with no hassles. That's the way it should be. Don't buy this product; there are better ones out there with better tech support.

If you ever have any problems or issues with this excellent program, simply delete it in it's entirety; I recommend either the included Uninstaller, but AppZapper or AppCleaner work fine as well. Reinstall it, run Disk Utility/Repair Permissions, then restart your Mac. Launch it, enter your registration info and everything will work as it should. This fix was provided by ProSoft, the author of the utility.

Data Backup completely saved my computer. I had recently acquired Data Backup and was still in the trial mode in version 3.0. It was time to upgrade from OSX 10.4 to 10.5. For the first time ever, I made a clone of my entire hard drive prior to the system "upgrade and archive". I had never done this before, because Apple stuff "just works". Well, this time it didn't work. The 10.5 installer crashed, and left behind enough garbage on the disk that I did not have enough space to do another upgrade. My only option was to "erase and install" on a currently un-bootable computer. I did the erase and install, and used the Migration Assistant (Mac) to migrate all the files from the clone back to my computer. Everything was back to working - no data lost. The free trial (by fire, as it turned out) clearly demonstrated the value of the program, and I bought 3.0.4.

I own three products now from ProSoft Engineering - Drive Genius, Data Rescue, and Data Backup. All three work exactly as described, with a very professional appearance and great attention to getting the job done. Data Backup is fast. Once you've created the initial backup, the subsequent version backups are fast and accurate. Restoring files from version dates is very easy and quick. Support is excellent, too. Good customer forum, and updates are always worth the investment.

As a comment to the previous reviewer, Time Machine is NOT a replacement for this type of software. Regarding Data Backup 3.0.3, when it works it is great. It's not complicated and does what it's supposed to do. In the past I cloned one drive and synchronized another. Unfortunately, there are many bugs while creating and saving -or trying to save- new sets. For example, sometimes after I select the source and destination drives, the summary at the top indicates “”. Other times, after I select a destination drive, a different drive is selected by Data Backup. This is absurd. Finally, when everything seems to work out fine and I decide to save the set, Data Backup quits. It's unusable. I have recommended Drive Genius and Data Rescue II, but this one is pretty bad. Unfortunately the last time I contacted Prosoft I just received the following two messages: “Your comments have been forwarded to a Sales Agent...” “Your question has been forwarded to a Customer Support Specialist...“ I never got a response addressing my actual problem. I may email them regarding this issue, but meanwhile I'm giving Synk another try.

It's obsolete with OSX 10.5. "TimeMachine" is the Future.

Excellent back up tool! Simple and straight forward. With this tool and SuperDuper (for it's scripting power), I'll be one happy Mac user! Thanks for a great product ProSoft, yet again!

I've experienced with LaCie silverkeeper and apple backup, but Data Backup 3.0.1 is the first product to create a bootable clone of my harddisk and it did it in a simple way. Thanks a lot!