Those who are not familiar with this company think that when one restores files from Carbonite, he would need to go through a complicated and tedious process. But this couldn't be further from the truth as Carbonite Backup is one of the most user-friendly online backup services available today. The company has made a name for itself as the leading service provider in the industry and takes pride in its affordable services, and backup and restore process that are so simple, you don't need to be a geek or a techie to figure them out.
If you've just lost all your computer data, the first thing you need to do is download the Carbonite software again. As soon as you do this, you will be asked to choose whether you would like to download all the files at once or at a later time. If you choose to restore the files immediately, you will then again have two options - restore the files to their original location or choose files based on different user profiles. Most computer owners would opt for the getting the data back in the same folders and the other option is for more technical users.
However, if you only want to restore a single file or an older version of a file, you have options there as well. Since Carbonite is listed under My Computer as a virtual drive, you can open it and navigate it just like any other drive. Once you have opened it, you simply have to find the file you want to restore. Click Restore to send it back to its original location or click Restore To if you want to send it somewhere else. You also have to option to retrieve previous versions of files by clicking the Restore Previous Version option. Carbonite will save older versions for up to three months.
However, you need to understand that while Carbonite offers great service, it also has its downside. Depending on the file size, restoring files can take some time. For instance, a file of a few hundred megabytes can take hours or even days to fully recover. Although most users tend to overlook this fact and seem to not mind the number of hours spent waiting for the data as soon as the recovery is successful, some users who want their files back in a snap and consider the slow process as a huge inconvenience.
Carbonite is far from perfect, but it could be the best option you have. It has its flaws yes, but for the fee they are charging, they are entitled to some. Other companies offer practically the same services, but at a price ten times higher. Plus, you won't need to jump through hoops when you restore files from Carbonite so on the whole, you get everything you would need from an online backup service.
Although you may never have to
restore files from Carbonite, the security and peace of mind that this solution offers is well worth the small monthly fee. Read the complete
Carbonite review here to learn more.
