What is an easy to use backup program I can give to my dad? He has about 5-10GB of data. I have bought him 2 32GB USB drive's for backup which I think is much easier to deal with than external drives. Cloud backup is not feasible much due to his slow Internet speeds. Requirements are - - he plugs in usb drive, backup starts automatically and does incremental backup of all changed files - must support backup of open files (e.g. those open in Word) - simple GUI to restore files - backup files stored in native format (i.e. individual files) so its easy to recover and browse Would be nice to have but not essential - keeps multiple versions of files I tried File History in Windows 8 but its too complex and lacks basic features, e.g. it shows no progress indicator, its hard to figure out how to restore files etc. Paid is ok as long as these features are met.
I'm using Cobian Backup at work. It meets all requirements except being run automatically when usb drive is plugged in. It's a freeware and you can find and try it here: http://www.cobiansoft.com/index.htm
Defcon, you should give BVCKUP 2 a try. Other than the versioning (it can do 2-versions... current and last), it will do what you want as a set'n'forget type of operation... plug in your external USB and off it goes. Believe me, my daughter and son-in-law are just like your Dad... they need all the help they can get BVCKUP 2 has a 15-day TRIAL of the current actively supported version, and on the bottom of their HOME page they have last BETA used in their development for FREE (only supported for CRITICAL issues). I was on their BETA testing team and found this product to be outstanding (even the last BETA)... I use it on all my family's computers. The released version has many more additional features but most of them will not be required for the needs you described above. It's a simple file replicator and works very, very well... all that you describe is available in their FREE BETA.
AJCSoft (AJCSOFT.com) has a program called Active Backup. You specify the folders and file types and that's it. It has versioning and you can specify how many versions you want to keep. I've been using it for years, and it is totally reliable. Pete
I am liking Bvckup2 for my home use and Active Backup sounds interesting. What I really would like to have is a program like either of these for work that will allow me to backup my work files to Dropbox or Google Drive or Skydrive. I don't want (nor am I able) to download the Dropbox/Google Drive/Skydrive interfaces at work. But, I do want a program that I can sync my work files to the cloud.
The best file and folder backup you need is this. I have used this for past 5 years, forget the rest. As both these supports auto backup when usb drive is connected. http://www.synchredible.com/ https://www.ascomp.de/en/products/show/product/backupmaker/tab/details
I was a bit harsh there Peter with that comment. The other products all offer a good backup solution, I have tried them all in the past, but what i should have said is when its comes to usb plug and play auto backup. The products i mention tick the boxes with this feature and work for me. Another good product was USB flash backup, which is no longer available as the company folded and Altaro Oops backup is a solid product which again uses auto usb connection backup. I am very much into backup software that uses auto backup when USB is inserted.
This type of operation is not for me. I like to manually select folders and compare them, to see what the program is going to do before it synchronizes. It frequently detects problems I have caused by unintentionally moving folders when I drag files. I use FreeFileSync to backup to both UFDs and external USB disks. In the case of UFDs, I encrypt the UFDs with BitLocker.
Robin A Why make life hard. I need software that auto compares file changes and generates change reports after syncing. So i can get on with other stuff. Syncredible has never let me down in the years of using it. I work for 15 years as an IT consultant and I image and universal restore commercial workstations and servers frequently. I also use encrypted containers which are backed up to cloud and off site storage and most systems are volume encrypted for data protection.
I have used GoodSync for quite a while. The initial setup takes some thought as there are many options. But once it's up and running, it's easy as it can get. And I believe it covers all of your wishlist. $29.95 US https://www.goodsync.com/
I also vote for bvckup V2, very easy to use, and very powerful (supports delta copying for instance, auto updates, etc.).