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Software Reviews

Backup MyPC by Stomp Inc.

Backing up the data on your PC is one of the most necessary and yet universally overlooked jobs that computer users face -- at home and at work. The job can get even tougher with a home network, when users often have several computers to back up.

The answer is to get a simple, easy-to-use program that backs up data not only on one computer at a time but that can work across your home network. That's one target of Backup MyPC from Stomp Inc. This software package was formerly known as Backup Exec Desktop from Veritas, the software spin-off from Seagate, the storage manufacturing company.

Overall, we found the program easy-to-use with good instructions and solid performance. With that combination and a low price (we found it for $51 at buy.com), Backup MyPC easily deserves a homePCnetwork.com Editor's Best Buy award. Read on.

Overview

Backup MyPC is an inexpensive backup program that comes packed with features. First, it provides basic data protection through backing up data on your hard drive. If a file fails or is erased, you can then restore the file from the backup.

In addition, the program has a nifty disaster recovery feature (more on that later). Backup MyPC works on a single computer or a peer-to-peer network. That means it won't work on a client-server network, but the vast majority of home networks are peer-to-peer so this shouldn't be an issue. The program, in fact, won't even install on Windows NT Server or Windows 2000 Server. For that, you'll need a more expensive backup software program. Also, even though the program will back up computers over a network, it backs up the registry of only the local computer. Thus, it can "disaster recover" only the local computer. That's fully expected in an inexpensive package like this.

What's not expected is all of the other features: scheduled backups; backups to recordable CD/DVD, Tape, Zip, Jazz, and other removable media drives; disc spanning and data compression; ability to create bootable CDs and floppies; and more. In fact, Stomp Inc. compares Backup MyPC to several other packages and shows that it has more features than even Dantz' Retrospect, a program with a suggested retail almost twice that of Backup MyPC.

As an added plus, you can download and use a trial version for 30 days. Click here for more information.

Installation

Installing Backup MyPC was a cinch. We inserted the CD in our drive and the install routine automatically started. We were given the choice of installing Backup MyPC or another utility, called StorageGuard, that Stomp throws in for free. Storage Guide provides a way to see what parts of your hard drive have not been backed up.

We selected the Backup MyPC option and the install routine ran without fail. At the end, it requested that the machine be restarted. Upon restart, the program automatically runs a wizard that helps you setup a regularly scheduled backup routine. We set up a weekly backup with just a couple of clicks. Very nice.

After that, with the new version (4.81 or later), the program automatically asks if you want to create a Disaster Recovery Set for the computer. This even works with Windows XP in the new version. [Note: the upgrade is a free download if you own version 4.6 or later]

The Disaster Recovery Set wizard runs at the end of the install routine and is very thorough. It first asks for the Windows product license key which we plugged in. Next, the program indicated what we'd need to complete a disaster recovery set: in our case, the Windows XP CD, up to four blank diskettes and blank CDs for our CD burner. The wizard asked us to insert labeled diskettes, one at a time. Next, the wizard requested blank CDs in the burner and even automatically opened the drive tray. We inserted the CDs (three in total for our test system) and the program began copying necessary files. When it finished, the program popped up a window with printable instructions on how to recover the system after a disaster that leaves the computer unable to boot into the operating system. The instructions were specific for our operating system and covered each step thoroughly.

Performance

After finishing the disaster recovery wizard, the last part of the actual install routine, the program opens its usual startup screen. This screen allows you to easily select what you want to do: backup your PC, restore files, etc. A check box allows you to turn off this startup screen if you just want the program to start without it.

We selected the first option to begin the backup we wanted. For our test purposes, we simply wanted to back up the data partition of our test machine and of a workstation elsewhere on our network. The wizard provides two options: backup the computer or back up selected files. We chose the second option. A standard file selection window popped up and we easily checked the data drives and selected files on both the local and networked computers that we wanted to backup. The program provides a warning if the backup will require more than one CD, which is quite convenient when trying to keep a backup set to one CD.

Next, we selected where to back up the files to and the program automatically selected the CD recorder on our system. We pressed "start" and the program opened the CD burner drive tray and requested a blank CD. The backup then completed without error.

By the way, if the program looks familiar to those of you with Windows Backup experience, it's not coincidence. Both programs are based on the Veritas (Seagate) technology.

The program performed well, backing up some 350 megabytes in 9 minutes. That's really more linked to the speed of your hardware, but the program performed well based on our experience with other backups. When the backup was complete, we clicked on a "report" button to get a summary of the backup. Then we clicked on finish.

To test the backup, we deleted a file on both the local computer and the networked computer, then used the backup set to restore the files.

For this we used the program's standard interface. (see below)

As you can see, this is a standard file selection window. We selected the "restore" tab and worked our way through the file lists in the media view (in other words, what was on the CD) to select the two files we had deleted. We clicked on start, made sure the CD was in the drive and the program quickly located the files and restored them. The process of restoring the files, some 50 megabytes in total, took only 36 seconds. When finished, the program did report an error and a review of the log suggested it was not able to restore the security settings for the file on the networked machine. Nevertheless, the file worked perfectly.

Next, we tested the disaster recovery feature by destroying our test machine's Windows XP operating system. We used PartitionMagic to completely delete the content of the drive's partition that contained XP Home. We then followed the instructions from Backup MyPC to restore the system.

Unfortunately, we were not able to get the recovery instructions to work initially because, unlike what the instructions say, our test computer did not start up on the XP CD we had inserted. We were able to correct the situation by changing the computer BIOS settings to start from the CD, but the instructions don't give a hint that might be necessary. A minor nit, but that omission could be critical for new computer users. Too bad, because otherwise, the instructions were comprehensive and perfect.

The disaster recovery wizard took us through steps to copy the contents of all of the recovery diskettes we had made and then copied the contents of the recovery CDs. We had one other minor issue when the drive letters changed during the install. Although the wizard helped with the issue, there was again no reference to this in the instructions. We were able to correct all of the drive letters on our system, except for the primary drive because the XP utility won't let you change the letter of the drive containing the OS. That caused the recovery option to stop until we manually changed the OS drive letter from C to H. After the restore was completed, the letter changed automatically back to C and everything worked fine.

In the end, the restore operation took about 30 minutes and the restored system worked perfectly. If you've ever had a hard disk fail, you know the feeling of panic that causes. We're sure you'll agree that getting a completely restored system in 30 minutes for a mere $50-60, is an absolute bargain.

Bravo Stomp.

Technical Support

Stomp provides unlimited telephone technical support, via a toll call (not toll-free), for 30 days without charge. After the 30 day no-charge period has expired, telephone support is available for $20 per incident (not per call). In addition, the company has extensive web-based support, including FAQs, on-line manuals and e-mail. Online support is available without charge and is unlimited for the life of the product.

Summary

Overall, we thought this was a solid program. The instructions were thorough, the installation was flawless and the operation was simple. We did have the two minor nits with the disaster recovery instructions, but we've alerted Stomp and hope they'll respond with some clarification.

We're reluctant to award our Editor's Choice award at this point since we're still awaiting several other programs for review. Still, we know those will be significantly more expensive than Backup MyPC. It's clear to us that the backup features alone are worth the low price of this program. Then Stomp throws in the entire disaster recovery feature as icing on top.

With that combination, this program easily deserves a homePCnetwork.com Editor's Best Buy award. If you're in the market for a low-cost, easy-to-use backup program, we suggest you give Backup MyPC a close look. And, if you've been avoiding backups because of the difficulty, now is the time to start. Trust us on this. It is not a question of IF hard drives will fail; it's a question of when. Backup your hard drive before you regret it.

Grade = A

Quick Facts

Product - Backup MyPC
Company - Stomp Inc.
Street Price - $51-79
For information - www.stompinc.com
08/25/02

This page last updated 12/07/2003