Emails backed up by default

Even in the Carbonite website, this matter is addressed quite clearly. As a matter of fact, the first question asked (and answered) in the Frequently Asked Questions section is “What does Carbonite back up?” and the answer given pretty much says it all:

“By default, Carbonite backs up everything in your Documents and Settings folder (called Users in Windows Vista), including documents, photos, email and data files from applications, such as Quicken, Money, etc…Once a subscription is purchased, music is also added to the list.“

However, there may also be cases wherein Carbonite is not automatically defaulted to include email during the backup process. The first instance is if during installation, you chose the option ‘I’ll manually select what to back up later‘ instead of the more convenient ‘Automatically back up My Documents and Desktop.‘ The second case is when your file size is greater than 4GB, as the default backup does not include files greater than 4GB. In this case, you would need to manually select your email data file for backup. This holds true for both Windows and Mac users.

To check if your emails are already being backed up regularly, browse to the directory and folder that contains your file mails. If there are colored dots on the file icons, this means that these files are either backed up already or set up for scheduled backup by Carbonite.

How to manually select email files for backup

For Windows Outlook and Outlook Express

You will only need to do this if the folders or files do not have colored dots indicated on them. To initiate backup, right-click every file that you want included and select ‘Back this up‘ from the Carbonite context menu.

For Microsoft Outlook, you can most likely find the files stored in C:\Documents and Settings\{your_user_name}\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook\.

For Microsoft Outlook Express, there’s a bit of difference in the file path as Outlook Express typically stores the address book in one location and the email files in another.

• For your address book, check in C:\Documents and Settings\{your_user_name}\Application Data\Microsoft\Address Book\.

• For email files, check in C:\Documents and Settings\{your_user_name}\Local Settings\Application Data\Identities\{long_alphanumeric_code}\Microsoft\Outlook Express\.

For Mac

Browse to your email folders or files.

Entourage is typically located in: Macintosh HD/Users/{your_user_name}/Documents/Microsoft User Data/Office 2008 Identities/Main Identity/Database. To manually select your email for Carbonite backup, control-click on the Database file and select More> Carbonite>Back this Up.

Mac Mail is found in: Macintosh HD/Users/{your_user_name}/Library/Mail. For manual Carbonite backup selection, simply control-click on the Mail folder and select More>Carbonite>Back this Up.

Lastly, note that {your_user_name} will obviously vary and will likely show the user name that you entered when your computer was initially set up.

Maximize your use of Carbonite by ensuring that all your important files are being backed up. Whether by default or manual selection, you won’t need to ask “Does Carbonite backup my emails?” again because you now know that it can and it will.

The registry is simple in explanation. It is a database where your operating system keeps track of every file that interacts with one another from your programs to your personal settings. However simple that may sound, the average registry is an absolute mess! Left unchecked, they can become like that tangle of hair in the drain that makes your sink drain slowly. You computer can slow way down and even crash completely. As that tangle gets worse, so does the problem. And this is one mess that will not straighten itself out without some help. So keeping your registry clean is vital.

Your typical registry cleaner program is very easy to use. Most people don’t like the idea of digging that ball of hair out of the drain, so the registry cleaner is sort of like getting a plumber. You give it some basic parameters and it does the rest for you. You can get registry cleaners programs for numerous different companies, so it is recommended that you first research which ones have gotten positive feedback. Once you have a registry cleaner, you will immediately notice the benefits of cleaning up that messy registry.

When the cleaner goes through your registry it will remove all the files associated with programs that no longer exist. For instance, if you uninstall a game, the files for that game’s association with your graphics card, sound card, internet, etc, will all still be in the registry. Getting rid of these files can clean up huge amounts of space. That means your computer will run faster, especially at startup when the registry loads. Coupled with defragging your hard drive, you will notice a much quicker computer as well as one which is less prone to random crashes.

While a cluttered registry is not always the cause of slow operation or computer crashes, it is a very common one. And even if you aren’t experiencing crashes, keeping your registry clean is a very basic rule with computer maintenance. You have to make sure that you are doing everything that you can to keep your computer in tip top shape. That may mean getting yourself a registry cleaner program and running it frequently so that you never have to worry about those annoying slow downs and computer crashes.

The single best thing you can do to prevent non-hardware computer crashes from occurring is to do regular maintenance on your computer. You wouldn’t drive your car for years without changing the oil, so why would you let your computer operate for that long without cleaning things up? First, run regular scan disk and defrag programs. You should do this every couple of months at the least. You also need to get a registry cleaner and run it at least as often. Set a schedule for yourself so that you don’t forget. And if your computer begins to feel sluggish or slow, you can always run the programs again.

Viruses can cause huge problems for anyone who spends a lot of time on the internet. You owe it to yourself to have a good anti-virus program. Browsing without one is just asking to have your data corrupted, or worse, stolen. When you get an anti-virus program, make sure you read up about potential software conflicts. Oftentimes, the anti-virus software can be the cause of crashes as it may disable some programs it sees as hostile, even if they aren’t.

A sound piece of advice in how to prevent computer crashes that are hardware-based is to have multiple hard drives. Try to keep your operating system on its own drive. If an operating system goes bad, you can often just install a new drive with a fresh OS and you will be fine. If your data is on separate hard drives, they will remain unaffected. Two hard drives are recommended, but having a third drive for backups is optimal. Drives with huge storage capacity run relatively cheap today and there really isn’t an excuse not to have an extra one on hand.

If you follow these few simple steps, you will find that you have a much better time avoiding crashes. Regular maintenance of your computer is essential and the programs which perform these procedures do not require any expertise. Most of the programs only require that you click their start button and they do all the rest. Protecting yourself with good anti-virus software and a data backup strategy ensures that if you should have a threat of a virus or crash, you are prepared. The causes of crashes can be numerous, but the methods for how to prevent computer crashes are basically all the same and fortunately, they are steps that anyone can take.

Before you do anything else, you should always take one specific step to see if your problem can be resolved. You want to run your computer’s scan disk option followed by a thorough defrag. After that is done, run a registry cleaner on your computer. Think of this as cleaning your house so that you can find the keys you lost. Rather than take drastic measures, sometimes the simplest ones prevail. Your computer makes a mess of itself after a while and you need to run regular scans and defrags as well as clean the registry for old files left behind that do nothing but waste space and memory.

Software issues are probably the biggest reason for frequent crashes after a scrambled registry. There can be a huge variety of reasons why your computer is crashing when it comes to software. The number of software conflicts, notably among anti-virus software, are far too numerous to name. However, you should research conflicts between your anti-virus software and other programs before you start deleting files. And consider minimizing the number of programs you use. Having too many programs running at startup can just be too much for your computer at times.

One of the worst answers to, “Why does my computer crash” has got to be hardware problems. Hard drive failure is one of the most dreaded things you can hear from a techie. It means buying new hardware and possibly losing your old data if you didn’t back it up. But these failures are often preventable and, at the very least, recognizable. Keep your computer in a cool, well-ventilated area where it won’t overheat or get bumped and knocked all the time. In addition, always keep an ear out for strange noises. Most hard drives will let you know well before they kick the bucket.

If you take the extra steps to help insure your computer’s health, you won’t have to worry about frequent crashes. Just make sure to run a registry cleaner and your computer’s defragmentation software on a regular basis. Most software conflicts are preventable as well so long as you make sure you know of any possible issues beforehand. And when it comes to hardware failure, you always want to be on alert for any signs your computer is giving you. From noises to performance issues, these signs should never be ignored. If you learn how to prevent these problems, you may never have to ask, “Why does my computer crash” again.

The first thing you need to be aware of is the server speed of Carbonite. When you are trying to backup and restore files, there is a huge limitation on how fast things work. You may not be able to get a large and important file very quickly when you restore files from Carbonite. A video file that is a few hundred megs could potentially take days to restore. Keep this in mind if you need the file at a specific time as you will want to restore it well beforehand. But if your files are small or there is no rush, Carbonite makes the restore process very simple.

Restoring all of your files could not be made any easier. Carbonite’s program comes with a wizard that will guide your through the entire process. All you have to do it open the wizard and you will be given two options. You can select the option to restore your files now or you can select the option to restore them later. If you restore them now, you will get two more options. You can either restore them all to their original locations or you can restore them based on user profiles. If you choose to restore them to their original locations, the wizard will guide you through it. Choosing to restore specific user profiles can be a bit more complicated and it really only recommended for advanced users.

You also have the option to restore individual files and folders. Carbonite makes this even easier. Since they are displayed as a virtual drive under My Computer, all you have to do is open the drive and navigate to the file you wish to restore. Once you find it, simply right click on it and click restore. This will bring the file back to its original location. If you wish to put it somewhere else, you simply click restore to and you will be given your choice of where to put the file. If you are looking to restore a previous version of a file, Carbonite supports file versioning. They will store the old versions for three months. You simply find the file and select restore previous version.

Carbonite has made a name for themselves as a great online backup solution for the average person. Their prices make it affordable enough for anyone to be able to safeguard their files. While the system is not without its faults, there is not a better option available unless you are willing to spend substantially more. If you have chosen to go with Carbonite, you will find that they are very easy to use and that, should you ever need to restore files from Carbonite, the process is extremely simple.

The first type of failure is a drive that has been corrupted due to a virus or damaged files. In these cases, the drive itself may still operate, but your operating system can’t make heads or tails of the files. This is the best of the worst when it comes to hard drive failures. You can sometimes retrieve files through third party software. Typically, this software breaks down your files into binary code and then attempts to reassemble them. It cannot always bring back complicated program files, but it may be able to help your retrieve your photos and documents.

The worst kind of hard drive failure is a mechanical failure. The most difficult thing about data recovery from hard drive units that have been physically damaged is getting them working again. For this, only a professional with a clean room, the right tools and knowledge can fix the problem. Never attempt to open or repair damage to your hard drive. You will only make the problem worse. While this kind of file recovery can be expensive, you really have no other option if you need the files on the drive. Never use home remedies for your drive such as freezing it. These ideas sound ludicrous because they are and they will only cause further damage.

The best way to keep your files safe is through regular backups. You want to make sure that your files are not on the same drive partition as your OS. If your system should fail, this is a good first defense for your files. You also want to make sure you have duplicates somewhere. CDs and disks tend to be very outdated for backups. Now you can upload your files to a secure server with an internet company or you can purchase a backup drive which remains separate from the rest of the computer.

The hard drive on a computer is the only moving part aside from the fans. This means that it is the piece that is the most likely to fail. Unfortunately, it is also the worst possible piece of hardware to lose since it contains all of your data. But if you keep a cool head, you may be able to salvage some of the files on damaged drive. You just have to take the right steps. Data recovery from hard drive units which have failed is never a fun process, but keeping calm and thinking straight may help you get back at least some of what you have lost.

The first thing most people do when their hard drive crashes, after the shouting and swearing, is to open up the computer. Maybe the cables are slipping out or it’s a problem with the wiring. However, in most cases the problem is simply that the hard drive sustained some sort of trauma and has simply died. As painful and frustrating as that is, it is a fact that all computer owner have to live with. If you heard signs of possible failure, such as scratching, grinding or even some noises that sound like they came right out of Star Trek, the odds are that there is nothing you can do yourself to recover the data.

But believe it or not, many people immediately try to fix the problem themselves. Opening up the actual hard disk is spelling doom for the contents therein. There is a reason that computer parts are assembled in a clean room. Any dust and debris inside can completely destroy a drive when it starts spinning. Since the reader and the surface it reads are only a micron apart, even the smallest particulates can clog the works. Never, under any circumstances, open your hard disk. And trying other solutions, such as freezing the drive, are no more likely to help. The fact is that you may need a professional to help you.

There are other solutions such as free data recovery programs that you can find online. While they may work, they can be very technical and might only recover useless fragments of files. Only a professional with a clean room and the right tools is qualified to attempt data recovery on a dead drive. While it may be expensive, it can often be the only way to get back your information. If that information is extremely important to you, it may just have to be an expensive lesson learned.

If you learn to avoid the causes of hard disk failure and you learn to recognize a dying drive, you may be able to save yourself from this irritating and possibly financially draining process. It is so complicated and difficult that many companies who manufacture hard disks do not even offer data recovery services. They will outsource that work to someone who specializes in it. So learn to avoid the problem all together. Hard drive failure is entirely preventable and completely worth the extra effort to safeguard your data.

Well, the short answer is yes. It is extremely hard to get the data off an old drive and even a company with all the right equipment has to employ the professionals who can do the job. And those professionals need to have the right environment and the right tools to do their job. Depending upon the type of damage the hard drive has sustained, it can mean a substantial process to return the data to the customer.

The first reason only professionals will be able to do your hard drive data recovery is the environment they are in. They have to operate in the same type of environment in which the drive is assembled. That means they need a clean room. That isn’t a room that you have vacuumed, either. That means a room where the air particle content is kept to an absolute minimum. Even the smallest particles can cause a hard drive to crash and opening one up outside of a clean room spells disaster.

They also need to have the right tools and parts to get the data back. Usually, recovering the data from the drive means getting the drive running again. To do that, they have to find the exact parts for the drive that have been damaged. The parts alone can cost hundreds of dollars since they often need to be salvaged from an identical drive made in the same time and at the same factory. You are essentially paying for them to buy you another drive, then use the parts to repair your old one.

The recovery team may also have to reconstruct the data on the drive if the files are corrupted. This means that someone breaks the data down into binary information and reconstructs it back to what it originally was. Not only is this difficult and time consuming, it is expensive. Of course, the best way to avoid all of these headaches are to simply keep your data backed up. At the very least you have to make sure that you are taking proper care of your hard drive so that it will last as long as possible. Rather than paying for hard drive data recovery after the drive has crashed, you can take simple, and free, steps to avoid losing the drive in the first place.

The first thing to know is what exactly can cause a hard drive failure. There are any number of different specific things, but some of the more common ones are pretty easy to avoid. Many drive fail due to vibrations or physical knocks to the drive. They are delicate machinery and even the smallest bumps, such as vibrations from a loud subwoofer, can cause scratches. Extreme heat is another avoidable reason many drives fail. While most BIOS setups come with the option to shut the computer down if it gets too hot, even that may not prevent your drive from burning out. Electrical shocks may also destroy a drive. Anyone who has had lightning hit their house and shut off their power knows that a sudden jolt can destroy most electronics.

You may have heard that the key to a successful relationship is to be a good listener. Well, it’s no different for computer hard drives. If you listen carefully, it will tell you just what you need to know. There is no specific sound that a failing hard drive makes, but nearly all suspicious noises indicate a problem. If you hard drive is running happy and healthy, you shouldn’t even notice it. But when you have to start asking yourself what that clicking noise is, something is wrong. It’s time to back up your information and get a new drive.

But you can do quite a bit to keep that from happening and extend the life of your drive. Just as important as learning the causes of hard disk failure, you need to know how to care for your drive so that it lives as long as possible. Most importantly, protect your computer from the daily bumps and dings that so many go through. Keep it in a place where it will not sustain any knocks because that can easily damage the hard disk. Always make sure the temperature is low because heat can quickly damage a drive. And finally, always keep it connected to a surge protector. Never have your computer plugged directly into the wall. Even when it is turned off, this still leaves it in danger.

It’s much easier to spend money on a new drive because you want to rather than because you have to. And you don’t have to worry about losing all your vital information in a sudden crash if you take care of your drive. By being gentle with the computer and by always paying attention to the causes of hard disk failure, you will help your drive live as long as possible and you won’t lose everything on it when it eventually does need to be replaced.

As with most services which require a monthly fee, you have to ask yourself how much you are willing to pay. As with most products and services, you tend to get what you pay for when it comes to finding the best online backup services. Cheaper ones, or even free ones, offer many limitations when it comes to storage space, access and security. If you are not interested in spending much to have your files backed up, you may be fine with these limitations. But make sure you explore them fully before you take the time to go through the typically lengthy first-time upload.

If you are backing up files which you plan to access frequently, you may need to consider different companies as well. While one of the great benefits of backing up your files online is that you can access them anywhere, some companies limit this access more than others. If you are a student who just wants to back up your work, but you still need to get to it often, you will want to make sure that the company you choose allows easy access to your files. If you are simply interested in locking away your information indefinitely, there are companies that allow you to do that as well.

A big issue for many people considering online backup is security. First, almost all the companies encrypt your files during transfer so you do not have to worry about someone sifting through your information. But once those files get to their servers you want to know they are safe there as well. Some companies will scatter your data across several servers so that it makes no sense to anyone who manages to get a peek. And some companies go so far as to allow you to be the only person who has access to your files, not even their employees will be able to touch them. Just make sure you don’t forget your key or you will never see your files again.

There are many differences in the variety of companies you can choose from. You will have to research them fully to understand which ones will work the best for you. But now you at least know what it is that you are looking for. Regardless of which company you choose, your information will be far safer with them than in your home. They are not vulnerable to fires or flood or even electrical disruptions like they would be in your house. You can be assured that you are taking a good first step when you start looking for the best online backup services.