backup

Back up your Apple gadget with 123 iPod iPad iPhone Backup

Keeping backup files can save you plenty of headaches if your Apple gadget starts bugging out. However, this long-winded download is just as hard to use as it is to say. The only reason to be impressed by 123 iPod iPad iPhone Backup is that it's somehow worse than iTunes in features, usability, and reliability.

When we put it in use, this ancient-looking download crashed and seized when it tried to recognize our gadget. When we finally made 123 iPod iPad iPhone Backup work, backing up wasn't slow, it's just wasn't particularly fast. There's also … Read more

Use Kies to back up and restore your Samsung mobile device

Samsung's Kies desktop software can sync your Samsung smartphone or tablet to your computer. If you haven't used Kies before, then you may not know that it can also back up the data on your Samsung device. With a Google account, a lot of your data already syncs with Google's servers, but Kies can also back up Samsung-specific apps, like S Planner and S Memo, which come on the Galaxy S3. Additionally, Kies can back up your contacts, call log, SMS/MMS messages, and media files. Here's how:

Back up

Step 1: After installing Kies (Windows | … Read more

Get a Toshiba 1TB portable USB 3.0 hard drive for $69.99

My cheapskate senses tell me not to post this, because it's so very likely to sell out right around the time I click "publish," but I just can't help it. (That's why I'm padding today's post with two bonus deals.)

Today only, and while supplies last, Best Buy has the Toshiba Canvio 1TB portable USB 3.0 hard drive for $69.99 shipped (plus sales tax where applicable). That's $20 off the regular price -- not a mammoth savings, I grant you, but still a great deal on a great drive.

What … Read more

Is Time Machine really backing up your drives?

A new report is out that suggests a fault may exist in Apple's Time Machine service, causing internal drives to be automatically and silently added to Time Machine's exclusion list, resulting in the service not backing up the data on these drives and not notifying the user of the change.

As outlined on Diglloyd's Mac Performance Guide blog, this problem appears to be situational to setups where many internal drives are being managed. To see this happen, be sure one of your internal drives is mounted and available, and then add it to the Time Machine exclusion … Read more

Ensure that Time Machine is making restorable backups in OS X

Time Machine is Apple's built-in backup solution for OS X that creates hourly backups of all files on the system. Unlike a clone of the drive, the backups are not directly bootable, but they can be used to restore any instance of your OS installation and file structure to the drive. This makes it convenient for restoring data to a recently repaired system, migrating to a new one, or undoing a recent configuration change that is causing problems.

This backup solution is quite useful to have and is easy to set up, but there may be instances where Time … Read more

Digital-storage basics, Part 3: Backup vs. redundancy

Editors' note: This post is Part 3 of an ongoing series that aims to explain digital storage in layman's terms, based on questions and inquires from readers. See Part 1 and Part 2.

One of a storage device's most important roles, if not the most important, is to keep the information stored on it safe, especially from hardware failure. Redundancy and backup are the two popular types of data protection. They are not the same, however, and it's important to understand the differences between the two.

Redundancy

In a nutshell, redundancy in consumer-grade digital storage means using … Read more

Get a year of unlimited cloud backup for $25

Backups: are they really necessary? Absolutely. Are they a hassle? Very often, yes. Do they cost an arm and a leg? Sometimes -- but not today.

Through tomorrow, AppSumo is offering a one-year subscription to Backblaze backup service for $25. (That's for one PC; you can buy multiple subscriptions at that price for additional systems.) Normally that would cost you $50, or $5 per month if you elected not to prepay.

Backblaze competes with the likes of Carbonite and Mozy, offering continuous, automated backup of all your data. Like Carbonite, Backblaze affords unlimited space. And its client software (available … Read more

Get a great deal on the Powerocks Magicstick mobile charger

Editor's note: This temporary deal has expired and is no longer available.

One key lesson we can all learn from Hurricane Sandy: you can never have too much backup power, especially when you're relying on your mobile phone for communication, information, or even just light.

Actually, backup power comes in handy in all kinds of situations -- like, say, when you need to show your electronic boarding pass at the gate and your phone just ran out of juice.

Most mobile charges are flat, black, and ugly. Not so this CNET Exclusive: through tomorrow, November 1, you can … Read more

Welcome to a Windows 8 world

Friday's CNET Update is charging the backup batteries:

Today's tech news roundup has a storm of new tech, and the tech you need in a storm.

The initial preorder supply of white Wi-Fi iPad Minis were claimed in less than a half hour of it going on sale Friday morning. As of Friday afternoon, the black Wi-Fi models were still promising a delivery date of Nov. 2. White models ordered now won't be shipped for two weeks. Some of the first people to buy a 4G iPad Mini are seeing a delivery date of Nov. 23.

Windows … Read more