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infomax467
Posts: 1
Joined: 8/25/2009
Status: offline
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Mozy Online Back-Up Problems - 8/25/2009 19:30:21
I installed MOZY FREE Backup software on my computer by following their instructions.
After installation, my computer kept freezing and then I got the Windows Blue Screen of Death!
Basically, MOZY FREE Backup CRASHED my computer. I could not even do a system restore. I had to restore my computer from scratch. I am still in the process of putting back all my programs and files, this is very time consuming.
Furthermore, after I backed up my files, I could not retrieve them using another computer. It kept telling me that I had to register and install MOZY Backup, it just would not retrieve my previous registration.
I am still not able to retrieve my files. Luckily, I kept local backups on some DVD's. MOZY may be free, but there is always a catch. Please be aware Mozy free backup could crash your computer?
Maybe that's how they get you; then they tell you have to purchase one of their plans???
FYI: I have 2GB of RAM and a 2.0 GHz AMD processor and it still CRASHED it!
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treetopsranch
Posts: 1648
From: Cottage Grove, OR, USA
Status: offline
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RE: Mozy Online Back-Up Problems - 8/25/2009 21:00:08
quote:
MOZY FREE Backup software
Hmm...MOZY is a online backup procedure. Do you really want to trust your files to a online company. What if they go under?
Also saw this in their privacy statement: "Decho also may collect, at your option, certain preference and demographic information from you."
Not sure how easy it is to opt out of that.
_____________________________
Don from TreeTops Ranch, Oregon
"I've got a taste for quality and luxury"
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womble
Posts: 6260
Joined: 3/14/2005
From: Living on the edge
Status: offline
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RE: Mozy Online Back-Up Problems - 8/26/2009 12:35:20
I installed Mozy Free on my parents' laptop last year. Works fine with no problems, but then there's not much they have on the laptop that needs backing up.
Depending on your operating system, 2GB of RAM isn't an awful lot - it's just about adequate for Win XP (but will be very slow most likely, especially if you're using graphics a lot), and nowhere near enough really for Vista. Personally, I'd think about upgrading your RAM.
The thing with their free plan is that your storage space with it's very limited (something like 2GB if I remember rightly). As I discovered last year when my previous laptop died, online backup solutions can be very useful (especially like me, if you have a habit of forgetting to do regular backups), but relying solely on online backups isn't wise. When my laptop died, though I did eventually restore all of my files (I use Carbonite), the speed of the restore's dependent on your broadband speed, and the is also limited by the company to avoid using up all your bandwidth. My backup with Carbonite's around 40GB now, and it took around 3 weeks to get everything back. If there are files that you need urgently and cannot live without, or important work that it would be disastrous to lose, you really need to have it on a locally stored backup as well.
Not being able to restore to a different computer is common with online backup services. The backup's registered to a particular machine. With Carbonite I could restore my backup to another machine, but it would overwrite anything else on that machine. I use the service on two of my computers, and with the service each has it's own unique name, which prevents accidentally overwriting on another machine.
Mozy have a very good reputation and good reviews (one of the reasons I used them for my parents), and are one of the few companies who have a free option and not just a time-limited free trial.
If you're having problems restoring your backup, I'd suggest firstly checking out their knowledgebase, which is quite detailed (and has information on adding extra machines to your account and different restore errors), and if that doesn't work, contact their technical support. Generally they're very helpful in solving problems and will work to try and help you solve the problem, because if you're using a free account, their aim is to keep you happy in the hope you'll upgrade to a paid account.
Any software you install has the potential to conflict with something else you have installed and cause a BSOD if you're unlucky (last year I had an ongoing problem with my screen-reading software causing BSODs, which when their tech support examined my Windows logs was traced to a relatively simple problem), but that doesn't necessarily mean it's bad software. If the knowledgebase doesn't provide a solution, contact their support section.
_____________________________
~~ "A cruel god ain't no god at all" ~~
~~ Erase hate. Practice love. ~~
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BobbyDouglas
Posts: 5575
Joined: 5/15/2003
From: Arizona
Status: offline
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RE: Mozy Online Back-Up Problems - 9/27/2009 19:35:42
I started to get into the online backup business a few months ago. I ended up at Mozy but am still a little skeptical about their service. We're actually looking at getting our own backup server and handling it ourselves.
I've seen tons of mixed reviews about people unable to restore their Mozy backups. Tons of issues with customer service, etc..
All the tests I personally ran, were completely smooth. I restored multiple times throughout the day and didn't see a single issue.
Womble said it well quote:
If there are files that you need urgently and cannot live without, or important work that it would be disastrous to lose, you really need to have it on a locally stored backup as well.
Local backups should always be the first level of backup. Important files should sent to the local backup (a separate hard drive!), as well as an offsite location.
Our hosting servers have a daily backup that is kept for 2 days, then a weekly backup, and an offsite backup. My desktop is backed up daily via Acronis incremental backups to a secondary drive, while my important files (Outlook pst, client files, tax information, etc..) is encrypted and backed up to an online storage.
How much will you lose if your data is lost? We had a client that had a hard drive failure a few months ago. Their backup was toasted and they had the possibility of losing nearly $200,000. After spending a lot of money at a data recovery lab, they found the need for an online/offsite backup solution.
Now you may not ever run into a situation where you've almost lost that much money, but the items on a lot of people's computers are almost priceless. Pictures of your family, e-mails, memories, etc..
_____________________________
Arizona Web Design - Mr Bobs Web Design in Arizona
The Arizona Web Hosting Challenge
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womble
Posts: 6260
Joined: 3/14/2005
From: Living on the edge
Status: offline
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RE: Mozy Online Back-Up Problems - 9/28/2009 14:10:35
As I said, I've not had any problems with my parents' laptop (but then again, they don't keep a lot on theirs). Personally I use Carbonite, which was a lifesaver last year when I fried my hard drive on my laptop, though I do have backup copies of essential stuff locally ( .....somewhere... ). I'm not very good at remembering to do backups on a regular basis though, so I like Carbonite because it's all automated and I don't have to think about it.
All my essential stuff (non-web) is backed up on CD and I keep copies of website files I'm working on on a couple of domains, and truly essential ultra important stuff travels round with me on a flash drive as well (working on the principle that lightening's not going to strike my house, me, and my hosting company's servers all at the same time ). Actually, I have got a copy of Acronis hanging around somewhere and a spare external hard drive....really must get round to doing something with them.....
When I ran into problems restoring my backup (due to me panicking, and not any fault of Carbonite's system) Carbonite's customer service people were excellent, and after a to-and-fro email conversation about the errors I was getting, ended up walking me through it via live chat, and at one point when they couldn't work out what was going wrong, sorted the problem out for me by remote access. Out of the approx 20GB of data I've got stored with them, there was only one file I wasn't able to restore (and I never did work out what the file was!) I wouldn't hesitate in recommending Carbonite.
As Bobby said, the question's how much will you lose if you lose your data? (and as Bobby pointed out, not just financially) I think online backups do have a place in a backup schedule, but as the old saying says, "don't put all your eggs in one basket." The other one that springs to mind is, "you get what you pay for," and you're not going to necessarily get the same level of service with a free account.
I can't remember any more proverbs off-hand now, so I'll go. 
_____________________________
~~ "A cruel god ain't no god at all" ~~
~~ Erase hate. Practice love. ~~
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