BackMaster 4.01

Into the Olympic-sized pool of backup utilities dives BackMaster 4.01, a program its developers tout as “a comprehensive backup and disaster recovery utility to protect and archive important personal data files and system settings.” That’s a pretty tall order, so we put it through its paces.

BackMaster is a relatively powerful and easy-to-use backup utility, although it lacks some advanced features compare with its competitors. However, it also has capabilities that set it apart. In particular, it supports the backup of locked and in-use (open) files, it has the ability to format and partition a new drive (if necessary) during the restore process, and it backs up files one by one, so you can restore just a single file if needed. Those three features alone may make it worth a purchase for timecrunched users.

Installation is painless if a bit convoluted. Initially, BackMaster asks you where to store the program files and shortcuts and then requires a reboot. After installation, double-click the program icon on your Desktop; BackMaster will prompt you for the registration key and then open for use. (BackMaster didn’t offer any sort of Read Me file or other introduction, which cost it a point in our ratings.)

When you first open BackMaster (and on subsequent sessions until you complete the process or turn off the prompt), the program will ask you to create BackMaster Recovery Disks, media that enable restoration of your backed-up system in the event of a system crash or hard drive failure. (This is a good, albeit time-consuming, idea.) BackMaster won’t let you write this data to the hard drive for later transfer to another source, a minor shortcoming. However, it does enable the swapping of optical media (CDs/DVDs) if you only have one drive and the process requires more than one disc.

Once you move into standard program operation, BackMaster is straightforward and fairly flexible. The right pane of the main interface offers a short tutorial that helps you select files and create a backup, with pulsing red circles alerting you to the correct button or selection pane with each step. Tutorials are limited: The Backup tutorial does not take you as far as scheduling your backup, nor does it show you how to structure backup sets. These are advanced concerns that will cause more difficulty for novice users than will the backup selection process itself.

Tabs on the interface let you toggle among the Backup, Restore, Compare (compare one data set to another), Catalog Restore (view all existing backups), and Copy (duplicate data in native file format for easy restoration) views. In Backup and Copy views, a Windows Explorer-style pane lets you browse folders and files and select them for inclusion. You can also select Directory View (an option on the button bar), and BackMaster will replace the tutorial pane with a detail view that enables you to sort files by date, size, attribute, and other criteria.

Similarly, Catalog Restore view lets you browse your backup catalog by various criteria. These include File Sets, Device (if you have more than one storage location), and Computer (if you are backing up over a home network).

BackMaster offers an Edit Wildcard Patterns tool that lets you restrict file inclusion to specific file extensions. Unfortunately, there is no list of designated extensions from which to choose, nor is there any search feature or wizard that helps you look for categories of files.

Consequently, supplying the appropriate extensions will be a complex chore for those who are not familiar with them. BackMaster supports a wide range of backup features, and it supports different backup types. It also supports removable media such as USB drives in addition to CDs and DVDs. In the final analysis, it’s a fast and flexible program, but it’s not (yet) the definitive answer to computer users’ backup needs.

Link: www.msrdev.com