Free Windows backup software – Hinx Backup Easy

Posted on March 20, 2008 at 6:55 am

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Do you backup the files on your computer? What happens to your important documents if your computer crashes and Windows will not boot up? More home computer users, than in years past, are savvy to the idea of backing up their computer on a schedule of some sort or another. Perhaps it is once a week, once a day, or only they make new additions to documents and pictures.

Whichever interval appeals to the individual, one typically wants a solution that makes is easy to backup and retrieve data. Windows XP has a built in solution for backing up your computer, however, one has to understand how to store and restore files with the Windows specific backup interface. Though it does not have a daunting learning curve, there are other, even less complicated software options.

One piece of software to consider is Hinx Backup Easy. This may sound like a redundant statement, but Backup Easy is an easy to use freeware backup program. When you open up the program, you have a single window with four tabs. There is no hunting into the dark software depths to find an option, or having to script command line functions to get the extra features. Though Backup Easy requires that your computer have the Java Runtime version 6 installed, ultimately, it is the small window interface, four tabs, and you.

When you open Backup Easy, this is your starting point. First you pick your location. Should you choose Remote, the Browse button will turn off because your option will be an FTP location in the next tab. However, choosing Local will allow you to click Browse and choose your C:\ drive, or, for example, a USB connected hard drive.

In the Selected File / Folders section, you can click Add to choose what you want to be backed up. The Add button will bring up a file explorer screen, just as Browse did. When you do have in the Selected Files / Folders area, clicking on it, then Delete, will remove that selection. You can also click on Backup, to run your selection immediately.

Local backup sounds easy enough, right? What if you do want to backup to an FTP server? Choosing Remote, then clicking on the Remote tab will bring up the FTP based set of options.

If you have an FTP server to use, this may be a good offsite backup option. Keep in mind, you can use SSL and SSH protocols with Backup Easy if your FTP connection requires them; just check the appropriate box. All you need to do here is fill in the needed information, and click the Test button. If all your information is correct, there will be a successful connection type message displayed in the Message area. Click on Save to save the connection settings. Yes, really, that is it for the Remote tab.

With the either backup option, restoring your files is relatively simple. If you chose the Local option, go into your Target location, and browse your backed up files within Windows Explorer. It looks just like when you are going to folders in your other Windows folders. Had you chose the FTP option, you just have to get to your FTP site and download the files back to your computer.

For the computer users who like to keep things running on a schedule, the next tab is for you. The Setting tab allows one to tell Backup Easy when, and how often, to run their backup settings.

Before I continue, let me point out what might be considered a downside to some. In the Time for Backup section, the time is in 24 hour format. For example, 1:00 PM, will be shown as 13:00. I think that this is a rather small concern, but it is worth mentioning. That aside, on with the Setting tab choices!

You can pick what day you want it to run on, just by clicking next to the named day. If you want the backup to run automatically, click the box next to Automatic Backup. If you just check a particular day’s box, say Monday, it will run the next Monday only once. Choosing Automatic will make your backup run every Monday.

If you are someone who only wants to backup their recently changed files, and not their entire backup file selection, pick Backup Modified Files Only. This will make it so the only files copied during the next backup are the ones changed, or added, since your last backup ran.

Also, should you feel the need to look at your backed up files with their full folder names intact (Example: C:\Documents and Settings\user1\My Documents looks the same in your backup folders, versus C:\Docu~\user1\My Docu~, or abbreviations to this effect); make sure to check the box next to Include Full Path. Note: This option deals more with the Local backup versus the Remote FTP choice. Each FTP server’s folder setup may be different.

When you are ready with all of your options, click on Save to finish your backup settings. I am willing to bet that the average person will sift through the options quite quickly. Happy backing up!

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Comments

One Response to “Free Windows backup software – Hinx Backup Easy”

goDog said on : March 28th, 2008 at 7:54 pm

Can I install this software on a Windows 2003 Server machine? I need to do remote backup using SFTP trough internet to a Linux server… Can you recomend me this software to do that? Thanks.