If you’re interested in using online backup solutions and are concerned of the technical difficulties you might encounter, you would be happy to know that it’s really quite simple to restore files from Carbonite. Most of us think that tinkering with our computer hardware needs a lot of technical wisdom. The same is true with a new program or software. With Carbonite backup however, doing data backup and recovering the data when the need arises involves processes that are very easy to follow even for novice computer users.

If you are ever faced with the task of restoring your files after reformatting your hard drive or after a computer crash, the first thing you would need to do is download the Carbonite software again. As soon as you do this, the setup wizard will ask you to choose from two options – restore your files later or restore your files now. If you choose to retrieve them right there and then, you will then be asked if you prefer the files downloaded to their original locations, or choose specific files for specific users. Most users would choose option one but even the more advanced option is not that difficult to follow.

However, if you only want to restore a single file or an older version of a file, you have options there as well. Since Carbonite is listed under My Computer as a virtual drive, you can open it and navigate it just like any other drive. Once you have opened it, you simply have to find the file you want to restore. Click Restore to send it back to its original location or click Restore To if you want to send it somewhere else. You also have to choice to retrieve previous versions of files by clicking the Restore Previous Version option. Carbonite will save older versions for up to three months.

However, you are also bound to discover some drawbacks to Carbonite as well. You will not be able to restore files from Carbonite very quickly if they are huge. A file that is a few hundred megs could take hours or even days depending upon the speed of the servers. Carbonite servers can be fairly slow, but that is how they are able to offer such an affordable price. In the event of a system crash, where you lose all of your data, you may not care if it is slow so long as you get all of your files back. However, if you need to restore an important document very quickly, you may be left waiting for a bit.

Carbonite is far from perfect, but it could be the best option you have. It has its flaws yes, but for the fee they are charging, they are entitled to some. Other companies offer practically the same services, but at a price ten times higher. Plus, you won’t need to jump through hoops when you restore files from Carbonite so on the whole, you get everything you would need from an online backup service.

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Forty-three percent of computer users lose irreplaceable files every year. Carbonite automatically and securely backs up the irreplaceable contents of their computers – no matter how much stuff they need to back up. It takes just a few clicks to restore lost files.

A small application on your computer that works quietly in the background looking for new and changed files that need to be backed up is installed by the Carbonite software. There’s no new interface for you to learn — it looks and feels just like part of your computer, and it integrated with your desktop.

Restoring lost files is easy if anything happens to your computer. To restore a specific file or folder, simply open the Carbonite Backup Drive from your desktop. Files and folders are organized in the backup drive exactly as they are on your computer. Right-click and select “restore” once you locate the specific file or folder. The file will be restored to its original location on your hard drive by the software. You will also have the option of recovering a previous version of the file by selecting “Restore previous versions…” or restoring the file to a new location, by selecting “Restore to…”

The way to restore everything in your backup to a new or repaired computer is as follows: go to carbonite.com, click the restore tab, log in to your account and restore your files. The Carbonite Restore Wizard will help you restore all of your files to your new computer with just a few clicks.

Once installation is complete, the Carbonite software looks for files to back up by scanning the hard disk. All file types except executables (such as .exe and .dll), system files, temporary files and video files are automatically backed up by Carbonite. However, any of the excluded file types can be manually added to the backup by right-clicking on the file and selecting “Back this up” from the Carbonite menu. Ninety five percent of Carbonite users prefer to stick with the default settings despite the fact that Carbonite offers a wide variety of options for customizing your backup upon setup.

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