O&O FileBackup Review

Key Features

• Full Support for newer versions of Windows & Windows Server
• Very easy to use backup software
• Helpful, guided backup configuration process
• Good automatic scheduling support
• Easy selection of items to backup including pre-set shortcuts
• Easily filter out unwanted file extensions
• Support for local disks and network drives (NAS Drives)
• No installation required (portable application file)
• Only a single backup set can be managed
• No built-in encryption support
• No built-in cloud storage integrations
• Available for a one-off cost of only $29.95 per PC
• 5x PC licence also available for a very reasonable $39.95!

FileBackup Usability

In this first section of my review I will be downloading, installing and making use of the O&O FileBackup software for myself, this includes using the software to make a full backup of my system and then a little later on perform a restore of these backed-up files.

This begins in the next section where I will be downloading a free trial of the FileBackup software and configuring an initial backup set for myself. If you would like to try FileBackup for yourself then please note there is a 30 day free trial version available via the official O&O Software website (and no personal details are required to try it out, great).

Installing FileBackup

One of the first things which makes FileBackup stand out form many other backup applications is the fact that there is no need to install the software as would normally be done in such circumstances. Instead, FileBackup is simply downloaded as a single executable file which is run (as is) whenever the backup software itself is needed.

NB – Basically, this approach means you simply need to download the executable application file and drag it somewhere safe on your PC, for example on the desktop!

As can be seen in the screenshot above, whilst there is no formal installation of the software required, we will still need to accept the licence terms upon the first running of the application on our device, with these terms accepted, we will then be taken to the main homepage of the application as can be seen below.

As can be seen above, whenever we run O&O FileBackup form now onwards we will go straight to this homepage, form here we can easily configure a backup, perform a restore operation or configure the application itself further should we need to. In the next section of my review I will be creating a new backup set from scratch before looking at the restore functionality and then finally the settings pages in more depth a little later on.

Backing-up within FileBackup

Creating our first backup within FileBackup begins on the main application homepage, it is form here we can start the process off by clicking on the clearly marked out “Backup” button as is pointed out below:

The first page in the setup wizard is where we can select any files which are to be backed-up, this can be as simple as making use of one of the pre-set backup plans which covers specific user documents (e.g. photos, videos, music etc.), a “Most important data” option (which includes directories commonly used for saving files) or, finally, the option to select manually any files and folders to be included within the backup.

NB – I will be looking at the manual selection option within this review, but the other two automated options are ideal for anyone wanting a quick and easy way of selecting all important files which might reside on their device.

With an option selected from the previous page, the next page in the configuration wizard (seen above) is where we can (optionally) fine-tune the files which are selected and included within the backups set (and will appear regardless of which option is chosen in the prior screen). From this page we can easily remove any existing areas from the backup selection or, alternatively, add new ones using the buttons towards the bottom of the screen should we so wish.

With all files and folders now added to the backup set, the next step will be selecting the storage location to be used. As can be seen below, the next screen in the set-up process is where we can select such a location:

NB – O&O FileBackup is limited to only using any locally attached drives which are connected to the PC in use (including any network drives or NAS systems). There is no built-in integration with any commonly used 3^rd party cloud storage providers so bear this in mind when assessing FileBackup for yourself!

With the storage location now specified, the next step of the process will provide us with a summary of our new backup set and it’s configuration so far (as can be seen below). Note that is it also on this summary screen that we can (optionally) configure the backup set to be run automatically on a schedule should we want it to be:

NB – At this point we have had no options to apply encryption to our backup set (nor does the software support doing this). If applying strong encryption is an important part of your backup then consider looking at DiskImage 17 (also from O&O software) which features strong AES 256-bit encryption technology built-in to the product!

When choosing to make use of the scheduling feature, we will be presented by a new window from which the scheduling options can be set (this can be seen below). We can set a schedule for the backup to be run once per day, on specified weekdays once per week or even monthly on a specified day should we so wish.

NB – Unfortunately, a maximum of once per day is the most frequent setting our backup can be run at automatically via the schedule! Whilst this setting of once per day might be fine for many users, I would have preferred to see an option to run at least once per hour ideally!

With the schedule optionally set, the configuration will at this point be complete and can be run for the first time, a new window will be shown from which we can track the progress of the job and also see when the operation has completed.

At this point, with the initial run of the backup complete, we will be returned to the main homepage. The homepage will now have changed and (if set) will show towards the bottom of the page the next time the backup will be run again based upon any schedule which might have been set.

NB – Unfortunately, one of the biggest downsides which needs to be pointed out here is that we can (in effect) only have a single backup set configured and running whilst using FileBackup. Whilst you can re-configure the backup set after it has initially been run, the software appears to then make this most recent configuration the default set at the cost of removing the original. Not ideal for anyone wanting to make use of different backup sets for different purposes!

Restoring Data within FileBackup

At this point in this FileBackup review we have seen the installation (of sorts) of the software and the steps involves with making an initial backup, in this section I will now be looking at recovering some of this backed-up data and restoring it back upon my PC. This process begins, again, at the main application homepage where we can this time select the restore option:

At this point, on the first restore page, the first thing the application will ask for is the folder location in which our backups will be saved in. With this target location selected, we can then select the correct historic version of the backup from a list of all available historic versions (as can be seen below).

With the correct historic version of the backup now selected, the next thing to do is either opt to restore all backed-up files or, alternatively, select individual files and folders to be restored using the file selection screen as is shown below:

With the files to be restored now selected, the next and final step in configuring the restore operation will be to select a location for the restored files to be save to, something which we must select ourselves given the software doesn’t feature the ability to restore files to their original location (a choice commonly available in many other backup software packages). With this location specified, we will then see a summary of the restore operation which can then be set running, a progress windows will be shown as the restore runs like that of the one below:

With the restore operation complete, we should then get a “success” message from the progress window before been taken back to the main application homepage upon closing this screen down. Overall, a very easy to use restore process which makes easy the process of working with historic file versions and also provides the ability to restore files to a location other than their original location (even though this manual selection of a restore location is the one and choice).

Other Settings within FileBackup

At this point in this review we have seen both a backup and restore operation in progress, in this section I will be moving on past these two core features to look at some of the other functionality found within the FileBackup application. This begins in the main settings page where we find a number of useful controls to fine tune how the application itself works:

As can be seen below, for such a simple application we actually see a fair amount of configuration options available, all of which are easily organised into several tabs found along the left side of the main settings window. Some of the more useful options within these pages include:

• The option to create new sub-folder for each backup
• The option to filter out files based upon their file extension
• The option to automatically overwrite restored files when restoring
• Specify maximum and minimum file sizes for inclusion within a backup set
• The ability to include or exclude any hidden files or system files
• The ability to automatically exclude any files residing in OneDrive folders
• Plus several more useful backup management options…

Overall, this is a good amount of functionality to configure given that this is such an easy to use backup application. The default settings here will be fine for many users seeking a simple backup that works as intended, but it is nice to know some more (very useful) advanced settings are also available should they be required.