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No-hassle backup for multiple PCs
Clickfree is a complete backup product, designed to back up all the important files on a user's computer.
It requires no intervention, apart from plugging in the device at the start of the process and then disconnecting it at the end.
The Clickfree idea is a simple one – instead of supplying the software to make the copy, the company has put the backup software on the disk that will be used for the process, and made it run automatically.
The software also selects and saves all of the most common files that users require: Word Excel and Powerpoint documents, all common photo formats, and MP3 and WMA for audio. These are just examples – a lot more types are covered as standard.
It so happens that, having used Clickfree on several PCs in our office, we suffered a hard disk failure on one of them – a relatively old disk was left clicking away as dead hard disks do. We were very impressed, then, to find that we were able to replace the disk and restore everything from the backup made by the Clickfree product. Restoring was very nearly as simple as backing up, though you have to select the set of files you want to restore and the disk you want to copy them back to.
The can be adjusted backup to work with the folders and formats the user wants to back up (so if you use Family Tree maker and want it to backup the FTW files you can add this format to the list). For most people, though, everything can be left on the default settings, and in that case the backup really is click-free. The 2.5in disk in the black and chrome case was as quick as most, but in any case backup can continue in the background while the user is doing other things.
The disk can be used to archive up to 10 PCs and when it's reconnected to a computer it's seen before, it is clever enough to update the archive with only newly created files. Clickfree also sells DVDs with the same auto-running software on them. Pop one of these in your computer and it backs up office, photo or audio files, and prices are competitive.
The only thing to watch out for is to make sure that the Clickfree product you buy (it's available in a 160GB version too) is big enough to store all your files.
Although it costs a fair bit more than a similar disk without software, the ease of use makes Clickfree an excellent product.
Read more reviews
Our verdict
Good points Easy backup Handles up to 10 computers Easy restore to same or different PC Separate power not usually required Bad points Disk may be too small for modern computers Overall A really clever backup product that anybody can use and which works straight out of the box
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easy backup - difficult restore
I purchased the clickfree backup product from QVC and found backing up the files from my old desktop easy but when I restored them to my new laptop running Vista; I have not been able to creat shortcuts to the programs that I had on my desktop; basically the files are in a directory but I don't know how to get them out where I can access them.
Posted by Bill Mann, 10 Dec 2008
Great product
One of the best buys I have made, so simple to use. You don't have to be a computer techie. I also found by going to the clickfree web page support, you can get more information on the use of the clickfree device by downloading the user manual. I have the 120gb and have backed up my PC and also another laptop. Clickfree also now has a range of larger models if you need to backup larger amounts of files. 10/10 for this product.
Posted by John Kirby, 02 May 2009
restore
I had files from My Documents backed up on my Clickfree? device but cannot find the files after restoring them to a new computer, where are they? A. Our application does not restore files back to their original locations, because different versions of Windows store data in different locations. Example: on Windows Vista My Documents is located C:\Users\username\Documents and on Windows XP it is located under C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents. All of your files can be found within a folder called Restored Files, within this folder you will find that the application preserved the folder structure from where the data was backed up from. This will allow users to make the intuitive judgement as to where their files are to be moved to.
Posted by John Kirby, 05 May 2009