Comparing
RecoveryMagic to Backup Software Solutions
Generally, the most common and age-old way
to prepare against computer disasters
involving data is to backup the data on the
computer to an external drive or backup
medium. Usually the medium is a magnetic
tape disk for most large companies and
corporations. For smaller companies, the
option of another hard disk or a DVD disk
are more appealing because of the cost
considerations. Because of the smaller
capacity of the Compact Data Disk (600 to
700MB CD), they are hardly used as options
except for small amounts of data. Backing up
data comes with a major advantage, which is
the fact that the data is always available
for reference even if the original source is
no more available due to a minor or major
disaster.
However, data backup either manually or via
the use of software such as Norton Backup
comes with a number of disadvantages. Some
of these disadvantages are:
-
Data backup
generally requires manual intervention
from time to time during the backup
process. This is often due to the fact
that the backup software may have
problem backing up some files due to the
fact that the files are in use by a
program on the host computer or there is
problem with the naming of the file.
Though some software solutions exist
that reduce the manual attention, they
often require pre-configuration of all
possible options that may be encountered
and the step that the software should
take that for an average or ordinary
computer user, they may seem quite
complex.
-
Data backup
practically requires a lot of time that
is directly proportional to the amount
of data that needs to be copied. The
length of time is little wonder because
the computer or backup software often
has to check every file that is being
copied to ensure that it is copied
properly on the target medium. Some
backup software do not copy at the file
level but rather at the raw hard disk
data level, which makes them much faster
than those that copy on the file level.
However, the time taken to effect data
backup on huge amounts of data cannot be
overlooked and are directly proportional
to the size of data to be copied or
backed up. The same time or duration
problem is encountered during the
process of restoring data from a backup.
The reasons for even a minimal level of data
backup are obvious to a heavy computer user
who has encountered data corruption and
accidental data erasure several times.
However, for a high computer use environment
such as an Internet Café, Hotel, Business
Center or some organizations where time is
of essence and the computers are practically
revenue generating machines, the option of
data backup and restore as a solution to
data corruption and accidental information
erasure is not a palatable one at all when
the time and effort involved is considered.
For every single minute the computer is
down, it practically translates to lost
revenue. Yet data corruption and accidental
file erasures are everyday realities that
must be faced in this age of the internet,
spywares and viruses. RecoveryMagic provides an alternate solution
to data backup that does not come with the
time delays, manual intervention and
expenses in the purchase of backup media
incurred with data backups.
Once you have installed RecoveryMagic on a
computer system and selected the partitions
on the hard disk to have their data
protected, the software works by making the
protected partitions on a computer hard disk
to be write protected in a similar to how
floppy disks are write protected. All the
data on the protected partitions at the
point of installation of RecoveryMagic are
referred to as the “base image”. All changes
to the hard drive or partition base image by
the user through copying of files,
installations, changes in software
configurations and even file deletion are
automatically redirected by RecoveryMagic to
a separate non-write protected area on the
hard drive and information about the changes
recorded in a hidden storage area on the
hard disk that cannot be accessed by the
user. Whenever data is read from the hard
disk, information is provided by
RecoveryMagic from its hidden storage area
to make it appear to the operating system
and other applications as if all changes
made have permanently been implemented on
the hard drive. For example, a user who
deletes critical or important files that is
part of the base image on the computer is
presented with the impression and view that
the task has been carried out, while
RecoveryMagic actually ensures that the true
base image is not touched. Thus all computer
files and data comprising the base image are
fully protected while you still have
complete access to your system. Because
RecoveryMagic is simply redirecting
operations to another hard drive location,
it works easily without harming system
performance.
Should something go wrong with your system,
you can restore it back to the base image
point. RecoveryMagic simply discards all
changes that have been made which it has
recorded in the hidden storage area. The
result is complete system restoration
without any single data loss or corruption.
Because RecoveryMagic loads before the host
Windows Operating System, it can easily
recover the system even when the Operating
System is corrupt or unbootable.
The task of restoring your system to the
original data state is carried out by
RecoveryMagic within seconds and not hours
as obtained in a backup software solution!
RecoveryMagic can be configured to always
restore the data back to the original state
at every reboot of the host computer or at
scheduled days. Carrying out this task with
an ordinary data backup software solution
would be too time and space consuming to be
practical. In addition, most data backup solutions
require the operating system to have been
loaded before the backup software can
restore information from the backed up
files. That is because most backup software
run only as Microsoft Windows applications
amongst other things. However, in the
situation of RecoveryMagic, RecoveryMagic
loads before the host operating system (i.e.
Microsoft Windows) and can thus restore data
back to the original state even if the
operating system has been corrupted and
refuses to load! Finally, you can easily update the
RecoveryMagic “base image” in case you have
new programs installed on the host computer
or additional data that you want to be part
of the base image. You can do this simply in
a matter of a few mouse clicks compared to
the time consuming task of updating a data
backup.
In view of all these differences, it hardly
goes without saying that RecoveryMagic
provides an ideal data recovery solution for
PC users particularly in a public access
environment like Internet Cafes, Hotels and
School Computer Labs without the headaches
associated with general data backup.
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