Product Reviews

Backing up is one of those jobs that seems important only once a hard disk fails and you lose all your data. But a proper backup regime is essential. EMC2's Dantz Retrospect Professional 7 is designed to help you avoid falling victim to a faulty hard disk by keeping your work safe.

This version comes with two licences so you can back up, for example, a desktop PC and a notebook. After a short installation, the software launches a wizard. Part of its job is to configure your backup media. To test the program, we used a DVD recorder. The software had to test

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compatibility with our drive by writing test data to a DVD+R. This meant we couldn't use the disc for anything else, which seems a waste. You have to go through this procedure for every type of removable media.

When backing up, you can duplicate one hard disk to another - useful for upgrading a hard disk or replacing a failing one - or create a fresh backup. Backups are made based on the type of files you want to include. You can choose to back up an entire hard disk, My Documents or a folder of your choice.

Backups can be stored on any media, including removable storage and even network drives. The process is quick to perform and easy to recover using Retrospect's Windows application or via recovery discs. Unfortunately it doesn't remind you if you haven't created a recovery CD, which is an important job.

It's possible to automate backups using wizard-generated scripts, which is easier than it sounds. Even so, the program feels very much like a corporate product, lacking Norton Ghost's friendliness. If you have multiple PCs, it is good value for money. Otherwise, a combination of Ghost and Microsoft Backup is better value.