Fastback Plus. (backup software) (evaluation)
by Richard Rapp

Let's face it; most of us don't back up our hard drives as often as we should. We see it as a tedious, time-consuming, and generally unpleasant experience. But thanks to the award-winning Fastback Plus, this doesn't have to be true.

Fastback Plus included a host of features, such as support for floppy, tape, and removable drives, as well as multiple hard drives. Advanced data compression, error detection, incremental and differential backups, and automatic disk formating make backup chores less onerous and more rewarding. A macro facility allows you to automate your backups. The only major features missing from Fastback Plus are disk image backups and LAN support. The omission of disk image backups, used most often when saving data to a streaming tape drive, seems odd considering the wealth of options you're offered in other areas of the program.

Be that as it may, Fastback Plus offers the average user more than enough choices. The data compression option allows you to choose between minimizing either the number of disks used or the amount of time used to perform the compression. The macro facility is extensive enough for all but the most demanding backups, and you can even choose between the original command line interface or the new point-and-click one. This allows users of the original Fastback to upgrade to the new package without having to rewrite their existing macros and batch files.

You are buying a well-conceived package when you pick up Fastback Plus. The Fastback Plus manual offers advice on developing a regular backup regimen and explains the program's features in understandable terms. You can choose from a multitude of options and, most importantly, Fastback Plus is fast. So unless you need specialized features such as disk image backups or LAN support, Fastback Plus is the program to make hard drive failure a temporary condition at worst.