CyberLink PowerBackup 2.5 Review: Excellent Backup Software
Introduction
CyberLink PowerBackup 2.5 does what it’s supposed to do and more. I have had mixed experiences with backup software in the past, but CyberLink PowerBackup 2.5 proved to be an exceptional software offering. With a variety of options including a scheduler, file filtering, differential backups, and more, PowerBackup 2.5 has just about every feature that backup software should include. PowerBackup 2.5’s ability to chunk backups into different sizes, allowing large backups to be split into CD-size files, for example, is a very useful feature. For some reason that feature is missing in many other backup programs, including Windows File & Settings Transfer. The only area in which this software is weak is in transferring application data, which makes it less effective for transferring settings from one PC to another. CyberLink PowerBackup 2.5 is also lacking online backup capabilities. [See image 1]
Installation & Setup (4 out of 5)
The installation of CyberLink PowerBackup 2.5 was quick and easy. A restart wasn’t required.
User Interface (5 out of 5)
CyberLink PowerBackup 2.5 has a well laid out, sleek interface which makes it easy to select the type of data backup you want, from a variety of options.
Product Features (5 out of 5)
CyberLink PowerBackup 2.5 has a wide variety of features. It offers three types of backups, allowing you to backup all the selected files or just files that have been added or modified since the last full or partial backup (a compare tool also lets you check what differences there are between your current files and your existing backups). There is also a filter tool that lets you just back up certain types of files, such as images or Word documents, or exclude file types you don’t want backed up. [See image 2]
PowerBackup 2.5 also lets you chunk your files according to how you are going to store them. Therefore, the backup can be split into CD-, DVD-, or HD-DVD-size files (there is also a custom option, so the file can be broken into very small chunks, which is useful for some online backups). Backups can also be made directly to CD, which can save time with large backups. With the restore tool, backups can also be stored as an executable file, so that PowerBackup 2.5 isn’t needed to restore. With other features like password protection, detailed reporting, different levels of compression, a scheduler, and even options to deal with disks that already contain data, PowerBackup has almost everything you need to back up your data. [See image 3]
Performance (5 out of 5)
CyberLink PowerBackup 2.5 ran faster than any other backup software I have used, backing up a 1.5 gigabyte file in a matter of minutes with quick compression. The restore was even faster.
Security & Privacy (5 out of 5)
There is a password option to prevent unwanted access. When the file is loaded it does not show the file names until after the password has been entered.
Help & Support (4 out of 5)
The help included in CyberLink PowerBackup 2.5 is adequate and there is a lot of supplementary material on CyberLink’s website.
Price to Value (4 out of 5)
CyberLink PowerBackup 2.5 could be the only piece of software you ever need for data backup, and it’s reasonably priced. The purchase price also includes free online technical support, a free burning program, and other extras. It would be a better value if it included more options to transfer application settings from computer to computer as well as the option to backup directly to an online location.
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Suggested Features
The application data backup section was weak because it can only transfer Outlook and Explorer data. While this is technically for PC transfer, and not for backing up files, the options to do this with any application would improve the software. [See image 4] There was no option to back up directly to an online location, which would also be useful in some circumstances.
Conclusion
CyberLink’s PowerBackup 2.5 does everything that just about anyone needs to back up data. With scheduling, file filters, file chunking, and its other options, it is a versatile program that makes it easy to secure important files.
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