CrashPlan+ Online Backup - $118.99 for 4 Years - Unlimited Backups - One Computer

[luckygold6]

This seems like a good deal, given recent move by Mozy to decommission unlimited data storage for backups, Crash Plan has a 15% discount on their CrashPlan+ Online plans? Unlimited offsite backup is generally pretty useful =).

Link to discounted plans - add to cart to get discount ( $139.99 -> $118.99 for 4 year unlimited 1 computer, you'll see this "Mozy Switcher Discount $21.00" ).
http://crashplan.com/mozyonover
or
http://b5.crashplan.com/consumer/store.vtl

They have a risk free policy allowing you to cancel anytime, so it seems to make sense to pay for 4 years to maximize your discount?
"Risk-Free, cancel any time!
Our risk-free cancellation policy will automatically credit you for the remaining unused months on any plan if you decide to cancel at any time. Don't miss out on a money-saving multi-year plan! "

[big_wake]

I already use this service. I started using this because they allow you to back-up an external hard drive while most of the others don't. Also, if you disconnect the HD, they will keep your data unless you tell them to delete it. I think most of the ones that stop seeing a drive will delete the data if it doesn't reappear within like 3 weeks or something.

I would say that only drawback is the service runs slow because it uses limited bandwidth. It probably took like a month and a half to do the initial back-up, but you do not notice it running on the computer which is nice.

[eartha]

How do you get the discount? I added the plan you mentioned to the cart, and it still shows the original price.

[luckygold6]

How do you get the discount? I added the plan you mentioned to the cart, and it still shows the original price.

Hi Eartha, you can try this link instead. Just tried again and works.

http://crashplan.com/mozyonover

[mgb2]

They have a risk free policy allowing you to cancel anytime, so it seems to make sense to pay for 4 years to maximize your discount?


Or a way to be out more money if they shut down in two years...

[Loxias]

While I haven't used their online backup service, I use the free client to backup home and work files off-site from each other. Works great and you can seed the backup to a hard drive locally before moving it off-site. You can setup as many backup locations as you'd like; useful if you have spare drive space and want to 'swap' with friends.

[fjfjfj]

While I haven't used their online backup service, I use the free client to backup home and work files off-site from each other. Works great and you can seed the backup to a hard drive locally before moving it off-site. You can setup as many backup locations as you'd like; useful if you have spare drive space and want to 'swap' with friends.

I second this. You don't need to pay CrashPlan a dime if you want to use their software to backup to someone else's computer. I have an extra TB drive on my computer, and have about 10 friends and family who use that drive as an off-site backup for their own computers. The backups are encrypted so only they can read them. Again, this is a FREE option, and a terrific one at that.

[philldo]

I hope that this means Crashplan will not join in the backup size limit trend since they are offering a discount for Mozy users unhappy with the new data cap policy.

[DealHunterEG]

Great find! I did a trial run and it works very well thus far.
I dumped Mozy after they increased my price 484%!!!! I went from $4.95 to $23.99 a month for 260GB of data. I just bought 4 years of unlimited backup for $119 which would have cost me $1,151 if I stayed with Mozy AND I didn’t add anymore data.
Either someone fell asleep at the wheel in the Mozy pricing dept or they don’t want to service customers with over 150gb of data. Either way, they lost my business.

[bjsguess]

Is it really unlimited? Any ideas on how long 11TB's would take to back up?

[daveinpb]

I was just looking for a backup provider for my family and researched about 30 of them. I ended up choosing CrashPlan, and I'm really happy with it. I was doing the trial and was just about to pay for the 4 year family plan, but checked SlickDeals first and sure enough, here's a discount. Thanks luckygold6!

The things I already like about CrashPlan:

unlimited data, no bandwidth throttling
very reasonably priced plan for up to 10 computers
excellent data retention policy (they keep old versions and deleted files forever) and fully configurable
backs up external USB drives, and keeps the data even if the drive is unplugged
the program will also save the backup to an external USB drive, another computer, or friend's computer
higher security, with the option to create my own public/private encryption key
user interface is nice, and works the same on our Mac and PCs
restore feature is accessible both in the program and on the website
filename exclusion using regular expressions
network bandwidth and CPU throttling is configurable based on whether I'm using the computer

Also, if you disconnect the HD, they will keep your data unless you tell them to delete it.
I completely agree, the data retention policy is a biggie. Most of the other companies seem anxious to delete your files. BackBlaze, for example, will backup an external USB drive; but if for some reason you go 30 days without plugging it in, they'll delete the files. They describe a workaround in their help section that doesn't make me confident. In contrast, CrashPlan will keep those files indefinitely. This really is what sealed it for me.
I would say that only drawback is the service runs slow because it uses limited bandwidth.
Actually this is configurable under Settings > Network, "Limit sending rate when away/present to: [x] Mbps".

[cyrnel]

Great service. The only thing I didn't like about their software was its inability to backup to network volumes.

[vipervin]

This looks like a solid "backup" service. But I think the TrendMicro SafeSync offers more in terms of features... unlimited backup and access to your files through their web interface.

[daveinpb]

Great service. The only thing I didn't like about their software was its inability to backup to network volumes.
I was just reading about this in their FAQ (http://support.crashplan.com/doku.php/recipe/back_up_windows_mapped_drives). Apparently it's a limitation in Windows, but there's a workaround.

[cyrnel]

I was just reading about this in their FAQ (http://support.crashplan.com/doku.php/recipe/back_up_windows_mapped_drives). Apparently it's a limitation in Windows, but there's a workaround.

I've see their standard response. Windows limitation? That's nonsense. Even the UI for that is built into Windows. Their work-around is gory and I'd guess they like it that way to keep people from backing up huge network shares. The better fix would be to allow backing up TO network shares but not allow backing those shares up to crashplan's unlimited accounts. Separate the specs for sources and destinations. Otherwise the program and user interface are quite nice.

[expandingman]

Lol, I initially read the title as "CrashPlane"

[billyblue]

Thanks! My WHS is backing up as I type.

[daveinpb]

Windows limitation? That's nonsense.
While I'm sure you're correct, their description is technically sound. As a programmer, I've actually run into this same (similar) situation a couple times:

Trying to store a SQL Server backup on a network drive, I found that SQL Server won't see the drive. Instead I had to set up a separate task to copy the files to the other computer.
Trying to access a virtual drive (created using the DOS "subst" command) in a system service I was writing, I found it was not possible.

(Sorry for getting too technical.) By the way, it looks like the software will install on a Windows Server.

[dayv]

Is it really unlimited? Any ideas on how long 11TB's would take to back up?
depends on your connection, anywhere from an hour to a year.

[MOkoFOko]

bah, this seem like a ripoff to me. I'd rather just buy external drives for backup. But if you feel safe having your data floating around on the web, so be it :D

[krystofr]

I want to backup my laptop, plus the home movies I have on an ext. hard drive. Do you know if the "1 computer plan" will work for me, or am I going to be viewed as 2 computers because there's 2 hard drives?

[enzeno]

As long as they are two drives attached to the same computer, you can back both up as one computer.

[Napegator]

Thank you I had been looking for something. Like this for home

[clicq]

This offer is good until Feb. 15: http://support.crashplan.com/doku.php/faq/mozy#is_there_special_pricing_for_mozy_users

Sadly, the discount doesn't seem to work for current subscribers looking to renew :(.

I've been using it for the past year, and it's been great.

[philldo]

I want to backup my laptop, plus the home movies I have on an ext. hard drive. Do you know if the "1 computer plan" will work for me, or am I going to be viewed as 2 computers because there's 2 hard drives?
1 plan will cover you

[iamaven]

Their FAQ has a couple points that would interest some here, like that you can speed up the backup bandwidth and the plans renew at regular prices, not the discount price

Another nice option, though at $124 I wouldn't bite, is to copy files to a hard drive they send you and then send it back and they seed your backup so you don't need to wait weeks for file transfers.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
How does CrashPlan+ compare to Mozy?

CrashPlan has several unique features:

*
You can back up to local hard drives, to other computers on your network, to friends' computers, in addition to our online destination, CrashPlan Central.
*
Your data can be backed up as often as every minute, for unprecedented protection.
*
You can restore your files from the CrashPlan desktop or from any Internet browser.
*
CrashPlan products work equally well on Windows, Mac, Linux and Solaris.
*
CrashPlan+ is based on the enterprise-grade technology of CrashPlan PRO, which is used by some of the world's leading technology companies to protect their data.
*
Until you tell us differently, deleted files are available to be restored forever.

Is there special pricing for Mozy users?

Yes. Through Feb 15, 2011, you can get a 15% discount on any CrashPlan subscription here: www.crashplan.com/mozyonover

NOTE: This offer is a one-time discount. Your subscription will renew at regular price.
Can I speed up my backup?

Yes. So that CrashPlan does not slow you down while you're working, its resources are limited by default. However, there are a couple of settings you can change to speed things up a bit. How can I speed up my backup?

[Merconium]

Thanks! My WHS is backing up as I type.
So the WHS counts as the "1 computer?" I may do this if someone can confirm.

[billyblue]

So the WHS counts as the "1 computer?" I may do this if someone can confirm.
It sure does. Basically, you get to have one CrashPlan backup client running. My house backs up to my WHS, my WHS backs up to CrashPlan. Perfect.

[Merconium]

Did you do that UNC hack for the shares, or merely tell it to backup D:\shares?

Are you using something like BDBB to create backups of your backups? That's what I'm most interested in.

[billyblue]

Did you do that UNC hack for the shares, or merely tell it to backup D:\shares?

Are you using something like BDBB to create backups of your backups? That's what I'm most interested in.
I thought about doing the UNC hack for about 10 seconds last night and then just gave it my D:\shares. I'm just setting up things properly, including my WHS. So far, I haven't cared about BDBB or the server itself. It would be great if WHS cared about itself automagically like it cares about the computers on your network.

[Merconium]

I thought about doing the UNC hack for about 10 seconds last night and then just gave it my D:\shares. I'm just setting up things properly, including my WHS. So far, I haven't cared about BDBB or the server itself. It would be great if WHS cared about itself automagically like it cares about the computers on your network.

Thanks for the feedback. Rep'd!

[TheMouse]

^ Have you guys used WHS 2011? It cares about itself.

[billyblue]

^ Have you guys used WHS 2011? It cares about itself.
For me, the reason to use WHS is drive extender. Without it, it's no better than any other file server.

[illimiter]

It sure does. Basically, you get to have one CrashPlan backup client running. My house backs up to my WHS, my WHS backs up to CrashPlan. Perfect.

With this setup, your other machines will have backups on the WHS, but they wouldn't have any off-site backups. Only the data on the WHS shares would be backed up off-site.

I thought about doing the UNC hack for about 10 seconds last night and then just gave it my D:\shares. I'm just setting up things properly, including my WHS. So far, I haven't cared about BDBB or the server itself. It would be great if WHS cared about itself automagically like it cares about the computers on your network.

The WHS docs actually say that you shouldn't access the shared files via the D: drive... are you concerned about that at all? I imagine that if you use Drive Extender mirroring it could cause some complications....

[billyblue]

With this setup, your other machines will have backups on the WHS, but they wouldn't have any off-site backups. Only the data on the WHS shares would be backed up off-site.
My most important data is in d:\shares. It's gonna take it a month or more to back that all up. I want to get that done first. My primary reason to have offsite backup is for fire, flood, or whatever else might destroy my site. If that happens, I'm probably gonna need new hardware for each workstation anyway. So the computer backups aren't gonna be that important.
The WHS docs actually say that you shouldn't access the shared files via the D: drive... are you concerned about that at all? I imagine that if you use Drive Extender mirroring it could cause some complications....The docs also tell you not to RDP into the server. I suspect that if you didn't know what you were doing it would be pretty easy to mess things up that way. The same goes for the file system. Since CrashPlan is presumably only reading the files, I expect that it's pretty safe.

[likesaving]

Thanks, was just looking into this type of service and for that price it is amazing.

[iamaven]

While I'm sure you're correct, their description is technically sound. As a programmer, I've actually run into this same (similar) situation a couple times:

Trying to store a SQL Server backup on a network drive, I found that SQL Server won't see the drive. Instead I had to set up a separate task to copy the files to the other computer.
Trying to access a virtual drive (created using the DOS "subst" command) in a system service I was writing, I found it was not possible.

(Sorry for getting too technical.) By the way, it looks like the software will install on a Windows Server.

I signed up, installed on windows server 2008 R2, and used the following workaround since I didn't like the one they provided. I think Vista and Windows 7 both include mklink also so this could be used there too.

I created a directory on my c:\ drive and just made symbolic links to my network shares. I have a scheduled task that runs every hour and at startup to ensure these remain if there happens to be a network hiccup or I need to reboot. This worked out nicely and was much less messy. Plus it has the added benefit that I can modify the batch file at anytime to add more shares and don't need to reconfigure the crashplan software since I have it backing up the whole folder. I do have the scheduled task running under the "system" account since that is the account that needs access to the files. I think you might be able to change the crashplan service to run under another account if needed, but I didn't try playing with that.

net use \\servername\share1
mklink /d C:\VirtualBackupStore\share1 \\servername\share1

net use \\servername\share2
mklink /d C:\VirtualBackupStore\share2 \\servername\share2

[wt9g]

This looks like a solid "backup" service. But I think the TrendMicro SafeSync offers more in terms of features... unlimited backup and access to your files through their web interface.

FYI, CrashPlan offers both of these features.

[vipervin]

FYI, CrashPlan offers both of these features.
Where does it say that? I looked through their whole site and couldn't find anything about access your files like if it was a remote drive. This service seems to just be a backup and restore only.

[wt9g]

Where does it say that? I looked through their whole site and couldn't find anything about access your files like if it was a remote drive. This service seems to just be a backup and restore only.

I misunderestimated what you meant by "access to your files through their web interface" -- to me that meant accessing your backed up files through a web UI, which you can with CrashPlan. You can not mount your backup as a remote drive that I know of; I think you are correct there.

CrashPlan does offer unlimited backup like many other folks do.

[likesaving]

Thanks again OP, doing an online backup now. Quick question, I have about 120 gig of family pictures, HD videos, music, etc., to backup. I have Bright House and worried if I am going to go over any upload cap or limit restrictions. Has anyone had any experience with backing up large amounts of data over the internet and any ISP restrictions?

[echostorm]

Wha! I signed into Mozy today and just found the news. Cancelling them as they want HUNDREDS for my hitero $4 a month backup fee -- Saw this but I'm not seeing the discount right now, true?

[bigdaddyat]

I signed up with Crash Plan and then found out they have "known issues".

There were two key issues with the service. The most important one involved an unexplained delay in backing up files. This service supposedly backs up newly changed/saved files right away.

Well, it didn't. It took several hours later to initiate the back up. Then, it continually gave Outlook .pst files precedence. Maybe not a big deal to some, but the point of a backup is to minimize data loss.

Anyway, I contacted their support. They wanted me to take hours of time to help them troubleshoot the issue.

This is beta software. I'd suggest finding a service that works without the expending your own time.

[RichTJ99]

Excellent idea!
I signed up, installed on windows server 2008 R2, and used the following workaround since I didn't like the one they provided. I think Vista and Windows 7 both include mklink also so this could be used there too.

I created a directory on my c:\ drive and just made symbolic links to my network shares. I have a scheduled task that runs every hour and at startup to ensure these remain if there happens to be a network hiccup or I need to reboot. This worked out nicely and was much less messy. Plus it has the added benefit that I can modify the batch file at anytime to add more shares and don't need to reconfigure the crashplan software since I have it backing up the whole folder. I do have the scheduled task running under the "system" account since that is the account that needs access to the files. I think you might be able to change the crashplan service to run under another account if needed, but I didn't try playing with that.

net use \\servername\share1
mklink /d C:\VirtualBackupStore\share1 \\servername\share1

net use \\servername\share2
mklink /d C:\VirtualBackupStore\share2 \\servername\share2