Customer Support’s Ten Most Wanted - Part 1

Customer Support's
Ten Most Wanted


Part 2 / Part 3 / Part 4

In Carbonite’s Customer Support department, we answer thousands of questions each week, and many folks want to know the same things. I’ve compiled a list of the top ten questions we receive most often and the best (general) answers we can give. These answers are specific to Carbonite Version 3.5. (If you’re on an earlier version, log into your account and reinstall Carbonite to get the latest version.) Given the length of some of the answers, I have decided to turn this into a multi-part post. And so, without any further ado...

1. What operating systems does Carbonite support, and what new ones are planned for support in the future?

Right now, Carbonite runs on Windows XP and Windows Vista. We’re just a few months away from our Macintosh version’s release. We didn’t develop for nor test on Windows Server 2003 or Windows Small Business Server, but most folks using those operating systems run Carbonite just fine – we just recommend that you first install a trial, back some files up, and test restoring them to make sure that your Windows Server configuration is compatible with Carbonite. We’re working on a small business edition of Carbonite due for release later this year that will support some Windows Server operating systems. Carbonite doesn’t work on Windows 2000, versions of Windows prior to XP (such as Windows 98 or Windows ME), or Linux.

2. What do the different colored dots mean?





  • A green dot on a file indicates that the file is selected for backup, and that the backup of that file is up-to-date.
  • A yellow dot on a file indicates that the file is selected for backup, but is out-of-date and awaiting backup. (Note: the yellow dots look orange on some screens.)
  • A green dot on a folder indicates that everything within that folder is selected for backup, and that the backups are up-to-date for all of the selected items within that folder.
  • A yellow dot on a folder indicates that one or more items within that folder are selected for backup, but that the backup for one or more items within that folder is out-of-date and is awaiting backup.
  • A green dot with a hole in the center (a "donut") on a folder indicates that not everything within that folder is selected for backup, but that the backups are up to date for all of the items that are selected for backup.
  • No dot on a file means that the file is not selected for backup.
  • No dot on a folder means that nothing within that folder (nor the folder itself) is selected for backup.

To be continued...


Len

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Comments

November 16. 2008 22:43

Alan Fishburn

As a lifelong and dedicated Mac user (my wife and I have three units) I can not wait for the release of the Mac version of Carbonite. It will relieve us of many worries. Please let us know the intended date of release, as we will, surely, be one of the first Mac users to sign up for your service.
Thank you
Alan and Connie Fishburn
Nebraska

Alan Fishburn

November 18. 2008 11:27

Alison

Hi Alan,

We're glad to hear that you are eagerly awaiting the release of our Mac product. The product is currently in beta testing. I will email you directly and send you an invite in case you and your wife are interested in testing/using the Mac product before it is available for general release.

Alison

Alison

December 6. 2008 23:01

Raymond Woodson

Please add me to your list for the Mac version of Carbonite release date. I also am interested in testing/using the Mac product before it is available for general release. Thanks.

Raymond Woodson

December 8. 2008 15:49

Silvia

Eagerly waiting for Mac version. Leo Laporte directed me to you, I already emailed the company to notify me... how long is there to still wait?

Silvia

December 11. 2008 14:29

Alison

Raymond and Silvia,

Carbonite for Mac has just gone into Beta 3. If you'd like to use it/test it before it is available for general release, you can download the beta product at beta.carbonite.com/mac. We expect it to come out of beta and be generally available in the first few months of 2009.

Thanks,
Alison

Alison

January 12. 2009 11:12

Andy

Any word on a future Linux release? I am sure many people have queried for this.

Andy

January 14. 2009 11:46

Len Pallazola

Hi Andy,

Right now our focus is on finishing up our Mac version. Once that project is released, we'll be able to take a step back and determine which operating systems we may want to support in the future.

Sincerely,

Len Pallazola
Manager, Customer Service Systems
Carbonite, Inc.
www.carbonite.com

Len Pallazola

February 14. 2009 22:38

Dale Sherwood

I am looking for a secure online backup solution that will work with this configuration: An Intel iMac computer hosting a virtual Windows XP computer. Specifically:
* iMac, 2.15 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, Mac OS X v10.4.11, 3 GB RAM
* Parallels Desktop 4.0 for Mac, hosting Windows XP Home Edition, v2002 SP2

I don't know what to expect here. Clearly, Carbonite for Mac would be able to backup all files on the Mac HD, including those that constitute the virtual machine hard drives. However, Parallels Desktop 4.0 stores the virtual machine in a single "bundle" file, which is currently 15 GB in size. So I'm thinking that if I change even 1 byte of data on a Windows hard disk, then Carbonite for Mac would begin backup of the entire 15 GB virtual machine bundle file. This could take many hours. Of course, while Windows is running, many files on its system disk are continually changing, so how will that affect the backup?

I know one solution: Purchase and install both the Mac and Windows versions of Carbonite, just as I would need to if I had two physical computers. I can probably exclude the virtual machine bundle file from the Mac backup, and let the Windows backup handle that. The fly in the ointment: The bundle file contains more than just the virtual disks--it also includes various Parallels configuration files, which would not be backed up.

From my standpoint, a better solution would be Carbonite for Mac that is integrated with Parallels Desktop. Parallels mounts the virtual Windows hard disks (e.g., as /private/tmp/458/C) and puts icons on my Mac desktop that I can use in Finder just like any other mounted drive. So, in theory, Carbonite could provide backup for those files as well.

What do you suggest?

Dale Sherwood

September 7. 2009 11:48

Jeff Ptak

Windows 7! Please release a version ASAP that is compatible with Windows 7.

Jeff Ptak

Comments are closed