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, here's part 3:

6. Can I back up my USB external drive? How about my network drive?

At present, Carbonite only backs up local, internal hard drives. It will not back up network drives, external drives, and NAS (network accessed storage) drives. In the near future, we will release a version of Carbonite that supports USB external drives.

7. Can I schedule Carbonite to back up just at certain times?

You sure can! Just double-click on the Carbonite Lock icon in your system tray by your computer’s clock) and select Set Options, and then click Backup Schedule. You can then select the desired times that you would like to back up, or the times that you would not like to back up. By default, Carbonite backs up your system automatically when you add or change files, so you don’t need to set up a schedule at all.

8. How can I view the progress of my backup in more detail than just the percent bar?

Carbonite’s History view can show you exactly which files have been backed up or restored. Hold down the right shift key on your keyboard while you click the Carbonite Lock icon, and select View History. Change the display type to Detail, and you can view a complete log of Carbonite’s backup and restore activity.

To be continued...

— Len