5. Auto-Backup

Western Digital’s WD Anywhere automated backup software, formerly branded by Memeo, is an extremely elegant “set-it-and-forget-it” option for PC users, and pre-Leopard OS Mac users. It probably isn’t very useful for those running Leopard, since Apple has limited NAS device functionality to its Time Machine compatible NAS drive called Time Capsule, for now. I wouldn’t suggest that a Mac Leopard user use another automated backup system beyond Time Machine, so WD Anywhere wouldn’t do much for these users unless it worked with Time Machine. There are ways to get any NAS device working with Time Machine, but these tricky methods are not for the faint of heart.

For the rest of us, the software installation disc that comes with the World Edition includes WD Anywhere Backup Software that begins by placing an icon on your desktop and taskbar, and scanning your network for a WD storage device (mine found the World Edition Instantly). Note: WD Anywhere has been provided by the company as backup software for storage devices in the past, but usually on a subscription basis, or tied to a hard-to-find product key. With the World Edition, this software just works and won’t expire.

After finding my drive, the software begins the process of customizing your backup plan, and tells you which files will be omitted by default (temporary, program, virtual, log and system files—mostly). WD Anywhere runs in the background (so as not to consume system resources) unless otherwise specified. After selecting a backup location (creating a folder for each particular computer on your network), I selected exactly which files I wanted to back up on from each computer. These are “Smart Picks.”

The computer I was most concerned with backing up was my MacBook. It has been my personal at-home computer for nearly three years, and with its puny 60GB hard drive, I desperately needed to offload its contents to a secure location. Trust me—Western Digital’s auto-backup tool isn’t the first I’ve tried. Since I’m not running Leopard, I can’t use Time Machine. But, as I’ve learned the hard way, very few third-party auto backup companies understand OSX’s file structure, especially when it comes to file extensions like Apple’s iPhotofiles.

I was thrilled, then, when WD’s scan of my system revealed that it had found more than 40 GB of files to back up—that meant WD had located my thousands of iPhoto files and knew just where they were hiding on my system.

Once I set the backup process in motion on the MacBook, the software alerted me that it would take about 30 hours to complete the initial full backup. Whoa, you’re thinking, 30 hours is a ridiculously long amount of time. Yes, and no. When I backed up this computer via USB 2.0, it took 5 hours. But this time the backup took place over WiFi. It did take a full 30 hours to complete, but because of the security I feel with WD’s Anywhere backup software, and the ease with which I can restore any missing file (because WD replicates my computer’s file and folder structure, I can find anything I’ve lost very quickly), I don’t think I paid too high a price in total backup time. As WD Anywhere has continued to back up new files I’ve created or modified since the original backup, I have not noticed the software’s presence, running in the background.