Some years ago Dell started offering a feature called Dell DataSafe as a software preinstalled on some of their consumer product lines. At that time Dell allowed customers to add their own data to a Ghost PC Restore image already included on a hard drive partition.
However customers were not able to burn the image or access the partition to make a real backup, therefore a hard drive failure still had the same negative impact.
Dell then re-launched this feature as a service and added a real backup functionality including remote storage. Renamed as “Dell DataSafe Online” the feature was offered as a preinstalled software and web service for selected systems (XPS and Vostro) offering from 3 GB (for Vostro) up to 10 GB (for XPS) online storage at no additional cost for a 12 months period.
Also, Dell launched a post point of sale option for customers that won't mind paying for more online space up to 30 GB, on a 12 months period, purchase can be done through www.dell.com/datasafe portal or by phone.
Before customers can start using the service, they should activate it using the icon on the desktop or on the program folder from the start menu, customer need to provide their Dell order number. If hard drive has been reformated before product activation, customer can download the program for Dell website (requires to contact a phone agent to provide the direct download link)
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The process can be completed on some easy steps:
Back up
Customer can make a scheduled backup plan or run a manual backup from the program interface. more
The default start time for online backup is weekly from 4:00 AM to 10:00 AM on the same day the program was first run. Data to be included in the default online backup is as follows:
Files in Vista Documents & Picture folders or XP My Documents folder
E-mail, calendar, address book, favorites, etc.
Photos
Financial Data
On its first run, a Backup Home screen informs the user that a default plan has been created and provides the opportunity to modify, immediately run, or cancel the plan as well as learn more about DataSafe.
Options to backup files includes select a data center or which files will be backed up from a list of categories, some of them are:
Desktop
Document Folders
Digital Photos
Music
Graphics and Images
Video
Ms Office Files
Compressed Files
Adobe Acrobat Files
Outlook Files
Outlook Express Files
Others
Important: Dell DataSafe doesnt provide incremental backups, which means that you can only recover the last backup you made, it will ovewrite the previously uploaded backup.
Restore
In case of disaster, customers can restore their information, reinstalling the operating system (Only Xp and Vista supported) and then the application or through the website . After logging in with the previously activated account and selecting "Restore" the data will be downloaded.
Customers can also use the online service to share or download their data on other PCs
Security and Privacy
Dell DataSafe Online uses Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) 256-bit encryption to protect your data and it also uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) 128-bit to protect the transmission of your data to the data centers.
Once the subscription end, Dell will proceed to delete all files on their data servers and close customer account. Customers should be aware of their service expiration contract to avoid loosing their data.
Bottom Line
A highly recommended 1 year free service for Home users, scalable for small business through the Commercial Expansion Plans
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