Backup

Awards

Brad Pedersen, System Administrator

I find that most backup providers out there like to overload their programs with stuff I will never use. Yours is simple, keep it that way. Argentum Backup is a very well designed program and works flawlessly. I never even looked for a competitive product because I was so impressed with the user interface. Fits anyone, a must have for everyone!

Lars Mortensen, Technical Manager

The main feature of Argentum Backup that made me hot for it, is that it's easy to use! And the idea of using ZIP format is brilliant. The ease of use is important as the end-user who now uses this program and whom I support is not a geek :) I was in a hurry and it was a small file that was downloaded in short time. It was also easy to install and from my point of view kinda self-explanatory. Nice guide... In fact I registered within 5 minutes after trying it out.

Stephen Baldwin, Marketing Engineer

I found your backup software on the Internet. I was just looking for a real simple utility that I could schedule to dump files (Outlook database, My Documents, etc) to a small file server I use as backup. Seems to work just great.

Bert Townes

It's very rare that I take the time to write a compliment in regard to software, but in this case, I think it's appropriate. Argentum Backup is a program that too many of us have been waiting for. Most backup programs on the market today use proprietary code, which limits you to having the backup program loaded to restore your data. With Argentum Backup, the only thing you need loaded is WinZip (or any other Zip compatible program) to restore your data. The interface in Argentum Backup isn't cluttered, and is very simple to understand. The program appears to be very fast as well. Although I have some suggestions in mind for future releases, Argentum Backup appears to be a very fine product!

Toine Khonraad

We have a production environment that consists of multiple servers. We need to backup files, sources and other stuff every now and then, but doing this manually has proven to be something we tend to forget. We need some way of going back to earlier backup states in case something went wrong. Your program is able to do that all. It is relatively cheap and looks fine. If only all Windows programs were alike :)

Jimmy Traylor

This is one of the simplest usable backup programs created in years. Keep up the good work.

Ron Gittleman

Basically, I wanted to be able to specify folders and files to be backed up, the backup destination, and that compression be used. I did not need something that watches for modified files etc. I tried the demo and it was exactly what I was looking for, the price was right and the rest is history.

David Dala

Argentum Backup was found on Download.com when searching for a personal backup facility. I have tried five others before deciding on Argentum Backup, because it is: 1) as fast and as simple to use as possible, 2) yet still has advanced features available if required, 3) retains catalogue of jobs in easily accessible format, 4) the biggest plus of all - uses standard Zip files which means easy recovery even if backup tool not available. Regards.

Carlos Rivera

The main thing is ease of use. I could do the same thing by writing batch files using PowerArchiver or WinZip, but your program is very easy to use and handles the Zip compression very easily. I don't have to bother with changing the batch files whenever I want to add or delete files. Your product has one purpose and it does it extremely well.

Bruce Wilkinson, Systems Provider

Ultra simple user interface for clients that have no capacity to understand the need for backup. If it is this simple they can do it. This combined with an easy to use setup makes it very usable for me as a systems provider. A very tasteful design (and this is not a small feature to me). Ugly software and bad design has driven me from many products. I do not find it comforting or stimulating to work in front of a rotting compost and I find it even less so faced with bad art and tasteless design in software. Life has too little art. Thank you for your contribution.

William Ball

I did many Internet searches, downloading several different backup software. So far yours seems to be the best in ease of use and applies exactly to what I need. The interface is simple and is fast in setup time and execution time.

Bill Wright

Thank you for your prompt attention. I look forward to the next release. I am very impressed and pleased with your backup software package. It was by accident I ran across it in ZdNet downloads. I read the review and thought "This is just what I want, and presently do manually. This I will buy." I installed it, and it ran just perfect, and without a whole lot for setup. Thanks again for developing this product.

Tibor Kornyei, Translator

I have tried six or seven other backup programs before choosing yours. Argentum Backup contains all the features I need, not more, and it is very user-friendly. The interface is well thought out, one of the best I have ever seen. Thanks for developing this nice program.

Robert Cunningham

Ever since my wife and kids started using my computer I needed a backup program that is reliable, automatic and easy to use. I downloaded many many of backup programs and tried them all. All in all Argentum Backup is a perfect program for me and in my opinion an overall outstanding program. I have told all my friends about it and gave a lot of them the demo to evaluate on their own.

Fernand Ouellette

One of the best things I liked about Argentum Backup was that it simply creates a Zip file. It doesn't use a file format that may not be compatible with other machines or that requires software from the Iomega, etc. For example, if my home computer crashed and I was using Microsoft Backup for Windows 98, I couldn't open the files at work while my home computer was being repaired, since my PC at work uses Windows NT, which isn't compatible with Microsoft Backup for Windows 98. In short, I like the fact that it uses a format I can quickly open on any machine without trying to find and load software. Great, simple, intuitive product. Thanks.

Werner Reitboeck

Argentum Backup uses Zip files rather than proprietary file formats, like Veritas Backup does. I have Veritas Backup, but if your hard disk fries you need to install it first in order to restore files. Veritas Backup is fine if you just lose some files and want to install them... So your program is an extra security for me.

David Lindenberg, DV Cape Consulting

I found your software after searching the Internet for backup software. I downloaded a number of demo's and after evaluating most of them decided on Argentum Backup. The main reason for deciding on your software was the ease of use and being able to schedule backups to write onto CD at a later stage. With our exchange rate at 11 in local currency to $1 USD, price was also a consideration and your software was found to be the best value for money.

Anthony Game

I tried it and loved it at once. I liked the pared-down nature of the concept and the obviously tight coding which one so seldom sees now. It felt like old assembler coding used to feel and the slim use of resources meant that I could leave it running to schedule without concern about slowing other things down. I have suggested it to several other people and I shall continue to praise your program of course.

Jim Publow, High School Instructor

I recently had my personal computer at my work place crash. The HDD started to get hot and I think that it just burned out. Anyway, to make a long story short, it took me over 40 hours of manipulating files through DOS to recover my data. Boy was I wishing that I had a backup of this valuable data. Like all things normal, I found the reference to your backup software after I had spent all this time getting my files back the roundabout way.

So when I tried your software at home on a trial basis and saw how easy it was to back up my data files and any others I thought that this is an inexpensive way to keep my sanity. I am very glad that I purchased the license. My only hope is that I will be able to install and use the software on my school computer that has to be repartitioned, reformatted, and re-OS'ed to make it functional again. Thanks for a fine product that for me comes a little too late but will save me in the future, I am quite sure.

Ann Barnes

It was so simple, so small, and so very basic that even the user I want to be in charge of it at my former work site can do it!

Jan Pniewski

After trying loads of backup software on the Internet, yours was the only software that fulfilled our requirements and didn't keep crashing.

Balazs Fejes

I really like your product, it works reliably in the background, the Zip file format is very easy to handle, and it does not eat up a lot of resources.

Frederick Siegmund

I recently purchased a new computer with Windows XP Home Edition installed. Microsoft chose not to include a backup program with that Home Edition. I went on the Internet to look for a backup program that suited my needs. Your short description of the program got my attention so I clicked the link to a more detailed description and was still interested after reading that description.

The small size of your program made it easy to download on a dial-up connection so I gave it a try and it was easy to use and gave me what I was looking for plus some additional features. All I wanted was a way to backup the files that I have created or added to my computer. I don't backup programs that I can reinstall if something goes wrong. Windows XP Home Edition users will be looking for a way to backup. If you can find them or they can find you most users would find your program perfect for them.

Joe Messman

Thanks for your help. I have recommended your program to several other people in the past. They are quite pleased and so am I. Now when I contact them I will tell them that you provide support also. Customer service is easy when everything with the product is performing as expected. It's how you perform when there are issues that counts.

Settimio Nenna

Just wanted to drop you a note to thank you for producing a fine product. I had been using a backup utility called Safetynet Pro for many years. I had selected it specifically for its ability to do "File Copy" format backups. I use a removable hard drive for my backups, and I want the files to be useable without having to go through a "Restore" process. I upgraded my computer to Windows 2000 Pro, and found that Safetynet Pro no longer functioned properly.

I searched Simtel.net and found your program. It was the first one I tried from their list of backup utilities, and was delighted with the results. Although the program was able to meet my particular needs without benefit of registration, as a small business owner I felt compelled to register it out of respect for your efforts. Thanks again.

Henry Clymer

As you know, the backup utility in Windows XP Pro is clumsy, prone to unpredictable errors, and not usable across different platforms. I spent almost half a day on the Internet yesterday testing different backup programs and comparing prices and features. I became aware of Argentum Backup 1.8 from the ZDNet Downloads site. Even though I was pissed that the best features were blocked from the trial version, I knew I had to have it because of its simplicity, speed, and elegant interface. Compared to the trash offered by others, $25 is a bargain for this application! Best regards.

Rob Buurveld

Can't remember where I found Backup, was browsing for a backup program and found yours. I like it because it's simple but does the job, making backups without me having to go through all kinds of stupid options I never use anyway. I like the user interface, nice and simple. The only option I miss is a log-file so I can easily check when I made which backup. Other than that it's a great program.

Bill McGrath

I especially like just answering a series of questions with the "Next>" button. You can be working the software without even reading the manual. Plus the interface is very neat and crisp.

Valeska Hermanson

We are a small law firm in Williston, North Dakota, with six attorneys. I am the attorney responsible for managing our computer system. We had been using a server with a tape backup for many years. When our server broke down in May, we had a backup from the day before, but had no way of using the information. Our computer people had to rebuild the server enough to access the information off the tape, which took over two weeks. In the meantime we were left with only hard copies of our client files and the forms we use. It was a disaster.

After that disaster, I was searching for a reasonably priced program which would back up our information in a usable manner, so that it could be accessed quickly by any PC in the office. I was also looking for something which would backup onto CD's. And a program which was relatively easy to use. Your program was perfect. I have been backing up all of our client information every day onto one of the PC's. With the additional licenses, I will also be performing daily backups onto CDs, which can be maintained off location in case of fire.

Roger Green

I did not have much time to test and check. Argentum Backup looked relatively simple. I took a bit of a gamble. It seems the gamble paid off. And thank you. I hope it continues as good as it looks so far.

Steve Knifton

I looked at other backup programs but I was specifically interested in finding one that did everything I needed and was easy enough for the rest of my family to use. Yours seemed the best of these! I also liked the idea of the backups being saved as simple Zip files. It certainly does everything that I needed it to do, quickly and easily. Thanks.

Brian Probyn

I was looking for a backup utility that would, ideally, work across platforms. Argentum was one of about 6 or 7 that I tried. There were only two that I tried that backed up to a standard Zip file and the other one wasn't really as user friendly as Argentum. The other product just wasn't so cute. Argentum has a simplicity and elegance which is hard to beat. Once configured, it is so easy to use. And I like the nice touch with the graphics - now he's writing, now he's not! It's just a great buy!

My only wish is that there was an equally easy to use restore facility. I know it really doesn't need one but it would save having to fire up another program, i.e. PowerArchiver or WinZip, to do the extracting thing. Thanks for writing a utility that does exactly what it is designed to do and one that works every time you use it.

Adam Barkow

I recently purchased a new 80 GB USB 2.0 external hard drive explicitly for the purpose of backing up my extensive collection of digital images, MP3 files and digital videos. I spent an entire afternoon trying out the various offerings of similar backup software solutions. Actually your product was one of the first I checked out and it very quickly made my 'short list'. Ultimately my purchase decision was based on several factors: simplicity and ease of use; sleek Outlook-like design; not bloated with useless features.

John Guthrie

I am going to use Argentum Backup in preference to NTI Backup Now! CD-RW because the latter has a proprietary file format which means you need the NTI Backup Now! program to do the restoring and I found the restoring process to be a little inflexible. I much prefer the Argentum's Zip format which means I can use one of several programs to do the restore. I like the ease of defining a task.

Finally, I am 61 years old and have been ripped off several times in this long life (and probably even more times that I don't know about) and hence I firmly believe in and support the shareware principle. Thank you for letting me try before I buy. I wish you all a happy and successful New Year.

Klaus Grehl

I first read about Argentum Backup on the Internet when I was searching for a suitable backup software. I tried various programs most of which were not working properly on my computer. I wanted to be able to back up to CD-RW disks on my Cyber Drive CW058D. I was also attracted to the utter simplicity of Argentum Backup and the fact that it creates Zip files which are easy to handle. So far I have not found any limitations which would bother me. It seems to do all that is required to safely back up and restore all my important files.

Iain Stormont

I am evaluating backup products for some clients, but liked your trial enough to buy my own personal copy. Other products were too complicated for clients - who are not large organizations and don't care about incremental and differential backups. They want to know their files are safe and easily restorable and so do I. The fact that you do not use proprietary compression software is a real boon.

Taylor Sage

You have no idea of the headaches Argentum Backup has saved me. For years I have been meaning to remember to back up my files (in case of a disaster). I never have quite taken the time to learn how to do that. Your backup system has made it sooo easy for me and I now finally get it! I can't thank you enough. Thank you for answering my questions in such a friendly and timely fashion. You have been most helpful. Please keep me informed of any updates you may have for my program.

James Vaughan

I have just purchased Argentum Backup. I read about Argentum Backup in, I think Anchor Desk or a similar mailing some time ago, and I have been using an unregistered version for some considerable time I'm ashamed to say. I have come across it several times including in Lockergnome. Conscience prompted me to buy, together with the promise of extra speed. The things I like most are: simple and intuitive, creates good old fashioned Zip files and restore using WinZip should be easy, finds my e-mail's and address book automatically. It will be future proof. Microsoft backup programs have rarely been compatible between different operating systems. Please do not add too many new features and thus make an elegant program into an unduly complex one. Regards.

John Shreeve, Writer

I went to register a copy of Coolbase and decided to get Backup too. I really would rather buy products from one good firm - than have endless chunks of software from diverse firms. I tested it and it was easy to use. I liked the interface. I was using another backup product, but it often gave me problems. Yours is genuinely useful and easy.

James Medlicott

I have installed the new version 2.1 of your backup software. I am very pleased to confirm that my previous problem of updating existing archives has now gone completely! I can now always successfully update a large backup archive, even when my backup USB memory is almost full. Relocating the temporary files from the destination media to the host hard drive has clearly fixed my problem. As a result of this important improvement to your software, I am pleased to announce that I have since become a registered user of your Argentum Backup program. It is a program which now has my complete confidence for reliably producing 100% accurate backups of my computer files, and I will have no hesitation in recommending this product to my friends.

Robert Reed

I first read about you in a Byte article. I clicked through and when on your site, thought about what great tools you have! Downloaded Backup and tried it for a few days and it satisfied a need I had, namely, replicating important folders on to a backup drive, then zipping them all. I had written various pieces of code to do this, but now, with your software, I only need your one program! Very nice. Great work! I also picked up MyFiles and intend to use it to put some order to what is now a chaotic storage regime. Thanks.

John Phillips

I first read about Argentum Backup in an impressive tutorial article in PC User, March 2003, and downloaded a free copy of your program from the magazine CD, on to my computer. At the time, I had recently bought another computer to update to Windows XP, and being a bit scared of modern technology (I am 76 years of age!), decided to wait until familiar with the new machine before trying the Argentum Backup program. A week ago, I was able to trial it and was so impressed by the ease of use, even for a beginner like me, that I immediately sent off a request for 2 licenses - one for each machine, and have since been delighted by your response. Unbelievable service, thank you, and I look forward to future backing up with much confidence!

John Byouk

I had tried a backup program a couple of years ago. It had worked fine until a new computer with Windows XP. Things got frustrating so I went to manual backups. My search that found you, came out of thin air. The neat thing is the first thing I clicked on was your ad. Description was so simple, I tried for two weeks and finally decided it was worth paying for.

Daniel McLeod

Argentum Backup was listed by PC Magazine's shareware page. I downloaded about twenty applications and only Argentum Backup satisfied my needs. Several features were important. 1) I do not want my backups in an archive that is only accessible by installing the recovery software. 2) I do not want to zip my backup files either, since I would need to install a Zip program first if my computer crashed before I could get to my backups. In addition, I noticed that with the applications that only used Zip to back up files, there were certain files that these programs just could not back up for some reason. 3) I also disliked going through a long process for each folder I backed up. Your procedure is second only to those that use a check-box system. Unfortunately, these applications only back up folders, not files, on my system. I am not sure why this is. I did not have this problem with Windows 98. 4) I also wanted to retain the tree structure in my backup folders. Some other good applications only backed up the chosen folder. 5) I also like the speed. Argentum Backup seems to be one of the fastest at backing up data.

John Collier

Many thanks for your prompt e-mail reply after the query. I found your web site by searching with Google for backup programs and then downloaded the programs. I liked your Argentum Backup program because it seems to be less confusing than more or less all other programs. I like the intelligent use of a mixture of incremental and full backups.

Frank Thurber

When PC World (September '04) mentioned Argentum Backup it was decided to try it out. Well the outcome was replacement of two backup programs. The great thing about your backup program is the ability to back up whatever to wherever. Now it does require some work setting things up, making directories, pointing the program to them, but that is how it was in the "old" days and IMHO it is much better to let one do it "by hand" rather than incorporating such "newbie hand holding" items into the program.

As an old shareware savant, it was always felt that if one needed more than a passing glance at the help file it was not a well made program. It only needed a glance for figuring out to make a backup to certain folders, but that was all. By the way, dealing with shareware for so long means that my stamp of approval is just as high as any given by a reviewer, or perhaps higher. Using a program for awhile can show more faults than a fast look.

Joerg Gutzeit

I do like the Argentum's backup program and it works just as promised. Easy to use and I decided CMS's Bounce Back was overkill and too much trouble for my needs.

Steve Embry

I heard about your product reading PC World magazine. They recommended you as a Best Buy. I downloaded it from their site. I chose this product over StorageSync, also featured in PC World, because it used standard Zip compression, and was faster than StorageSync. The free Zip utility worked, and thanks for the extra tips. I appreciate all of the help you have given me. I would not hesitate to recommend you to friends, and when I need more software you will definitely be on my shopping list.

Antony Drew

Having seen details of Argentum Backup in an article in the UK magazine Computer Active, I tried the free trial download and was immediately impressed with it. I am not a very technical enthusiast (I am retired and use my computer a lot, but mainly for hobby purposes) and I particularly liked the simple and hassle-free operation of the software which even I could understand. I was especially interested at this time as I am about to change my computer for a more modern one (within the next week) and wanted to simplify the process of changing over many files to the new setup.

Brion Blankenship

I find that most backup programs out there like to overload their programs with stuff I will never use. Yours is simple, keep it that way. Just work on the user friendliness issues and if you want to add a ton of features for those obsessed with it - create a new "Pro version" and let the guys like myself keep things "simple". Thanks.

Walter Bruning

It is really nice to deal with a company that is personal and caring of the customer. Your backup software is simple enough for my wife to use, a complete newbie. It will teach her good habits about backing up her important work.

Richard Seibel

First, I am very pleased with your product. I originally tried a far more expensive product without realizing its full costs during the trial period. It simply was not affordable. Further research got me to your site. Suffice to say, I find - even ignoring price - your product to be much better. At $25 it is a steal. Thanks for a great product at an affordable price.

Peter Hodkinson

I have been using Argentum Backup 2.50 for several days now and after a few initial hiccups caused by confusing the slightly different formats of version 1.50 and 2.50, am now making full use of the features in the program and have managed to customize different backup options for the various folders on my computer. This is an excellent program which makes backing up data very simple. Also this version is superior to version 1.50 and well worth the small amount it cost to buy for the peace of mind it provides. I no longer have to check my folders to see if I have remembered to copy data manually to my backup drive, confident that in the event of a disaster, I will always have access to my files.

Karen Carroll

I am writing to tell you how pleased I am with your product. I tried the demo version and within 5 minutes of loading it I was sure that I would purchase. I did! It is so simple and easy to use I can't imagine what you could do to improve on it! My thanks go to you for the development of such a wonderful and easy to use product.

Robert Grove

This backup utility seems to be a good balance between function, ease of use and price. Over many months I tested several backup utilities and was disappointed before I tried Argentum Backup. I read as many reviews (especially user reviews) as I could locate. I found users were about 90% satisfied and when it comes to software that is hard to beat. An actual person replied to my e-mail very quickly, that was very nice. I use file copying mode. I like to check my external hard drive and see for myself that my essential files are there. The log report is an important feature as well, and better then the others I saw.

Kenneth Leyland

I read about Backup in PC Pro and as I was fed up with the Iomega Backup supplied with my 160 GB external drive - the damn thing ceased to work after about five or six days and had to be reinstalled. I decided to try your backup program. Thank goodness I did, it's a smashing program, it's simple and it works a treat. Lets hope that I don't have to contact your support team. I wish for your continued success in the future and I would like to thank you for Argentum Backup.

Carolyn Duff

This is to respond to your query about how I learned of Argentum Backup. A while back my brother, a computer science engineer, was looking for a good backup system for his desktop and laptop. He searched and searched in stores and on the Internet and finally stumbled onto Argentum Backup. He downloaded it and was so pleased with the simplicity and efficacy of the program that he recommended it to our mother who is not computer literate. She has been using it and absolutely loves it.

My birthday is coming up and I've been needing to back up my files. My family's experience with Argentum was unbeknownst to me until Mom asked me what I wanted for my birthday and I said some backup software. She told me about Argentum Backup and how she came to use it. It sounded like exactly what I was looking for, and I'm very optimistic that I'll love it as much as my mom and brother do.

I don't know what features I like because I've only backed up once and haven't really delved into the program beyond a simple backup. Also, I don't have any suggestions for improvement, but if I think of any, I'll be sure to let you know. I appreciate your willingness to listen to consumer comments.

Eric Fecci

We are a small accounting and consulting firm in Westchester County, NY. During tax season, one of my staff members accidentally deleted our entire tax program, including all client tax files. This could have been devastating. However, your backup software, which I purchased and installed a few weeks earlier, saved my business. Although I had to reinstall the entire software program, all data, which was backed up each evening, was installed effortlessly due to your software. I would recommend your product to anyone interested in establishing a "disaster" recovery plan. Thanks for a wonderful program.

John Dillon

I first heard about Argentum Backup by reading the PC Magazine article a month ago about backup software. I had previously used Retrospect that came with my Maxtor hard drive, but thought the software to be confusing and didn't like having to convert the catalogs to ensure that the data was really backed up. I like to store in the native format and just use a redundant hard drive to store my music, pictures, and other data files. One feature that might be nice would be to allow a person to customize the directories that get backed up, rather than hoping that they store them under "My Documents". Maybe it already does this, since I haven't used it enough to know everything it does.

Jeremy Reynolds, Yippee Software Library

Argentum Backup is a good little backup program that makes it easy to save your important files. I must say this is the first time that I've seen a program that can quickly back up your e-mail folders and address book. It also has support for backing up ICQ contacts and heaps more. The interface is easy to use and it comes with several useful pre-made backup templates. It has a scheduling agent so you can choose whether your files are saved daily, weekly, hourly or whatever. Very good!

Paul Rowlingson, Future Publishing

Backing up our PC data is something few of us do, but it is a sensible and hassle-free task, particularly with Argentum Backup. Argentum Backup is a tiny program that uses little in the way of system resources, but makes the whole backup process effortless.

Various templates are included so that you can begin backing up a PC's most important data immediately. These include email contacts and messages, registry settings, My Documents and Windows Shell settings. Backing up other files and folders simply involves creating a new task and defining exactly which data to backup. There is no limit to the number of tasks you can create, and each can be given a unique icon for easy recognition.

Backups can be straight copies of files, or to save space they can be saved as Zip files (these can be password-protected if desired). Backups can be carried out manually, or scheduled on an hourly, daily or weekly basis. Users who require more control over their backups can make use of the many advanced settings to be found throughout the software. Most, however, will be happy with the basic settings. The verdict is - when backing-up of data is this easy there's no excuse for not doing it.

Francisco Cheng, PC Magazine, Ziff Davis Media Inc.

Argentum Backup 2.00 ($25) is a good choice if you're looking for a very basic, hassle-free way to back up while using only a minimum of system resources. This very tiny utility saves backups in ZIP format to minimize file size. Argentum Backup includes templates that help you back up your e-mail messages and contacts database. The program also backs up important system information, such as the Registry and shell settings. To back up data, you define data sets and schedule each set to be backed up on a monthly, weekly, or daily basis. You can also opt to back up these sets manually. Unlike the traditional backup programs, Argentum Backup can't back up directly to CD and DVD burners.

Bill Wilkinson, The Keyword

The second computer program ever written must have been a backup program to protect the first. Nevertheless, the quest for the perfect backup seems to be never ending. Argentum probably hasn't finished this search, but they have come up with a pretty good contender. Argentum's approach offers a simple, intuitive interface, use of conventional Zip files for storage, and the intro of 'Tasks' to identify discrete backup needs. Each task is identified with its own icon, so click an icon and your backup is running. Can't get much simpler than that!

Well, actually it can. Argentum provides templates for common backup needs, some of which might not occur to you, or that you might be uncertain how to do. For instance, the Registry, or the Windows settings including favorites, desktop and start menu; or your Outlook Express messages and address book; or your Messenger contacts and messages. Of course, you can automate your backups if you wish. While setting up a task simply click on the option and select the days and hours for automatic operation.

Another advanced option which could be handy in certain circumstances is 'stacking'. Sounds intimidating, doesn't it? It just means that instead of each backup overwriting the previous one, you can save several versions of the document(s). That way, if you decide version A really was better than version C, you can revert. Saving files in Zip is mostly convenient, but does have some drawbacks. It is possible to avoid this problem by saving without compression providing you have unlimited storage space. Oh yes, Argentum doesn't provide an 'unzip' utility so you must have PKZIP or some such already installed in order to retrieve your backups.

If you are unhappy with your current backup system, or don't really have any, this one is worth a look. Argentum is offering a 15% discount to user groups on the regular price of only $25 through the end of March.