Software and Hardware Reviews

NTI Backup NOW Deluxe Suite Review

By Pat McGee

I had mixed feelings about this software.

The installation was easy and went smoothly following the directions.

When I actually used the program, I ran into some difficulties and had to call for help from a local technician. In retrospect, I should have called NTI technical support for assistance as part of the review as technical help is available either by internet or phone.

It took two CD's to back up my hard drive and approximately 45 minutes to do it.

While backing up, an error was discovered; however, it did not say whether or not it was okay or what to do about it. Another error said, “could not compress”. After doing all this work, what did that mean in terms of my backup? This became very frustrating to me.

On the positive side, I liked the fact that I could schedule a backup and did not have to reset the files I wanted to back up, and that I could use file level backup or drive image backup.   You can do differential and incremental backups after your first full back up to save time and space. This software also supports network backups.

Also, my preference for information was the User's Guide because I do not have to print every help item in order to remember the instructions.

The index in the User's Guide was clear and concise and there was also, a glossary.

Spanning ( the ability to backup over multiple CD/DVD drives) was another positive, although, unnecessary for my use. It also allows you backup to multiple disc writers without having to manually insert additional media each time a disc is filled.

I compared the street prices of other backup programs to Backup NOW! And found that it was comparably priced if you shopped around online (about $44). Some of the other software did not offer all the options that this program did.

I am a personal computer user with very little expertise. I do believe that the instructions were clear and given time to experiment; this could be a very helpful program.