I wrote about online backup systems about three weeks ago and started using AOL’s Xdrive backup the same night. I already had the Xdrive account from a few years ago so it was an easy place to start reviewing the plethora of new online backup services available today.

Setup of the Xdrive is simple and quick. If you already have any AOL account, you can head over to www.xdrive.com and login and download a copy. If you are a new AOL user, you will need to go through the obligatory sign up process.

Xdrive gives you 5 GB of free space and more can be purchased for a nominal fee.  5 GB is ample space, however, for anyone to backup address books, favorites, and any word processing or spreadsheet type documents. Pictures can quickly fill up the space, but certainly there is room for some pictures.

Once setup on your computer, Xdrive installs an easy to use wizard system to setup automated backups. It can automatically be setup to backup all of your My Documents files, backup selected file types (Word, Quicken, photos, etc), or you can start from scratch and create your own custom backup.

After completing your backup setup, Xdrive walks you through setting up a schedule to automatically backup your files.

Overall, Xdrive worked pretty well for my 3 week test. I felt a little dirty using an AOL product, but since AOL just bought the Xdrive company years ago, I didn’t feel too bad.

The Xdrive didn’t always connect to the server, but if I waited for a half hour or so when this occurred, it connected fine. The Xdrive software, known as the Xdrive Desktop, installs easy access to your online data by providing an icon in My Computer and on your desktop. Also, I really liked the addition of a Xdrive option in the Send To menu when right clicking a folder or file.

My final grade for Xdrive is a strong B+. It is an extremely usable product and for 5GB of free online space, a decent software set, and smart features like the RIGHT click and My Computer access, it is worth a try.

I will evaluate my options for my next online backup test over the next few days. Until then, please leave your comments below about your experiences with Xdrive or other online backup systems.

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Tags: address book, backup, copy, download, login, photos, pictures, review, Word, word processing

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 20th, 2008 at 10:44 pm and is filed under Riding Shotgun with Rick. You can follow any comments to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a comment, or trackback from your own site.