Ridiculously simple. That’s what Rebit advertises with their new backup device. The selling point is it’s a 1 step, always up to date method for backing up an individual XP box. Does it measure up?
I received my 80GB Rebit a few days ago. It comes smartly packaged with an instruction sheet. Not manual, sheet. 1 piece of paper. The instructions are as follows:
Get a rebit.
Plug it in.
So that’s what I did via the provided USB cable. In practical use it really isn’t that simple. There’s a third step, which is to click “Start protecting this computer with Rebit using the program provided on the device”. So three steps to a backup. That’s pretty good by any standards.
Once I clicked that, I received the handy message from Rebit telling me what it was doing.
I left the computer on and the Rebit running overnight as suggested and came back to find that everything was backed up. Now that is simple.
By double clicking the Rebit shortcut on the desktop, I was able to see the C: drive and my My Documents folder. Restoring this way is as easy as dragging and dropping the needed file or folder.
Rebit also boasts a bare metal restore option, using the provided boot cd.
You’ll want to get a Rebit unit that’s equal or larger than your current hard drive in size. It starts by backing up everything and then deletes the oldest backups over time, ensuring that there’s always space for new data. By hovering the mouse over the Rebit icon in the systray, you can get an instant status to ensure that the unit is functioning and that you’ve been backed up.
If found the units to be a bit on the pricey side for me but I’m sure many would be more than willing to pony up $219 for a 120GB unit, $189 for an 80GB unit or $169 for a 60GB unit simply for it’s ease of use. There are lots of folks out there who use the old ‘pray it doesn’t die’ backup method. For those who aren’t technically savvy or don’t want to spend time configuring a piece of backup software Rebit is perfect. It is literally a device you could plug in and forget about until you really need it. I love this little device for my XP machine. I love how easy it is and the fact that I can simply forget about it.
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Technorati Tags: rebit, backup, windows xp, xp backup, easy backup, gadgets with frogs
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June 27th, 2007 at 4:39 pm
I’d be interested to know if it works the same on Vista. Would assume so, but who knows.
June 27th, 2007 at 6:06 pm
Hey fellow geek. It doesn’t yet.
The Rebit folks are working on a Vista version which I’m hoping they’ll send along to me for review when it’s available.
August 13th, 2007 at 7:22 pm
This company’s consumer support and service is awsome. I had some problems entirely due to my system and they went way out of their way to find a solution. I wish all product sellers were like that.
August 14th, 2007 at 12:23 am
So far, so good. I wrote a question to tech support about a “glitch” in the history of one of the files (there were 3 revisions of it, all the same time stamp) and I never got a response ever. But the device seems to work ok. I did have some problems getting it started, but I didn’t read the instructions… the problem with the harddrive is that is uses more power than one USB port can supply, so you need to use two USB ports, and if you plug in the wrong USB plug first, it won’t work (power first (thin cable), then data (thick cable) is the way to make it work every time).
August 14th, 2007 at 7:49 am
Hy John and Mark – I’m glad your enjoying your Rebbit experience.
Based on what I’ve seen and my own use of this, I’ve recommended it to a number of people and they’re all happy with it so far!
August 23rd, 2007 at 12:23 am
Their largest HD is 120G – doesn’t that seem small? My PC’s 3 years old, and I have a 150G drive. Hmmmm…
August 23rd, 2007 at 7:36 am
Hi Susan,
I believe they’re targeting laptops at the moment as the computer of choice that they’ll back up. Of course they work fine on desktops as well.
I know they’re coming out with some second generation products soon to incorporate Vista into the mix – perhaps larger drive sizes will come along with that.
August 28th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Does is backup the operating system and all programs? If so, is it easy to access to restore your entire computer?
October 1st, 2010 at 7:42 am
Rebit – I just got some nice review about it and I planned to use it.
October 11th, 2010 at 7:54 am
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October 17th, 2010 at 2:54 pm
A clean and clear explanation that I had ever see before.Thanks for the info.
October 27th, 2010 at 6:27 pm
I think a great way to explain even a beginner can understand easily.
February 27th, 2011 at 9:07 am
Exquisite article, thank you, I could go to again now!
May 8th, 2011 at 1:35 am
The forum is a brtgiher place thanks to your posts. Thanks!
June 28th, 2011 at 6:11 am
Be sure to read the PanelPicker FAQ.
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December 8th, 2011 at 8:06 am
You don’t do anything. There are no schedules to set, no backup media to set up.Moments after a file is created or deleted, SaveMe will back it up.
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