Research into popular PC backup recovery software demonstrated problems in recovery when tested with the average computer user.
Palo Alto, CA (PRWEB) February 23, 2006 -- Backup software is widely sold as providing protection against Windows operating system failure or hardware failure. Recent research by IntroAnalytic found serious problems with some of the largest of the backup software packages.
Furthermore, many of the major vendor's built-in image integrity checking programs, which supposedly guarantee the backup image is recoverable, did not correctly forecast the image's ability to recover the operating system.
According to IntroAnalytic Author and Instructional Designer Shaun Snapp, there are several reasons for this:
"Companies making backup software are clearly emphasizing the user interface at the expense of actual recoverability. Several of the systems that failed ran in Windows during the recovery. Users generally prefer Windows over DOS, and vendors have responded by making their backup software work in Windows. However, from a design perspective, it makes more sense to recover from DOS. This is because during serious Windows errors, the Windows environment is not operational. This is why DOS based backup solutions will always be more usable and reliable." (Windows backup recovery results, testing methodology and full press release are included at http://www.introanalytic.com/BackupResearchMediaRelease.pdf)
Other issues have to do with software design and where backup images should be placed as explained by Thomas Sinclair, IntroAnalytic's CEO.
"Our user testing showed that even after reading the vendor's manual, many users did not understand why an external disk should be used to hold an extra copy of the image backup. The manuals that come with most backup software do not adequately explain the reasons for their configuration. Having users that understand why they are doing something is a better long-term strategy for maintaining data and operating system integrity.”
According to Shaun Snapp:
"Users find themselves in a chicken or egg situation with regards to backup media and backup software. Windows cannot be used to reliably recover itself. However, DOS does not recognize external USB or Firewire connected drives. This is where backup images would logically be stored. The solution we found is to keep the backup image on the same disk as the operating system (allowing DOS can read the image) but to keep an extra copy of the backup image on an external disk in the event of a failure of the main disk. For those consumers and small businesses that want real operating system protection, it means testing a recovery to make sure it works. However, this is quite difficult using a computer with one disk. It would mean overwriting your operating system to find out. This is why we recommend purchasing, or building computers that have at least two internal hard disks. This is quite typical in the barebones market, and second hard drives are becoming more common as an option at major manufacturers."
IntroAnalytic is a New Zealand company that performs software usability research and specializes in the development of instructional DVDs and multimedia content for computer assisted training.
Any media outlet interested in receiving this press release by mail, in receiving a review copy of the DVD (which fully explains this research), or obtaining an interview with our authors can contact us at:
Contact: Thomas Sinclair
Company Name: IntroAnalytic
Telephone Number: 650 557 2192
Web site address: http://www.introanalytic.com
Further Information http://www.introanalytic.com/BackupResearchMediaRelease.pdf
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