InstantKB.NET » Knowledgebase » Disk Hero Articles » General Questions

Pricing

John Fitzpatrick — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 16:12:02 GMT

Our pricing is simple and easy to remember.

$2.00/PC, U3, USB + $0.50/GB per month.
$15.00/server + $0.50/GB per month.

To see more go to www.diskhero.com/plans.cfm

Proxy Settings - how to find your current proxy settings

John Fitzpatrick — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 06:40:10 GMT

Are you using Disk Hero or Cloud Hero inside a company secure environment then you might need to know your proxy setting to get Disk or Cloud hero to work. Most companies use thisfunction and if you are looking to find your Proxy settings do this: Open Internet Explorer (browser) go to TOOLS>INTERNETOPTIONS>CONNECTIONS TAB>LAN SETTINGS button. In Firefox, you got to Tools->Options. Select Advanced, then Network tab, Settings button.

I need more storage space - how do I get more disk space?

John Fitzpatrick — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 11:34:24 GMT

Question:
I need more disk storage space - how do I get it?

Answer:
You do not need to order more disk space - when you use more disk your asked to pay for it as follows:

PC/Home PC user = $0.50/GB/month plus $2/seat license fee
Business PC user = $0.50/GB/month plus $2/seat license fee
Business Servers = $0.50/GB/month plus $2/seat license fee

Security and Compliance Questions

John Fitzpatrick — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 23:44:48 GMT

WHERE IS THE DATA STORED? click here for more info

Compliance & Validation - click here to see more details

HIPAA - Ouragent software meets the encryption requirements for HIPAA transactionsand file transfers via 3rd party software used for SSL encryption andfile transfers. HIPPA information click here
To see more information about HIPAA press here.
To see more information on Sarbanes-Oxley Act press here.

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Compliance Statements for Disk Hero Software Products

FIPS - Disk Hero is in the process of gaining FIPS 140-1 and 140-2 (Federal Information Processing Standard) validation from the National Institute of Standards and Technology's (NIST) Cryptographic Module Validation (CMV) Program.

What if my internet connection disconnects while backing up?

John Fitzpatrick — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 23:40:53 GMT

Or what if I shut off my computer in the middle of the backup?
That's not a problem. Disk Hero will just continue where it left off next time you are online.

Will Disk Hero back up my entire disk drive? What about my applications and system files?

John Fitzpatrick — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 23:39:57 GMT

Disk Hero was made to back up your most important files (email,contacts, photos, financial's, etc.), but not your system andapplication files, which are easy to restore via your original CDs.

Technically, you can back up your applications andsystem files, but we don't advise this. This is done for what's calleda "bare metal restore," which is not what Disk Hero was designed for.Typically, if your computer dies, you get new hardware, and attemptingto just image your new computer with your old disk image via Disk Hero(or any other backup application for that matter) is a tricky endeavor.If you are ambitious, you are welcome to give it a shot, but it's notsomething we recommend or support.

How many files can I back up?

John Fitzpatrick — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 23:25:09 GMT

Lots. Like tens of thousands. Note that Disk Hero will start to slowdown when you try and back up hundreds of thousands of files, so don'tgo thinking you can back up massive source code repositories orsomething, because you won't be happy with the performance.

What if I do not want to prepay and pay as I go monthly?

John Fitzpatrick — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 23:23:46 GMT

We have USB, U3 (thumb drive options), USB external drive, PC andServer options to consider. If you need a server backed up you willneed to go to our Business Solutions - click here.If you have a PC, Laptop or Tablet Windows system then you can chooseour PC packages for $2.00/PC + $0.50/GB per month. You do not have toprepay for anything - just pay as you go monthly. We do offer discountsif you chose to pre-pay for storage space see this link for details.

Does Disk Hero support network drives? What about external drives?

John Fitzpatrick — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 23:21:19 GMT

Disk Hero PC does support network drives as a separate add-on deviceand if the network drive is part of a server running Windows, then youcan install Disk Hero onto that server and back up the shared drivelocally. If the network drive is running on Windows Server 2003 or2000, you will need to have our Disk Hero Business solution - click here for more details.

DiskHero does support most types of external drives (including thumbdrives), but only if Windows sees your external drive and allows accessto it. If you have a USB external Drive at home, or at your place ofbusiness then your can back it up with the following considerations:

The Disk Hero PC account fee of $2.00/PC + $0.50/GB per month also applies to each external device.

I have LOTS of data. How long will it take to back up?

John Fitzpatrick — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 23:15:59 GMT

For a typical system on a typical broadband line, Disk Hero backs updata at about 1GB every 70 minutes. But if left undisturbed on a fastconnection, you can back up over 9GB in a single day. U3 and USB driveswill be slower transfer speeds because of the physical limitations ofthe USB hardware port on your computer - it runs much slower so justexpect this to effect Disk Hero and that this speed limitation is not afunction of Disk Hero but a limit to the physical USB port. To readmore about USB speeds click here.

You may experience faster or slower speeds depending on yourconnection. You may want to check your favorite bandwidth meter test tomeasure your broadband connection. Hereis one from Speakeasy that we like to use. You will be uploading to theDisk Hero servers when you back up, so pay attention to the "Upload"part of the test results.

Click here to read more on inherent USB and U3 speed limitations

Click here to see how fast data is transferred over modems, DSL and Cable Modems

I use the U3 version of Disk Hero, so what happens if I fill up my quota? Is there any way to get more?

John Fitzpatrick — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 23:02:11 GMT

Disk Hero will continue to backing up your data and always increase you space needs automatically as you send more data for backup. You will be invoiced at $0.50/GB unless you have purchased a pre-paid discounted package. If you wishto remain under your already purchased space then open Disk Hero andselecting some items on the server window and press on DELETE FROMSERVER so the amount of data you are backing up falls below yourallocation.

Any suggestions on what I should back up?

John Fitzpatrick — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 22:42:54 GMT

Disk Hero has a bunch of suggestions about what you may want to back upin the Backup Plan. You can edit your backup plan to your liking anytime. We generally recommend that you back up data that is difficult toreplace, like photos, email, contacts, financial records, and officedocuments.

I have a small business. Can I back up my server for $2.00/PC + $0.50/GB per month?

John Fitzpatrick — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 22:27:59 GMT

Disk Hero PC (Home User) is for personal, non-commercial use only. Ifyou are running a small or home-based business, please refer to our Business Users tab

What companies or individuals should consider when choosing and online data backup provider.

John Fitzpatrick — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 21:19:08 GMT

Retention policy - Disk Hero is 60 days all files kept then mostrecent file kept till deleted for PC users - Business users unlimitedretension
Contract requirements - Disk Hero = month-to-month
Ability to support multiple OS platforms and server levelapplications - Windows server and PCs supported, Windows 2000, XP &Vista + U3
Do they offer free support? - yes via email - phone support for business users
Is an additional copy of your data is kept at another physical location? - if your a business user you can use Disk Hero's Remote Target
Do they offer a 100% Satisfaction Guarantee? - yes

What platforms does Disk Hero support?

John Fitzpatrick — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 21:10:11 GMT

Disk Hero currently supports Windows Vista, XP, and 2000, preferablywith NTFS. Most Windows Vista and XP users will be using NTFS, unlessyou upgraded from a previous version of Windows. If you are runningWindows with a FAT32 file system,Disk Hero will be unable to back upany files that are opened or locked when the backup is run. For thesetypes of files Disk Hero will ask you to close the application for afew moments while it copies the data and prepares it for backup.Microsoft describes how to convert FAT32 partitions to NTFS here.

Windows Server 2003 and Windows 2000 Server are only supported with Disk Hero Business Solutions click here for details

Windows 95 or 98 or ME on my PC

John Fitzpatrick — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 16:20:11 GMT

Disk Hero is based on the .NET framework from Microsoft. This framework runs on Windows 2000, XP and Vista allows us to program Disk Hero so it runs at the lowest CPU usage levels thus not interfering with your own use of your PC. With Windows 95, 98 or ME we can not program .NET to run at a low CPU usage and therefore Disk Hero would use the entire PC processing power when it uploads a file causing you interruption. For this reason we do not offer Disk Hero on Windows 95, 98 and ME.

Also there is no .NET version out yet for MAC or APPLE - if and when available we will look into a Disk Hero solution.

How do I estimate file size calculations?

John Fitzpatrick — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 16:18:14 GMT

You install the small Disk Hero™ program on your computer. An icon for Disk Hero™ will appear on the Windows Task Bar (near the PC clock). Double-clicking on this icon will open the application allowing you to pick and choose any or all of the LOCAL PC files you want to be backed-up. Disk Hero™ will track changes to the selected files and additions to the selected drives and directories. These "changes" will automatically be backed up each time you connect to the Internet .While you are working on your PC and connected to the Internet, Disk Hero™ will continuously (in REAL-TIME) copy new and changed files to our secure servers using 128 bit encryption. These files are stored for your retrieval 24/7 by entering into a password-protected secure linked area. The entire process is done continuously in the background, not interfering with your system speed whatsoever. You can have total confidence that all of your files are always backed up and you do not have to do anything after the initial setup.

Real-World Modem/Network Speeds
File Size	28k	56k	DSL/Cable	T-1
100kb	31 sec	13 sec	6 sec	<1 sec
300kb	1.33 min	41 sec	18 sec	1 sec
500kb	2.36 min	1.09 min	30 sec	2 sec
1mb	5.20 min	2.22 min	1.02 min	5 sec
5mb	26.40 min	11.54 min	5.12 min	26 sec
10mb	53.20 min	23.48 min	10.25 min	53 sec

*Upload and download times and speeds may vary depending on your modem transfer and compression settings, internet connection settings and host isp conditions. These times are only estimates.

Real-World Modem/Network Speeds

Document File Size

28k

56k

DSL/Cable

T-1

	Word Doc, 100Kb

31 sec

13 sec

6 sec

<1 sec

	Excel sheet, 300kb

1.33 min

41 sec

18 sec

1 sec

	Digital Photo, 500kb

2.36 min

1.09 min

30 sec

2 sec

	Digital Music, 3mb

5.20 min

2.22 min

1.02 min

5 sec

	PowerPoint Doc, 5mb

See this chart for more estimates: http://www.diskhero.com/support-bandwidth.cfm

How long is my data stored off-site?

John Fitzpatrick — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 16:14:48 GMT

The last versions (5 versions by default, up to 10 versions if you go to FILE>ADVANCED OPTIONS and change the settings) of your files will be kept at the data centers for up ever . . . just in case you want to "go back in time" and restore a file as it was on a particular day.

By default Disk Hero stores 5 versions you can change this in FILE>ADVANCED SETTINGS to be unlimited if you like on the server version and up to 10 versions for U3/USB and PC versions.

If you have a an older file version that the pre-set of 5, or 10 if you change it - say your 11 file version, then the 11 version is automatically deleted at midnight during normal utility processes. All files will be deleted from the Disk Hero servers if your account has ZERO activity in a 90 day period (not a single file loaded up for backup or downloaded to your local systems/devices). This means that if your Disk Hero application does not connect with the backup servers for 90 days then your account is automatically deleted.

Corporate accounts remain active till local corporate IT administrators initiate delete data functions. This allows corporate data to be store indefinably if needed. Also there is an option to not allow DELETES for business users.

Entered wrong e-mail address or forgot my User Name or Password

John Fitzpatrick — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 15:54:50 GMT

Question:
When I registered, I entered the password twice, once in the correct place and expecting the next line to be a confirmation of the password, I typed it in the email address line. I would like to correct this mistake for the obvious reasons.

Answer:
During initial registration we asked for an e-mail address (note: many users put in gmail or yahoo or free e-mail accounts and that is fine but this e-mail account is where we send your request to get this info when you forget so we strongly ssuggest using a active mail email account). Your request will be sent to these false e-mail accounts and most likely get spam filtered. So please register with a good legit e-mail address - WE DO NOT SEND ANYTHING TO YOU VIA E-mail unless it is required to make Disk Hero perform as expected.

You can always log into your web account and change the e-mail address later but usually it is to late as you need the USER NAME and PASSWORD to get into your WEB PORTAL or your application running.

If you forget your information e-mail support@diskhero.com your type of account (U3, PC, etc.) enter in your email address and what think your USER NAME or PASSWORD is so we can try to cross reference this information for you.

Also if you can log into the web portal at www.diskhero.com top right of page then you can change your email address by finding this screen:

Find ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT on the LEFT NAVIGATION

"backup policy recovery certificate invlaid" error

John Fitzpatrick — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 15:40:36 GMT

Question:
backup policy recovery certificate invlaid

Im trying to backup my PC with the PC version (also use the U3 version on the same machine), but all I get the above error msg on every file that I try to backup.

Answer:
Go to FILE>ADVANCED OPTIONS

UNCHECK ENCRYPTION question - related to keeping all files locally encrypted for wifi protection - will no effect encryption of files that are backed up just fine.

Do I need to leave my computer on for automatic backups to occur?

John Fitzpatrick — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 08:20:01 GMT

Yes. Your computer must be on and connected to the Internet for a backup to start. Disk Hero backups will start automatically. Note if you are offline (in an airplane or cannot connect) when you connect, Disk Hero has a list of files that you have modified since your last online connection and will automatically send the files to the backup servers. So you do not need to do any function or remember to do anything.

Referring others to Disk Hero

John Fitzpatrick — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 08:18:19 GMT

How do I get 1GB FREE for referring others? If they turn into paying clients of Disk Hero's then you are given 1GB free space per paying client. See how to refer others below.