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Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is SureWest Broadband's Online Backup Service?
It is an Internet-based service that allows computer users to routinely
backup and recover their data using a secure connection and safely store it in
the SureWest Broadband Data Storage Warehouse until it is needed.
If you use your computer for business or personal use, you need to always have
a backup of your data files in the event of software, hardware or human error.
Ideally you should keep a copy of this data at some location other than your
home or place of business. If your house burns down and your backups are sitting
on the shelf next to your computer, they too will be lost.
You need to make backups of your important data to prevent a total loss in the
event of any kind of system failure or human error. Simple data backup can be done by
saving your data to multiple locations, copying the data from its original location
to removable media, another hard drive, or another computer's hard drive on the network.
You also need to have multiple versions of your information backed up. If you are working on
a spreadsheet over a period of several days, it's best to keep a snapshot of every day's work.
This is easily done with an online backup service.
To make this task easier, SureWest Broadband has licensed Backup Software from NovaStor,
a leader in the backup business, to enable users to make backup copies of their data.
Most users do not want to be bothered with managing the tasks necessary for maintaining their own
backups, so a new type of backup system was needed. it's known as Online Backup.
Online Backup software is designed to routinely copy your important files to a private, secure location on the Internet by transmitting your data over your existing Internet connection. All of your data is encrypted before it is sent to our storage network to protect your privacy.
If you have a working Internet connection on your computer, you can use SureWest Broadband's
Online Backup Service to keep your important files safe from disaster on a daily basis.
Check the pricing of our Online Backup Service.
2. I have a dial up Internet connection, can I use Online Backup?
Yes. Depending on the speed of your connection and the size of your backup, your initial backup
session may take several hours or even days. Many people with large backups
and dial up Internet connections will often run their first backup overnight or over a weekend.
Once the initial backup is completed, each additional backup is usually a small amount
of data that can be backed up in just minutes over a slower dial up connection.
Our software can also resume a canceled backup, so you can start the backup during your slow times
and cancel it during your busy times. The next time you start the backup,
it will pick up from where it was canceled until the entire backup is complete.
3. What should I back up?
Since your entire hard drive will be much larger than the amount of storage
you have purchased on the backup server, you need to be selective in the files that
you back up. Avoid backing up any programs that you would reinstall after a failure.
Items such as Windows, Word, Excel, etc. can all be reinstalled from their CDs and
in fact need to be in order for the system to be set up properly to run them. Rather,
choose files that you created such as documents and spreadsheets. email boxes, etc. Generally
this material can be found in the My Documents folder. In actuality, any data can be
backed up from your computer. You need to choose what is important.
The online backup software
comes with predefined filters, which allow you to automatically select categories
of files without knowing where all the files are located.
4. What happens if I exceed my quota?
In most cases, your account will allow you to exceed your paid storage quota on
the backup server by 10%. If you exceed your quota, you may visit the user portal
web page to purchase additional storage. Your other option is to adjust factors
affecting storage use such as what files are backed up, how often and how long
you desire to keep your backup snapshots available.
5. How do I delete files from the Backup server?
In order to control how much data is stored on the backup server,
the backup software allows you to view all of the backup sets stored on
the server and selectively remove either sets or files from the server.
To view the data stored under your account, start the online backup software
and click on the folder tab labeled "Restore". In the left windowpane,
Right-Click on the Desktop icon and select "Get Volume List from Server".
This will show you each computer that has been backed up to your account.
Now you can navigate the folders to see what data is stored on the server.
To delete files, click on the button with the Red "X" to enable the Delete
Files mode. Mark any files you wish to delete by clicking your mouse in the
empty box next to the file(s) you wish to delete. Click the "Delete Files Now"
to issue the command to delete the selected files from the server.
WARNING: Once a file is deleted from the server, it can no longer be restored.
6. Can I back up more than one computer to my account?
Yes. We allow you to back up any number of computers to your account.
You only pay a small one time fee for each additional computer. All computers
will share the common pool of storage space. You can adjust the number of
computers on your account through the user portal web page.
7. Should I also have a local backup in addition to my online backup?
We recommend that you do. Keeping a local backup allows you to save data way in excess of the storage
that you purchase for online backup. For other backup products designed for local backup, please visit
Our Software Partner, NovaStor's web site.
8. How do I change my account information?
You can use your username & uassword to log-in at https://secure.surewest.net/www.surewestbroadband.com/products/backup/portal.cfm.
You can then change your storage quota, data retention times, number of computers and password.
9. How do I cancel my online backup service?
If you need to cancel your account, and we hope you never do, you can log-in at https://secure.surewest.net/www.surewestbroadband.com/products/backup/portal.cfm.
and cancel the account there. Be aware that when you do this, your access to the system will terminate at that time and your backed up files
will be removed. If you want a copy of your data, you should purchase a CD copy before closing your account.
10. I can't connect to the backup system. What do I do?
SureWest Broadband provides 24X7 customer support. Please call 916-772-5000 to speak to a support
technician. Many issues are simple configuration problems. Please read this FAQ and make sure
that your answer is not here before calling.
11. Can I back up open and locked files with the online backup software?
By default, no. Windows locks files to prevent them being updated while one program is using them.
Novastor can provide an optional open file manager which you may purchase separately. Click here for more information.
12. What is a FastBIT backup?
The FastBIT patching process is the core technology
behind NovaStor's speedy backup program. The patching process involves the comparison of two
different versions of the same file and extracting the differences between the files. When
the differences are extracted from the two files, they are saved into a new file and
compressed into what is known as a Patch. The patch file is often 85% to 99.9% smaller
than the file which the patch was extracted from originally.
If you are really curious, take a look at NovaStor's explanation of their FastBIT technology
click here.
13. Can I back up my Macintosh computer?
Unfortunately, no. the NovasStor client program is only designed for a Windows environment.
We have no schedule for release of a Mac version.
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