Turn any hard disk into a backup device
We liked the original Clickfree product, which was a hard disk designed specifically for backup.
It worked automatically – the user simply had to plug the disk into their computer and it would start backing up the files.
The new Clickfree Transformer is a similar product aimed at those who already have an external USB hard disk that could be used for backup. It looks deceptively simple – essentially the product is just a cable with a bulge in the middle.
Plug it into the computer and it loads its own software, and prompts the user to attach a USB hard disk to the other end of the cable. That done, the software located the new disk and started the backup process (it's not strictly 'click-free': we had to click once to start the whole process, but that's not really a quibble).
The software scans your computer for suitable files, which took some 10 minutes on our test computer – this will take longer if you have more files to back up or have been using the computer for longer. If there isn't enough space on the destination disk (as was the case for us) the user is prompted to cancel the backup process, clear some space (it showed how much was free and what was required) and start again.
Once we had done that it worked without a problem. Although the main process is automatic the user can also opt to change the settings, including what kinds of file to back up, and can select folders to avoid and folders that should be copied in their entirety, which makes it much more flexible. We did encounter problems with one of our test hard disks, which the Transformer refused to recognise, but it worked fine with others. It's also wise to connect it directly to your computer and not through a USB hub.
Essentially this is just like loading backup software onto your PC, but its ease of use and convenience make it a great product. As there's nothing to install, you can even use it with several computers and hard disks. If you don’t have a spare external disk, though, you will have to factor in the cost of one.
