Computer and Software Support


Karen's Replicator

This is an excellent program to automatically backup your important files. This program is from Karenware.com

How many times have you told yourself that you are going to backup your important files so you wouldn't loose them but you forget to do that. Then when something happens, you realize you forgot to backup the file and now it is lost. This software will allow you to setup an automatic backup of your files and you do not have to remind yourself any longer.

When I posted this page the software is FREE!!! You only have to pay for it if you are using it in a corporate setting but it is free for home use.

I have personally used the software and using it now.

The software works on Windows 10 and older.

The original site that provided this software is no longer available but you can download it from my site by clicking here

For instructions on setting up the software to backup your files, click here.

The program allows you to do the following

  • Select the files that you want backed up

  • Choose the location you want the files to be copied to

  • Synchronizes the files between the location the files are at and the folder it is copied to. This makes sure your backup is up to date.

  • Schedule the software to run the backups automatically at set intervals, such as

    • You can have it run monthly

    • You can have it run weekly,

    • You can have it run daily

    • You can have it run hourly

    • You can have it run every minute ( I wouldn't recommend having it run under an hour)

Once you have the files you want backed up and scheduled, you do not have to remind yourself to do backups. The program will do it automatically without user interaction. However as with any software or hardware, it is advised to periodically check to make sure the program runs.

You can have the program copy every file every time even if the file has not changed since the last backup or you can have the program only copy files that have changed. Having it only do the files that have changed will be faster and is preferred.

If your computer is turned off when Karen's is scheduled to run, it will ask you if you want to run the missed scheduled run. If you say yes, it will. You can also tell it to run automatically so you don't have to select it (However this feature doesn't always work so you will probably have to say yes). It will automatically run next time you turn the system on.

The program doesn't slow the system down and you won't even notice that it is running.

Some recommendations,

The software does the operations quickly. However the bigger the size gets the more time it will take to synchronize the files. If you have the time interval to close to each other. The first sync may not be finished by the time the second one starts.

The first time you run the backup, it will take some time to run. That is because it has to back up every single file. Once the first sync is done, it will be faster because it will examine all the files and only copy the files that has been altered since last sync.

Here is how I have my sync set up

  • I set Karen's Replicator to sync once a day (you can do it more often if you feel you need to)

  • I have a second hard drive on my desktop I use just for backing up my files. I created a folder on that drive for Karen's Replicator to back up to.

  • The program backs up my files to the second hard drive.

  • I have the program only copy files that has been altered since the last sync so it will be faster.

  • I like being overly cautious so I have an external hard drive I backup to as well. I tell Karen's Replicator to back up my second drive to the external hard drive. This way I have my data stored in 3 locations. If my C drive dies, I still have it in two other locations. By having it on my external hard drive, my data is portable. I can take my data with me if I see I need to.

  • Be sure to set the program to run when system starts and to minimize. Click here for instructions.

The backups that this program does is the exact copy of the files that is on your hard drive. It doesn't compress the files or stores them in a file. This means you do not have to have a special program or have to do a procedure before you can access your files. Another words, if you have a picture you backed up, you can open and view the picture from the backup the same way as you did with the one on your hard drive.

You can also set it up to make copies of the folders by date. This is good to have if you modify your files alot. It will give you a backup of your latest change but also previous versions. Therefore if you altered a file and later realize you shouldn't have, you have a backup copy of it. Another words, when it does the backup, it will put the backup in folders. For example, you backed up the file on Tuesday June 12, 2010. It will make a folder ABCTuesday and copy the file there. Then on Wednesday, will create ABCWednesday. So if you corrupted Wednesday's copy, you will have a copy of Tuesday's file. Just copy Tuesday's to the source file and you are back before the alteration. The only danger about saving multiple copies is that it will fill up your hard drive. You will have to remember to delete the older versions.

If you are using an external hard drive for back up purposes, you should change the drive letter to X, Y, or Z. Click here for information on this.

Here is a generic list of what to back up