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CrashPlan Backups

Joe KissellCoversCrashPlanCrashPlan+CrashPlan Pro

TidBITS Publishing Inc.

Take Control of v1.0

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Table of Contents Read Me First

Updates and More .....................................................................5

Basics .....................................................................................6

Introduction

CrashPlan Quick Start

Understand CrashPlan Basics CrashPlan Versions ..................................................................11

CrashPlan Components ............................................................13

Automatic Backups ..................................................................14

Versioning and Deduplication ....................................................16

Compression...........................................................................18

Encryption..............................................................................18

Destination Choices .................................................................18

Multiple Destinations ...............................................................19

Backup Sets ...........................................................................20

Backup Priority........................................................................21

CrashPlan Accounts .................................................................22

Devise a CrashPlan Strategy

Decide Which Destination(s) to Use ...........................................23

Decide Which Data to Back Up ..................................................36

Choose an Encryption Method ...................................................39

Set Up a CrashPlan Backup

Install CrashPlan .....................................................................46

Set Up (or Sign In to) an Account ..............................................48

Enter License Info ...................................................................48

Set Your Encryption Method ......................................................49

Refine Backup Selections ..........................................................52

Set Your Destination and Start Backups......................................56

Monitor and Control Backup Progress .........................................58

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Work with Backup Sets ............................................................62

Manage Destinations................................................................64

Restore Data

Restore Using the CrashPlan Client ............................................68

Restore from a Friend’s Computer..............................................73

Restore in a Web Browser .........................................................74

Receive Files on a Hard Drive ....................................................76

Use Special CrashPlan Features

Add a Computer to a Family Unlimited Plan .................................79

Switch to a New Computer........................................................80

Seed a Backup ........................................................................82

Pause (and Resume) CrashPlan .................................................85

Back Up Databases and Open Files ............................................86

Customize CrashPlan Settings

General Settings .....................................................................87

Backup Settings ......................................................................96

Account Settings ...................................................................101

Security Settings ...................................................................102

Network Settings ...................................................................102

Use CrashPlan PRO Online

Use the Dashboard ................................................................108

Manage Users .......................................................................109

Manage Computers ................................................................112

Set Device Defaults ...............................................................113

Adjust Other Settings.............................................................115

View and Edit Your Profile .......................................................115

Manage Your Account .............................................................115

Use CrashPlan on the Go

CrashPlan Mobile Basics .........................................................116

Common Features .................................................................118

Platform-Specific Features ......................................................118

Solve CrashPlan Problems My Backup Seems to Be Starting Over......................................121

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A Destination Is Disconnected .................................................121

My Backup Seems to Have Stalled ...........................................123

CrashPlan Can’t Connect to the Local Backup Engine ..................124

My CrashPlan Cache Is Taking Up Too Much Space .....................124

CrashPlan (or Java) Is Overwhelming My CPU............................125

My Destination Ran Out of Space .............................................125

Go Beyond CrashPlan

Consider Other Backup Needs .................................................127

Create Bootable Duplicates (Mac) ............................................129

Create Disk Images (Windows/Linux) .......................................131

Learn More

About This Book Ebook Extras.........................................................................134

About the Author ...................................................................135

Author’s Acknowledgments .....................................................135

Shameless Plug .....................................................................136

About the Publisher................................................................136

Copyright and Fine Print

Featured Titles

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Read Me First Welcome to Take Control of CrashPlan Backups, version 1.0, published in March 2012 by TidBITS Publishing Inc. This book was written by Joe Kissell and edited by Adam Engst with assistance from Agen G.N. Schmitz.

CrashPlan is a powerful and flexible tool for backing up Macs and PCs. This book explains everything you need to know to back up one computer—or dozens—to any of numerous destinations with the consumer or small-business versions of CrashPlan. It covers basic concepts, configuration options, troubleshooting, and advanced techniques, all without presuming any existing technical expertise.

If you have an ebook version of this title, please note that if you want to share it with a friend, we ask that you do so as you would a physical book: “lend” it for a quick look, but ask your friend to buy a new copy to read it more carefully or to keep it for reference.

Copyright © 2012, Joe Kissell. All rights reserved.

Sponsored by Code 42 Software

This book was sponsored by , the Code 42 Softwaremakers of CrashPlan. Special thanks to Matthew Dornquast, Mike Evangelist, and Ryan Vanasse for their assistance in preparing this book!

Updates and More

You can access extras related to this book on the Web (use the link in Ebook Extras, near the end; it’s available only to purchasers). On the ebook’s Take Control Extras page, you can:

• Download various formats, including PDF, EPUB, and—usually— Mobipocket. (Learn about reading this ebook on handheld devices at http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/device-advice.)

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http://code42.com/

http://code42.com/

http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/device-advice


http://code42.com/


• Read postings to the ebook’s blog. These may include new tips or information, as well as links to author interviews. At the top of the blog, you can also see any update plans for the ebook.

• Download any available new version of the ebook for free, or buy any subsequent edition at a discount.

• Get a discount when you order a print copy of the ebook.

If you bought this ebook from the Take Control Web site, it has been added to your account, where you can download it in other formats and access any future updates. However, if you bought this ebook elsewhere, you can add it to your account manually; see Ebook Extras.

Basics

Here are a few rules of the road that will help you read this ebook:

• Links: All blue text in this ebook is hot, meaning you can click (or tap) it, just like a link on the Web. If you click a link to switch to a different part of the ebook, you can return quickly to where you were if your ebook reader offers a “back” feature. For example, if you use iBooks in iOS to read the EPUB version of this ebook, you can tap the “Back to” link at the lower left of the screen (you may have to tap the screen once to activate the navigation controls). Or, if you use Preview on the Mac to read the PDF version of this ebook, you can choose Go > Back (or press Command-[ ).

• Menus: Where I describe choosing a command from a menu in the menu bar, I use an abbreviated description. For example, the abbreviated description for the menu command that saves a file in most applications is “File > Save.”

• Path syntax: This book occasionally uses a path to show the location of a file or folder in your file system. For example, Mac OS X stores most utilities, such as Terminal, in the Utilities folder. The path to Terminal is: /Applications/Utilities/Terminal. Windows uses a similar system, except that it employs the backslash (\) instead of the slash (/). A slash or backslash at the beginning of a path tells you to start from the root level of the disk.

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• Big cats: I occasionally mention features specific to a particular version of Mac OS X, each of which Apple usually refers to by its “big cat” code name. The last several big cats are:

‣ Mountain Lion: 10.8

‣ Lion: 10.7

‣ Snow Leopard: 10.6

‣ Leopard: 10.5

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Introduction Back in 2004 when I wrote my first book about backups, I faced two big challenges. The first was convincing readers that they needed to back up their computers. For many people, data loss seemed like such a remote possibility—and the cost and bother of setting up a backup system seemed so high—that I felt obligated to do some gentle arm-twisting. The second challenge was explaining how to protect and restore data without losing one’s hair and sanity. It was a complicated process, and the best tools available at that time were comprehensible only to card-carrying, pocket protector-wearing computer geeks.

Well, computer years are like dog years—in less than a decade, we’ve made what feels like a lifetime of progress. Because people now store so much crucial data on their computers, and have become so dependent on that data, stories of devastating data loss have become that much more common and have worked their way into popular mythology. These days, even those lucky enough never to have lost important data themselves probably know of someone who has, and the consequences are self-evident enough that I no longer have to preach my “why you should back up” sermon. We all get it now.

Meanwhile, the options for backing up one’s data have mushroomed. For example, where I once was hard pressed to think of more than a handful of backup programs for the Mac, I can now list more than 100. Similar growth has occurred on other platforms. Specialized hardware for backups and cloud-based storage systems have also proliferated like crazy. And it’s not just the quantity of choices that has increased, but the quality too. Developers have looked deeply at the problems of backing up and restoring data, and have invented innovative solutions that reject the old assumptions in favor of clever software that brilliantly solves problems we didn’t even realize we had.

CrashPlan is perhaps the best example of this trend. When it first appeared in early 2007, I immediately realized it was a big deal. Within months it became one of my top recommendations, even as I complained that it forced me to rework all my carefully categorized lists of backup programs! Since then, the CrashPlan software has evolved tremendously, its price has dropped, and the availability of faster and cheaper broadband has made online backups a realistic

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option for more and more people. For the past several years, most of my colleagues and I have relied on CrashPlan as an essential component of our backup strategies. Even though I’ve tried dozens of competing programs, nothing else gives me the feeling of security and flexibility that CrashPlan does.

As much as I admire CrashPlan’s capabilities, I’d be the first to admit that it’s not especially pretty. It’s a rather odd piece of software that doesn’t look or act like a normal Mac application on a Mac, or a normal Windows application on Windows. That’s not just a cosmetic issue, either. Although almost anyone can set up a basic backup without assistance, many of CrashPlan’s best features are far from self-explanatory. You can learn how to accomplish whatever you need to do if you’re willing to experiment and dig through FAQs, support articles, and discussion forums. But in lieu of a perfectly intuitive redesign of the software, what I’ve always wished for was a systematic yet approachable explanation of how to get the most out of CrashPlan. Not just how to use the individual features, but how to think about the program, and how to create a strategy that plays to CrashPlan’s strengths while meeting each person’s individual needs.

That’s why I wrote this book. I want you to like CrashPlan as much as I do, and get as much benefit from it as you can. I want you to see its inner beauty and discover its great personality, as it were. Most of all, I want you to know for certain, as I do, that your data is utterly safe from any conceivable catastrophe—and be confident about the exact steps you can take to restore any file that goes astray.

This book is for anyone who uses the consumer or small-business version of CrashPlan. (I don’t cover CrashPlan PROe, the enterprise version.) Because CrashPlan is nearly identical on Mac, Windows, Linux, and Solaris platforms, you should find this book useful regardless of your operating system—although admittedly I focus most of my attention on the Mac and Windows and the least on Solaris.

Whether you’re an individual user at home or the administrator of dozens of computers in a busy office—and whether you’re a relative beginner or a networking pro—you’ve come to the right place to learn all the ins and outs of protecting your valuable data with CrashPlan.

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CrashPlan Quick Start For the most part, this book progresses from the general and basic to the specific and advanced, so if you’re just starting out with CrashPlan, you’ll benefit from reading it more or less in order, skipping any chapters that don’t apply to the version of CrashPlan you use. In any case, I suggest perusing the first chapter, Understand CrashPlan Basics, before turning to other parts of the book, to learn about CrashPlan’s core principles and terminology.

Start on the right foot: • Learn about the important concepts and terms in CrashPlan; see

Understand CrashPlan Basics.

• Decide which backup approach works best for you in Devise a CrashPlan Strategy.

Back up and restore your data: • Protect your data right now! Read Set Up a CrashPlan Backup.

• When disaster strikes, don’t panic; follow the steps in Restore Data.

• Discover how to perform important but less-common tasks in Use Special CrashPlan Features.

Adapt CrashPlan to your needs: • Adjust preferences to meet your needs, and fine-tune CrashPlan for

optimal performance; read Customize CrashPlan Settings.

• CrashPlan PRO users only: Administer users and computers in the Web-based management console; see Use CrashPlan PRO Online.

• View and download backed-up files with your smartphone or tablet; see Use CrashPlan on the Go.

Address backup limitations: • If you need help troubleshooting unexpected behavior, find

guidance in Solve CrashPlan Problems.

• Learn about backup strategies for situations outside CrashPlan’s purview; see Go Beyond CrashPlan.

• To get help with anything not covered in this book, see Learn More.

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Understand CrashPlan Basics You can set up a simple CrashPlan backup without knowing anything about what’s going on behind the scenes. But CrashPlan is unlike any other backup program you may have used, with lots of clever capabilities that may not be obvious at first glance, and that may not work the way you expect.

In this chapter, I explore the concepts, terms, and features you should understand in order to make sense of CrashPlan (and the rest of the book).

CrashPlan Versions

Although I frequently use the name “CrashPlan” as though it refers to a single thing, that’s a bit of a fiction. In fact, the CrashPlan software comes in four versions, which share many features in common:

• CrashPlan: The free consumer version of CrashPlan, which can back up selected files to one or more destinations, once per day

• CrashPlan+: The paid consumer version of CrashPlan, which adds continuous backups, multiple backup sets, an online storage option, restoring data via a Web browser, stronger encryption, free upgrades, and technical support

• CrashPlan PRO: The small-business version of CrashPlan, which includes administration features for up to 200 computers, but also omits a few features of the consumer version (such as peer-to-peer backup, guest restore, and receiving files on a hard disk)

• CrashPlan PROe: The enterprise version of CrashPlan, designed for large businesses with anywhere from hundreds to hundreds of thousands of computers; adds many additional administrative features and supports in-house servers

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Devise a CrashPlan Strategy If you leave out an essential ingredient (say, baking soda) when making a cake, you can’t just toss it in after the cake comes out of the oven. You have to start over from scratch. It’s not the end of the world, but it’s wasted time and effort. The same thing applies to your backups. Of course you can change your mind after the fact about what data you back up, in which manner, and to which destinations—but certain changes can be agonizing in that they require you to restart from the very beginning a backup that may take days or even weeks. I think we’d all prefer to avoid that extra hassle. And if such a change should truly become necessary, we should at least understand clearly the benefits and consequences.

In this chapter, I help you make wise decisions from the start about where to back up your data, which data to select, how to encrypt it, and other factors that will make your ongoing backups that much smoother and more understandable.

Decide Which Destination(s) to Use

The two most important decisions to make are what data to back up and where to store it. They go hand in hand, and you shouldn’t decide firmly about either without considering the other. Since CrashPlan’s design emphasizes flexibility in choosing destinations and downplays the need to select which data to back up, we’ll start with where you should store your data.

As I say repeatedly in this book, you should plan on using at least two different destinations. That way you always have a backup for your backups in case one destination fails for some reason (hard drive problems, network outages, and so on)—something that, I’m sorry to say, I’ve experienced myself quite a few times. Although you don’t have to make an either/or decision, you can choose which combination of destinations is best for you, and which data should go to each one.

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Set Up a CrashPlan Backup If you’ve read the last chapter, Devise a CrashPlan Strategy, you should have a pretty clear idea of how you want to use CrashPlan— which destination(s) you’ll use, which data you want to back up, and which encryption method you’ll employ. Now it’s time to make it happen. In this chapter, we walk through the entire process, starting with installing CrashPlan and including all the major options, such as multiple destinations and backup sets.

Note that the order in which I suggest you do things is quite a bit different from what CrashPlan’s online help says. If you go with the “official” approach, then depending on which options you prefer, you may end up having to restart your backups later on. To avoid that, I have you do more configuration up front—it’ll take a few more steps before you click that Start Backups button, but once you do, you’ll know you won’t have to start over again an hour later.

Install CrashPlan

For the most part, installing the CrashPlan (or CrashPlan PRO) application is self-explanatory, and is just like installing any other application (with a couple of minor exceptions for Mac users). Follow these steps:

1. Download CrashPlan:

‣ CrashPlan/CrashPlan+: Go to https://www.crashplan.com/ consumer/download.html and click the link for your operating system. Note that there’s no difference in software between CrashPlan and CrashPlan+; adding a valid CrashPlan+ license activates its additional features.

‣ CrashPlan PRO: Go to http://www.crashplan.com/business/, click Try/Buy > Download CrashPlan PRO, and then click the icon for your operating system. While you’re there, click Sign Up Now and follow the prompts to set up an account, which you’ll

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http://www.crashplan.com/business/

http://www.crashplan.com/business/


Restore Data The unthinkable happened—you lost a file, a folder, or even your entire computer. But you’re not going to panic, because CrashPlan has you covered! Whether you need to retrieve an older version of a file that you accidentally overwrote or reconstitute hundreds of gigabytes of data from a lost or stolen computer, CrashPlan makes the process as painless as it can be. You also have a number of restoration options that may not be immediately evident. This chapter describes all the ways you can restore data backed up with CrashPlan and helps you decide on the best approach.

Restoring from Scratch

CrashPlan is not designed to back up every single file on your disk, and even if you were to coax it into doing so, it would be unable to restore everything to a pristine, bootable state (sometimes known as a “bare metal” restore). That’s one of the reasons I suggest supplementing your CrashPlan backups with an additional method that can do just that (see Go Beyond CrashPlan) and why I say not to bother backing up system files with CrashPlan (see Data You Might Think You Should Add, but Shouldn’t).

If you do have to restore an entire disk from scratch, the best way is to use a bootable duplicate or image-based backup for that purpose, and then use CrashPlan to restore any data it backed up since you created that full-disk backup. Failing that, you may have to reinstall your operating system and applications (including CrashPlan) from original media or downloads, and then use CrashPlan to restore all the data it backed up.

Restore Using the CrashPlan Client

The easiest way to restore files is to use the CrashPlan application running on your own computer. Restoration isn’t difficult, but several aspects of the process are less than obvious. Once you see how it’s done, you should find it straightforward.

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Use Special CrashPlan Features Most of the time, the steps covered earlier in Set Up a CrashPlan Backup are all you need to protect your data. But depending on your situation, you may encounter the occasional need to perform a few additional operations that aren’t exactly advanced, but let’s say, less than obvious. This chapter discusses tasks like adding a computer to a CrashPlan+ Family Unlimited plan, switching to a new computer without having to restart your backups from scratch, seeding a remote backup by loading files onto a hard drive, and other slightly less common activities.

Add a Computer to a Family Unlimited Plan

CrashPlan+ only: The Family Unlimited plan, as part of CrashPlan Central, is available only as part of CrashPlan+.

If you buy a subscription to a Family Unlimited plan for CrashPlan Central (https://www.crashplan.com/consumer/store.vtl), then up to 10 computers you own can back up an unlimited quantity of data online. The only prerequisites are that your CrashPlan Central license key (which you received when you purchased your subscription, and can also find on the My Account page at https://www.crashplan.com/ account/myaccount/my_account.vtl) has been entered on one of the computers, and that all of them are logged in to the same account.

Here are the detailed steps to follow once you have your license key:

1. In one copy of CrashPlan, go to the Account page of the Settings tab, enter your license key, and click Save. (If you copy the entire key to your Clipboard, you can simply click in the first field and paste—it’s not necessary to paste the key four characters at a time!)

2. If you haven’t already started backing up that computer to CrashPlan Central, go to the Backup tab and click the Start Backup button next to “CrashPlan Central.”

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https://www.crashplan.com/consumer/store.vtl

https://www.crashplan.com/consumer/store.vtl

https://www.crashplan.com/account/myaccount/my_account.vtl





Customize CrashPlan Settings Tucked away on the Settings tab are a host of preferences for customizing CrashPlan’s behavior. These aren’t all trivial changes, either—for example, you can significantly increase performance, improve your security, and even fine-tune the manner in which CrashPlan stores (and prunes) older versions of backed-up files.

In this chapter, I cover the most interesting and useful settings you can adjust. I deliberately omit a few, including some that are covered elsewhere in this book and others that should only be changed in consultation with a technician from Code 42 Software.

General Settings

Go to the General page of the Settings tab (Figure 8) to configure a variety of miscellaneous (but important) settings.

Figure 8: Adjust miscellaneous settings on the General page.

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Use CrashPlan PRO Online The CrashPlan PRO Online management console is the Web-based interface in which PRO users can administer all of the users and computers in their account. In this chapter, I cover the major operations one can perform in CrashPlan PRO Online. I have made no effort to be exhaustive, however—I’ve deliberately omitted (or glossed over) certain items that are either self-explanatory or needed only on rare occasions. To learn about features I don’t cover here, consult http://www.crashplan.com/business/support.

Everything in this chapter requires you to log in to your PRO Online account. To do this, go to http://www.crashplanpro.com/redirect/ en/account_business/ and enter the email address and password you used when you signed up for your CrashPlan PRO account. (Later, after you add administrators to your account, they can log in here with their own credentials.)

CrashPlan PRO only: Non-PRO (that is, CrashPlan and CrashPlan+) users, there’s nothing to see here—skip right ahead to the next chapter, Use CrashPlan on the Go.

Use the Dashboard

When you initially sign in to CrashPlan PRO Online, you see your account’s Dashboard (Figure 18), an overview of the users, devices, and data in your account. It’s divided into six mini panes:

• Online Devices: The number of devices currently backing up to your account, with inbound and outbound bandwidth used and a graph of recent activity

• Total Size: Total amount of data backed up (essential to know if you don’t have a CrashPlan PRO subscription with unlimited data), and a graph showing changes over the past 30 days

• Users: Total number of users in your account, with the average amount of data and number of devices per user, and a graph showing how total data is divided among users

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CrashPlan’s servers.

The CrashPlan mobile apps are for CrashPlan+

Use CrashPlan on the Go If you’re a CrashPlan+ user (with data backed up to CrashPlan Central) or a CrashPlan PRO user (with data backed up to PRO Cloud), you can use a mobile CrashPlan app for iOS, Android, or Windows Phone 7 to list, download, and view your backed-up files. In this chapter, I briefly explain how to use the major features of these mobile apps.

If you don’t have a compatible smartphone or tablet—or if you don’t use CrashPlan Central or PRO Cloud—move right along to the next chapter, Solve CrashPlan Problems.

CrashPlan+ The CrashPlan mobile apps are for CrashPlan+ and CrashPlan PRO users with files stored on

CrashPlan PRO and CrashPlan PRO users with files stored on CrashPlan’s servers.

CrashPlan Mobile Basics

First things first: CrashPlan Mobile is not an app for backing up your smartphone or tablet! It’s designed only to let you access data from your Mac or PC that you’ve backed up with CrashPlan. In particular, you should be aware of the following:

• CrashPlan Mobile comes in two flavors for each platform— plain CrashPlan (for CrashPlan+ users) and CrashPlan PRO (for CrashPlan PRO users). All the versions are free; you can download them from the following locations:

‣ CrashPlan (iOS): http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/crashplan/id462565520

‣ CrashPlan PRO (iOS): http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ crashplan-pro/id462562115

‣ CrashPlan (Android): https://play.google.com/store/apps/ details?id=com.code42.crashplan.android

‣ CrashPlan PRO (Android): https://play.google.com/store/apps/ details?id=com.code42.crashplanpro.android

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https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.code42.crashplan.android



https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.code42.crashplanpro.android





Solve CrashPlan Problems Behind CrashPlan’s unassuming exterior is a complex backup utility tied to an extensive online infrastructure. Although CrashPlan is extraordinarily reliable, as in any complex system, unexpected problems do occasionally occur. In this chapter, I review some of the most common situations that can leave CrashPlan users scratching their heads. For problems not covered here, I refer you to other support resources later in the final chapter, Learn More.

My Backup Seems to Be Starting Over

Every once in a while, you may look at the progress bar for a certain destination and notice that it’s far behind where it once was. Perhaps it was even completely full yesterday, but now it looks like only a third of your backup has finished. What in the world? Shall I panic?

Please don’t panic. Unless you’ve switched computers or drives (in which case you should check out the instructions in Switch to a New Computer), you’re probably just seeing another effect of CrashPlan’s frequently unrealistic time estimates (see About CrashPlan’s Time Estimates). This happens, for example, if you (intentionally or otherwise) delete CrashPlan’s local cache and it needs to be rebuilt, as I discuss in My CrashPlan Cache Is Taking Up Too Much Space, ahead in this chapter.

In any case, a too-empty progress bar almost certainly doesn’t mean that all your files have to be backed up again. Close the CrashPlan application, go have a nice cup of tea, and come back in an hour or to. You’ll most likely find that the estimate of time remaining looks much more promising.

A Destination Is Disconnected

If a gray status dot appears next to a destination’s name on CrashPlan’s Backup, Settings, or Destinations tab, it means your local copy of CrashPlan is currently disconnected from that destination. If a destination is disconnected for a few minutes or even a few hours, it’s

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Go Beyond CrashPlan You know by now that I’m a huge fan of CrashPlan and consider it one of the best and most capable backup programs in existence. And yet, I’d be doing you a disservice if I let you believe that CrashPlan alone is the complete solution to all your backup needs. No matter how many different destinations you choose, you’ll be missing one or more crucial aspects of a thorough backup regimen if you use CrashPlan and nothing else.

In this chapter I cover additional steps you may want to take to fill in some of those gaps. In particular, for Mac users, I talk about the need for bootable duplicates and discuss how CrashPlan interacts with Time Machine. And for Windows and Linux users, I discuss imaging software and its place in a balanced backup diet.

Consider Other Backup Needs

CrashPlan isn’t the only way to back up your computer, and most people will benefit from using at least one other backup method in addition to CrashPlan. I’m thinking primarily of the following:

• Bootable duplicates: Mac users can copy their entire startup disk to another disk in such a way that the copy can be used as a boot volume if the regular startup disk fails. This lets you get back to work instantly in the result of a major problem, without the major time expenditure of reinstalling your operating system and then restoring all your files from a backup.

• Imaging: For Windows and Linux PCs, the nearest neighbor of the bootable duplicate is an image of your disk—a complete copy stored in a special file on other media that can be used to recreate your original disk bit-for-bit. You can’t boot directly from an image, but you can boot from another volume (such as a boot CD) and then restore the image to your original disk or to a new disk fairly quickly—a process sometimes known as a “bare-metal restore.” Again, it’s far faster than starting over from scratch and restoring a full CrashPlan backup.

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Learn More I hope to have given you enough information in this book to accomplish almost anything you may need to do with CrashPlan, CrashPlan+, or CrashPlan PRO—and enough to grasp at least the basics of bootable duplicates (on a Mac) and imaging (on Windows or Linux PCs). However, if you’re a Mac user and want to learn much more about backups in general, including how to select backup hardware, the details of creating bootable duplicates, and how to deal with various kinds of unusual backup scenarios, I suggest picking up a copy of my book Take Control of Backing Up Your Mac ($15).

If you have questions about CrashPlan that this book doesn’t answer, you should start by visiting CrashPlan’s support site for your product:

• CrashPlan/CrashPlan+: http://support.crashplan.com/

• CrashPlan PRO: http://www.crashplan.com/business/support

These sites include links to reference guides, technical articles, FAQs, videos, and other support materials—including ways to contact CrashPlan’s support technicians. Of particular mention, they both link to the CrashPlan User Forums at https://crashplan.zendesk.com/ forums, where you can discuss questions, problems, and solutions with other CrashPlan users as well as with representatives from the company.

You can also interact with representatives from Code 42 Software via social media; the company is active on Twitter (@crashplan), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/CrashPlan), and Google+ (https:// plus.google.com/117125136842392698657/).

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About This Book Thank you for purchasing this Take Control book. We hope you find it both useful and enjoyable to read. We welcome your comments at [email protected].

Ebook Extras

You can access extras related to this ebook on the Web. Once you’re on the ebook’s Take Control Extras page, you can:

• Download various formats, including PDF, EPUB, and—usually— Mobipocket. (Learn about reading this ebook on handheld devices at http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/device-advice.)

• Download any available new version of the ebook for free, or buy a subsequent edition at a discount.

• Read postings to the ebook’s blog. These may include new information and tips, as well as links to author interviews. At the top of the blog, you can also see any update plans for the ebook.

• Get a discount when you order a print copy of the ebook.

If you bought this ebook from the Take Control Web site, it has been automatically added to your account, where you can download it in other formats and access any future updates. However, if you bought this ebook elsewhere, you can add it to your account manually:

• If you already have a Take Control account, log in to your account, and then click the “access extras…” link above.

• If you don’t have a Take Control account, first make one by following the directions that appear when you click the “access extras…” link above. Then, once you are logged in to your new account, add your ebook by clicking the “access extras…” link a second time.

Note: If you try the directions above and find that the device you’re reading on is incompatible with the Take Control Web site, contact us at [email protected].

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About the Author

Joe Kissell is Senior Editor of TidBITS, a Web site and email newsletter about Apple and the Internet, and the author of numerous print and electronic books about Macintosh software, including Take Control of iCloud and Take Control of Backing Up Your Mac. He is also a Senior Contributor to Macworld, was the winner of a 2009 Neal award for Best How-to Article, and has appeared on the MacTech 25 list since 2007. Joe has worked in the Mac software industry since the early 1990s, including positions managing software development for Nisus Software and Kensington Technology Group. In his increasingly imaginary spare time, Joe likes to travel, cook, walk, and practice t’ai chi. He lives in Paris with his wife, Morgen Jahnke, their son, Soren, and their cat, Zora.

To contact Joe about this book, send him email at [email protected] and include Take Control of CrashPlan Backups in the subject so his spam filters won’t intercept it. Better yet, if appropriate, post your question publicly in our forums at http://www.getsatisfaction.com/ takecontrolbooks/. But please note: While Joe is happy to answer questions about this book and consider suggestions for future editions, he’s unable to offer any technical support with CrashPlan itself. If you have specific questions about using CrashPlan or solving problems, please refer to the resources on the Learn More page.

Author’s Acknowledgments

Thanks to Adam Engst, Tonya Engst, and Agen G.N. Schmitz for their efforts in editing and producing this book. Ryan Vanasse from Code 42 Software was incredibly helpful in answering technical questions and reviewing the book for accuracy. Finally, big thanks to Mike Evangelist and Matthew Dornquast for helping to make the book a reality!

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Shameless Plug

Although I write about computers as my day job, I have a great many other interests, which I write about on several Web sites, including Interesting Thing of the Day and my personal blog. You can find links to all my sites, a list of all my publications, and personal details about me at JoeKissell.com. You can also follow me on Twitter (@joekissell).

About the Publisher

Publishers Adam and Tonya Engst have been creating Apple-related content since they started the online newsletter TidBITS, in 1990. In TidBITS, you can find the latest Apple news, plus read reviews, opinions, and more (http://tidbits.com/). Adam and Tonya are known in the Apple world as writers, editors, and speakers. They are also parents to Tristan, who thinks that an ebook about Minecraft would be cool.

Production credits: • Take Control logo: Jeff Tolbert

• Cover design: Jon Hersh

• Editor, Publisher: Adam Engst

• Editor in Chief: Tonya Engst

• Editing Assistant: Agen G.N. Schmitz

• Production Assistants: Michael E. Cohen and Oliver Habicht

Thanks to Kim for new trails and new ideas!

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Copyright and Fine Print

Take Control of CrashPlan Backups ISBN: 978-1-61542-404-7

Copyright © 2012, Joe Kissell. All rights reserved.

TidBITS Publishing Inc. 50 Hickory Road

Ithaca, NY 14850 USA http://www.takecontrolbooks.com/

Take Control electronic books help readers regain a measure of control in an oftentimes out-of-control universe. Take Control ebooks also streamline the publication process so that information about quickly changing technical topics can be published while it’s still relevant and accurate.

This electronic book doesn’t use copy protection because copy protection makes life harder for everyone. So we ask a favor of our readers. If you want to share your copy of this ebook with a friend, please do so as you would a physical book, meaning that if your friend uses it regularly, he or she should buy a copy. Your support makes it possible for future Take Control ebooks to hit the Internet long before you’d find the same information in a printed book. Plus, if you buy the ebook, you’re entitled to any free updates that become available.

Although the author and TidBITS Publishing Inc. have made a reasonable effort to ensure the accuracy of the information herein, they assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. The information in this ebook is distributed “As Is,” without warranty of any kind. Neither TidBITS Publishing Inc. nor the author shall be liable to any person or entity for any special, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, including without limitation lost revenues or lost profits, that may result (or that are alleged to result) from the use of these materials. In other words, use this information at your own risk.

Many of the designations used to distinguish products and services are claimed as trademarks or service marks. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features that appear in this title are assumed to be the property of their respective owners. All product names and services are used in an editorial fashion only, with no intention of infringement of the trademark. No such use, or the use of any trade name, is meant to convey endorsement or other affiliation with this title.

This title is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Because of the nature of this title, it uses terms that are trademarks or that are the registered trademarks of Apple Inc.; to view a complete list of the trademarks and of the registered trademarks of Apple Inc., you can visit http:// www.apple.com/legal/trademark/appletmlist.html.

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Featured Titles Click any book title below or visit our Web catalog to add more ebooks to your Take Control collection!

Take Control of Backing Up Your Mac (Joe Kissell): Set up a rock-solid backup strategy so that you can restore quickly and completely, no matter what catastrophe arises.

Take Control of iCloud (Joe Kissell): Understand the many features, get set up properly, and enjoy iCloud!

Take Control of iTunes 10: The FAQ (Kirk McElhearn): This FAQ-style ebook helps you wrap iTunes around your little finger and enjoy your media more.

Take Control of Maintaining Your Mac (Joe Kissell): Find a commonsense approach to avoiding problems and ensuring that your Mac runs at peak performance.

Take Control of Recording with GarageBand ’11 (Jeff Tolbert): Create musical compositions with vocals, drums, guitars, and even the kitchen sink!

Take Control of Screen Sharing in Lion (Glenn Fleishman): Figure out which type of screen sharing to use when and how to get the most out of screen sharing.

Take Control of Upgrading to Lion (Joe Kissell): Find friendly advice that prepares you for a successful installation of Mac OS X 10.7 Lion, plus learn how to best run the installer while avoiding problems.

Take Control of Using Lion (Matt Neuburg): Learn to use 10.7 Lion effectively, whether you embrace all of Lion’s new features or strike a balance between old and new.

Take Control of Your 802.11n AirPort Network (Glenn Fleishman): Make your AirPort network fly—get help with buying the best gear, set up, security, and more.

Take Control of Your Paperless Office (Joe Kissell): With your Mac, scanner, and this ebook in hand, you’ll finally clear the chaos of an office overflowing with paper.

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take control of crashplan backups (1.0) sample which data to back up .....36 choose an encryption...

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