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Cover Your Assets ... Remotely

By itself, the drive could be used for manual data backups, but Procom has taken it to the next level of usability by including Second Copy 2000, an automatic backup utility from Centered Systems. Second Copy automates the process of copying your data to an external drive. Then, based on the schedule you set up, it copies any updated files in the background. The software also offers advanced options, including zip compression, synchronization and version archiving.

Device Setup

I tested the 30-GB ProMobile device (Model PM30-USB) on my laptop running Microsoft Windows XP via the onboard USB 1.1 port. Windows immediately detected the drive and started the Second Copy 2000 installer application. After the software was installed, the profile wizard prompted me to create the first set of backup settings. The express configuration is straightforward: Simply enter what to copy, where to copy it to and how often to check for updates; then assign the profile a name.

At the first scheduled backup time, all files are copied to the location you selected. Successive runs will copy only those files that have been modified, saving time and valuable bandwidth. In addition, the software gives both visual and audible warnings if files it is attempting to copy are in use.

For testing purposes I created two profiles. In the first, I backed up My Documents to a directory called Document Backup on the external drive. The second profile compressed my Outlook data into a zip file on the drive each time

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