REBIT BACKUP APPLIANCE

All articles on this site are by Harry Skevington unless otherwise noted with another byline

Rebit External Backup Appliance
A no-brainer backup for all of us
REBIT ON LENOVO
I am always looking for simple nontechnical solutions to problems I have. Backup answers are among the most needed. When I opened the box and plugged the tiny Re Bit 120 GB External backup drive into a ThinkPad USB port I was amazed that, after two mouse clicks, it began the audit and backup of the 120 Gig ThinkPad drive without the need of an installation CD. I know it had to do some stuff but that was in the background.

Over fifty percent of computer users do not backup their drives. In my case I have two external hard drives one 250 gig and the other 500 gig. I also have thumb drives, and several mini external drives like the Verbatim Store ‘n’ Go USB Drive. I have not had a REAL cohesive backup solution until now. Most of that is my fault. I get in a hurry so I just connect a drive, choose the folders I want to copy, and dump them onto it. I then wrap the drive in bubble stuff and stick it into my bag hoping it will be OK when I get there. I always miss files that I forgot to copy to this traveling mess. I seldom purge the external drives so am filling them up with duplicate copies of many folders and files. Also my way does not give me a full backup of all system and windows files.

USB CONNECTION STARTS BACKUP Rebit drives come in 80, 120, 160, 320, or 500 Gig sizes. Just choose the one that is larger than the drive you have in your computer. If you have several drives on the same computer the Rebit will need to be large enough to cover all of them. A Rebit Backup Solution drive cannot be used on more than one computer unless you reset it. There is a very comprehensive help file available when you right click the tiny frog icon in the lower right of the XP Taskbar. Keep in mind the Rebit is NOT a device to be used to transfer files from one computer to another. It is a backup device and is great for that purpose only. I sent an email to the company and received a reply to all my questions from David Schwaab Rebit, Inc. Director of Product Marketing. The answers were so helpful that I have included them through this link.

To quote Rebit:
Rebit backs up everything on your computer, from pictures to e-mails, even your applications, settings and operating system, without your intervention. You don’t do anything. There are no schedules to set, no backup media to set up. Plug it in, and it’s always there for you. Moments after a file is created or deleted, Rebit will back it up. And if you unplug Rebit, it will automatically catch up from where it left off once you plug it back in again. As Rebit becomes full over time, it will delete the oldest backups to make room for the newest backups, ensuring that all of the files on your PC are always backed up.

I have tested most of the above claims and they are true! I have not needed to restore a drive using Rebit so cannot attest to that operation. I, like all of us, hope to never use that feature.

The Rebit connected to the Lenovo ThinkPad, continues to check the drive and backup new and/or changed files. I love it! The company states; “Ridiculously Simple Backup.” It is not often that I find a product the measures up to its advance PR. The Rebit is one of those."
For more information on Rebit’s current and future products CLICK HERE.