Support

Table of Contents

Pre-Installation

Getting started with CrashPlan involves:

Step One: Install CrashPlan on your computer and set up your account by providing an email address and a password.

Step Two: Download and install CrashPlan on each of the computers to which you want to backup your files. If you don’t want to back up to another computer, you can instead back up to the CrashPlan Central server for a small fee.

Step Three: Create an account and specify what you want to backup, to whom and when.

Step Four: If a file is deleted accidentally, becomes corrupted, or your hard drive fails, you can restore the files you’ve backed up and get them back.

Before you download the CrashPlan application, make sure your computer meets the system requirements for your platform.

Mac

  • Mac OS X 10.4 or higher
  • 1 GB RAM
  • 32-bit Java
  • 800 x 600 display
  • 250 MB available disk space
  • Internet connection: DSL, broadband or better

Windows

  • Windows Vista, XP, or 2000; Windows Server 2000 or 2003
  • 1 GB RAM
  • 800 x 600 display
  • 250 MB available disk space
  • Internet connection: DSL, broadband or better

Linux

  • 1 GB RAM
  • 800 x 600 display
  • 250 MB available disk space
  • Internet connection: DSL, broadband or better

Installation

  1. Download CrashPlan for your operating system from www.crashplan.com/download.vtl
  2. After a few moments the CrashPlan installer will be on your computer.
  3. Unzip the installer.
  4. Run the CrashPlan Installer:

Mac

  • Double-click the crashplan.pkg icon on your desktop.
  • In the install window, click the crashplan.dmg icon. The Set-up Assistant will guide you through the rest of the installation.
  • If you are backing up a File Vault-protected account, make sure to select Change Install Location… to install as the user who owns the File Vault account.

Windows

  • Double-click the CrashPlan EXE file you downloaded.
  • In the Installation Wizard window, follow the prompts and accept the default destination location.

Linux

  • Navigate to the unzipped folder.
  • Run the install.sh shell script.
  • Follow the prompts.

How CrashPlan Works

There are two parts to CrashPlan: the Desktop and the Engine.

CrashPlan Desktop

  • The Desktop is the environment you log into to access your CrashPlan account, invite friends, and specify your CrashPlan backup and restore preferences.

CrashPlan Engine

  • The Engine is the behind-the-scenes part of the program that backs up and restores your files. It does its thing even if you've closed the CrashPlan Desktop.

  • All your files are compressed to make the backup as fast as possible. These files are also encrypted, ensuring your privacy. Bandwidth throttling keeps CrashPlan running quietly in the background, never slowing you down. If there's a problem with one of your backup destinations, you’re alerted by email.
  • CrashPlan+ is a souped up version of CrashPlan. It costs a little more, but if you need to back up to a specific version of a file (not just the most recently saved one) and would like the reassurance of backing up as soon as changes are detected, consider using CrashPlan+.
  • CrashPlan Central is our online backup service. If you prefer to back up to our servers instead of another computer, consider using CrashPlan Central. You can try out this service for 30 days for free.

Backup Scenarios

Even though onsite and offsite backup destinations each have their own advantages, when the worst happens, it’s good to have a backup plan that covers all the bases: an onsite backup destination for fast backup and restore operations and an offsite backup destination to handle local disasters.

Onsite (local) - Backing up one computer to another in the same house or office suite. This scenario assumes the computers are networked, connected by a cable or wireless connection.

Offsite (remote) - Backing up to a destination some physical distance from the source computer. For example, if you want to backup your home computer to an offsite location, you can back up to a friend’s computer or a computer at your office.

Advantages of onsite destinations:

  • Because the computers are physically near each other, backing up over a local network takes less time than sending your files over the Internet. Depending on the amount, backing up locally can be done in a few hours rather than days or weeks.
  • For the same reason that backing up to an onsite destination takes less time, restoring files from an onsite backup destination is much faster than restoring from an offsite one… requiring minutes instead of hours or days. A local destination is very convenient when you need to recover from a computer crash, where you have to restore a lot of files.
  • An onsite destination is easily accessible to you, presumably under your direct control and therefore always available.

Advantages of offsite destinations:

  • Because local disasters typically affect all the computers in a single location, backing up to offsite destinations reduces the risks of putting all your backup eggs in one basket.
  • Despite the fact that it takes longer to back up and restore files from an offsite location, having a couple of offsite destinations as part of your backup strategy ensures that you can retrieve your data when you need it.