Those who are not familiar with this company think that when they restore files from Carbonite, he would need to go through a complicated and tedious process. But this couldn’t be further from the truth as Carbonite Backup is one of the most user-friendly online backup services available today. The company has made a name for itself as the leading service provider in the industry with computer backup services that are very affordable, and backup and restore process that are so simple, you don’t need to be a geek or a techie to figure them out.

If you are ever faced with the task of restoring your files after reformatting your hard drive or after a computer crash, the first thing you would need to do is download the Carbonite software again. As soon as you do this, the setup wizard will ask you to choose from two options – restore your files later or restore your files now. If you choose to retrieve them right there and then, you will then be asked if you prefer the files downloaded to their original locations, or choose specific files for specific users. Most users would choose option one but even the more advanced option is not that difficult to follow.

In restoring files from Carbonite, you also have the choice to restore a single file or an older file version. To do this, first you would need to go to My Computer, where Carbonite is listed as a virtual drive. Open the drive and go through it just as you would any other computer drive. You should be able to find all your files there. Once you locate the particular file you want to restore, highlight it, and click Restore to download it back to its previous location. You may also click Restore To to send the file to another location. If you want to restore an older version of a particular file (up to three months back), click on Restore Previous Version.

However, you need to understand that while Carbonite offers great service, it is not a perfect backup solution. Depending on the file size, restoring files can take some time. For instance, a file of a few hundred megabytes can take hours or even days to fully download. Although most users tend to overlook this fact and seem to not mind the number of hours spent waiting for the data as soon as the recovery is successful, some users who want their files back in a snap and consider the slow process as a huge inconvenience.

Carbonite is far from perfect, but it could be the best option you have. It has its flaws yes, but for the fee they are charging, they are entitled to some. Other companies offer practically the same services, but at a price ten times higher. Plus, you won’t need to jump through hoops when you restore files from Carbonite so on the whole, you get everything you would need from an online backup service.