Frequently Asked Questions

What is IDrive Local Backup?

IDrive encrypts all of your important files using 256-bit AES encryption while storing them to any local destination such as external drives or mapped drives. This way you can prevent unauthorized access even if the drives are stolen or misplaced.

Note:

• Drives of FAT32 format can backup files only up to 4 GB in size.
• Local backup for Windows computers can be restored to another Windows computer only.

How do I create a Local Backup of my file(s) / folder(s) on my system?

To create a Local Backup of your file(s) / folder(s),

1. Sign in to the IDrive application with your 'Username' and 'Password'.
2. Select the 'Local Backup' radio button under 'Backup'.
3. Click the 'Modify' button if you want to change the files/folders/drives in the backup set. Select desired files/folders for backup, and click 'OK'.
   
4. From the 'Backup location' section, click and select a location to backup your data to the local drive.
   
5. Click 'Backup Now'.

How do I add file(s) / folder(s) to my local backup set?

To add file(s) / folder(s) to your local backup set,

1. Select the 'Local Backup' radio button under 'Backup'.
2. Click the 'Modify' button. The 'Select files/folders for backup' screen appears.
   
3. Select the desired files/folders to add to the backup set.
4. Click 'OK'.
   

How can I schedule a local backup?

To schedule a local backup,

1. Select the 'Local Backup' radio button under 'Backup'.
2. Click 'Schedule' and the 'Schedule Backup' screen appears. By default, in the 'Backup set name' list, 'LocalBackupSet' is selected.
   
3. Modify the following scheduler parameters to schedule local backup and click 'Save Changes'.

1. Backup start time: Set the time at which your scheduled backup should start.
2. Daily: Select this option to run your backup jobs daily.
3. Custom: Select the days of the week on which you wish to run your backup jobs.
4. Start the backup immediately: Select this option to run a backup job immediately
5. Cut-Off time: Set the time at which your scheduled backup should stop.
6. Email notification: Select this option to receive email notifications on the status of the scheduled backup job. Enter the email address on which you want to receive the notifications.
7. Notify me on desktop: Receive notifications on the desktop regarding the status of scheduled backup job.
8. Start the missed scheduled backup when the computer is turned on: Select this option to resume a missed scheduled backup job due to the computer being turned off.

Can I create a local backup for my MS SQL, on-premise MS Exchange, on-premise MS SharePoint, Oracle, and Hyper-V servers?

Yes, you can create a local backup for your MS SQL, on-premise MS Exchange, on-premise MS SharePoint, Oracle, and Hyper-V servers using IDrive.

How do I create a Local Backup of my file(s) / folder(s) to the IDrive One device?

To create a Local Backup of your file(s) / folder(s) to the IDrive One device,

1. Sign in to the IDrive application with your Username and Password.
2. Connect to IDrive One from the list of available Wi-Fi connections.
3. Under ‘Backup’ select the 'Local Backup' radio button.
4. Click the 'Modify' button if you want to change the files/folders/drives in the backup set. Select desired files/folders for backup, and click ‘OK’.
5. From the ‘Backup location’ section, click and select IDrive One device to backup your data to the drive, then click 'OK'.
   
6. Click 'Backup Now'.

Can I view files backed up to the IDrive One device on my computer?

Files backed up to IDrive One device cannot be directly viewed on your desktop, as all your data is encrypted using 256-bit AES encryption. You must restore data from the IDrive One device via the IDrive desktop application to your computer to view your files.

How do I restore the data backed up on a local drive?

To restore data from a local drive,

1. Sign in to the IDrive application with your 'Username' and 'Password'.
2. Under 'Restore' select the ‘Local Restore’ radio button.
3. Select the required local drive. You will be able to see all the files/folders backed up to this local drive.
4. Select the file(s)/folder(s) to restore and choose the required version from the list under 'Version'.
5. Choose the desired 'Restore location' on the local computer.
6. Click 'Restore Now'.
   
   
   
   

Why is my Outlook .OST file not included in my Local Backup?

Microsoft Outlook’s *.ost file is a temporary, local cache of mailbox data stored on the server (e.g., Microsoft Exchange or Office 365). Since Outlook can recreate the *.ost file at any time by resyncing with the server, backing it up is often excluded from backup workflows.

Here are a few symptoms that indicate this exclusion:

1. You use Microsoft Outlook with Cached Exchange Mode enabled (creating an Offline Outlook Data File – *.ost).
2. You perform an IDrive Local Backup through the desktop app.
3. The backup completes successfully.
4. The *.ost file is missing from the backup set.

To ensure your *.ost file is included in the local backup, follow these four steps:

1. Open the Windows Registry Editor (start -> run -> regedit.exe)
2. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\BackupRestore\FilesNotToSnapshot
3. Delete the OutlookOST subkey
4. Create a new backup. The backup should contain the *.ost-file.

Does local backup for Windows support versioning?

Yes, local backup for Windows in IDrive supports versioning.

How many versions are stored for my local backups?

IDrive saves up to 28 versions of a file backed up locally, by default. You can choose to store between 14 to 70 versions of a file, in increments of 7, under 'Settings'.

How do I restore the previous versions of my local backup?

To restore previous versions,

1. Sign in to the IDrive application with your 'Username' and 'Password'.
2. Select the 'Local Restore’ radio button under 'Restore'.
3. Choose the drive location where your data is backed up.
   
4. Select the required version from the 'Version' drop-down.
   
5. Select the required files/folders you want to restore.
6. Click 'Restore Now'.
   

How do I delete a previous version of a backed up data?

To delete a previous version of your backed up data:

1. Sign in to the IDrive application with your 'Username' and 'Password'.
2. Select the 'Local Restore’ radio button under ‘Restore’.
3. Click .
   
4. In the 'Delete local backup versions' popup, select the versions you want to delete.
   Note: Any associated dependent files will also be deleted when deleting a version.
5. Click 'Delete'.
   

How do I create a Local Backup of my file(s) / folder(s) on my system?

To create a Local Backup of your file(s) / folder(s),

1. Sign in to the IDrive application with your 'Username' and 'Password'.
2. Select the 'Local Backup' radio button under 'Backup'.
3. Click the 'Modify' button if you want to change the files/folders/drives in the backup set. Select desired files/folders for backup, and click 'OK'.
4. From the ‘Backup location’ section, click and select a location to backup your data to the local drive.
5. Click 'Backup Now'.

How do I add file(s) / folder(s) to my local backup set?

To add file(s) / folder(s) to your local backup set,

1. Select the 'Local Backup’ radio button under 'Backup'.
2. Click the 'Modify' button. The 'Select files/folders for backup' screen appears.
   
3. Select the desired files/folders to add to the backup set.
4. Click 'OK'.
   

How can I schedule a local backup?

To schedule a local backup,

1. Select the 'Local Backup' radio button under ‘Backup’.
2. Click 'Schedule' and the 'Schedule Backup' screen appears. By default, in the 'Backup set name' list, 'LocalBackupSet' is selected.
   
3. Modify the following scheduler parameters to schedule local backup:

1. Backup start time: Set the time at which your scheduled backup should start.
2. Daily: Select this option to run your backup jobs daily.
3. Custom: Select the days of the week on which you wish to run your backup jobs.
4. Start the backup immediately: Select this option to run a backup job immediately.
5. Hourly schedule: Select this option to configure hourly backup operations.
6. Cut-Off time: Set the time at which your scheduled backup should stop.
7. Email notification: Select this option to receive email notifications on the status of the scheduled backup job. Enter the email address on which you want to receive the notifications.
8. Notify me on desktop: Receive notifications on the desktop regarding the status of scheduled backup job.
9. Start the missed scheduled backup when the computer is turned on: Select this option to resume a missed scheduled backup job due to the computer being turned off.

How can I check the status of my ongoing Backup operation?

The progress of ongoing local backup is displayed on the screen. Click to view details of the backup progress.

What will happen to my scheduled Local Backup job, if I log out of my Mac system before the scheduled hour?

The commonly used local backup destinations are external volumes and portable devices, which get unmounted when you log out of your Mac machine. So, if you log out of your system before the scheduled hour, the local backup will fail.

How do I create a Local Backup of my file(s) / folder(s) to the IDrive One device?

To create a Local Backup of your file(s) / folder(s) to the IDrive One device,

1. Sign in to the IDrive application with your Username and Password.
2. Connect to IDrive Wi-Fi from the list of available Wi-Fi connections.
3. Under ‘Backup’ select the 'Local Backup' radio button.
4. Click the 'Modify' button if you want to change the files/folders/drives in the backup set. Select desired files/folders for backup, and click ‘OK’.
5. From the ‘Backup location’ section, click and select IDrive One device to backup your data to the drive.
6. Click 'Backup Now'.

Note: Drives of FAT32 format can backup files only up to 4 GB in size.

Can I view files backed up to the IDrive One device on my computer?

Files backed up to IDrive One device cannot be directly viewed on your desktop, as all your data is encrypted using 256-bit AES encryption. You must restore data from the IDrive One via the IDrive desktop application to your computer to view your files.

How do I restore the data backed up on a local drive?

To restore data from a local drive,

1. Sign in to the IDrive application with your 'Username' and 'Password'.
2. Under 'Restore' select the ‘Local Restore’ radio button.
   
3. Select the required local drive. You will be able to see all the files/folders backed up to this local drive.
4. Select the file(s)/folder(s) to restore.
   
   
   
   
5. Choose the desired 'Restore location' on the local computer.
6. Click 'Restore Now'.

Note: Mac local backups can only be restored to Mac computers.

Does local backup for Mac support versioning?

No, local backup for Mac in IDrive does not support versioning.

Under 'Restore', I selected my external drive, but I am unable to view the backed-up data. What should I do?

Sometimes, backed-up files on a local or Express device may not appear due to intermittent issues. This can be resolved by re-indexing.

1. Go to 'Restore'.
2. Select 'Local Restore' or 'IDrive Express Restore'.
3. Select the desired drive from the destination dropdown.
4. Click anywhere within the Restore View section and click 'Re-index files / folders'.
   
5. Click 'Yes' on the confirmation popup.
   

Once re-indexing is complete, the backed-up files should be visible. If the issue persists, contact support.

How do I create a Local Backup of my file(s)/folder(s) on my system?

To create a Local Backup of your file(s)/folder(s),

1. Sign in to the IDrive application with your Username and Password.
2. Go to 'Backup' and select the 'Local Backup' radio button.
3. If you wish to modify the files, folders, or drives in the backup set, click 'Modify'.
   
4. Select the files or folders that you want to backup, then click 'OK'.
   
5. In the 'Backup location' section, click and select a location on your local drive for the backup.
   
6. Click 'Backup Now'.
   

How do I add file(s)/folder(s) to my local backup set?

To add file(s)/folder(s) to your local backup set:

1. Select the 'Local Backup' radio button under 'Backup'.
2. Click 'Modify'.
   
3. The 'Select files/folders for backup' screen appears.
   
4. Select the files or folders that you wish to add to the backup set.
5. Click 'OK' to confirm your selection.
   

How can I schedule a local backup?

To schedule a local backup:

1. Select the 'Local Backup' radio button under 'Backup'.
2. Click 'Schedule'. The 'Schedule Backup' screen appears.
   By default, 'LocalBackupSet' is selected in the 'Backup set name' list.
   
3. Modify the following scheduler settings to schedule your local backup and click 'Save Changes':
   • Backup start time: Set the time for your scheduled backup to begin.
     - Daily: Choose this option to run the backup job daily.
     - Custom: Select specific days of the week for the backup job to run.
   • Start the backup immediately: Select this option to initiate a backup job immediately.
   • Cut-off time: Set the time when your scheduled backup should stop.
   • Email notification: Select this option to receive email notifications about the status of your scheduled backup. Enter the email address for notifications.
   • Notify always: Enable this toggle button to get all backup notifications.
   • Notify me on desktop: Choose this option to receive desktop notifications about the status of your scheduled backup.
   

What will happen to my scheduled Local Backup job, if I log out of my Linux system before the scheduled hour?

Local backups are commonly stored on external drives or portable devices, which are unmounted when you log out of your Linux machine. As a result, logging out before the scheduled backup time will cause the backup to fail.

Does local backup for Linux support versioning?

No, local backup for Linux in IDrive does not support versioning.

How do I restore my Linux computer data backed up on a local drive ?

To restore data from a local drive, use the IDrive Linux command line interface and follow these instructions:

Connect IDrive storage device

• Connect the storage device provided by IDrive to your Linux machine.

  Note: Ensure the storage device is properly mounted on your Linux machine.

Run command on the CLI

• Run this command in the terminal:

  idrive

Set up restore location

• Choose Restore Settings from the menu and select option 2 (Data will be restored from).
• Select the appropriate restore mount point from the list, from which you want to restore data.
• Select the device name from where you want to restore data.

Edit local restore set

• Return to the main menu and select option 10 (Edit local restore set).
• Enter the files/folders name you want to restore, with each item on a new line and save the changes.

Start local restore

• Go back to the main menu.
• Select option 11 (Start local restore) to begin the process.

I have received an IDrive Express drive. Can I use the local backup option to transfer data to the Express drive and get the data transferred to my IDrive account?

You can use the local backup option to transfer data to the Express drive. However, the data cannot be directly transferred to your IDrive account using this method. For Windows and Mac, you must use the Express backup option to upload data to your IDrive account. For Linux, you need to use the local backup option for both local and Express backup.