Frequently Asked Questions
0845 058 9000
Please find below a list of Frequently Asked Questions about our Online Data Backup products.
To view or hide relevant questions, please click on one of the headings below.
Software Installation
1. What is my username, password and encryption key? | A username, password and encryption key will be sent to you via e-mail shortly after you place your order. Following installation of the software, we recommend that you change your password and encryption key prior to making your first backup. This ensures maximum security of your stored data as you will be the only person who holds the password and encryption key needed to access your data. |
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| To change your password, select Options... from the Tools menu, select the Account and Security tab, and then click on Change Password in the Account Setup section. Choose a new password, confirm the new password and click on OK. The server dialog box will appear and display the message 'Password changed successfully'.
Please note that you cannot cancel this process. |
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| To change your encryption key, select Options... from the Tools menu, select the Account and Security tab, and then click on Change Encryption Key in the Account Setup section. Enter your old key and choose a new key. Confirm the new key and click on OK. The server dialog box will appear and display the message 'Key changed successfully'.
Please note that you cannot cancel this process. |
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| Yes. We only keep a record of the original encryption key and recommend that, in order to ensure maximum security, you change both the encryption key and the password prior to your first data backup.
In the event that you lose your encryption key, we can provide the original. However, if you have chosen to change the encryption key, the original will be of no use.
It is, therefore, extremely important that you keep a note of your encryption key in a safe place. Do not just keep a note of the encryption key on the machine that data is backed up from - this would be the equivalent of keeping the pin number for your credit card in your wallet! |
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| If you have chosen not to change the original encryption key, we can provide this in the event that you forget it. However, if you have chosen to change the encryption key and you forget it, you will not be able to backup or restore any data. Nor would we be able to re-enable access to your account.
In this case, you would be required to create a new account and backup your data again.
Please note that we recommend that you make a note of the changed encryption key and keep it in a secure location. |
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| Usually not, but the installer will determine whether your PC needs to reboot and will prompt you to do so if it is necessary. |
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| This error message means that you are not a member of the local administrators group and therefore do not have the permissions to install the software. In this case, please ask your administrator to either install the software on your behalf or to assign administrator rights to your account. |
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| This means that the Installer is looking for .dll files that are not installed on the computer. In this case, please install Internet Explorer 4 or higher and run the installation again. |
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Features and Options
1. What are filters? | Filters can be applied to backup all the files of a certain file type. For example, if you apply a filter for *.doc files, all the *.doc files in that folder will automatically be backed up.
You can apply as many filters as you require, and may even create your own filters and add them to the list. |
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| From the Selection menu, select Filters and click on New filter. Enter a name for the new filter and specify all the file types that you would like to add to the new filter.
For example, a text filter will be *.txt.
Click OK. Your new filter will be added to the filter list. |
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| Yes, filters can be edited by adding or removing file types. To edit a filter, click on the Selection menu, select Filters, and click on Edit Filters. Select the filter you wish to edit from the drop-down list. Add or remove file types of your choice and click on OK.
To remove a filter from a folder, right-click on the folder and choose Deselect or clear the checkbox next to the filter name. |
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| It incorporates all changes to files and folders, since your last refresh. The backup software refreshes every time you open the program.
Refresh is available for users who leave the backup software application open whilst working. |
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| From the File menu, select Calculate size. The Backup Client will calculate and display the amount of files selected for backup and the total size.
For Zen Vault Professional users with applications plug-ins, the calculated size of the backup will not include the size of dump file created by any plug-ins if the size is calculated before the first backup. |
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| The Advanced Scheduler allows you to add additional backup times. To use this feature, open the Backup Client, click on the Automate button in the Toolbar and select the Advanced… option. |
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| If you choose a backup time between 6am and 7pm a 'Sun' icon will be shown in the backup client. This 'Sun' icon means that the software will prepare to send the backup to our data centres at the time you specified.
If you choose a backup time between 7pm and 6am a 'Moon' icon will be shown in the backup client. This 'Moon' icon means that the backup client will prepare to send the backup to the data centre at a randomly chosen time between the specified time and 6am. This improves the speed of the backup by ensuring that your backup is not sent at a busy time.
This feature is only present on the Zen Vault Express service. Backups in the Zen Vault Professional service are sent at the exact time they are specified. |
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| Yes, our Online Data Backup solutions support SOCKS5 and HTTP Proxy. |
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| Yes. Our Online Data Backup solutions can run in the background so that you are able to run other applications simultaneously. The software can backup saved files, even when you are working with that file, as long as the application does not lock the file in use. All changes up to the last save will be backed up.
Advanced setting: If you would like to change the Processor Usage or Disk Access to limit the resources allocated to the Backup Client, please go to the Tools menu, click on Options and open the Performance and Limits tab. |
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| To change the default port, please stop the Zen Vault Professional service in the Services window in the Control Panel. Next, browse to the folder where Zen Vault Professional is installed (the default folder is C:\Program Files\ZenVault Professional\) and open the a5backup.properties file with a text editor.
On a new line, add the entry service.port=10001 and replace 10001 with the port number that you want to use.
Finally, start the Zen Vault Professional service again (via the Control Panel), open Server Edition and confirm that you can initiate a backup. |
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Miscellaneous
1. How long will the first backup take? | This will depend on the amount of data you want to backup and the speed of your upstream Internet connection.
Your first backup is likely to be the largest and will therefore take the largest amount of time. For example, if you want to backup 10GB of data using a Zen Broadband Active connection (up to 448kbps upstream), then the first backup would take approximately 51 hours. Subsequent backups will take much less time as changed data is generally significantly smaller.
Prior to the first backup it is recommended that you use the 'Size' feature to quickly calculate the amount of data you are going to backup. This will give you an indication of whether you are within your storage allowance limit, and how long the first backup will take. |
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| Our Online Data Backup solutions can be used to backup any file types. However, in comparison to documents, the file size of photos and music can be very large and they typically do not compress well, if at all. This means that backups will take significantly longer and you will quickly reach your storage limit. |
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| As the backup process involves creating a snapshot of your selcted files prior to sending the data to our network, you will typically need up to 125% of the size of your backup set available.
For example, to complete a full 5GB backup you will need approximately 6.25GB of free space on your hard drive. |
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| Your Online Data Backup account has a maximum size limit. If your limit is 5GB, you should only backup files with a total size of 5GB. If you attempt to backup more data the backup process will fail and you will need to upgrade your storage plan to one with a larger storage allowance.
You can upgrade your storage plan easily by logging onto your account in the Zen Customer Portal or by contacting our sales team on 0845 058 9000. |
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| Zen Vault Express and Zen Vault Professional have been designed to be used on one machine at a time. If you attempt to backup data to one account from multiple machines you will experience synchronisation errors and could damage the integrity of the data you are attempting to protect.
This type of use is not recommended or supported by Zen. |
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| Our Online Data Backup solutions are not designed as a file sharing service.
In order to share files between computers, you would need to install the backup software on multiple machines which all connect to the same account. However, by doing this you will experience synchronisation errors and could damage the integrity of the data you are attempting to protect.
This type of use is not recommended or supported by Zen. |
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| You should leave your PC switched on but it is not necessary to be connected to the Internet. If you backup using a dial-up connection, the backup
software will connect to the Internet, backup your files at the scheduled time, and disconnect from the Internet. |
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| The Backup Reminder is an automated reminder to prompt you to backup your data. You have the option to immediately backup when you see this message or, if you click on snooze, you will be prompted again later.
Please note that there may be snooze limits in place that will not allow you to snooze the backup more than a few times. |
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| When you click Cancel, the Backup Client will cancel the backup or restore process. The next time that you initiate a backup, the Backup Client will enquire whether it should continue with the previous backup or initiate a new backup. |
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| Yes. Your data is first compressed before it is uploaded to the server.
With Zen Vault Professional, you can speed up the backup process by specifying a list of file extensions that must not be compressed. This ensures that time is not spent compressing files that do not compress well. |
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