Patent ID: 8549327

Claim:
A method for collecting data locally stored in an electronic discovery system, the method comprising: deploying, via a computing device processor, a collection tool at a first computing device within the electronic discovery system; executing, via a computing device processor, the collection tool at the first computing device, wherein the collection tool is configured to run as an authorized background service process, and wherein the collection tool is configured to automatically be executed in response to deployment of the collection tool at the first computing device; generating, via the computing device processor, in response to execution of the collection tool, a backup file that includes files stored locally at the first computing device and a catalog of the files included in the backup file; communicating, from the first computing device to a network device, the catalog; sequentially uploading, via the computing device processor, each of the files in the backup file to a collection server, wherein a rate of transmission of the uploading is varied based on a determination as to whether a user is actively using the first computing device; and communicating, from the collection server to the network device, an indication each time one of the files has been successfully uploaded, wherein receipt of the indication by the network device provides for a mark to be made in the catalog indicating that the file has been successfully collected.