# Review: Dell Data Safe Online Backup

# Low price, short on features:

It’s good to see the world’s leading PC company getting into online backup.  
We believe that in a few years, most PCs will be shipped with online backup.  
HP acquired Opelin which they re-launched as Upline, and Carbonite recently  
We’d bet that when you’re PC crashes and you lose all your family pictures, you’re less likely to buy the same brand PC again. So, online backup should be important for all PC manufacturers. Dell DataSafe is a good value, but it is only a so-so product in terms of design and features. To its credit, it’s not overly complicated and its low price will make a it a good value for many users – hence our 3-star rating. Prices for a one-year plan range from $1.19/GB to $3/GB. The average user backing up 20 GB will be spending $29 per year on Dell Datasafe — one of the lowest prices we’ve seen.

## Test Results:

### Signup/Installation

Signing up for a Dell Datasafe trial is more complicated than necessary; you have to click on the purchase link and select the free trial as a $0.00 purchase. This is an example of the existing billing system governing the user experience of a free trial. Luckily, the installation did not take very long; nor was it complicated. It only took a minute or so after the initial download to complete the setup. Unfortunately, once it was installed, neither the default backup plan nor the program started automatically.

### Backing up Files

Datasafe requires a user to log in after installing the product. Every unnecessary step like this worsens the user experience. The file selection process allows two methods of selection: by general type of file, or by location and specific file type. The default backup selection generates a list of rules that took us almost ten minutes to wade through. It actually takes eight clicks just to back up a specific file. Dell Datasafe backed up 100 MB in one hour and 16 minutes; showing a rate of 180 Kbps — the slowest sustained backup speed we have encountered thus far. At that rate, one could expect to back up only 1.8 GB a day. Even the slowest residential DSL can provide 350 Kbps.

### Backup Options

Dell offers no continuous backup — only a very basic scheduled backup that is limited in its options. The schedule doesn’t allow for complex or asymmetric schedules, such as different backup rules for workdays and weekends. Datasafe doesn’t offer versioning – a standard feature in most leading backup services like Carbonite and Mozy. So, if you accidentally overwrite a file, you can’t go to Dell Datasafe to restore yesterday’s version. There is also no option for keeping private encryption keys.

### Restoring Files

The most glaring problem with Dell Datasafe’s restore process is that if you delete a file on your PC, it is almost immediately deleted from your backup. This means that you can’t use Datasafe as a backstop in the event that you accidentally erase a file from your PC. Other vendors report that nearly half their customers use their online backup services to recover deleted files, so this is a big oversight and certainly reduces the value of the service. If you want to do a complete restore, you still have to select the files that you want to restore from a huge long list by clicking “select all.” It works ok, but it’s unnecessary if you’re doing a complete restore. If your backed up computer was running XP and you restore to a Vista machine, there’s nothing to help you map your old XP file structure to the new file structure in Vista – a bit of an inconvenience, but at least you won’t lose any of your files. We encountered a number of bugs and had some difficulty in actually recovering a file. When we succeeded, we recovered a 5.6MB file in 2 minutes 20 seconds – roughly 320kbps. Our DSL is capable of downloading at about 6000kbps, so something on Dell’s end was slowing it down pretty severely. We did not try restoring very large backups, so it’s possible that some of this time was not actually spent in transmission.

### Sharing

Dell Datasafe offers an ability to share files that is much less intimidating that HP Upline’s. You select the files you want to share, enter the recipient’s email address, and they receive and email with a link. In our tests we were unable to get it to work. We repeatedly got an error message. To be fair, we did not attempt to resolve this problem with customer support.

### Summary:

Dell’s foray into the online backup world is relatively cheap and might be a reasonable choice for someone with less than 20GB of data, based on the per GB pricing. Failure of restores and sharing notwithstanding, we recommend that customers investigate a backup utility that  
1) offers more backup management options,  
2) a reasonable speed of transfer, and  
3) a well thought-out interface for both backing up and restoring files. Remember, when your computer crashes and it’s time to put your online backup service provider to the test, you’ll have forgotten all about how much you’ve paid for the service; all you’ll care about is getting your important files back quickly and easily. Dell Datasafe simply does not meet this basic requirement. General Tags: online backup news, online backup providers directory, online file backup, top rated online backups, CEO interviews, backing up online, online file storage, cloud computing, software as a service, online backup, online backup reviews, online data backup, SaaS, online backup companies, online backup services, data storage, data security, compare online backups  
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  1. I believe Dell uses SwapDrive which was purchased by Symantec.  
It is inexpensive, but your review is one of a few that I’ve seen of Dell Datasafe. Nice rightup.

  2. i used this and when my drive crashed i thought great i can restore no it did not work i could not get my data back at all i called dell basicly they said it was my fault yea right after getting there teck on line for one hr on MY system he could find no problem with my system or dsl service which is 33 meg down and almost 3 meg up so with the best dell system a 720 h2c 4 meg ram etc.. 4k system when purchased so they tell me they cant send me my data and its my fault they never call me back so im screwed well dell ill never use ur backup system again and for the 300s of dell pcs i have sold forget it i will start recomending a different brand from now on I Rate THis PRODUCT A 1(ONE) DO NOT USE IT OR PAY FOR THIS ITS A WASTE OF YOUR MONEY

  3. Bought a server for our small business, came with one yr backup service with Dell Data Safe. Thought this would be what we needed, transferred all our files to the server making more room for our individual computers. Less than 2 weeks later the server crashes (problem with motherboard) – thank god we had a backup service right? WRONG – Tried for 2 weeks working with Dell – don’t have a support dept for backup – customer service techs don’t know anything about the service – NEVER got all the files back- after 2 wks they offered to send us a disk that we could get in 6-8 weeks!!! Horrible service, restore did not work for 10gb!! no customer support – might be okay for home use but not a good fit for even the smallest business!!!

  4. Dell had just come out with an new version of Datasafe (Sept 2008). This version does seem much better and easier to use than the original. You can now finally maximize the window so you can see all the information properly. Even with the original version, I was able to restore all my data (5 GB) after a disk crash. The new version allows me to select by File Type but then switch to Folder view and backup some special files anywhere on the disk.

Anyway, for the price, it does the job adequately and the new version is a big improvement.

  5. I purchased Dell DataSafeOnline (100GB) last night (11/6/2008). After two attempts and almost 24 hours, I could not get a complete backup of 35GB of data. I have a high speed connection to the Internet and thought this was a great idea!

Both times (the second time, 5AM to 9PM today), it came up with an error which indicated not enough space on the remote server.

I just submitted a request to cancel the subscription. I knew it was too good to be true!

  6. This came with my Dell XPS 420. It takes about three hours to back up about two gigs of documents. I would not want to pay for this. It’s a nice idea, but not in reality.

  7. I discontinued Data Deposit Box in favor of Dell DataSafe because I received the Dell utility for free for one year with my new computer. Dell DataSafe has to be the worst software I’ve ever used, free or otherwise. For reasons unknown to me, it does not run the scheduled backups. When I try to run manual backups, it takes probably 20 minutes to “prepare” the files (whatever that means), and hours to backup (even after all files have been backed up initially). Usually, I leave the machine, only to come back in the morning to find that there is some error and the files were not backed up. The program is utter junk, and I’m going to purchase a replacement program.

  8. Wow! I have been trying to save my files for days now, with no luck. I can’t even see the files on the “Datasafe Web Portal” now. My wife’s computer apparently saved data with no problem, but there was hardly any data on it. My computer has 16 GB to save. How dare I have so much data that this crappy program can not handle. This is a scam operated from Bombay–an utter fraud!

  9. I’ve recently been getting blue screen error messages suggesting my hard drive is failing. So I turned to Dell, however they won’t acknowledge that it’s failing UNTIL it’s failed! So prevention better than cure, I’m backing up only those files I can’t live without – less than 2gb. Dell DataSafe offered an easy to use interface, though the web portal doesn’t recognise my username and password. Therefore I’m hoping it has backed up, but heaven only knows if it will restore if it comes to the crunch. Buyer beware.

  10. I’ve been finding I get prompted for a install of an update of 1.1.00.23 it doesn’t matter whether or not I click yes or no, it goes away nothing happens and after a couple reboots it comes back to haunt me and asks me again….. Getting really annoyed with it. I couldn’t find an online support for it either. I click on hep and it opens a web page with very basic help but nothing to request support, what a shame!

  11. I just had an experience with Dell’s DataSafe you probably won’t believe. I signed up for the free 1-year trial offer and even paid to upgrade to 10 GB. Backup worked OK. On March 3rd, the daily backups began to fail. Got around to troubleshooting on March 23 (had a lot going on). Turns out my subscription has expired (absolutely NO email warnings whatsoever) and because I was beyond the 15-day grace period, my account could NOT be restored! Those 8 extra days meant all of my backups were inaccessible forever. I thought my contact at Dell was joking at first, but he wasn’t. I spent the day backing up to DVDs and steaming. I suggest they stick to hardware.

  12. DELL DATASAFE IS ABSOLUTE GARBAGE. IT DID THE INITIAL BACKUP OK BUT THEN SAID I NEEDED TO PAY FOR MORE STORAGE SPACE. I PAID FOR THE EXTRA SPACE AND AFTER 10 ATTEMPTS IT FINALLY SAVED. I THOUGHT ALL MY INFO WAS SAFE NOW. I HAD TO RELOAD WINDOWS VISTA (BIG SURPRISE). WHEN I TRIED TO RESTORE MY SAVED DATA IT WOULD NOT WORK. I TRIED EVERYTHING AND IT STILL DID NOT WORK. I LOST 8 YEARS OF PHOTOS AND DOCUMENTS. DO NOT BUY OR USE THIS PRODUCT YOU WILL BE SORRY! I DO LOVE MY DELL COMPUTER SO THAT IS THE ONLY UPSIDE.

  13. My laptop was fine untill it asked me to back up. Never worked right since it was a big mistake

  14. DELL’s datasafe software design is totally design incompetant, and DELL’s Indian technicians have minimal understanding of how a computer works. They work from rote trouble shooting charts with minimal understanding of the technology. Yet, the DELL technicians from Canada and the Phillipines seem to have a grasp of the technology.

  15. 3 out of 5 is generous, to say the least. Having said that, I’m using a newer version… so perhaps they’ve reduced the quality of the product since your review.

I bought Dell Datasafe Online in a search for an online backup system which would work well with my (Dell) laptop. This didn’t – it doesn’t run well at all under Vista, even to the extent that the update engine pops up dialogs containing no text (and no title) with a Yes/No button. A bit disconcerting when you’re asked to say yes or no to something without knowing what it is… for those without Visual Studio or similar, who are able to interrogate a window and see what it’s supposed to do, this is probably worse. Similarly, it doesn’t understand the Vista filesystem where Pictures, Music et al are not subfolders of Documents. Selecting that you’d like to back up My Documents results in it also attempting to back up your photos, music, films and so on. 

Then comes the actual use of the product. The backup is exceptionally slow, from picking files (your selections are lost if you click Back at any point) to transferring the data. But hey – at least it *does* transfer the data.

When it comes to restore time (I recently had my laptop stolen, and wanted to restore my data) it is REALLY slow. Displaying the list of files on the backup takes more than 15 minutes. Restoring 112Mb took over an hour. Restoring the remainder of my 27Gb of backup has twice failed because it’s taken so long and in the meantime Windows Update has rebooted (thanks, Microsoft – that means a lot to me) or my internet connection has dropped and Datasafe doesn’t cope with interruptions. The restore is not file-by-file, so after the last aborted restore – running for more than 20 hours by the time it failed – I’m left with zero files restored. I have no idea what it’d been doing, but it didn’t actually leave me a file.

And then, to top it all off… after the reboot, Datasafe tried to run a backup (which would’ve replaced all the files I’d managed to backup already with my empty directory structure) automatically. Thankfully, my PC requires a login, or it’d have done that for me overnight and I’d have woken up to nothing left at all. This, incidentally, is without asking me at any point which files and folders I’d like to backup… it just assumes that my empty folder structure is what I’d like to protect.

I can’t adequately describe Dell’s Datasafe Online offering, however, without one final note – there appears to be no support for the product. You can call the PAID support line, but there’s not a single email address I can find for someone who might be able to tell me if, perhaps, it’s possible to FTP in and download my files instead. Not one. Nor is there anyone who can tell me why it’s so slow, or why after completing 54% of a restore no files exist. 

All-in-all, I think it merits zero stars, more than 3. A backup product which doesn’t actually let you restore anything in a meaningful timeframe and then merrily tries to delete your backup by replacing it with a backup of an empty folder is NOT a useful addition to the world’s online backup offerings.

  16. I purchased the DataSafe local backup upgrade yesterday. My expectation was that it would back up my full system to DVDs. Instead it uses a reserved space on the hard drive. So if the hard drive crashes I’m out of luck. Apparently, it has an option to copy this backup to a set of DVDs. However when I attempt to do this I get an “Unhandled exception” error and the program closes. I called Dell tech support and was told they were aware of this problem and would have an update soon. I want a refund because this program is defective. After spending 45 minutes being bounced between “customer care” and tech support I learn that I really bought this from Digital River and they are the ones I must contact. Instead, I think I’ll dispute the charge on my credit card.

  17. Hi,  
NEVER use this software, it’s really a joke, nothing works well, looks like nobody tested it before selling this service: 

\- If you want to backup other directory than the normal plan, and you change computer, or directory after, all your old saved filed are removed without even a warning.. i lost 84hour of upload like that in 2second

\- You’r totaly blind when you’r doing your backup, i saw 100% finished for 12hours.

\- Dell support doesn’t even know this software, they will ask your client number, ( number that you never have if you bought this software separatly )

\- Restoring files take a loooooong time ( 6min for a 1.45mo document file, i don’t even want to restore the rest… )

Dell is a good hardware company, but really, don’t try this backup software it’s not operational.

  18. Been running Dell data safe for about 7 months (100 GB) plan and then got an error code that prevented the backups from running at all. Checked out the wesite for help and it only lists the top error codes and states “contact us” if you have a different code. “Contact us” is the main dell support, not a support group for data safe. The main dell support will not talk to you if you do not have an active warranty on your pc, even though you pay for their backup software. After 2 1/2 hours this morning, 8 different phone transfers, and 3 chat sessions, I’m done. I’ll purchase a backup software that actually provides support. Adding to the frustration is that one chat session was abruptly ended and two phone calls were disconnected.

  19. DON’T USE THIS SERVICE

UK users make sure you use a url of delldatadafe.co.uk

All the links Dell sends you to click on will be delldatasafe.com, which won’t recognise your user name and password. This exemplifies the poor quality of this service.

It is a big steaming pile of crap if you want to recover more than one file  
I feel very badly let down. I have been trying to recover my files for two weeks but it just doesn’t work, continually timing out.

  20. Thank you so much for this review and for all the subsequent comments. You have all saved me what sounds like a very big headache!

  21. Geez ..tks for the comments … I just purchased a dell back up .. sounds louzy

  22. Have just used after purchasing new dell laptop and thought what a great idea, but I was wrong, I can not do a complete backup as it breaks my internet connection…dell could not resolve this and suggested I back up categories separately, but this doesn’t work either as every time I backup a new category I loose what’s previously been backed up!!

  23. MEMO TO ANYONE:

Do NOT buy this software! Don’t buy the upgrade, and don’t use the online service. The online service is sloooooow, so I purchased the local disk upgrade since I had an extra external drive laying around. Why bother? The “local backup” option just creates a compressed, indexed file on your existing C:\ drive and you have to copy that file over to an external drive if you want a true backup. Most importantly, that file is worthless unless you already have your system set up with, you guessed it, Datasfe installed and registered. Unless you keep all of that software, registration keys, and other information in a box somewhere, your backup is useless. And don’t expect Dell support to help you – this is third party software they slapped their name onto.

  24. DO NOT BUY DELL, DO NOT BUY DATASAFE

Sorry to be the next guy in the scam line. Bought the 100 GB upgrade and installed on Vista. Upgraded to Win7 (took some time), and did not come back to Vista for about two month. 

Installed Datasafe in Win7 today, went OK. Then found Datasafe EMPTY where there should be 10 GIG of backupped data. No markings in the folder specification. Checked back in Vista, 100 GB available, no markings in the folder specification. Checked folders to backup 3 times (one time-out), and now suddenly found that the original folder markings displayed. I am going to start the backup and see what happens. Maybe the server is not really empty.

NO NO NO! Datasafe says it is going to backup 170 GB of data (and still running, 1 TB on the NAS) which will take 500+ hours. This means that the original folder markings are lost or corrupted. GREAT PRODUCT!!!

Before log-off: DELL is the worst possible supplier with it’s 3 month consumer warranty, where it is a legal 2-years in the EU. Besides you have to pay 25% or more extra for a 1-year warranty, and transport. Only buy when they have a special offer where these are included.

  25. I purchased a Dell Vostro system in March 2008 after losing my house and everything in it (including my computer and hard copy backups) to a fire. I got a 1-year subscription 50GB Dell Data Safe with the purchase and just found out what a huge mistake I made when I trusted Dell.

Not only did I purchase a computer that had a Hard Drive failure in less than 1 year, the Dell Data Safe backup restoration process was a total failure and Dell’s Tech Support was completely non-existant.

If you want to keep your data, DO NOT TRUST DELL DATA SAFE. Not only does it not work, they don’t care and won’t even try to help you retrieve your data.

  26. I purchased this in 2007 when I bought my computer, and it worked fine until I renewed and upgraded to 10 GB. What others have said above is dead-on. 

The software is extremely slow preparing the files (not sure what this means, except it appears to be scanning them) and actually uploading them. I have 8.5 GB to back up and it takes 24 hours to accomplish this. 

It should come as no surprise then that I’ve never actually finished the full backup without some sort of error. The software is extremely sensitive to any server or network connection blip, real or imagined.

Plus, Dell has no support for this product so you can’t troubleshoot with anyone there. Believe me, I tried. Unless your computer is still under warranty, you will go in circles with the tech support trying to explain that you know your warranty on the *computer* has expired, but you’re calling about an active *subscription* that you paid for but isn’t working. They will refuse pro-rated refunds for the unused portion of your remaining subscription.

Another huge drawback is this. Let’s say you have files, pictures, and music backed up, but you’ve only made changes to some files so that’s all you want to back up. Too bad. Either you have to spend 24 hours backing everything up again, or if you only select the files you recently worked on, this product will overwrite your backed up pictures and music with the newly backed up files. 

For example, yesterday I attempted to run a modified backup, got 99% finished (seriously, it had 4 minutes left after 7 hours) and an error message popped up saying my internet connection was gone and files were backed up with errors. Which is weird because my computer and modem still showed that I had an internet connection. I checked the files and saw it had backed up everything except a few pictures, did a little work on some files, then decided to back up those files. Not knowing of course that I would lose the previous 7 hours of backed up files. 

What a waste and a joke of a product. I agree with whomever suggested zero stars, and might even go so far as to suggest negative stars, if that were possible. Save yourself some stress and invest in a better backup system.

  27. I’ve had a Vostro 1500 for a couple years and the 10GB back up. (for my home laptop) It only runs slowly when I’m running a lot of other programs during the back up, otherwise fine. I’ve never had a crash or need to retrieve, so I don’t know the horrors others have expressed. I’m running XP. I was thinking of renewing for a year…..

  28. What a joke this software is. After installing a new hard drive in a less than a year old Dell Studio 1735, I have tried for 5 days to get my data restored. I have 29GB used in a 50GB subscription and the Dell technician told me I should not have such a large backup! I selected the restore option for just the documents, and the first screen message said it would take 9 hours and 45 minutes to restore 11.9GB. However, as soon as I started the restore process, the time count climbed to 19 hours and 54 minutes. When it reached that time, the display message said it was 46% complete. The download paused, then the count went from zero back up to 23 hours and 45 minutes. If it successfully downloads my files, it will have taken about 44 hours. This is sooooo unsatisfactory! The Dell tech apologizes, then his supervisor apologizes, but they cannot even download there to an external drive and just ship that to me. DO NOT BUY THIS SERVICE. IT IS JUST RIDICULOUS!

  29. Del DataSAfe is horrific. I have ahd to spend hours on the phone for Dell  
XPS users to try to get this to work. Even remote assistance has left me in the lurch more than twice. IT DOES NOT WORK.  
If Dell technicians cannot get it to work, how can you?  
Waste.

  30. Here is an update to my previous post of Oct 29th: I finally got the restore function to work, but my 29GB of data took almost 4 days. My files are the last good backup which was right before the crash, and all of them are present. So… happy in the long run, but the time and trouble involved do not represent a good product. Not going to use it again.

  31. Well I just purchased a years worth. I had Mozy and hated it. It took 4 days for it to restore my files to my new Dell. They would fed ex me the DVD’s for 75.00. I figure I’d give DataSafe a try.

  32. I just purchased a 30 gig account with Dell and it took hours and hours to backup 3.5 gigs of data on a high speed connection. The software is very cumbersome and is a pain to setup. I restored all the data back to my computer to test it out and took a total of 10 hours to restore 3.5 gigs. I have a high speed connection and always get 12 megabits but this was crazy slow. I canceled my subscription today and will be looking at another service. The reason I purchased the dell service was because I’ve always used dell computers and have good experiences, but obviously they don’t know how to do online backups.

  33. Reading these comments has been a real eye-opener, especially the one about the phantom Yes/No dialog box!!! The exact same thing happened to me earlier this year, and even my uber-geek mate had no idea what it was meant to be about. 

Anyway, my original DataSafe subscription came with my laptop, which I bought in October 2008, and as far as I know it had been working correctly. So when in October this year, Dell suggested that I renew the subscription, I did so. however, just ONE day after I had paid for it, I began to get error messages saying that DataSafe was not working – Windows Vista would apparently let me know ‘if’ a solution became available. 

I don’t know much about the workings of computers so I tried to get in touch with Dell; unfortunately they would not let me chat with the online technician because it was a software issue not a hardware one. Because I objected to spending hours on the phone at premium rate and being billed for any advice Dell chose to give, my only option was to fill out one of those email contact forms. It asks that you tell them the exact wording of the error messages, yet there is a limit on the number of characters you can type! 

I filled it in as best I could and sent it on October 28. It said these forms were for low priority issues, but I thought maybe I’d hear something within about a week. Well, it has taken until today (November 23) to get a response, which basically says they can’t do anything because it’s not a hardware issue, and suggests I call the expensive phone support line. 

In the meantime, I had written a lengthy email complaining about the terrible service (this is not my first ‘issue’ with Dell!) and sent it via a warranty sales guy in the absence of a proper customer services team. Needless to say I have heard nothing, and of course my DataSafe continues not to work. I am fed up with the whole thing, and now that I have read all these similar comments, all I want Dell to do is to cancel my year’s subscription and refund the Â£15 it cost me – it’s been far more trouble than it’s worth.

Incidentally, after my previous clash with Dell, they sent me a questionnaire asking how good/bad they were generally – my answers were so negative that someone actually rang me up to ask why I was so unhappy. But they still do not seem to have sorted out their non-existent levels of support. My laptop itself is lovely, but I can’t believe the number of problems I have encountered.

  34. I wish I had seen this page before I started using DataSafe! I highly recommend against using this product!

I have been happily and successfully backing up files for over a year. I recently re-upped my subscription. Shortly thereafter, I had a hard drive crash.

The online version of the app doesn’t work at all. It errors out almost immediately.

The app doesn’t work any better. It took several hours for me to restore a few KB of files. I have a high speed internet connection, and have no problem downloading large files. I got a bit more ambitious and tried to restore a 3GB directory. After 5 days, it had progressed only 60%. Dell blamed it on internet traffic and my ISP, but there’s is the only service I have trouble with.

In the end, I have no files. All they were able to do is point me to the spot on the web page for REQUESTING my money back. We’ll see if I get it.

  35. BEWARE Dell data safe on line restore can only be done on the original computer that was backed up !!!!! In the case the hard drive crashed ( that is my case), you cannot retrieve the data from another computer.  
Dell data safe is PURE JUNK

  36. Ran across this page while doing lab testing and background research with on-line data backup solutions. Since a lot of folks that run across this page seem dissatisfied with Dell’s offering, figured I’d share this: the two products/services that I’ve worked with that seem to be quality so far are:

CrashPlan – http://www.crashplan.com  
Jungle Disk (part of Rackspace.com now) – http://www.jungledisk.com

Hope this helps out a few folks,

-jr

  37. Dell Datasafe is a total ripoff. I have used it for two years (purchased 30 gb) and never had need to retrieve my backup until harddrive crashed. The website shows that I last successfully backed up all data on 1/09 and harddrive crashed on 1/15. Thought there would be no problem retrieving my data because I had trusted and purchased a Dell Product. What a joke. 

The support team admits that they have no access or knowledge of what goes on at the facility that operates Datasafe and have no direct contact with them – can only send them an email and wait for a reply. The website shows that I have almost 9 gb of data stored, but individual folders and file names are not listed. After eventually reaching the manager at the support telephone number, I was told that he would have to send an email and wait for a reply and get back to me in a week. 

In the meantime, I decided to try a full restore – it ran for over 30 hours (and I do have a high speed cable connection), then suddenly failed – no data restored. Finally received my return call from Dell support, first telling me that my subscription had expired and that was the reason I couldn’t retrieve my data (not true as the website shows that my subscription is paid through 3/10/10; second excuse was that the Datasafe facility was “looking” for my data or possibly they were backing up their system….but he admitted that they have never received a return email or response from the original email that Dell support sent to the facility……they’ll get back to me in two more weeks. My small business is run from this computer and I have no access to any of my data. THIS PRODUCT IS A TOTAL RIP OFF AND I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER DELL PRODUCT.

  38. I recently spent over 1 1/2 hours on the phone with a DataSafe customer svc person in India because my 2GB service that came with my Dell laptop was about to expire and it wouldn’t recognize my username, etc. The tech talked my into the 20 GB service after I crazily allowed remote access to check my computer. During this conversation/dowload time I happened to see the cursor move over to the Webcam program, which I NEVER use & was worried because he had asked if I ever video chat. I quickly covered up the webcam & soon after I had he asked if I could see myself on the screen. VERY CREEPY!!. Also, now my computer works like crap and backup keeps failing. Fortunately I had already copied my documents & pics onto a 320 GB portable hard drive, so nothing is lost. Am in process of getting this cancelled. BE CAREFUL!!! (the portable HD is less than $80 & can be protected in waterproof/fireproof safe with a lot less headache & frustration.

  39. After having lost and deleted my backed up information three times in the past, I thought that maybe the problem was not enough space. I upgraded to 50GB and found that there was a tracking number with the receipt for the upgrade. I was informed by a customer rep that I was receiving a set of speakers, not an upgrade to the space. That was the third loss.  
I’ve since purchased my own home server only to try and restore my files from DataSafe to no avail. I guess that this is information dump number four as this has been running for four days now and is once again back up to 53%. Anytime it hits 60% it goes back to 0. I began on Tuesday downloading 17 GB and once again, I am sitting at 53% so figure that just maybe there might be another 7% to go before it kicks out again.  
DEFINITELY DO NOT BUY THIS PRODUCT!!!

  40. I’m having a bit of a war with Dell right now re: Dell DataSafe. My Vostro crashed, and I tried to get the docs back from Dell Datasafe. They told me their server was down and now it’s been over 10 days. They don’t know when it will be fixed. I had to pay a tech to get the docs off my corrupted hard drive.

I’m trying to get a refund from Dell as well as payment for the tech. So far they have told me:

1\. No refund because all dell products have a 21-day refund guarantee. So, basically you better hope you don’t need your docs back after 21 days. I’m wondering how they can apply a product guarantee to a service.

2\. I then asked about the redundancies. On their website they claim they have 3 backups. https://www.delldatasafe.com/help2.aspx?topic_header=security Yet, because my account “doesn’t work” they can’t access any of the backups. So, what’s the point of the docs being backed up on separate servers if no one can get to them.

I wrote into tips@consumerist.com. So maybe if more of you write in, they might cover it?

Dell DataSafe = an oxymoron.

  41. I agree, stay away, it is worse than a waste of money. Using it gives you a sense of security when there is none. It is as it lies to you that you have your files covered. Get an external hard drive or two and back it up yourself. WORSE THAN USELESS.

  42. This program is complete CRAP. I have a external hard drive with TONS of memory (purchased through Dell), but when I purchased my new laptop (my fourth computer from Dell, and the seventh for our family), it touted the DataSafe Online as the second coming. However, after only having my laptop for 8 months, the hard drive crashed. I felt confident that my data was backed up online. I installed my new hard drive today, and am in the process (very looong and drawn out) of downloading my online saved data. BUT…it looks as though none of my photos and music were backed up. In one folder that had 1000 photos and a few Word documents, only the Word documents were backed up. The worst part? I am running a huge charity event which occurs in November and 90% of the event’s information was on my hard drive. From now on, I am using the external and getting rid of the online back up. Probably going to buy a Mac next time, too!!!

  43. Oh, and…I am also looking at paying $500-$1500 for forensic data extraction. Thanks, Dell!

  44. Just cancelled- Been using the free service for a year and dell sends email to renew. The catch-no way to renew the free service.  
The best part-just for fun I try to access the 1 gig of files that I have been sending to the farmer in the dell for the last year and they are not there! that’s right, the backup is one way. When I tried to get them back I get several pages of errors.

  45. wow, looks like my troubles have been around for YEARS! Whatever happened to the nice Dell we used to know?

This online backup “service” came with a laptop I bought recently for personal use. Same old story: Came time to renew and I can’t reach the website, I also can’t get support from Dell and I can’t access the data that was backed up – what part of this is a “service?” 

Oh wait… *I* got serviced! Thanks, Dell.

  46. Also horrible Dell DataSafe experience. Paid for upgrade in August. Crashed in November and I was promised extension on my upgrade. Now it won’t let me do ANY sort of backup without now paying FORTY DOLLARS. What a scam.

Plus, the software sucks.

  47. My dell came with a one year subscription, which I never used it. I used robobak for my backups, and as soon as it crashed I was able to get all my files back.

  48. This softwares remove MBR if you have Linux with dual boot. Completely stupid software. This should be called virus.

  49. Yes Im starting to see the same issues listed above I wish I had seen this thread earlier. Ive been on the phone with Dell for over 2 hours. I have a back up saved on my external hard drive and CANT acces it. Now Im sitting on hold and every 30 secs I hear that stupid “Thank you for calling Dell you call is very important to us….: I think I just wasted $39.99 for the premium service I wonder if I can get my money back?

  50. Made the mistake to enable on my PC, now get popups from Dell that won’t go away until you accept Dell downloads.

My advice, tell Dell to go to ?ell

  51. Hi  
recently i have replaced my dell laptop hardisk due to failure and now i cannot recover my laptop with my Dvds(which i made thro datasafe),I know that imgae file has been lost.But we can only recover dell datasafe only 0r any idea,

I am trying to install datasafe basic even i cannot install the datasafe bcas it is also asking same image file i dont know any idea for my recovery 

please help

  52. I have had all the same problems listed before my note, and am stopping my datasafe online and going back to loading it all on a portable storage thing. I have had three computers on this datasafe online for a year now, and it keeps giving me these stupid error msgs, and then it doesn’t even load properly on the other one, but says it did. What a mess. Don’t spend your money on this, it is a scam. The techs (I had to call four times) finally told me their “tools were broken, and are being worked on. Could you call me back in 2 to 3 hours?” Jeez, this is nuts.

  53. Everything’s FINE. it will be alright. It’s true that most of your data will be lost and now at a higher cost (a floppy works better), but just please remember this – to quote that recent holiday American Postmodern Anxiety Film: EVERYTHING’S FINE. if you lost your sent mail, well, sorry in the old days we didn’t keep our sent mail! n don’t you know to always save onto another hard drive and print it all up? I am unsure what all the fuss is about Dell DataSafe not working at all. It works sometimes and sometimes it totally fails. So, it’s fine. Hence, my “everything’s fine” star rating. Some recent upgrades have made it more cumbersome. PS: if you are interested, Comcast vault is pretty good.

  54. I just asked for a refund. Will get a callback in 3 days – nothing but trouble.

Read through the reviews here and am getting same errors that were posted in 2008. I’ve spent hours on the phone w/tech who cannot fix it. I have 18 g of data to store and the process runs for hours and then get a message that I don’t have enough storage space. The graph on the screen shows I have used 15 of 30 g of space.

Even if don’t get a refund, will use another service for off-line storage. Beware! Dell Datasafe online is NOT a good choice.

  55. I wanted to express my appreciation for finding this thread. The review was invaluable and the many comments from people posting has been eye-opening.

I purchased a Dell XPS 8300 desktop system this past May. The system arrived with the Dell DataSafe Local Backup already installed. I have been sitting on the fence about whether or not to “upgrade” from this very basic version for $39.99. I am going to go ahead in invest in the Acronis True Image backup software for $49.99 instead based up positive experiences I had using that software in the past. I will uninstall the Dell DataSafe product entirely thanks to the valuable feedback I have found here. Thank you for saving me pain and heartache. Best regards.

  56. Delldatasafe.backup.com was pre downloaded on my computer when I bought it 18mos ago. Never had to use it until 3 days ago when my 9GB Dell PC said I needed to backup my files because I was running out of space. It is all a scam and they hacked into all my financial, files, pictures everything. Then wiped out my contacts but not before sending a email to everyone says I was in WALES and had lost my passport and wallet and needed money. They left a telephone number and a wire transfer number for all my contacts to send money. What a mess and the cost is mounting up to recover my finances.

  57. After getting a few months free with my purchase of my new computer, I re-upped for another year and more storage. The money was wasted. Every attempt at a back up is a failure. Then it locks up my computer. And loaded with my computer was Dell’s local backup. It caused me so many problems that I had to delete the program. How dare Dell for loading this on your new computer, and then not giving “help,” “support,” or trust.

  58. I was quite relieved to know that I was not the only one having a bad experience with this so “Online Backup” service.

My laptop was stolen and I tried restoring the file on another one and to date have not been able to restore one file. It is the slowest thing ever!

I thought it was my 8mb internet connection but I don’t a problem downloading 500MB files from other site in less than 30 mins.

Dell your service provides no comfort and make NO Sense. Improve now or discontinue!

  59. Crap……..downloaded and can’t even get to run. Tried finding troubleshooting help. Can’t find any help. Phoned Dell….no idea on help.

Stay away

  60. Based on all these comments will not be even testing this as a backup service.

Would like to point something out on data transfer:  
There is still nothing that beats backing up to an external hard drive  
typical broadband upload speeds range from 256kbps to 3mbps  
these are bits you need 8 to make a byte  
(files are in bytes, data transfer in bits)  
so even just 20GB giga bytes of files will take anything from 180 hours to 15 hours to backup to the internet cloud depending on your upload speed.  
I would rather watch paint dry. Only backup absolutely necessary files.  
(I use dropbox for files I always want access to no matter where I am or what device I have with me.)

As for not being able to retrieve files from a backup, well that is like setting off on a road trip with a hire car and saying there is a trunk or boot thus there must be a spare tyre…really, did you check?..should you check?

Remember a backup is not a backup until you tested that you can actually retrieve the files, waiting for disaster and then checking is foolish.  
Hope this helps somebody.

  61. Wish I had read these reviews prior to upgrading the Dell Data Online Safe. When I purchased my Dell laptop (almost a year ago) the backup service was already installed. Over the weekend I upgraded to the 100 GB (the maximum storage available) to backup 78 GB of music. Well it has been nothing but a headache and a lot of wasted time. It does not work. I’ve spent hours on the phone with Dell tech support. I normally use a 1.5 TB external drive but would also like to have some other storage protection for my music collection. So far looks like i’ve wasted $59.99.

  62. This product does not work. I paid for the premium storage and when I needed it after a system crash, it didn’t work. Ten tech support calls and hours of wated time on the phone with Dell/ DataSafe. No help, I lost everything. Stay away from this loser!

  63. My Dell system TAG is DY8K6Q1, I have also talking and very tired with this laptop, Dell team saying always false, because I have suffer with some points like this::  
1) Mother board change 16 times.  
2) Display change 15 Times  
3) Touch pad change 12 Times  
4) Charger change 5 times  
5) Battery change 1 times  
6) RAM Change 6 time both 4GB & 2GB both.  
7) Team always saying false commute like latest case talk with Sr. Dell team but saying to me some other doing other things.  
8/ Always saying date lapse on the date time etc…  
9) Dell team very false saying how can trust him. I am also customer of Dell but very unsatisfied of this.  
10) Hard disk change 8 times  
11) Heat Sink fan change 12 Times 

If any person saying / verifying /asking to contact me on 9716985152  
System Configuration: DY8K6Q1 DELL XPS L502