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Then again for about $80 less you can get an 80GB USB drive. To test the Xtreme File drive I used Sandra 2004's file system bench test. I compared these results to the 80GB <a href="http://www.atruereview.com/netdisk/index.php">NetDisk</a> using USB 2.0 instead of the network interface. I used the same USB cable for both drives. I took the best results after three tests. </p> <p align="left">First, I tested the Xtreme File drive:</p> <p align="center"><a href="atruereview/xtreme_files/xtreme.gif"><img src="atruereview/xtreme_files/xtremeth.gif" alt="Viper Mid-Tower Case" border="0" width="350" height="267"></a><br> <font size="-1">Click on image for larger picture</font> </p> <p align="left">The Xtreme Files drive does very well for a USB drive at 25MB per second.<strong> </strong>For a comparison lets look at the NetDisk's results.</p> <p align="center"><a href="atruereview/xtreme_files/netdisk.gif"><img src="atruereview/xtreme_files/netdiskth.gif" alt="Viper Mid-Tower Case" border="0" width="350" height="267"></a><br> <font size="-1">Click on image for larger picture</font> </p> <p align="left">The NetDisk performed a little faster. Perhaps this reaffirms my dislike of Western Digital drives.<strong> </strong>Nonetheless, the Xtreme Files has a solid speed for backing up lots of data.</p> <p align="left"><strong>Backup:</strong></p> <p align="left">To use the backup feature of the drive, a driver must be installed from the CD.</p> <p align="left">The first type of backup I did was a file backup. I pressed the data backup button and a prompt appeared to choose the type of data backup. I have more than 80GB of files, so I had to do a selective files backup instead of a full backup.</p> <p align="center"><a href="atruereview/xtreme_files/data.gif"><img src="atruereview/xtreme_files/datath.gif" alt="Viper Mid-Tower Case" border="0" width="350" height="254"></a><br> <font size="-1">Click on image for larger picture</font> </p> <p align="left">When you choose selective files, you are presented with an explorer look to your files. You can select drives, folders, or individual files. Most software backups have this kind of feel.</p> <p align="center"><a href="atruereview/xtreme_files/dataselect.gif"><img src="atruereview/xtreme_files/dataselectth.gif" alt="Viper Mid-Tower Case" border="0" width="350" height="263"></a><br> <font size="-1">Click on image for larger picture</font> </p> <p align="left">After I selected my files I started the backup.</p> <p align="center"><a href="atruereview/xtreme_files/copyprogress.gif"><img src="atruereview/xtreme_files/copyprogressth.gif" alt="Viper Mid-Tower Case" border="0" width="350" height="263"></a><br> <font size="-1">Click on image for larger picture</font> </p> <p align="left">The total files, copied files, file being copied, total copy progress and copy progress for the file are displayed. When copying the drive's green lights disappear and a red light runs in a circle around the center buttons. The light only appears to run in a circle, instead each consecutive LED is lit after the last one goes out, moving around the circle. </p> <p align="center"><a href="atruereview/xtreme_files/09.jpg"><img src="atruereview/xtreme_files/09th.jpg" alt="Viper Mid-Tower Case" border="0" width="210" height="250"></a><br> <font size="-1">Click on image for larger picture</font> </p> <p align="left">The files are actually moved to a directory on disk. You can choose this root directory if you wish. Each drive is a folder under this root directory, with the folder structure and file structure inside the drive folder. Unfortunately, the drive does not compress the files. Compression would allow for more storage capability and add a lot of value. According to the instructions, the drive can be replaced for a larger drive, so you are able to gain more space that way.</p> <p align="left"></a> <a href="xtreme_files/werq">Next, I tried to do an OS backup. I pressed the OS backup button. A prompt appeared informing me of the size to be backed up and the free space on the disk. Following this prompt is a reboot prompt so that the drive can start the backup. Some files under Windows are locked so Xtreme Files reboots the computer to DOS mode to do a file backup.</p> <p align="center"><img src="atruereview/xtreme_files/rebootth.gif" alt="Viper Mid-Tower Case" border="0" width="350" height="87"></p> <p align="left">Of course, rebooting and copying in DOS mode is a nightmare. There is a dedicated problem section in the back of the instruction manual that talks about all the errors that could occur. </p> <p align="left">My first problem was that the computer just rebooted. It never tried to load the USB drivers. I checked my BIOS to insure USB Legacy devices were disabled and they were. Then I upgraded my ASUS A7V600 BIOS to the latest version. Still no luck, the computer just rebooted. The site listed in the trouble shooting section was for Symantec. This page is no longer active so I was stuck. I checked CoolMax's <a href="http://www.coolmaxusa.com/support.html">support page</a>, but it contained the same information as the instruction manual. I assumed that because I have a SCSI hard drive, the boot loader for the USB drive wasn't installed right or read right. One part of the troubleshooting guide mentions issues with SCSI drivers.</p> <p align="left">No big deal, most people do not have SCSI drives. I moved the Xtreme Files over to another computer that uses only IDE drives. The Xtreme Files attaches itself to a computer when the OS is backed up and only allows one computer's OS to be backed up to it. Therefore, just to make sure I had space and could backup files, I formatted the drive.</p> <p align="left">I ran the OS backup again. With luck the computer rebooted, ran the Xtreme Drive's loader, but could not find the drive. I went into the BIOS and found that I had to disable USB 2.0 support. After booting into Windows and pressing the OS button, the computer rebooted again. This time it detected the USB driver but could not find the drive. I did another BIOS upgrade as the trouble shooting guide suggests. The same error occurred. This board was a Chaintech 9VJL3. </p> <p align="left"><strong>Added 10/26/04:</strong></p> <p align="left">After reading my review, CoolMax contacted me and informed me of another solution to fix the drive detection issue. I had to unplug the USB cable before rebooting the computer. The computer then boots without the drive and prompts to plug it in when in DOS. Once the drive was plugged in, the computer found it and started the backup. This is actually in the user manual and I tried this with my ASUS board before I took it to the other computer. It did not work on the ASUS. I simply forgot to try this with the Chaintech system. I did try unplugging the drive and replugging it in while at the prompt in the DOS screen, but the computer must be booted without the drive. The backup (18 GB) took a little less than 40 min. With all this said, using the OS backup was a pain for me.</p> <table width="100%" border="0"> <tr> <td><a href="atruereview/xtreme_files/index.php"></a> <a href="xtreme_files/">Previous (Introduction & Description)</a></td> <td><div align="right"><a href="atruereview/xtreme_files/backup2.php"></a> <a href="xtreme_files/werq">Next (Restore & Conclusion)</a></div></td> </tr> </p> </div> </td> </tr> </table> </div> <div id="footer" class="clr"> <div class="rk-1"> <div class="rk-2"> <div id="the-footer"> <script type="text/javascript"> var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? 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