Knowhow cloud backup problem

troched

Having some issues with getting this thing to do what I want.

I wanted to make use of the Cloud's Livedrive to free up space on my hard drive.

However, after set up, my Computer screen instead showed my C drive along with a new L drive, which had the same free space & size as my normal C Drive. (See attached screengrab)


I tried to stop the automatic backup, by deselecting everything from the Manage backups screen. I thought this would clear the L drive. Unfortunately, there has been no change whatsoever.

To make clear how I would like to use the Cloud:

* I want to use it to free up space on my hard drive

* I want to do this by moving most of my files to the online briefcase

* I want to backup my music and iTunes at least


Right now, unfortunately, I am restricted from doing very much until I can free up the hard drive.

Would really appreciate some help with this! I have had difficulty with getting help from Knowhow themselves.

AlmightyCushion

troched wrote: »

To make clear how I would like to use the Cloud:

* I want to use it to free up space on my hard drive

* I want to do this by moving most of my files to the online briefcase

* I want to backup my music and iTunes at least


Right now, unfortunately, I am restricted from doing very much until I can free up the hard drive.

Would really appreciate some help with this! I have had difficulty with getting help from Knowhow themselves.

LiveDrive Briefcase doesn't work that way. When you put something in the briefcase it will still keep the file on your computer but it will sync it across multiple PCs that have the LiveDrive software on.

troched

AlmightyCushion wrote: »

LiveDrive Briefcase doesn't work that way. When you put something in the briefcase it will still keep the file on your computer but it will sync it across multiple PCs that have the LiveDrive software on.

But if I copy and paste files to the briefcase, then delete them from the hard drive, that will work right? i.e. I'll have all my old files and a hard drive that isn't about to burst?

AlmightyCushion

troched wrote: »

But if I copy and paste files to the briefcase, then delete them from the hard drive, that will work right? i.e. I'll have all my old files and a hard drive that isn't about to burst?

No because when you put a file in the briefcase it will still be on your hard drive. The briefcase just looks like a separate drive, it really is just a folder that sits on your hard drive that automatically syncs to LiveDrive's servers.

troched

I getcha. Good job it came free with the PC!

Could you recommend any cloud products that would work the way I thought Livedrive would? Or a decent external hard drive?

AlmightyCushion

troched wrote: »

I getcha. Good job it came free with the PC!

Could you recommend any cloud products that would work the way I thought Livedrive would? Or a decent external hard drive?

It sounds like you want something that will store the files in the cloud but not locally on your machine (so it frees up space) but that will still let you access the files. Is that correct? If so, I don't know of any that really work that way. You could use Google Play Music which will let you upload all your music to the cloud and still play it back through their website.

Polar Ice

troched wrote: »

To make clear how I would like to use the Cloud:

* I want to use it to free up space on my hard drive

* I want to do this by moving most of my files to the online briefcase

* I want to backup my music and iTunes at least

From the screenshot you attached, you seem to have a lot of unused space on Local Disk D. Any reason why you can't use that? (Or why you can't buy and use an external harddrive)

How much storage space are you looking to use? You'll need to be willing to pay monthly storage fees.

Have you been able to identify exactly the files you wish to remove from your computer and move into the 'cloud'? (You're not really looking for cloud type features, you're really just looking for online storage. Cloud storage products are generally designed to sync files between multiple different computers over the 'cloud'). Keep in mind you won't be able to move any system/windows/program files off your computer.

Backing up your music online won't save space unless you remove it from your computer.

whizbang

I'm sure most of the cloud services work the same way -

Install dropbox on your PC, copy the files to the dropbox folder, wait for sync to finish.
Then stop the dropbox process using task manager. or even disconnect from internet.

Uninstall dropbox application, or remove it from your startups.
delete the dropbox folder (and everything in it!)

Job done! -goto dropbox through the web browser to get your files back.

ZENER

There are a couple of simpler options you could try. One is to move your home documents directory to the partition which seems to be empty and doing nothing useful at the moment. Not a simple process on Windows 7 but doable nonetheless.

The other option is to mount your drive as a folder in your C: partition or use a third party app to extend your C: drive to consume the empty partition.

Of course an external had drive to create an extra backup is ALWAYS recommended, especially if the main drive is in a laptop. These are notorious for failing without notice.

Ken

matzen

troched wrote: »

But if I copy and paste files to the briefcase, then delete them from the hard drive, that will work right? i.e. I'll have all my old files and a hard drive that isn't about to burst?

Go into Livedrive settings (on the pc) and untick the 'keep files locally' option. That way it will only keep the files in the cloud and not take up space on your hard drive.