Three easy backup solutions reviewed

My office is overflowing with new external hard drives and other backup solutions, so I figured it made sense to round them all up into a single post so I could discuss their merits all at once.

Western Digital My Book World Edition - This sleek external hard drive makes an immediate and striking impression: How many storage devices do you own that look good? The My Book plugs into your network, not your computer, which means setup is a bit slower than with standalone drives, but the time spent getting it installed is worth it. Once you have it installed, the drive automatically shows up in your Network view (on PCs or Macs). Install the software on the CD and you've got an automatic backup solution that runs pretty much without involvement, and you can also stream audio and video from the My Book to other computers or to your TV if you have a console like a PS2 or Xbox 360. Remote access is also in the box -- so you can get to your drive from anywhere in the world via a web browser. Works well and looks great. (Don't miss the status light on the front, which "fills up" based on how full the hard drive is.) $230 for 1TB or $450 for 2TB.

Seagate Replica - Nifty little solution here (being announced today): The Replica is a removable hard drive with a docking cradle, designed specifically for backup use. Plug in the cradle (two USB ports are required), then pop the drive atop the cradle. Software on the drive (mine didn't auto-install, but setup took less than a minute) automatically starts backing up everything -- your entire hard drive -- offering you an always-available, real-time copy of your disk (at least after the initial copy, which takes a few hours). If you run low on space, the drive deletes redundant files intelligently to make room for new stuff, though with 500GB to play with, that's unlikely unless you're using it on multiple computers (which is perfectly OK -- each computer gets its own folder to work in). My only hiccups: the dock didn't quite fit into the drive at first because the drive's plug had gotten bent a little off center. Straightening it with the alternative connector -- a standard mini-USB plug you can use with your laptop -- got everything working perfectly. Another, bigger problem: During big backups, my system would sometimes hang, requiring a manual reboot; however this problem was intermittent and only occurred on one (XP) system. Bugs aside, the removable feature makes this product more interesting, since the drive can be easily packed up and dropped in a fire safe or safe deposit box if you're worried about theft or damage. Also included: A Recovery CD that copies everything back to your PC in the event of disaster. $200 for 500GB or $130 for 250GB (one PC supported only).

Clickfree Transformer - Clickfree sells external hard drives that offer plug-and-play instant backup: Just plug in the drive and the preinstalled software starts backing up your files automatically, a lot like the Replica (but only for data files). These drives work pretty well, but what if you already have an external hard drive? Enter the Transformer, a USB dongle that you plug into your computer. Just plug in your own USB drive into the other end of the cable, and off it goes. Alas, in my testing, the Transformer backup software didn't automatically run, and even manually running it wasn't always successful. Eventually I got it all working OK, but it wasn't nearly as easy as with Clickfree's all-in-one solutions or the Segate Replica, and novice users will probably encounter serious confusion with anything out of the ordinary -- such as USB drives that require being plugged in two USB ports to work. Overpriced at $60.