For most users, having a hard disk failure or a corrupted operating system that renders a system unbootable is among the most dreaded possible occurrences. In such a situation, a disk utility can make the difference between enduring a disaster and managing to maintain the integrity of the operating system environment and data.
Future Systems Solutions Casper XP disk utility is geared to Windows 2000 and XP home users. Available now, Casper XP is designed for upgrading a systems hard disk or making a bootable copy of the main hard drive. Casper works with any attached hard disk recognized by Windows, including ATA/IDE, SCSI, USB, FireWire, and Serial ATA and hardware RAID arrays.
My tests showed that Casper XP is an excellent disk utility for home users. Casper can perform any of its disk utility operations in the background, allowing users to work without interruption. Casper XP also is excellent for use when upgrading to a larger and bootable hard drive, or for keeping a backup copy of a primary hard drive.
Casper XP copied a 40GB Maxtor drive to an 80GB Western Digital drive in less than 45 minutes on my test system, which comprised an AMD Athlon processor and 256MB of DDR PC 2100 RAM. Casper XP can schedule automated backups, so users can keep full bootable backups of their system.
At $44.95 per license, Casper XP is reasonably priced compared with other disk utilities that have similar capabilities. Caspers simplicity and reliability make it a good pick for home use. However, I would like to see Casper XP gain the ability to save backups to networked shared drives. This would allow it to accommodate the growing trend of home networks.
More information, pricing and a free trial download version can be found at www.fssdev.com.
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