Carbonite Support > How to Tell What Is Backed Up

How to Tell What Is Backed Up

Summary:

You can check the status and the contents of your backup through the Carbonite software or through your Carbonite account online.

Carbonite backs up new files within the first 10 minutes and any additional updates to the new or existing files will be scheduled for backup within 24 hours. However, you can manually instruct Carbonite to back up new changes immediately.

This article applies to:

Solution:

The sections below are collapsed. Please click the section title to open / close a particular section.

Checking Your Backup Status with the Carbonite Backup Drive

To check the backup status of a file or folder, you can review the Carbonite Backup Drive, which displays the current contents of your backup.

  1. Open File Explorer.
    • To open File Explorer, press Win + E on your keyboard or right-click your Start Menu and select File Explorer.
  2. From This PC, click Carbonite Backup Drive.
    Carbonite Backup Drive Icon
  3. Double-click Backed Up Files.
  4. From here, double-click to the location of the file or folder.
  5. From here, review the Last Backed Up column to determine the backup status.
State Applies to
Folder contains files or subfolders that are pending backup Folders
Backup up-to-date Folders
Backup up-to-date, but some files or subfolders are not selected for back up Folders
File backed up Files
File will be backed up again in x hours/minutes Files

Checking Your Backup Status with the Carbonite Context Menu

To check the backup status of a file from the Carbonite context menu, follow the instructions below.

  1. Locate the file/folder on your computer.
  2. Right-click on the file and select Carbonite.
  3. From here, the menu will state the last time the file was backed up.
Right-Click Context Menu

Checking Your Backup Status with Carbonite’s Colored Dots

To check the backup status of a file or folder, you can review the status icon on the bottom left corner of the file/folder’s icon.

  1. Ensure Carbonite’s dot feature is enabled.
  2. Locate the file/folder on your computer.
  3. If the file/folder has a dot, it has been selected for backup.
If you have performed these steps, and still cannot see the Carbonite colored dots, another program may be conflicting with Carbonite's dots.

For more information on Carbonite’s colored dots and what they mean, please reference the table below.

Icon Backup Status
File Icon with Green Dot Green dot on file: File has been backed up
File Icon with Yellow Dot Yellow dot on file: File is selected for back up: backup is pending.
Folder Icon with Green Dot Green dot on folder: Folder is selected for backup and files within folder are backed up
Folder Icon with Green Half Circle Green half circle: Folder is selected for back up and selected files within the folder are backed up some of the folder's files or sub-folders have not been selected for backup.
Folder icon with yellow dot Yellow dot on folder: Files or subfolders within folder have been selected for back up: backup is pending

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