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:

This article is for Windows - View the Mac article

Solution:

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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.

Open File Explorer.
- To open File Explorer, press Win + E on your keyboard or right-click your Start Menu and select File Explorer.
From This PC, click Carbonite Backup Drive.
Double-click Backed Up Files.
From here, double-click to the location of the file or folder.
From here, review the Last Backed Up column to determine the backup status.
- If it is not selected, see select it for backup.

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 Properties Menu:

To check the backup status of a file from the Properties menu, follow the instructions below:

Locate the file or folder on your computer.
Right‑click the file or folder in question and select Properties.
In the Properties window, select the Carbonite tab.

This would show the status of the backup and give you an option to select a file for backup and backup as soon as possible if needed.

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.

Ensure Carbonite’s dot feature is enabled.
Locate the file/folder on your computer.
If the file/folder has a dot, it has been selected for backup.
- If not, select it 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
	Green dot on file: File has been backed up
	Yellow dot on file: File is selected for back up: backup is pending.
	Green dot on folder: Folder is selected for backup and files within folder are backed up
	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.
	Yellow dot on folder: Files or subfolders within folder have been selected for back up: backup is pending