First, download the latest version of the ODB Advanced backup software. If you’re an ODB Deluxe subscriber, you should also use this version of the ODB software. You can always grab the latest version from HERE.

Hint: you can enlarge any image displayed in this post by clicking on it.

Next, all the instructions for installing ODB Advanced on your Mac OS X machine are fairly straightforward, you can read more about it, after the jump, below.

Save the downloaded (obm-mac.zip) file to a location on your computer that you’ll remember.

After the download completes, launch the installation program.

You will be prompted to save your work before proceeding. It is highly recommended that you follow this step rather than racing through the installation process. Better yet, close all open programs except for Finder and the installation program.

Choose your language and be sure to review the software license agreement. English is selected by default.

In order to proceed with the installation, you’ll have to accept our software license agreement.

You can then choose the location to install the software. We recommend that you have at least 150mb of space free for the installation of the software. Backing up files does require disk space and you will need some free space on your system in order to create backup sets, etc.

Press the continue button to proceed.

The installation screen will appear. If you need to change the installation destination, you can do so easily from this page. Click on Install to get started.

You’ll need an administrator username and password to proceed with the installation.

The installation should run and will eventually complete.

Once the installation has completed, you’ll be notified with an unmissable green checkmark.

Next, the software splash screen will appear and a connection to our primary backup server will be made.

If you’d like to change servers (for any reason, whether your account is on a different server or you have more up-to-date information), you can do so on the initial Trial Registration page.

Enter in your username and password. If you already have an account on our system, click on the bottom left hand side black area of the Trial Registration. Strange, yes, we know – we’re working on this.

Otherwise, just fill out the form with your username, password and email address. We can’t stress how important this password is. It’s your encrypting key – without it, there’s no way to recover your backups. You can change your password but your encrypting key doesn’t change.

Give your backup set a name.  The more descriptive, the better.

For file-based backups, if you don’t see what you’re looking for in the initial selections, there’s the ‘Advanced’ button that will give you more granular control of what files to back up.

With ODB Advanced and Deluxe you can backup almost anything on your file system.

After you’ve chosen what you want to backup, set up a backup schedule, or two.. or four or as many as you need to get the job done. Usually one works but you may want to set up a grandfather-father-son backup routine which requires weekly, monthly and quarterly scheduling considerations.

You can also choose how long the backup will run for.

The most critical part of this excercise is to remember your encryption settings.

If you specify an encrypting key, make sure to keep it in a safe place. If you choose default settings, keep your original password in a safe place – this is your encrypting key. Passwords change, encrypting keys don’t.

With ODB Advanced and Deluxe, there are a myriad of encryption options.

Once you’ve completed setting up your backup sets, you will be presented with the ODB Advanced main user interface.

You can choose to run an initial backup. If you’re loading your initial data to a hard drive, this must be performed while the user interface is open. All other backup procedures can occur as scheduled when the user interface is closed.

At your option, you can skip the initial backup, if you want to close the ODB software.

Otherwise, clicking on Backup will start the backup.

Once the backup completes, you can review the logs. Within the hour, you should also receive a backup report by email.

Once you’re done configuring the software, don’t forget to save the settings to the server. All settings are centralized on the server and need to be saved to become permanent.

Congratulations! You’re done. If you have any questions, feel free to post them here or contact our Technical Support group.

First, download the latest version of ODB Basic from our site, HERE.

Hint: you can enlarge any image displayed in this post by clicking on it.

Next, all the instructions for installing ODB Advanced on your Mac-based machine are fairly straightforward. You can read more about it after the jump, below.

The file, acb-mac.zip should automatically open with StuffIt Expander.

Once opened, the installation program will launch.

Click continue to start the installation process.

Save your work and be sure your computer is plugged into the outlet and/or it has ample battery life to complete the installation. If you have less than 30 minutes of battery life, we recommend that you not install the software until your computer is plugged in.

You’ll have to agree to our software license agreement in order to continue with the installation of this software.

Once you’ve agreed to the licensing terms of the software, choose where you’d like to install the software and click continue.

The installation requires approx. 20MB of free space on your computer. Staging of files before they’re sent over the internet also takes space, we recommend that you have at least 100MB of space free on your hard drive to proceed with the installation.

To commence the installation the software, you’ll need to enter an administrative username and password for the computer in question.

After entering the password, the installation will run.

… and should complete successfully.

After the install completes, an icon will be installed on your desktop and the program should launch.

Next, the Trial Registration wizard will pop up. If you are already a user of our service and have been assigned a backup server, you can enter it here. In most cases, the address which is already filled in is true and correct. Hit the ‘next’ button.

If you’re already a user of the service, you can click the ‘Already a user?’ button. If not, proceed with entering your vitals and keep note of the password as this is your default encrypting key. You can change your password as much as you like but IF YOU LOSE YOUR DEFAULT ENCRYPTING KEY, you will not be able to restore your backups.

For already existent users of the system, you will be asked to provide your current username and password.

Advanced options will allow you to change proxy settings, backup server, connection type and interface language.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, new users can enter their credentials as outlined above.

… then you’re off to the races. You can select what files you want backed up.

If you don’t see what you’re looking for, click the Advanced button for more granular control of what you want backed up.

Next step, choose when you’d like to run the backup – what days, what time and how long you’d like to run the backup for.

As the last step, decide if you would like to use the default encrypting key (your initial password) or if you’d like to specify one. Be sure to keep this key on file as it will be required to recover your files.

After entering all the specifications for the backup, you will be presented with the main ODB Basic user interface.

Click on the Backup button and you’ll be able to start the backup immediately. If your backup is large and you’d prefer to have this run as scheduled and in the background, youc an skip this set.

The backup speed depends on your network connection. A large initial backup can take days to complete. After this, incremental backups should take much less time. In most cases just a few hours.

After the initial backup completes, you’ll have the option to view the backup log. Failing that, a backup summary will be emailed to you.

Congratulations!. You’re set up. You can now close the ODB Basic program and rest assured that your critical files are being backed up.

Don’t forget to save your settings to the backup server. The server controls all backups so this is important.

You’re done. If you have any questions, feel free to post them here or ask our Technical Support group.