Public relations consultant /blog

I got BT digital vault. it locked up my PC.

I had to do an XP System restore.

I had to phone a 0870 number to cancel. I was on the line for 15 minutes – that’s £1.20

Avoid BT digital vault at all costs.

I have 8MB Broadband – upload is slow, after 2 nights of uploading 18 350MB files, 16 were skipped, no error messages, just skipped, what a pile of rubbish – I don’t recommend it at all !

On a free trial. So many probs trying to upload. Click on a button of Backup Manager and it hangs; uploads are timed out and, just now got a message from the vault saying it was busy and try again later. The vault is a waste of time.

Sounds like I’m not the only one having problems.

I’ve had three fairly major problems.
1) Had to reboot my router after running backup for long periods. This seems to have been improved by reducing the network priority of the backup manager.

2) It was backing up every single file every single time (about 2Gb worth). Traced this down to the fact that my disk partition was FAT32 (don’t ask why ). Have since transferred to a NTFS partition and looks ok.

3) Its only uploading about 40 files at a time and then skipping the rest. Strangley this appears to have been worse since I upgraded the backup manager.

If things don’t get better I think I’m going to have to find another option…

I have used it as part of my BT Total Broadband package, seems ok until you need support. 3 calls in three days every time someone will call me back…. Never happened and every time they tell me the servers are down and they can’t give me a reference number. Maybe the revenue generator is the 08 number and not what we pay…. Clever I must admit….

BT DIGITAL VAULT SIMPLY DOENT WORK

End of story – someone should make them pull their ads off the Telly !

BT DV is a disaster, I checked my on line vault and it’s only got about 25% of my files,but it thinks it’s done them all, so stubbornly refuses to backup any more. Despite the computer being left on all night… Good job I wasn’t relying on it just yet.

Avoid at all costs. The software is a slow monster of an application.

I’m trying Carbonite now.

If you really want to use a reliable automatic online backup, try http://www.steekup.com
This solution also allows you to save your emails

A striking example here : http://www.steekr.com/index.php?m=c9ae77e8&a=7d397569&share=LNK480246fa213492815

Also horrified by BT Vault problems I also tried Storegate and Steekup. Finally I chose Steekup as he was the fastest and very secured.

BT Digital Vault is scary to say the least

My problems included a very slow backup speed after the first install – should be 12hrs per gig according to BT but I only managed about 10% of that speed, despite my 8M line using the auto backup utility.

Files were skipped at random so 5% of the files did not get backed up? I don’t know what’s missing.

The auto backup tried to run every 20 mins but then backed up the entire set of files again – so typically running for 20hrs. I have an NTFS main partition with a small FAT32 partition that came with the PC to safeguard PC setup, from a little known company called Compaq.

Even though the auto backup it is running constantly it is still skipping 5% of the files – how should I know what is missing?

Rang BT for help (oh dear), they said re-install your BT Digital Vault software. I did but the client failed when I selected the restore option. Cleaned the machine manually and ran Norton Win repair. Re-installed, selected current PC, all my backup selections for the auto backup profile had been lost? No way to recover my backup profile, so I had to try and remember every folder and file again and select them. The Restore option this time was not available, very handy after a disk failure.

Eventually I managed to get the software working and did a restore of 1 file, which took an age, often the software hangs for a minute or more before responding. The support supervisor was meant to give me a ring to help me sort it out – but he didn’t.

I do have a BT Broadband account so I thought my data would be safe, but after the problems I noticed this in the small print:-

2. BT Digital Vault with 5GB storage included with BT Total Broadband. Auto Backup facility inclusive with Option 3. Opt in required. Service will continue providing it is used at least every 90 days. Conditions apply. Auto Backup currently not Mac compatible.

Yep, if you backup your pictures and leave them for 90 days they are purged – they don’t put that on the TV advert DO THEY! So do not rely on this service is you require secure data (take note Alistair Darling), or the ability to easily restore after a computer failure.

The idea is good, the software has not been properly developed or tested, the support which I had to pay for (premium line) had no understanding of the product or the problems, and just kept saying everything was fine. I will give it 2 out of 10 for being a good idea.

This product is the pits how could BT launch a multmillion advertising campaign for this heap of Junk.
It is so slow and if your precious pictures are just deleted after 90 days where is the point in that. Tried to back up a very small 38Meg file tonight guess what the vaults down again! I,d like to know what percentage of the day this wretched service is down probably about 90% from my experience!
Come on BT withdraw it didn,t they ever do any tests or trials before launching it!

I used to work for Bt I’m ashamed to say but suggest they sack the project manager who planned and launched it and advise them to get consultants in from outside they will perhaps have a better idea of how to plan test and launch a product! That actually works!

Guys some things just do not belong in the same sentence….. BT and support are two, BT’s software works are a few more…. They set the bar so low and even fail to reach that most the time….

DIGITAL VAULT IS PANTS…. IT DOES NOT WORK!

THE SUPPORT IS PANTS! IT DOES NOT WORK!

Glad I got that off my chest! The web is full of people who have been there and wasted time trying to get this cowboy application working….

That bloke on the telly better keep his missus happy…. “CREATING ANOTHER BABY” because it’s quicker and more reliable than getting the application working!

For those of you that missed it earlier….. DO NOT TRUST BT! DIGITAL VAULT IS PANTS!

Digital vault is rubbish. It crashes when it backs up, it times out when backing up (requiring re-login), when looking at the backed up files it always saying “Please wait a few moments whilst we fetch your list of files from your vault”, then an hour later it is still fetching.

So far, I have no idea what, if anything I’ve backed up, nor if I can ever retrieve anything.!

I have to say, I thought it was just me that had problems with BT Digital Vault. I thought I’d try the free 1GB version first to see how it performs and then upgrade if it was any good.
I started off simply trying to upload a 41MB directory of photos – it couldn’t even do that without timing out and causing other issues. When you go log back in to see how far it had got, it goes around in a never ending loop trying to find your files.
Honestly, I’m not the sort of person that complains or slags off companies for the sake of it, but this BT digital vault really is terrible.
If I were involved in this project within BT, I would feel really embarrassed.

Please don’t contemplate using BT digital vault. If you don’t believe all of the above comments, try out the free 1GB option for yourself.
Don’t say we didn’t warn you.
The first post on this website is 21st April 2007.
I am now posting on 30th March 2008 and BT digital vault hasn’t got any better. These aren’t just teething problems, there is something fundamentally wrong with it.
All I tried to do was copy some photos onto the digital vault. This is a simple FTP transfer and it couldn’t even do that!

Thanks for the above comments. I have just tried it as part of my total broadband package and it took 48 hours to upload 4.8GB and now everytime I try and use IE7 the browser freezes. Haven’t seen that connection talked about on the web. Think I will now attempt to delete all my files from the vault and deinstall and hope I get a usable IE back.

I am using the “free” version of Digital Vault. I qualify the free as I pay a premium for BT Broadband but reading the reviews and surveys it is not the best value out there. My first upload of a single, large Word document was fine. Yesterday and today I appear to have uploaded the more recent version of the document four times but only the older version is listed.
My earliest experiences of BT helplines , when I had ISDN, were good. But it appears they switched their better staff to support the rollout of broadband and I had dismal service on one occasion. I resent paying for minutes doing again what I have already tried and finding out the person inflexible and unsure. BT told me it was ending ISDN but it made no attempt to provide a second line for my fax when it forced me to migrate to broadband.
Given the problems appear to be in the system, judingin my comments above, I won’t bother ringing or emailing my complaint.

Good to see I’m not alone in having problems with this woeful turd of an application. Well actually, it’s bad really, but you know what I mean. I tried to upload a simple folder containing a small number of text files and it goes through the motions but in the end nothing appears. Re-loaded Java as advised. Tried it umpteen more times but to no avail. Tried uploading a tiny Word document – no dice. Sent an e-mail query and they replied with something incomprehensible which I finally took as meaning ‘we don’t have this problem listed in our FAQs’. Nothing else. I knew that you bone-heads I looked there first. Think I will give up now. Pity, it was a nice idea.

Well i was considering the digital vault as an option
for send large photo files to customers
as Bt dosnt allow attachments over about 10mg
but sadly to complicated
as to doing backups
with external hard drives as cheap as 250gb for 39pounds
who in thier right mind would pay 4.99 a month for 20gb
only to have it erased 90 days later!

BT Digital vault is total rubbish, very slow to upload, the auto backup software is garbage and your files get erased after 90 days if you happen not to visit.! What is the point?

To be fair anyone who expects to be able to back their system up online in less than, say, six hours, either has hardly anything to backup or is very niave.

Well, I’m glad it’s not just me. I’ve had a love-hate relationship with BT for many years, both private and in my business. I have to say I’m generally happy with my BT Total Broadband home package, although the auto-backup, whilst not crucial to my decision to go with BT, would be a bonus if it worked OK. And I wish BT would reboot the router in the early hours (I assume it’s an upgrade, not a random thing) rather than when I’m in the middle of something.

I’ve had all of the above problems with the backup – flaky isn’t the word. I wasn’t aware of the 90-day wipe-out, which is annoying especially as I am paying BT every month! But having read this thread I now just don’t trust the backup service, and that’s worrying.

Digital Vault
Maybe I was a bit slow in realising that when they offer a 50GB backup service that it will take more than 2 days running to upload only about 5%of it!!!

This has not worked for me – time to cancel and buy a backup harddrive or blue ray DVD!!

It is a shame I do like the idea though

Please help / any comments.

I logged onto the BT Digital Vault last week to find that all my JPEG files have been converted to 0Kb? The autobackup /restore facility has corrupted all the files on my PC too?

Anyone out there with a similiar fault?

BT have not come back with an answer?

Dubbase

I have tackled BT on not being able to upload folders using the 5Gb basic Digital Vault and Java Upload – first they said it was a known problem and they were working on it – then they said you could only upload folders with the 50Gb premium option – very disappointed with BT on this – they can’t even get their story straight – must be lost in the translation or somewhere in Bombay.

If you are going to offer a service as part of an already expensive package, at least make it work – BT Digital Vault vs 1Tb HDD? No contest