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Backup format

O&O AutoBackup stores readable, versioned files instead of placing the backup in one large compressed container. This is a deliberate design choice: an unencrypted backup can be restored as ordinary files without depending on a proprietary archive or a particular installation of O&O AutoBackup.

Backup software often lasts longer than the PC on which it was installed. Years later, the important question is not how elegant the archive looked during backup; it is how many dependencies stand between you and your data. For unencrypted backups, O&O AutoBackup keeps that distance short.

Unencrypted backups​

Files are copied to the destination as ordinary files within O&O AutoBackup's managed folder structure. The original application is the easiest way to select a point in time, but individual current files can also be inspected and copied with File Explorer.

This design avoids making decompression, mounting, or a proprietary monolithic archive a prerequisite for basic access. A damaged container cannot make every unrelated file inside it inaccessible because there is no single all-or-nothing container.

Why O&O AutoBackup does not compress​

No compression is a deliberate non-goal. Compression can save capacity for some data, but it creates costs that conflict with O&O AutoBackup's purpose:

  • Recovery depends on software that understands the archive.
  • Damage to a container can affect many files at once.
  • Opening one file may require reading archive structures first.
  • Photos, videos, modern Office files, and many downloads are already compressed and may shrink little.
  • Backup and restore need additional CPU work.

The trade-off is straightforward: use enough destination capacity for the actual files and their retained versions in exchange for transparent, durable recovery. Managed retention controls history growth without changing the plain-file model.

Compression is not encryption. A compressed archive may still expose names and contents; an encrypted O&O AutoBackup protects them cryptographically even though it is not designed to save space.

Versions and metadata​

O&O AutoBackup records enough state to reconstruct restore points and apply retention. Do not rename, reorganize, or partially delete managed backup folders by hand. External changes can make browsing incomplete until the pair's file list is repaired, and destructive changes may permanently remove versions.

Date-stamped versions remain individual stored files. Use the restore timeline when you need a coherent view of many files from the same moment rather than choosing timestamps manually.

Encrypted backups​

Encrypted content is intentionally not directly readable. Use O&O AutoBackup or the portable recovery app with the password or recovery key. Optional name hiding also prevents meaningful file and folder names from being exposed at rest.

Encryption preserves the “each file is protected independently” architecture, but direct Explorer recovery is no longer possible because that would defeat the security promise. Keep the recovery application and recovery key available.

Copying a backup destination​

If you migrate the entire destination, preserve its complete folder structure and metadata. Verify the copied backup by opening it through Restore from an existing backup before removing the original.

Do not treat a partially copied destination as verified. Complete the copy, unlock it if encrypted, browse more than one restore point, and restore representative files before retiring the source destination.