Note: This tutorial shows how to run
Livedrive Backup
as a Windows Service.
The related
Livedrive Briefcase
functionality, which maps a network drive in the interactive session, does not seem to function properly when run in the background as a Windows Service.
In addition, this tutorial was created a few years ago with an earlier version of the Livedrive desktop software.
Unfortunately Livedrive now requires a credit card to download its desktop software, which makes it difficult to provide guidance on their latest releases.
We leave the old version here in the hopes that the setup hasn't changed too much.
Please be sure to get in touch if you need help with Livedrive.
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Install and configure the Livedrive backup desktop client, if necessary. Please make a note of where you installed it as this will be used in a later step.
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Download and install AlwaysUp, if necessary.
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Start AlwaysUp.
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Select Application > Add to open the Add Application window:
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On the General tab:
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In the Application field, enter the full path to the Livedrive executable, Livedrive.exe.
If you installed Livedrive in the default location, this is:
C:\Program Files\Livedrive\Livedrive.exe
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In the Name field, enter the name that you will call the application in AlwaysUp.
We used Livedrive but you can specify almost anything you like.
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Move to the Logon tab and enter the user name and password of the account in which you installed and configured Livedrive.
Livedrive must run in this account so that it can find its settings.
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Switch to the Startup tab and check the Ensure that the Windows Networking components have started box.
This informs AlwaysUp that Livedrive needs TCP/IP networking support to do its work.
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Click the Save button.
In a couple of seconds, an application called Livedrive will show up in the AlwaysUp window.
It is not yet running though:
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Before we start Livedrive as a Windows Service, we must stop any existing instance.
If Livedrive is running, stop it now by right-clicking the tray icon and selecting Exit.
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To start Livedrive from AlwaysUp choose Application > Start "Livedrive".
Note that you won't see Livedrive's icon because the program is running in the background, in the
isolated Session 0:
Choose Application > Restart "Livedrive" in this session if you wish to bring Livedrive onto your desktop.
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Now that Livedrive will always be running in the background, there is no need to start it again when you log on.
We recommend using the
free Autoruns tool from Microsoft
to disable Livedrive's auto-start but any "startup manager" should do the trick.
With Autoruns, click over to the Logon tab and un-check the box beside the Livedrive entry:
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That's it! Next time your computer boots, Livedrive will start up immediately, before anyone logs on.
We encourage you to edit the entry in AlwaysUp and check out the many other settings that may be appropriate for your environment.
