Looking for a backup solution - Files / Folders and HD Imaging / Cloning.

dwa1 · Jun 20, 2015

I had to replace my old XP PC recently which had Acronis TI 10 Home on it. The new PC has Win7 Pro. I searched and looked through a few previous DPR PC Talk threads and it appears there are a lot of folks who like certain HD backup programs. However, some of these threads are not too recent - therefore, I decided to get the most current feedback in this new thread.

I've been using Acronis TI since it's early days up through version 2010 (which I have on another PC). However, I am not hearing much positive about the versions after 2010.

At this point I am looking into Macrium Home (paid for version) and Paragon (paid for version). My initial thought about Macrium, is that the interface looks to be a little "odd" or not so "straight forward". Haven't looked at the Paragon UI as of yet. I will wait for some feedback in this thread.

*************************************

My specs / usage...

A - File and Folder backups...

Store jobs / tasks that I can name and run as needed (not by any schedule).

I would use flash drives for the media.

Always overwrite previous backup without prompting.

Always use a compressed backup.

Always verify the backup.

Allow use of a desktop icon / shortcut to start the backup task.

B - HD Imaging...

Store jobs / tasks that I can name and run as needed (not by any schedule).

I would use a separate HD mounted in a USB toaster.

Always overwrite previous backup without prompting.

Always use a compressed backup.

Always verify the backup.

Allow use of a desktop icon / shortcut to start the backup task.

Need the ability to restore the HD image to a new / different drive and then be able to boot from that drive.

For the restore I want to be able to change partition size.

C - HD Cloning...

Need the ability to clone the Win7 boot drive.

Verify the cloned drive.

Be able to boot from the cloned drive without the typical frustrations associated with this.

*************************************

Much thanks in advance for any feedback from experienced Macrium Reflect and / or Paragon users.

Wayne

dwa1 · Jun 22, 2015

Thanks to everyone for your great feedback in this thread. As of this time, I have eliminated Paragon and narrowed down my choices to Macrium Reflect or Image for Windows.

Question... Macrium - Home vs. Workstation...

With regard to Macrium Reflect, the Macrium comparison page (link below) indicates that the only difference is the support.

http://www.macrium.com/pages/comparisons.aspx

So, what features would be "missing" in the Home version?

Much thanks in advance.

Wayne

dwa1 · Jun 22, 2015

dwa1 said:
Thanks to everyone for your great feedback in this thread. As of this time, I have eliminated Paragon and narrowed down my choices to Macrium Reflect or Image for Windows.

Question... Macrium - Home vs. Workstation...

With regard to Macrium Reflect, the Macrium comparison page (link below) indicates that the only difference is the support.

http://www.macrium.com/pages/comparisons.aspx

So, what features would be "missing" in the Home version?

Much thanks in advance.

Wayne

Just looked deeper into IFW and noticed in their Manual that they do not have File / Folder backup options. So, this would not suit "my specs".

Wayne

dwa1 · Jun 22, 2015

LPhoeliu said:
You can try easeus todo backup , it is a nice tool for backup, can be used for file/system/disk backup.

support compressed backup. I think it can meet your requirements.

For some reason, your post just showed up in this thread.

The Free version is not for Commercial use. However, I was planning on buying one of the products anyway.

Thank you for the suggestion.

Wayne

skyglider · Jun 22, 2015

Gesture said:
Is Macrium Reflect compressing things as it creates the backup image.

Can you read the content and copy out a select # of files. If not, can any backup program do that?

Image for Windows comes with "TBI View". TBI View allows opening a backup file and looking at its contents like using Windows Explorer. Can extract any file out of the backup and paste it in any destination folder. I haven't tried extracting an entire folder yet since I didn't have a need to do that.

Sky

dwa1 · Jun 29, 2015

Note - I use this computer for business, so I need to get a program that is licensed for business use.

Macrium Refect...

I have reviewed Macrium Refect and did a few emails with their pre-sales support group. The only difference between the Home and Workstation products is that Workstation requires a yearly subscription fee for upgrades and support. Not pleased with that.

Image for Windows with Syncback Pro...

I like the looks of IFW, but that would require getting another program like Syncback to do file / floder backups. I am still considering this option though.

EaseUS Workstation...

This option seems like a good one as it can do HD imaging and file / folder backups.

http://www.todo-backup.com/business/workstation-backup.htm

My question about EaseUS Todo Backup is...

If I create a daily file / folder task and save it for daily / periodic use, can I use that same task on several different flash drive media (as long the flash drive letter is the same)? Win7 Pro makes me create a separate backup task for each flash drive. That's rediculous.

Much thanks in advance for any feedback about the EaseUS product.

Wayne

Patco · Jun 29, 2015

dwa1 said:
Note - I use this computer for business, so I need to get a program that is licensed for business use.

Macrium Refect...

I have reviewed Macrium Refect and did a few emails with their pre-sales support group. The only difference between the Home and Workstation products is that Workstation requires a yearly subscription fee for upgrades and support. Not pleased with that.

Image for Windows with Syncback Pro...

I like the looks of IFW, but that would require getting another program like Syncback to do file / floder backups. I am still considering this option though.

EaseUS Workstation...

This option seems like a good one as it can do HD imaging and file / folder backups.

http://www.todo-backup.com/business/workstation-backup.htm

My question about EaseUS Todo Backup is...

If I create a daily file / folder task and save it for daily / periodic use, can I use that same task on several different flash drive media (as long the flash drive letter is the same)? Win7 Pro makes me create a separate backup task for each flash drive. That's rediculous.

Much thanks in advance for any feedback about the EaseUS product.

Wayne

I've tried most backup software, including those from Macrium, Paragon and EaseUS, and own Acronis True Image 2014, but have now settled on Aomei Backupper as my tool of choice.

There is a version that is free for both personal & commercial use, but doesn't have quite all the features of the paid versions. For my purposes, it has everything I need, and more.

I have used it to restore my test and main computers frequently, with absolutely no issues.

http://www.backup-utility.com/edition-comparison.html

dwa1 · Jun 29, 2015

Patco said:
dwa1 said:

Note - I use this computer for business, so I need to get a program that is licensed for business use.

Macrium Refect...

I have reviewed Macrium Refect and did a few emails with their pre-sales support group. The only difference between the Home and Workstation products is that Workstation requires a yearly subscription fee for upgrades and support. Not pleased with that.

Image for Windows with Syncback Pro...

I like the looks of IFW, but that would require getting another program like Syncback to do file / floder backups. I am still considering this option though.

EaseUS Workstation...

This option seems like a good one as it can do HD imaging and file / folder backups.

http://www.todo-backup.com/business/workstation-backup.htm

My question about EaseUS Todo Backup is...

If I create a daily file / folder task and save it for daily / periodic use, can I use that same task on several different flash drive media (as long the flash drive letter is the same)? Win7 Pro makes me create a separate backup task for each flash drive. That's rediculous.

Much thanks in advance for any feedback about the EaseUS product.

Wayne

Click to expand...

I've tried most backup software, including those from Macrium, Paragon and EaseUS, and own Acronis True Image 2014, but have now settled on Aomei Backupper as my tool of choice.

There is a version that is free for both personal & commercial use, but doesn't have quite all the features of the paid versions. For my purposes, it has everything I need, and more.

I have used it to restore my test and main computers frequently, with absolutely no issues.

http://www.backup-utility.com/edition-comparison.html

Hi Patco.

Aomei is unusual in that this program is free for commercial use. Great to know. I like some of their other pay-for options too. It looks like it has some good features / options that are typical for most good backup programs.

fwiw... I like the design of their website too. If you click on a screen shot, it gets displayed in a larger browser window and is very easy to read.

Question... Will it satisfy my last question above about the file / folder backup to different flash drives?

Much thanks for your feedback Patco.

Wayne

Patco · Jun 29, 2015

dwa1 said:
Patco said:

dwa1 said:

Note - I use this computer for business, so I need to get a program that is licensed for business use.

Macrium Refect...

I have reviewed Macrium Refect and did a few emails with their pre-sales support group. The only difference between the Home and Workstation products is that Workstation requires a yearly subscription fee for upgrades and support. Not pleased with that.

Image for Windows with Syncback Pro...

I like the looks of IFW, but that would require getting another program like Syncback to do file / floder backups. I am still considering this option though.

EaseUS Workstation...

This option seems like a good one as it can do HD imaging and file / folder backups.

http://www.todo-backup.com/business/workstation-backup.htm

My question about EaseUS Todo Backup is...

If I create a daily file / folder task and save it for daily / periodic use, can I use that same task on several different flash drive media (as long the flash drive letter is the same)? Win7 Pro makes me create a separate backup task for each flash drive. That's rediculous.

Much thanks in advance for any feedback about the EaseUS product.

Wayne

Click to expand...

I've tried most backup software, including those from Macrium, Paragon and EaseUS, and own Acronis True Image 2014, but have now settled on Aomei Backupper as my tool of choice.

There is a version that is free for both personal & commercial use, but doesn't have quite all the features of the paid versions. For my purposes, it has everything I need, and more.

I have used it to restore my test and main computers frequently, with absolutely no issues.

http://www.backup-utility.com/edition-comparison.html

Click to expand...

Hi Patco.

Aomei is unusual in that this program is free for commercial use. Great to know. I like some of their other pay-for options too. It looks like it has some good features / options that are typical for most good backup programs.

fwiw... I like the design of their website too. If you click on a screen shot, it gets displayed in a larger browser window and is very easy to read.

Question... Will it satisfy my last question above about the file / folder backup to different flash drives?

Much thanks for your feedback Patco.

Wayne

Regarding flash drives, I think it might do what you want. I just made a small file/folder backup job, ran it to a flash drive, switched flash drives (same drive letter), and then ran the same job with a few mouse clicks.

It's not massive bloatware like some others, so I would recommend just downloading & giving it a whirl yourself

dwa1 · Jun 29, 2015

Thank you Patco.

Wayne

skyglider · Jun 30, 2015

dwa1 said:
Note - I use this computer for business, so I need to get a program that is licensed for business use.

Macrium Refect...

I have reviewed Macrium Refect and did a few emails with their pre-sales support group. The only difference between the Home and Workstation products is that Workstation requires a yearly subscription fee for upgrades and support. Not pleased with that.

Image for Windows with Syncback Pro...

I like the looks of IFW, but that would require getting another program like Syncback to do file / floder backups. I am still considering this option though.

EaseUS Workstation...

This option seems like a good one as it can do HD imaging and file / folder backups.

http://www.todo-backup.com/business/workstation-backup.htm

My question about EaseUS Todo Backup is...

If I create a daily file / folder task and save it for daily / periodic use, can I use that same task on several different flash drive media (as long the flash drive letter is the same)? Win7 Pro makes me create a separate backup task for each flash drive. That's rediculous.

Much thanks in advance for any feedback about the EaseUS product.

Wayne

Be careful about using "free" backup programs. They can all restore an entire backup. But if you think you might want to retrieve a specific file (or files) from a backup, a "free" backup program might not be able to do that and require purchasing the pay for version to get that option. The pay for version might be expensive and might be for use on only one PC. So do verify whether the free version can do file retrieval from a backup.

Here's an example of why file retrieval from a backup can be important. A friend's PC died (motherboard) so a new PC was purchased and it came with Win8.1 with all of the correct drivers for its motherboard. Data files from the last backup were retrieved without having to restore the old Windows OS.

Sky

dwa1 · Jun 30, 2015

skyglider said:
dwa1 said:

Note - I use this computer for business, so I need to get a program that is licensed for business use.

Macrium Refect...

I have reviewed Macrium Refect and did a few emails with their pre-sales support group. The only difference between the Home and Workstation products is that Workstation requires a yearly subscription fee for upgrades and support. Not pleased with that.

Image for Windows with Syncback Pro...

I like the looks of IFW, but that would require getting another program like Syncback to do file / floder backups. I am still considering this option though.

EaseUS Workstation...

This option seems like a good one as it can do HD imaging and file / folder backups.

http://www.todo-backup.com/business/workstation-backup.htm

My question about EaseUS Todo Backup is...

If I create a daily file / folder task and save it for daily / periodic use, can I use that same task on several different flash drive media (as long the flash drive letter is the same)? Win7 Pro makes me create a separate backup task for each flash drive. That's rediculous.

Much thanks in advance for any feedback about the EaseUS product.

Wayne

Click to expand...

Be careful about using "free" backup programs. They can all restore an entire backup. But if you think you might want to retrieve a specific file (or files) from a backup, a "free" backup program might not be able to do that and require purchasing the pay for version to get that option. The pay for version might be expensive and might be for use on only one PC. So do verify whether the free version can do file retrieval from a backup.

Here's an example of why file retrieval from a backup can be important. A friend's PC died (motherboard) so a new PC was purchased and it came with Win8.1 with all of the correct drivers for its motherboard. Data files from the last backup were retrieved without having to restore the old Windows OS.

Sky

Thanks for the reminder / "heads up" Sky.

Over the years I have run into the need to retrieve specific files from partition images. Normally, I can get most "user data" from daily file / folder backups. I use multiple backup media for the daily stuff. I also have partition images on multiple HDs which are part of an on-site / off-site rotation. All of this is done with Acronis versions up through 2010.

Free - After being burned by LogMeIn's policy change with their free version, I am leery of using "free" versions - especially when the paid-for version is relatively "cheap".

With that said, for others "listening"... The free AOMEI Standard indicates that you can restore individual files / folder here...

Windows Best Free Backup and Sync Software | AOMEI Backupper Standard

AOMEI Backupper Standard is a reliable and free backup software and file sync tool for Windows PCs. It simplifies the process of automatically backing up Windows OS, applications, and hard drives while offering easy file synchronization from one location to another to ensure your data stays...

www.backup-utility.com

Whether or not this can be done from a partition image backup is not clear. So, your point is well taken.

I was planning to get the paid-for version for one of these products. But it is good to be aware of the "free" versions limitations that can come back to haunt you down the road during an "emergency" situation.

Thanks again for your post Sky.

Wayne

Patco · Jun 30, 2015

dwa1 said:
Free - After being burned by LogMeIn's policy change with their free version, I am leery of using "free" versions - especially when the paid-for version is relatively "cheap".

"Remote Utilities" is free for personal or business use for up to 10 PCs. It's a very good remote utility that I have been using for some time now.

http://www.remoteutilities.com/

dwa1 said:
With that said, for others "listening"... The free AOMEI Standard indicates that you can restore individual files / folder here...

http://www.backup-utility.com/free-backup-software.html

Whether or not this can be done from a partition image backup is not clear. So, your point is well taken.

Yes, the free version allows you to restore individual files to a location of your choice.

dwa1 said:
I was planning to get the paid-for version for one of these products. But it is good to be aware of the "free" versions limitations that can come back to haunt you down the road during an "emergency" situation.

Thanks again for your post Sky.

Wayne

Jon555 · Jun 30, 2015

In case it wasn't clear Image for Windows comes with a program that will explore Images like using Windows Explorer (and you can Copy/Paste). It also handles incremental backups okay. However it is only a partition imaging tool, no more or less.

skyglider · Jun 30, 2015

Dr_Jon said:
In case it wasn't clear Image for Windows comes with a program that will explore Images like using Windows Explorer (and you can Copy/Paste). It also handles incremental backups okay. However it is only a partition imaging tool, no more or less.

Yes, Image for Windows comes with a program called "TBI View". TBI View allows doing what Dr_Jon said.

IFW also comes with "Image for DOS" and "Image for Linux". Either can be burned on a CD, which can then be used to restore an IFW backup. I believe that either can be saved on a USB memory stick but I haven't used that option for myself or the friends that I support since we all have optical drives and a CD is much cheaper than a USB memory stick.

Sky

dwa1 · Jun 30, 2015

Patco said:
dwa1 said:

Free - After being burned by LogMeIn's policy change with their free version, I am leery of using "free" versions - especially when the paid-for version is relatively "cheap".

Click to expand...

"Remote Utilities" is free for personal or business use for up to 10 PCs. It's a very good remote utility that I have been using for some time now.

http://www.remoteutilities.com/

Member said:

With that said, for others "listening"... The free AOMEI Standard indicates that you can restore individual files / folder here...

http://www.backup-utility.com/free-backup-software.html

Whether or not this can be done from a partition image backup is not clear. So, your point is well taken.

Click to expand...

Yes, the free version allows you to restore individual files to a location of your choice.

Patco,

Thanks for the heads up about Remote Utilities. I plan to check it out sometime. I do have Win7 Pro on this new machine, so I can use the built-in desktop sharing option. I may need something soon. I need to make it easy for a potential client to see a demo of our software via a host (me) / remote (them) session. It needs to be very "painless" for the potential client.

Also, thanks for the confirmation about the above AOMEI feature.

I did get a chance to download and try out the AOMEI Standard option. I only set up a file / folder backup. It was fairly easy to use. One thing that I did not like for setting up this type of backup is the file and folder selection. It would not let you select both files and folders in the same "Add" session. I had to choose Add File or Add Folder. Another "issue" was that you could not permanently specify a Verify option and Save it with the job / task. You had to click the option when it ran. Not even sure that it was a "real" verify option as it ran so much faster than expected.

I plan to try the EaseUS program next.

Wayne

dwa1 · Jun 30, 2015

Dr_Jon said:
In case it wasn't clear Image for Windows comes with a program that will explore Images like using Windows Explorer (and you can Copy/Paste). It also handles incremental backups okay. However it is only a partition imaging tool, no more or less.

Thanks for the added info Dr_Jon. Good to know.

Looks like a good partition imaging tool.

Wayne

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