Backup! It’s been a really bad week for SSDs.

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FREEWARE SPOTLIGHT By Deanna McElveen There are experts out there who will tell me it’s not true and that I’m imagining things. But gosh darn it! When
[See the full post at: Backup! It’s been a really bad week for SSDs.]

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rick41, Fred, fisher75, DLivesInTexas, lmacri, abbodi86, jburk07, Norio

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What SSDs bad week ?

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Fred

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Deanna, manufacturer-supplied SSD utilities, for the most part, work only with SSDs sold at retail, not with OEM drives.  There are two very good bits of free software to check both hard drive and SSD health, ClearDiskInfo (with a clearer presentation of info) and CrystalDiskInfo.

Now, tell us more about what went haywire with SSDs there!

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What about Macrium Reflect?  I have found it very clear, simple, and informative (& free) to do and image of my SSD every week.  That is in addition to “automatic” backups with Carbonite (for a fee).

Scott Mills

 

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Lars220

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It’s not free anymore.
If you are happy to pay for backup software, are a bit techie and want all the bells and whistles, then MR is good.

cheers, Paul

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teuhasn2

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Am I fooling myself?  I have continued to use the free version with seeming success.  Am I no longer getting updates or something?

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Existing installations continue to work and old versions of the free version will install, but the latest version is not free.

No, you are not getting updates.

cheers, Paul

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Lars220, Scott Mills

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Typo in the SSD article:

“just visit its website land ook”

“land ook” should be “and look”

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fisher75

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Another great, free backup utility is Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows (they also have free versions for Linux and Mac).  If you’d like to tinker with their server backup solutions, they offer “Community Editions” of their Backup & Replication services.  Great for a small home lab setup.

https://www.veeam.com/products/downloads.html

One of the reasons I’m such a supporter of Veeam is back in the day, we were using Backup Exec and looking for a other options.  Veeam sales provided me with a 1-year NFR license in order to test their solution.  So, we ran Backup Exec and Veeam side-by-side for that time.  Gave me a chance to learn the ins and outs of Veeam while still having Backup Exec.

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Alex5723 wrote:

What SSDs bad week ?

? Very curious hete too, please

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Just sharing some information for users of the Macrium Reflect Free version that would like to get the latest version, the uptodown website has a page titled:

Older versions of Macrium Reflect Free  –  en,uptodown,com website

“If the latest Macrium Reflect Free update is not supported by your device, you can search the previous version history of Macrium Reflect Free for Windows from Uptodown. Download previous versions of Macrium Reflect Free, safely and free of charge.”

The latest version that they offer is 8.1.8311 = 229 MB, and is dated October 8, 2024. If you click on one of the versions it immediately opens a new page with information about that version, very complete with SHA256. A VirusTotal Scan of the above linked website shows no problems, and I downloaded this new Oct. 8, 2024 version 8.1.8311 .exe and scanned with Windows Security (10) Microsoft Defender Antivirus, also with Free Standalone Malwarebytes, and also SuperAntiSpyware, and all say it is clean. I have not installed it yet because I am happy with my Major Geeks version of Macrium Reflect Free ver 8.0.7783, and will install this new updated version later after my next scheduled full System Image Backup. Here is latest version info link if anyone is interested:

Information about Macrium Reflect Free 8.1.8311

Amazing Truths Revealed: Link to Simply Magnificent AskWoody Knowledge Bases

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SueW, Fred

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[Fred]

I switched to the payed version of Macrium Reflect some time ago, and never regretted it. It is a good imager, and did save my pc’s some more crucial times when Windows11pro “forgot” to keep working

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• This reply was modified 6 months, 1 week ago by Fred.

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Lars220

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Sad News – the download from uptodown claiming to be Macrium Reflect Free version 8.1.8311 turned out to be the 30 day free trial of the Home version and Not a Free version. I apologize for misleading anyone, I should have done more research before posting. Please forgive me. I saw a free version offered at the TechSpot website, so I downloaded that one, and it also is the 30 day trial for Home. Wow, False Advertising as both of those websites plainly state Free in their offer, with no mention of Home or any mention of 30 day trial. Makes me wonder if a lawyer could sue them, but I will not go there. But I did go back to the Major Geeks website and downloaded their “Free” version 8.0.7783, and started the installation just to see the different words they used to describe what is being installed. Major Geeks does have a Free version, please see the two pictures attached to see what I am talking about. Note: you have to be logged in to see attachments. It is ok to make up a name and register. This AskWoody website is free for lounger guests, but why not contribute a little $6 or more to help support this wonderful place. Here is link to Major Geeks Macrium Reflect FREE Edition 8.0.7783:
https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/macrium_reflect_free_edition.html
P.S. I did complete my full System Image Backup using FREE version 8.0.7783.

Amazing Truths Revealed: Link to Simply Magnificent AskWoody Knowledge Bases

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SueW, PL1, Fred, Myst

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Macrium just moved to a subscription-only model with the new version of its backup software, Reflect X.

Macrium Reflect 8 was optional subscription or standalone “lifetime” license (hint; this means lifetime of the product, not you, and possibly not your computer’s lifetime, either, if or when a Windows update breaks it).

But not Reflect X; subscription only.

And I echo Paul’s suggestion that Reflect is among the best backup products but may not be best for casual users. It is, at least through version 8, a challenge to set up.and has ridiculously obtuse error messages when you mess up, and you will mess up!

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Fred, Lars220

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A few months ago, I bought three Samsung T5 external hard drives to use in a rotating backup strategy. While the drives are working fine, I deeply regret installing and using Samsung’s proprietary drive management software, Samsung Magician, in particular its security features. Every time I want to swap drives, it’s a major fight to get the swapped-in drive recognized and usable in Windows. Oh it’s very secure. Problem is that it’s locking *me* out of my own drives. There is no easy way to remove the security feature from the drive  Email support is outsourced, initially responsive, but ultimately not helpful. I do not recommend installing Samsung Magician or connecting their portable SSDs to any computer that has installed Samsung Magician.

One thing I just figured last week on my own but am not sure yet really resolves my issues, as I need to do more drive swaps to see: it may be helpful to log in to the Windows administrator account before swapping drives. Note: I don’t mean starting Magician using Run as Administrator, which is the minimum required to even open Magician.. I mean doing Switch User in Windows and logging in as the administrator. For some reason with Magician, that makes a difference in available features and may make it easier to swap Magician-secured drives than using Run as Administrator.. Time will tell for me.

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Charlie

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I use the Samsung T7 Portable SSD 1 TB with my Mac M1 for external backups with photos and such and haven’t downloaded any additional software. It’s quick and simple. Maybe it’s a difference between which system you’re using.

MacOS iPadOS and sometimes SOS

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For your info, the 1st 2 backup products you refer to do not work on Microsoft Surface ARM64 laptops. With Hasleo the backup function worked, but the restore function did not. With AOMEI, right after I installed it my laptop got the blue screen of death and I had to reinstall everything from scratch. I was not happy.

Maybe some additional testing and/or disclaimers are needed…

I thought you and your readers might like to know.

Bryan

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What about Acronis True Image for Western Digital?

It can backup and restore files, folders, full disk images. It can also be used to clone drives.

And it is free for those who have a least one Western Digital drive.

https://support-en.wd.com/app/answers/detailweb/a_id/6550/~/install-and-uninstall-acronis-true-image-for-western-digital-on-windows

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Acronis, per their web site, does not work on ARM machines either…

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Thanks for commenting on iOS 18. Best wishes in your endeavors.

Charles

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It appears Cobian Backup/Reflector is being abandoned by the author yet again.  He is contemplating selling the code or making it open source but says he will be moving on to other projects.

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Myst wrote:

Samsung T7 Portable SSD

The drive had a firmware update.
You should use Samsung Magician

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@Alex, recommending installing Samsung Magician to get the firmware update for a Samsung T7…

I bought my T7s a few months ago, and IIRC, rhey came with the current firmware version installed.

My specific beef with Samsung Magician relates to its security features, which become particularly aggressive if you intend to swap/rotate multiple Samsung drives. It treats the swapped-in drive as an attempt to breach data. If you can install Magician without enabling security, it may work fine.

For me, so far, as I said, I deeply regret installing Magician. Its drawbacks greatly outweigh its benefits, and I’ve wasted hours trying to swap drives and get the problem generally resolved. If I could nuke the embedded security on those SSDs or return them for a different make, I would, but I can’t.

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Opinions please:

What kind of external drive is best to use to hold a system image (system drive is SSD) created with Macrium Reflect or a similar app?  Of particular interest is whether I should use an external drive containing an hdd, or one containing another SSD?  I’m more concerned with minimizing loss and maximizing “recoverability” than I am in imaging speed or cost (to a point…).  Should I worry about that fact that an SSD backup drive can also go “poof!” along with all the images it contains?

 

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@rick:

If imaging speed is less important than recoverability, then IMO there is no advantage to using an external SSD over HDD for backup.

Macrium and other backup software doesn’t care whether there’s a mismatch e.g.backing up an internal SSD to an internal/external HDD. As long as Windows recognizes the two drives and there’s sufficient space on the destination drive for the source image, it works fine.

Backing up to HDD can be much slower than SSD, if you have a computer with newer USB ports e.g. USB 3.2 and USB 3.2 drives. With older USB interfaces, the speed hit would be less. But speed isn’t your priority.Keep in mind though that Macrium imaging is very resource intensive. On my PC I can browse the web or write a document while Macrium is running, but Macrium doesn’t play well with concurrent use of Adobe photo apps or Windows File Explorer operations. If an image backup is going to take several hours and I need to use the PC, I want Macrium to run quickly.

Even if you upgrade a PC and lose access to HDD connections, you can get adapters that will, for example, allow you to connect an internaL HDD to a USB port as an external backup drive. It won’t look great, it will backup relatively slowly, but it will work.

External SSDs are smaller than HDDs, so they’re very convenient, but they remain quite a bit more expensive than HDDs, if you need to buy backup drives to backup  4+ GB. A few years ago, SSDs were coming down in price, but the decreases have leveled off, especially at 4+ GB sizes.

NO drive or other backup medium, HDD, SD, CD-ROM, etc. is guaranteed to last and run long-term. SSDs can die without warning. It’s recommended to not keep backup drives in service for more than a few years. Five years is usually fine, but 20 years could be dicey. I can’t tell you which generally lasts longer, SSD or HDD.

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SueW

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Macrium Reflect 8 trials got you free backup and restore but free only for 30 days, so you could try before you buy. Is it misleading to advertise that as “free”? Yeah I guess, but that’s done all the time with software.

Was it Macrium billing it as”free” or a third-party vendor? Apps like this with deep system access should only be downloaded at Macrium or their designated site, not any third-party  vendor site.

Now that Macrium has upgraded Macrium Reflect 8 to subscription-only Reflect X, I expect that you can no longer buy MR8 as a new customer. MR8 trials may be dead ends or may redirect you to X.

 

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teuhasn2 wrote:

Macrium Reflect 8 trials got you free backup and restore but free only for 30 days, so you could try before you buy.

The latest 32-bit and 64-bit Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7783 installers are available on the MajorGeeks site at https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/macrium_reflect_free_edition.html. From the bottom of that download page:

Editor’s Note:

To get to the free version. During installation, you need to check personal use > and agree to use the software only for personal, non-commercial purposes. Then, you will need to uncheck register this installation of Macrium Reflect.

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Dell Inspiron 15 5584 * 64-bit Win 10 Pro v22H2 build 19045.5011 * Firefox v131.0.2 * Microsoft Defender v4.18.24080.9-1.1.24080.9 * Malwarebytes Premium v5.1.11.133-1.0.5048 * Macrium Reflect Free v8.0.7783

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Lars220, PL1, satrow

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