|
Patch reliability is unclear, but widespread attacks make patching prudent. Go ahead and patch, but watch out for potential problems. |
.
I recently upgraded to windows 10 pro. I need a back utility as there is none in windows 10. It only has win7 backup. My system had two drives; the master is 1 tb SSD and data drive is conventional drive 1 tb.
I was to make full backup of both drives including clone master.
I have two 3tb external SSD for backup.
I appreciate the advice on what to get. I don’t want to spend arm and leg. If I buy it I wand annual subscription not monthly.
I appreciate your help.
There are several good FREE backup utilities (they have paid versions also):
Macrium Reflect Free
EaseUS Todo Backup Free
Aomei Backupper Free
There are Topics in the Tools Forum about these.
Also use the Search function in the right woodgrain panel.
+1 for EaseUS; many others like Macrium. In the past, I found Acronis buggy after previously having a good reputation.
Zig
I use Acronis (currently 2019) backup app for years. Never has any problems with the app.
I didn’t like the new file system (tibx) on version 2020 so I stayed with 2019.
Yes. I do backup my drive C which is M.2 MVMe SSD + my drive D which is a HDD with Acronis to external USB HDD.
OK, I see its time to upgrade Acronis to version 2019. Thank you for your insight.
Dell Latitude 3420, Intel Core i7 @ 2.8 GHz, 16GB RAM, W10 22H2 Enterprise
HAL3000, AMD Athlon 200GE @ 3,4 GHz, 8GB RAM, Fedora 29
PRUSA i3 MK3S+
The lack of disk controller drivers in the recovery CD will be the issue, not the version of Acronis.
You should be able to add the required driver to the Acronis USB – via DISM or from the Acronis USB creation utility.
cheers, Paul
I tried..
Acronis Linux-based bootable media cannot detect NVMe drives in RAID mode due to a Linux kernel limitation.
And Im not skilled enough to import the driver into bootable media 
Thats why I mentioned transition to 2019, I thought it can solve my problem. But this is maybe for another whole thread.
Thank you for your replies, I really appreciate that.
Dell Latitude 3420, Intel Core i7 @ 2.8 GHz, 16GB RAM, W10 22H2 Enterprise
HAL3000, AMD Athlon 200GE @ 3,4 GHz, 8GB RAM, Fedora 29
PRUSA i3 MK3S+
Make a WinPE boot disk.
https://kb.acronis.com/content/59611
cheers, Paul
I also had major problems with Acronis. I bought and used Acronis years ago to back up my computer and it crashed my whole system with an unrecoverable BSOD! Exactly the opposite of what I was trying to accomplish! That was years ago and maybe they improved the product since then? But I personally would never take a chance with them again. It was directly related to using their Backup software at the time!
I used both Reflect and Window Backup and Restore. That way I have two different copies just in case one doesn’t work.
I disagree that anyone has to “provide evidence”. When one pays any publisher to provide sofware which is stone-stock reliable, and the publisher isn’t able to do that, then I’m uninterested and unwilling in spending my own time to enumerate long events about their inabilities and failings. The proof of performance rests squarely with the publisher. With that stated, I’ve found after two years of fiddling with Acronis True Image 2019 and 2020, and even one edition before those, it almost always has some problem, big or small. Today I finally uninstalled it because I’m unwilling to de-bug Acronis’s problems on a regular basis.
Human, who sports only naturally-occurring DNA ~ oneironaut ~ broadcaster
Fair enough; see my posts #2288194 & #2288250.
Zig
I second the bugginess of Acronis True Image. I just this moment gave up trying to make it work after many months of their 2019 and 2020 versions being very fiddly and unreliable.
yep buggy
seems to happen when ever I actually pay for s/w
+1 for Macrium Reflect. No problems at all.
I also found Acronis buggy.
Paragon Backup & Recovery Community Edition is free.
https://www.paragon-software.com/us/free/br-free/
I have tested it and it is very basic, but works well:
1) Set up automated, scheduled backups of disks, partitions or files.
2) Mount the backup files as a drive letter and browse the recovery points.
3) Recover drives/partitions by booting from an USB stick with WinPE; the process of creating one is automated for you.
4) Do one-time manual (cold) backups of drives & partitions from the USB stick.
I’ve been using NovaBackup for a lot of years. It can be configured in a lot of ways and also has a disk imaging utility built in for mirroring the system drive. It also is able to back up to Amazon Web Service for low cost off site storage of important data. We have three PCs at home and the three pack license is reasonably priced.
I also had a problem with Acronis.
I have been using Macrium (free version) for years, and am very happy with it. I have two main drives, and it will back them up separately to an external USB drive. I know it works, because more than once I have needed to restore – either an entire drive, or individual files or folders.
Windows 10 Pro 64 bit 20H2
I’ve been using TeraByte Unlimited software for close to 20 years, do a great deal of tinkerin’ with Windows and breaking it regularly. I’ve restored drive images literally hundreds of times, never a failure.
I’m now using Image For Windows v3.40. $38.94 covers 5 PC’s for private use.
I started using the free version of Macrium Reflect software sometime back earlier in the year on both my laptops. I scheduled a full backup monthly and a differential backup weekly on each laptop. I thought it may be complicated to use, but I haven’t found that to be the case, and it seems to work fine for me.
Has (or does) anyone use the built in Win 10 backup for making a system image? I have used it once successfully in the past to restore an image possibly version 1809. Currently use the built in backup system image for Windows 8.1. Have recently used successfully to restore an image for a hard drive failure.
I use the windows File History and also the Windows builtin Create System Image. I have restored the System Image several times and it works just fine. (I wonder if Microsoft intends to remove this feature because they identify it as Windows 7).
I just recently using EaseUS ToDo Backup Pro. I have successfully restored my HDD using it.
I use both programs to create a system image before I allow the monthly quality update to be installed.
I have been using EaseUS Todo backup since ~2010 to perform a nightly differential backup of my System drive. I’ve had to restore 2-3 times, and have used the program to clone the OS drive many times, on several computers. Few problems at all, though I do miss the convenience of having a public forum. I think Macrium has a better and more transparent model there.
I use FreeFileBackup to do a backup of my data nightly, but haven’t had the necessity of restoring.
In response to PaulT’s question above, I purchased 3-4 copies of Acronis Backup in 2009 after seeing multiple glowing reviews of earlier versions. I couldn’t get it to do what I wanted (differential b/u with email notification), and when I went to the forum found that numerous people were having problems also, with no substantial help from the company (“we’re working on it”). The “fix” eventually seemed to buy Acronis 2010, but I’m not sure if that helped, either, as I had already gone to EaseUS by that time, as the free version (at that time) did everything I wanted. I have since upgraded to the paid version on my family’s desktop machines, though I still use the (latest) free version on our laptops, which are only occasionally backed up. (Nothing mission-critical there.)
As always, YMMV and remember to RTFM.
Zig
I use Acronis True Image Home with automatic daily incremental backup.
I don’t need mail notification but the software has this function.
Acronis True Image 2021 is just out. Your upgrade will be free.
https://forum.acronis.com/forum/acronis-true-image-2021-forum/acronis-true-image-2021-released
Q: Can a single external HDD be used as a backup target for multiple PC’s? Has anyone experience problems with doing this?
Yes, In Acronis you choose the backup name while backup process. You can name it as you want. File extension is *.TIB
Q: Regarding my external HDD. I previously used the manufacturer’s backup software included with the drive for my current backups. What would you recommend in preparing the drive for use with another backup utility software program/Acronis?
I recommend to use NTFS external drive, with FAT32 you will end with lots of 4 GB files.
Appendix:
Clean the mess on the drive (internet temp, updates, windows.old folder, and so on) before backing up.
If you run sysprep.exe and select “generalize” checkbox, you can transfer your system with installed programs on other PC. Run sysprep, then boot to Acronis (not windows) and backup drive.
After recovery process on other PC, that PC will run into OOBE. Your installed programs will be there, ready for you.
But try this with caution, because OOBE will appear on the backed up computer too. Be aware, that non OEM licenses, could require activating Windows 10 again.
Dell Latitude 3420, Intel Core i7 @ 2.8 GHz, 16GB RAM, W10 22H2 Enterprise
HAL3000, AMD Athlon 200GE @ 3,4 GHz, 8GB RAM, Fedora 29
PRUSA i3 MK3S+
My strategy is almost identical to Speed Racer, except I use AOMEI Backupper. I am not sure of the current pricing, but I switched from Paragon Free to AOMEI free around 5 years ago, and when that seemed quite satisfactory, I paid around $50 or $60 for the Pro version which included lifetime upgrades and allowed 2 PCs. I have a pair of 6-year old 2TB USB 2 WD external drives, and a one-year old USB 3 Seagate 5TB external. I can back up to any of them from either of the 2 PCs, and have both Win 7 and Win 10 backups. I recently put a brand-new SSD in an old PC and restored from the external without any hiccups at all. Speed of backup and restore is good.
I have no basis to say AOMEI is better than its competitors, just that it works for me.
You can store backups from any number of machines on one disk. They are only files and to keep them separate you create a folder for each machine.
I don’t use cloud backup because the upload speeds on broadband are generally slow, meaning the backup will take a loonnngggg time.
You can put a small amount of data that you need to access from anywhere on the cloud.
External drives don’t need to be changed to use another backup program. If Windows can see the drive, so can the backup software.
cheers, Paul
Macrium Reflect can also put images of multiple PCs on the same external HD. I use an 8TB WD USB drive to backup PCs monthly and keep 3 backups of each PC on that drive. I also take a backup of my NAS on to that same WD drive. All backed up to date named folders.
I use FullImage backups only when doing this.
It has to be ntfs. If the external is fat32 you’re limited to files 8gb or smaller per file. But I do this all the time and have several backup images and vm’s on external.
Leaving it as FAT32 (exFAT) means you can access it from anywhere, not just Windows.
Personally, I don’t foresee a need to access a backup file from anywhere other than the backup software or Windows.
My image files range in size from 22GB to 49GB for my weekly routine images, and larger for full drive images (in case a drive fails and needs to be replaced) up to 387GB. Quite unhandy in FAT32.
My page file partition is FAT32 (never gets imaged), my USB thumb drives are FAT32, and that’s it; all my other drives are NTFS.
I didnt notice your post. I doubled the NTFS recommendation in my post.
Dell Latitude 3420, Intel Core i7 @ 2.8 GHz, 16GB RAM, W10 22H2 Enterprise
HAL3000, AMD Athlon 200GE @ 3,4 GHz, 8GB RAM, Fedora 29
PRUSA i3 MK3S+
I’ve used a number of backup program over the years but for the home environment Cobian Backup 11 has been the easiest and most reliable for me. Its free though no longer actively supported; no support is no problem as I’ve never had an issue with it after four years of use. Some may find it a little light in features for home-office PCs but for a retiree like myself its a good fit.
One that Ive been using since Windows 7 (and my version is still working with Windows 10) is ‘R-Drive Image’.
30-day trial if you wanna try it. You can make a restore/backup disk (linux based) but you can also backup your entire boot drive while using it.
ymo1965
I use Macrium to make a full image nightly. I use GoodSync to backup new and changed files every hour. The free version of GoodSync is quite limited, but the paid version does what I want. All backups are done to an external hard drive.
I’m surprised nobody mentioned Veeam: https://www.veeam.com/vm-backup-recovery-replication-software.html
Look under the Free Tools, the backup is good and I’ve used it for recovery also.
I can only speak very highly of EaseUs Free Backup which has many options from simple to more complex.
And it can be used to create what they call PreBios which, when created, means that when Windows 10 is started up….right in the opening screen….there is the option to login to Win 10 or to use Eaesus – or, in fact, other Options right on the start screen to go through to Windows functions including System Restore. What more could one ask. Even though the program makes fully optioned Boot Disks (USB) as a secondary way of getting a compromised computer to draw upon a backup file made with EaseUs and resident on an external drive, the start screen alone in Win 10 is a great innovation.
This is a wonderful program that I use on several computers here and on other people’s computers who I help voluntarily.
The program has never failed within the scope of my use of it. Cannot speak highly enough of it. If wanted, the backup files can be encrypted….or left unencrypted.
Hi,
I’ve used Macrium Reflect Free for at least 5 years and it’s never let me down. There is a Pro version but I’ve never seen the need for it. Used it after several disasters with Windows backup.
I just downloaded the most recent version of Macrium backup
The most recent documentation is the User Guide for 7.2. View on-screen, or pdf download via the link near the top-left corner. It has been expanded and somewhat reorganized from the previous (7.0/7.1) edition.
I prefer to NOT use incremental or differential images. So, I do a Full Image each time I backup. I also do this manually (monthly in my case for PC as data files are kept on a NAS running RAID5).
I also don’t keep the external drive (8TB WD USB drive for me) plugged into anything while NOT in use. Living in Florida…means lightning…even though most everything is connected via a UPS…having the drive disconnected means that lightning can’t get to it (which is possible when still cable connected).
I run a full backup in Macrium once a week, or before/after some major change such as installing Windows updates. But my user data (documents, photos etc.) on my E drive also get backed up more regularly, using good old xcopy. I have a scheduled task which runs every 15 minutes, runs a .bat file which contains the following command:
start /wait xcopy E:\*.* N:\ /C /K /M /E /H /Y /R /G /EXCLUDE:E:\Utilities\Exclude.txt
It copies all files (*.*) from the E drive to the N drive, which is an external USB, permanently connected (but not the external drive which receives the Macrium backups). The /M switch says to copy only those files with the archive bit set, and then to turn it off, so only new or changed files get copied, and only once. The Exclude.txt file contains a list of any files or folders which are not to be copied. (The meanings of the other switches can be looked up by entering xcopy /? at a command prompt.) The batch file/scheduled task is run by a user who is not logged on (an option when setting up the scheduled task), so the job runs completely in the background, unseen by the current logged on user. (I have set up a special user to run this, named “Subtask”, because that’s exactly what it does.)
Windows 10 Pro 64 bit 20H2
When I run Macrium, I also run it from a batch file which I start manually:
::
:: Enable and start the Volume Shadow Copy service (in case it is not running)..
::
sc config VSS start= auto
net start VSS
::
:: Enable and start the Macrium service.
::
sc config MacriumService start= auto
net start MacriumService
::
:: Run Macrium Reflect and pause when finished.
::
“C:\Program Files\Macrium\Reflect\Reflect.exe”
pause
::
:: Now stop the same service and disable it.
::
net stop MacriumService
sc config MacriumService start= disabled
::
:: Also stop the Volume Shadow Copy service and set it to Manual
::
net stop VSS
sc config VSS start= demand
::
pause
Windows 10 Pro 64 bit 20H2
Should I set up a schedule
Schedules only work if your backup drive is permanently connected. Your’s is external and should be stored securely when not in use, so a schedule isn’t good for you.
If I only want to run it manually what services do I need to enable
Leave the services alone, they aren’t doing anything if you are not backing up and when you are you don’t want to bother with anything except running Macrium.
cheers, Paul
I wholeheartedly endorse NOT keeping a backup drive plugged when it is NOT being used!
Thank you all for your help. For me, Paul’s reply will work best for me. Once again, the simplest approach is the way to go.
Paul, when you say to leave the services alone do you mean that I should enable Macrium and Reflect Shell Services, leave them as automatic startup or set them to manual or disable them?
My best to all of you.
CAS
Let Macrium install what it wants and don’t touch the services after that.
The only time you may not want to install something is the Macrium ransomware protection – only available in the paid version.
cheers, Paul
It is a utility to prevent write access to the backups unless it’s by the backup program itself. This stops ransomware encrypting your backup files so you can always boot from your USB/DVD and restore.
An elegant solution that removes the requirement to air gap or run a complex NAS – it doesn’t remove the requirement to air gap for other reasons, power, hardware failure etc.
cheers, Paul
Alex5723: I could answer from the sea changes I’ve noticed. In my personal conversations with another elder geek, Ron Gravatt of Freelanch Tech, who services lots of Macs and PCs, he noticed that malware miscreants have lately focused their illicit efforts on delivering their dastardley packages via installed programs rather than injectable viruses. If I were to guess at that this means, it could mean that the bad guys are opportunists who are exploiting the sea change that most users know what a virus is, and how to protect against them. But most users I’ve talked with have only the slightest clue how to mitigate against ransomware.
Human, who sports only naturally-occurring DNA ~ oneironaut ~ broadcaster
This stops ransomware encrypting your backup files
Sorry, but most Ransomware is able to encrypt anything in it’s reach. So called airgapted backups are very necessary, make sure you can boot from an extern medium and be able to search for the backup files anywhere. And finally take it to the restore test. Only than you can be shure. What software one uses is not important, as long as the final test: restore bootable (uefi) partitions is correct.
I assume Macrium and Acronis have tested this and their solution prevents access, otherwise they wouldn’t be advertising is as ransomware protection.
cheers, Paul
The Acronis KB article 65499: Acronis True Image 2021: Advanced Antimalware Protection FAQ has a section titled “Can I Keep My Third-party Antivirus and Acronis at the Same Time?” that suggests users uninstall their third-party antivirus to prevent a possible conflict with the new Acronis antimalware protection:
“Yes. Acronis will not activate its real-time antimalware protection feature, if Windows Security Center reports that another antivirus is currently active. That ensures that we will not initiate any conflict between two simultaneously running antivirus solutions. To eliminate possibility of that conflict from the other antivirus part, we recommend that you leave only Acronis True Image 2021 and uninstall the third-party antivirus.“
I’m aware of one thread <here> in the Norton Community about a possible conflict (or false positive detection) where the Acronis True Image 2021 malware protection detected a Norton Utilities installer as Malware.CloudGeneric. I use Macrium Reflect Free for creating full disk images, but if I were an Acronis 2021 user and was happy with the real-time protection my third-party antivirus provided I might be more inclined to disable the antimalware protection in Acronis 2021 instead.
—————
Win 10 Pro v1909 * Windows Defender * Macrium Reflect Free v7.2.5107
This describes what Macrium call MIG:
https://blog.macrium.com/the-importance-of-ransomware-protection-and-mitigation-plans-1a2bd9ab6a89
BTW, my external backup disks are NOT connected or even powered up when not doing backup tasks.
My NAS uses RAID5 (3 * 4TB NAS type drives). I take a monthly backup to the 4th drive bay in the NAS and use father/son mechanism with the current backup held at my son’s home.
I also take a monthly backup to a WD 8TB USB3 drive (which stays in the home).
I also take PC monthly image backups (3 PCs) to the WD 8TB USB drive covering 3 generations.
.
.
.
I use AOMEI Backyoowe and have done for a couple of years. At one point, I had to restore my system and it worked flawlessly. I currently perform a full backup of my system every 2 or 3 months or after updates or new versions of the O/S It works as advertised and I have purchased the Pro version and would recommend it to anyone.
I have used Acronis True Image Home for years (since Version 8), but they lost me when I purchased ATI 2020 for 5 systems. The new 2020 version no longer allows me to mount my old .TIB files! It also doesn’t mount the new format, and because it was an “upgrade”, I’m not eligible for the free 2021 upgrade than CAN now mount the new files. I’ve used Veeam on a few systems, but what has worked well for me is the OEM versions of Acronis from Seagate or Western Digital (unfortunately, both of which now offer the 2020 version of ATI). Since I usually make full backups each time, the limitations of the OEM versions don’t bother me. The older versions (Seagate v23 or WD Build 33) still allow me to mount my old .TIB files for recovering individual files. I have about a dozen systems that I mostly just play with, and have several older archived .TIB files I want to keep access to! I mostly back up to a Raspberry Pi 4 system set up with OpenMediaVault free NAS software using a USB3 attached external drive for storage over my LAN. I also have a miniITX system setup with OMV to syncronize the RPi drive with duplicate copies of the backups. I’m rather anal-rententive about backups, and usually have more than one copy in various formats. 
My worries are mostly about my data and not a full image backup although I have been thinking about that and this thread was very interesting 0n that topic. I have been using Syncback SE for years to backup my data files (and photos, music, and software installation files, that have been downloaded or copied from the CD/DVD). Two reasons I really like Syncback SE from 2brightsparks.
I am a retired PC support tech and have multiple desktops and laptops setup in my home so having a computer to run with is not a great worry and at times I like to completely rebuild my computers just to clean out all the old detritus that has accumulated. Rebuilding from scratch can sometimes clean up old issues and I am experienced at doing the rebuilds. I have used macrium reflect to clone hard drives as I upgraded from spinning disks to SSDs and that has worked out well. Like is often said about cameras, the best camera is the one you have with you and USE. Backup software is the same. The best is the one you have and that you will USE. SyncBack does come in multiple versions including a free version. You need at least the SE version to use “named drives”, but it is not an expensive program.
A little known utility is Karen’s Replicator. Google it, free, works very well and you can set up numerous scenarios.
I have been using Karen’s Replicator for years for data backup.
There is a tutorial on Karen’s Replicator here.
I have used Acronis True Image Home for years (since Version 8), but they lost me when I purchased ATI 2020 for 5 systems. The new 2020 version no longer allows me to mount my old .TIB files!
I was just reviewing the user guide today for Acronis True Image 2020, and I was surprised to see that mentioned there.
I have used PowerQuest Drive Image, Norton Ghost, Acronis True Image, Windows 7 Backup and Restore (image utility in Control Panel, which still works in Win 10), and Macrium Reflect (free). Learn to image your drives, it will set you free from the anxiety of updating your computer!
Windows 10 Pro 22H2
Ive never been a fan of any backup utility that compresses the data – how do you know that it really can restore it?
Compressed data is potentially more reliable than a straight copy because ECC is part of the compression. Any anomaly in the backup file can be corrected by the ECC.
cheers, Paul
The new 2020 version no longer allows me to mount my old .TIB files! It also doesn’t mount the new format
I’d be screaming at them for my money back, or a free update. Losing access to your existing data in not acceptable.
cheers, Paul
Macrium Reflect is the best in my experience, for years. (Acronis and Windows own backup system were less satisfactory). Macrium is often updated.
Free, Home or Pro – works without problems. Have been making monthly backups for years on Win7 and Win10. One feature I’d like to highlight is Automatic Verification just after completing a full image. (In the free ed. you have to set this feature every time, whereas in the Home version it saves the setting – but hey, it’s just one click!). I’ve even cloned a Win7 system to a larger SSD drive. It worked – though afterwards Microsoft told me I was not running a genuine Windows! (The message can just be ignored).
You can have multiple backups of several OS’s on the same external drive (in separate folders). I have backups of two pc’s with Windows 7, Windows 10, two Linux distros. And again on several external drives, just in case 
addition to the previous post (anonymous – guest – forgot to log in
Macrium Reflect can restore individual files or foldes from full image backups.
I agree with the opinion of others that you should not keep the external backup drives permanently connected!
“Image Guardian” is a feature in Macrium to protect agains ransomware. It is not available in the free edition, however.
My approach to backup is to consider the recovery – as in recover from what disasaster.
So – I have spideroak to monitor the files I manually enter data – accounts, notes re loginid;s and passwords.
Spideroak – 2GB free cloud storage, encrypts on your system you decrypt recovered files, and it can sync or download to other systems – re the 2 GB, it only uploads changed blocks, and maintains an incremental set, although you have to manually remove entries you no longer want in many years I am up to 500MB – so cryptomalware will not kill the previous unencrypted versions.
Also can have it start with the OS and run as a service, or manually started, and also manually stoppable , so I run it when I consider what I am. or have done needs backing-up.
Daily, or as I deem appropriate backups of changed files to a separate hard drive – and cycle through a set –
Incremental updates of the OS and programs etc – again, as I deem appropriate rather than scheduled.
Full OS partition backup when I deem appropriate – that will be a new start for the incrementals.
Now – I indicated using a cycle of drives – I’ve been caught by a motherboard failure taking all internal, and the attached backup drive.
Current process – the full backup goes to the internal drive, gets copied to the selected external drive, and also uploaded to cloud (The Office Onedrive free 1TB) That can be downloaded onto a replacement hard drive – and with the install onto new hardware option of the backup facility, put onto a replacement system.
But do check if the incremental update has changed any files in the base, or earlier incremental set
MS will update the system with changes it applied
I will have done an incremental if I changed any software
That leaves downloaded data – well you should be able to get that back – providing you backed-up the key or usage permission files/
So – separate your files by type of usage and do immediate, daily, incremental or full backups as you consider appropriate
Restore – fix lost/damaged files from the backup – either your file level, or the OS’ mountable backup image set
Cryptomalware – to cloud – but not automated – current malware will do in the main file, the file-history, all attached USB devices, and any accessible network or cloud backups.
Anticipate that a thief will take the system, the backup devices, and all the paperwork they can find.
A ‘natural’ or ‘act of god’ disaster will do the same.
BUT – a cloud service should be considerable as a dual backup – your accessible files, and the organisations backups – unless they cease trading – then whatever you had uploaded will most likely be sold on so encrypt what you upload
Macrium Reflect is the best in my experience, for years. (Acronis and Windows own backup system were less satisfactory). Macrium is often updated. Free, Home or Pro – works without problems. Have been making monthly backups for years on Win7 and Win10. One feature I’d like to highlight is Automatic Verification just after completing a full image. (In the free ed. you have to set this feature every time, whereas in the Home version it saves the setting – but hey, it’s just one click!)
Agree on Macrium Reflect. It has been my main backup system for 3 years.
But I will add that the Automatic Image Verification works in the free edition. If you create a backup definition file with that setting checked it will remain enabled for every run of that backup definition.
And even though the free edition fully meets my needs, I was thinking about buying the paid version just to thank the developers for their hard work and all of the good use I have had with their free product!
Windows 10 Pro 22H2
In Macrium (free) you don’t need to create a backup definition file in order to enable automatic image verification. Go to Other Tasks > Edit Defaults > Auto Verify Image, and enable it there.
You may not want to verify all of your images. Takes a bit of extra time. I have a couple large large jobs for data drives that take almost 2 hours to create the image itself. I prefer to limit the verification to my OS drives only, so I select that on a per definition basis rather than the global setting.
Windows 10 Pro 22H2
One advantage of the paid edition of Macrium Reflect is the ability to migrate the backup to a new computer if necessary. That capability is not available in the free edition.
You make a good point, but I usually clean install the OS when setting up a new system.
Windows 10 Pro 22H2
I backup a NVNe SSD (OS drive 256GB + internal HDD 1TB) to an external USB HDD.
I create a full image (backups only the data) not a clone (including free space).
After the full image I create a daily incremental backups for the month.
Macrium Reflect can also put images of multiple PCs on the same external HD. I use an 8TB WD USB drive to backup PCs monthly and keep 3 backups of each PC on that drive. I also take a backup of my NAS on to that same WD drive. All backed up to date named folders.
I use FullImage backups only when doing this.
Another +1 for Macrium Reflect (Free version). I, too, use FULL Image backups from my Win10 desktop and a Win10 laptop. I still use TeraByte Image for Windows (Paid version) on my old XP-Pro desktop, which I still use daily.
All three machines have scheduled backups daily/weekly to secondary disks (in each machine). I manually create images (or copy the internally stored images) at least monthly from all three machines to an external USB drive. Macrium Reflect automatically maintains a set number of images in whatever location you set up. On my external drive, MR happily keeps images for the two Win10 machines in separate folders, while the Terabyte backups are in a separate location. When I manually add an image, or copy an image from an internal drive to external, MR never gets confused. It keeps track of which images are where and how old they are etc. MR’s warnings and dialogs are very intuitive and give great confidence.
MR also has File and Folder back up functions, although I prefer the Full Image method. MR also allows for “mounting” an image file as a drive, but you can also just “browse” an image to copy individual files.
I didn’t install Terabyte on my Windows machines because, at the time, Terabyte had acknowledged problems with Windows “Fast boot” or “secure boot” or something. They recommended disabling whatever the new Windows 10 feature was that was causing the problem. Fred Langa would know what I’m talking about, and I believe he may have written about it. In any case, I wasn’t comfortable using Terabyte for Windows 10.
So, I installed the free version of Macrium Reflect. I’ve never had any issue with it, and I’ve restored my system more than once — flawlessly. The free version does everything I need and is more robust than my older paid-version of TeraByte. Macrium Reflect is a definite thumbs up from me. ~RonR
that take almost 2 hours to create the image itself
I am using Acronis true image and it takes ~20 minutes to create a full PC image of ~200GB of data (out of total 1.25TB storage) into ~75GB image file.
The 2 hours that I was referring to was actually more like 1:35 hh:mm elapsed, according to the log. Seemed like 2 hours, LOL! Was imaging my internal D: (data) drive with about 550GB used on a 1TB SATA SSD with medium compression. Image size 505GB.
Macrium images my 500GB C: (system) drive SSD with 225GB used space in about 00:41 mins with medium compression, image size 172GB. Adding image verify upped it to 1:08 elapsed.
The internal SSD drives are limited to SATA II (up to 300MB/s) interfaces by my motherboard, although they are actually SATA III (up to 600MB/s) capable drives . All images are written to external USB 3.0 external 5400 rpm HDD drives.
Windows 10 Pro 22H2
One advantage of the paid edition of Macrium Reflect is the ability to migrate the backup to a new computer if necessary. That capability is not available in the free edition.
Does the free version allow restoration to a new hard drive in the same computer?
Yes, it does!
I recently replaced both of my internal C: & D: drives with larger Samsung SSD drives.
I used the Samsung Migration Wizard for cloning the C: boot drive to a new larger replacement drive, and then relied on Macrium Reflect free for restoring the D: drive image to a new larger replacement.
I probably could have just re-imaged the boot drive with Macrium Reflect free, but the simple Samsung wizard has previously worked well for me, so I used that instead.
That brings up a good question though, how does Macrium know when you are trying to restore to a different system vs. a replacement drive on the same system?
Windows 10 Pro 22H2
What I needed to know was if I had a harddrive failure and only had the backup image from Macrium Reflect & Macrium Reflect recovery disk (no clones or windows software to re-install available) could I restore using the free Macrium Reflect?
Good question!
I would hope so, and hopefully there should be someone in this community that can specifically verify that from personal experience!
If I had a spare drive (maybe I have one sitting around somewhere, will have to check) I would test that out for sure!
Windows 10 Pro 22H2
What I needed to know was if I had a harddrive failure and only had the backup image from Macrium Reflect & Macrium Reflect recovery disk (no clones or windows software to re-install available) could I restore using the free Macrium Reflect?
From the Macrium Reflect v7 user guide:
ReDeploy
From the rescue environment you can launch Macrium ReDeploy to adapt the recovered Windows system to its new environment whether that is a virtual machine or a different computer.
With Macrium Reflect ReDeploy, you can restore an image to a replacement computer or even create virtual hard drives to virtualize the machine, a technique sometimes called Physical to Virtual or P2V.
Macrium ReDeploy is now included in all paid editions of Macrium Reflect. This excludes the Free Edition and 30 day trials.
Windows 10 Pro 22H2
Hard drive failure = the same machine. Booting from the MR USB will allow you to restore to the new hard drive, just as it would the original. This is one way to clone a disk when upgrading.
cheers, Paul
Hard drive failure = the same machine. Booting from the MR USB will allow you to restore to the new hard drive, just as it would the original. This is one way to clone a disk when upgrading.
You know, I have heard that Windows 10 is much more forgiving than previous versions of Windows, in the sense that it is apparently capable of adapting itself to a new motherboard, CPU, RAM, etc.
That is essentially a whole new computer, except for maybe the case, power supply, and drives. This I’ve heard from several people that have done major system upgrades. No Windows re-install or special prepping required. Windows 10 settled into its new home without complaining, and supplied any needed drivers all by itself.
So I’m not convinced that you would even need something like Macrium ReDeploy to “adapt” your existing Windows 10 image to a new system, unless there is a block built into Macrium Reflect free somewhere. It just says that ReDeploy is only included in paid editions of Reflect.
However, this probably would not apply to Windows 7.
Windows 10 Pro 22H2
Taken a leaf from linux distro’s, from years ago, where you could install a distro on one device and phyisically remove the hdd/ssd and place it in another device and just boot it up.
I heard that it had something to do with a new HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer) for Windows 10.
But the details are over my head. More here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardware_abstraction
Windows 10 Pro 22H2
I didn’t install Terabyte on my Windows machines because, at the time, Terabyte had acknowledged problems with Windows “Fast boot” or “secure boot” or something. They recommended disabling whatever the new Windows 10 feature was that was causing the problem. Fred Langa would know what I’m talking about, and I believe he may have written about it. In any case, I wasn’t comfortable using Terabyte for Windows 10.
This was due to the new-at-the-time UEFI firmware in Win10 and only applied to TeraBYte’s “BootIt” boot manager and partition managing software (BootItNG, BootItBM) until they developed BootItUEFI. I’m not trying to sway anyone from a backup system that works for them. But just to clarify, the imaging software was unaffected by the switch from BIOS to UEFI.
So I’m not convinced that you would even need something like Macrium ReDeploy to “adapt” your existing Windows 10 image to a new system
Redeploy is designed to allow replacement of disk drivers when an image is restored to new hardware.
With the advent of UEFI the machine provides a basic disk subsystem that allows the OS to find its boot files. This makes it easy for any OS to check the disk drivers at boot to ensure the correct one is used.
When Fast Boot is used the OS doesn’t boot from scratch, it boots from an image that already contains the disk drivers. If these drivers are not correct the machine crashes / corrupts data.
Instead of using Fast Boot, install an SSD. Better all round.
cheers, Paul
Instead of using Fast Boot, install an SSD. Better all round
Best advice, ever!
Windows 10 Pro 22H2
I prefer to NOT use incremental or differential images. So, I do a Full Image each time I backup. I also do this manually (monthly in my case for PC as data files are kept on a NAS running RAID5).
I also don’t keep the external drive (8TB WD USB drive for me) plugged into anything while NOT in use. Living in Florida…means lightning…even though most everything is connected via a UPS…having the drive disconnected means that lightning can’t get to it (which is possible when still cable connected).
Keeping external media disconnected not only protects against lightning and other surges, it also provides for “air-gap firewall” protection against ransomware and other hacks.
For even more protection, the disconnected back-up media can be physically moved to a remote location or placed in a safe, or rotated with other media. Then, even with a total loss of your pc as in a house fire, you may have a backup.
To me, going to all that trouble only makes sense with FULL IMAGES, not just file/folder backups. -RonR
Learn to image your drives, it will set you free from the anxiety of updating your computer!
If you only get ONE takeaway from this fantastic thread, THAT would be it!
Regardless of method or software used — IMAGE YOUR DISKS!
The disk where my Macrium image backups are kept is never connected to the PC, except when actually doing the backup (or if I need to restore something). Additionally, when in use, the internet is always disconnected first.
I have used Macrium for years, and only once have I seen the error “Verification Failed” at the end of a backup. On that occasion I just ran the backup again, and then it worked, but if you don’t do the verification then you will not know if a backup you may need to recover from is no good. That’s why verification is vital, even if it takes longer.
Windows 10 Pro 64 bit 20H2
The disk where my Macrium image backups are kept is never connected to the PC, except when actually doing the backup (or if I need to restore something).
I keep the disk that does the daily full images connected to run on schedule, and another drive offline that I only connect for weekly full images.
Windows 10 Pro 22H2
This was due to the new-at-the-time UEFI firmware in Win10 and only applied to TeraBYte’s “BootIt” boot manager and partition managing software (BootItNG, BootItBM) until they developed BootItUEFI. I’m not trying to sway anyone from a backup system that works for them. But just to clarify, the imaging software was unaffected by the switch from BIOS to UEFI.
With the advent of UEFI the machine provides a basic disk subsystem that allows the OS to find its boot files. This makes it easy for any OS to check the disk drivers at boot to ensure the correct one is used. When Fast Boot is used the OS doesn’t boot from scratch, it boots from an image that already contains the disk drivers. If these drivers are not correct the machine crashes / corrupts data. Instead of using Fast Boot, install an SSD. Better all round.
Thanks @10Ring and @Paul T. As I recall it was “Fast Boot” that TeraByte recommended be disabled when Windows 10 debuted. That issue is what prompted me to try Macrium Reflect Free. Fast Boot is enabled and to my knowledge never been an issue with MR.
But Paul_T brings the issue back to the forefront. If Fast Boot is enabled when MR images are created, are we indeed restricted to restoring ONLY on the original (or nearly original) hardware?
I am wanting to update to SSD for my system C: drive. I am assuming I will be able to “restore” my MR image to the SSD drive using an MR bootable recovery media (DVD or USB). Will I have problems with Windows drivers as suggested by Paul_T? Is there a way around the issue short of disabling Fast Boot?
Is there a way around the issue short of disabling Fast Boot?
Fast Boot makes no difference to a disk upgrade.
Once your SSD is installed, turn off Fast Boot, it is no longer needed.
FWIW, I hibernate my system to SSD and only reboot for patching – unless something goes really pear shaped. I return to my last desktop in less than 10 seconds.
Hibernation is really just extended Fast Boot, but under user control.
cheers, Paul
Hibernation is really just extended Fast Boot, but under user control.
Nice explanation Paul. This is really the heart off the matter to my thinking. MS should have called this something like Faux-Shutdown instead of Fast Boot, it could have saved a lot of confusion. People intuitively think if they turn their computer “completely” off instead of merely restarting it, they’re getting a more complete shutdown. The opposite is true if Fast Boot (now called Fast Startup) is enabled. I completely agree, especially with an SSD, disable Fast Boot and enjoy controlling the power state yourself. I also think it’s essential if you are going to dual-boot your machine.
Fast Boot makes no difference to a disk upgrade. Image the old. Install the new. Boot from backup USB. Restore to the new. Reboot to joy and wonderment.
Just the answer I was hoping for. Beautifully succinct, too! Thanks, Paul.
As I recall it was “Fast Boot” that TeraByte recommended be disabled when Windows 10 debuted. That issue is what prompted me to try Macrium Reflect Free. Fast Boot is enabled and to my knowledge never been an issue with MR.
But Paul_T brings the issue back to the forefront. If Fast Boot is enabled when MR images are created, are we indeed restricted to restoring ONLY on the original (or nearly original) hardware?
I am wanting to update to SSD for my system C: drive. I am assuming I will be able to “restore” my MR image to the SSD drive using an MR bootable recovery media (DVD or USB).
@wsruoschalet to add some context to your observations …
10Ring and PaulT have already explained how Fast Startup is a kind of hybrid hibernation technique, but keep in mind that when Windows is running, it’s not in hibernation. That’s obvious, of course, but is a salient point here.
If Windows has been shutdown with Fast Startup enabled, when you boot Macrium from external boot media and make a clone or image, it will be copying a hibernated OS. If Macrium makes the clone or image from within a running Windows, it will not be copying a hibernated OS. (I have a video explaining this — skip to the section from 21:10-22:30.)
Note that earlier 10Ring pointed out Terabyte’s warning “only applied to TeraByte’s “BootIt” boot manager and partition managing software (BootItNG, BootItBM)“. Those are software that operate outside Windows. When you switched to Macrium Reflect, I imagine you were probably imaging from inside Windows. “Inside” vs “outside” is the key difference.
So the rule of thumb is:
If you create an image from inside Windows, it doesn’t matter if Fast Startup is enabled and you can restore it from external boot media. If you create an image from outside Windows, you should disable Fast Startup before Windows is shut down.
EDITED html to txt (@ link to Lounger incorrectly formatted)
If you create an image from inside Windows, it doesn’t matter if Fast Startup is enabled and you can restore it from external boot media. If you create an image from outside Windows, you should disable Fast Startup before Windows is shut down.
Great advice, and your full answer nicely explains the reasoning behind it!
but if I were an Acronis 2021 user and was happy with the real-time protection my third-party antivirus provided I might be more inclined to disable the antimalware protection in Acronis 2021 instead.
Indeed that’s what I did, and disabled the Acronis malware protection. You can see in my screenshot that it looks to me like Acronis gave me a false positive immediately after I installed its 2021 True Image. So right outta the wrapper it did that and from experience I know that bodes poorly. Software and hardware need to work immediately without incident. Just like a new car or anything else new.
Between around the year 2000 and 2018 I ran versions of Symantec’s AV on the machines I administered (Enterprise or Norton) including my LAN’s client machines. When Symantec’s support progressively worsened, including its’ configuration problems and false positives, I switched to Bitdefender.
I estimate that Bitdefender is better at anti-malware protection than Acronis, because that’s Bitdefender’s primary business. And I’ve also had good experiences with their telephone techs, who have always been available the several times I’d wanted them. Me switching my security biz to a company located in a (formerly Communist) foreign nation was a sea change for me. The world changes. My chief technology officer for one of my startups is Texan living and working in Budapest. The software dev company I hired is in India although it’s also domiciled in Delaware. Its’ Indian founder is currently stuck in Toronto with his family. I hired a native Indian advocate who lives and works in India.
Looong timmago, when I was but a young-un, there was a sign on the wall of the pizza joint my parents favored, Shakey’s Pizza Parlor. It read something like, “Shakey’s made a deal with the bank. The bank doesn’t make pizza and we don’t take checks.” I prefer that my publishers and manufacturers have long and deep experience in their fields.
Human, who sports only naturally-occurring DNA ~ oneironaut ~ broadcaster
Donations from Plus members keep this site going. You can identify the people who support AskWoody by the Plus badge on their avatars.
AskWoody Plus members not only get access to all of the contents of this site -- including Susan Bradley's frequently updated Patch Watch listing -- they also receive weekly AskWoody Plus Newsletters (formerly Windows Secrets Newsletter) and AskWoody Plus Alerts, emails when there are important breaking developments.
Notifications
