Solved A little help finding backup software


STOP DO NOT RESTORE - you are only checking with MR - scary eh?
There is a way to try a restore without risking your PC. Restore to a virtual machine instead.

 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD
    Internet Speed
    50 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Lattitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
I really appreciate everyone sharing their thoughts and experiences. I'm closing in on a solution. Recall that I'm on a laptop, not a desktop, so that shades the plan.

For my data, I'm using FreeFileSync launched by Win 11 Task Scheduler, because that combo satisfied every single one of my wish list items in the original post. I'm kicking off a data backup to a desktop HDD four times a day, because I hate losing work. At the end of each day, the backup and its version history are copied to a second desktop HDD and to Google Drive. I have also set up "on-demand" FFS jobs to run whenever I need to prep my portable USB drive for backups while traveling. The only hanging question on data backup is whether this drive will also serve as my "offsite, but non-cloud" backup. And shout-out to the FFS folks - it works well, has a very nice feature set, and runs pretty quickly.

For images, I've bought Macrium, but haven't installed it and started a regimen for image backup and restore yet. The original plan was to do that this week, but we're now on the 4th day of an ice storm, and I'm not interested in taking on a fresh challenge while focused on keeping the household fed and warm until it's over. I do really appreciate all the comments here on imaging, as well as on the separate threads that I started on Macrium and on offsite backup.


 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 22H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10
    CPU
    i5-1240p
    Memory
    16gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Whatever comes in it
    Sound Card
    Whatever comes in it
    Monitor(s) Displays
    No external monitor. Yet.
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    Internal 512 GB SSD
    External 6 TB, 1 TB, 225 GB desktop HDD, 2TB portable HDD
    A whole army of USB flash memory sticks
    Mouse
    Logitech M317
    Internet Speed
    500 mbps
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    CalDigit TS4 dock for all my USB stuff, speakers, and connect to Android phone
    HP MFP M277dw laser printer/scanner
Rather than restoring to a virtual machine, another option is to restore to a virtual hard drive and create an additional boot entry.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0
There is a way to try a restore without risking your PC. Restore to a virtual machine instead.

Well brilliant that is ssoooooooooooooo easy NOT
Oracle VM - instal error - needs Python bindings, Python core / win api ZSi Solera SOAP. No links dig in yourself to the SDK manual - no links, found it no description on loading Python from sourceforge. Setting up a VM sooooooooooooooo easy NOT, cut off half you RAM and reserve for VM use etc.

Look at me guys I am such a DUMMY
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    w 11 Home 22H2 22621.1105
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer 84df3mi 2 machines
    CPU
    intel i5 9400 2.9GHz
    Memory
    16G
    Monitor(s) Displays
    lg ultrawide 29"
    Screen Resolution
    2400 x 1900
    Hard Drives
    1TB
    Internet Speed
    broadband
    Antivirus
    windows shield
Rather than restoring to a virtual machine, another option is to restore to a virtual hard drive and create an additional boot entry.
Hi C

Care to expand on this solution.
I see s/w free offerings such as Daemon tools, DVDfab, WinCDemu, Gizmo drive ?

These set up a virtual HDD in part of your RAM and store files as ISO. So is this going to be suitable for testing a 6GB BU file for restoration?

No one else has suggested this?

Remember we are all Noobs here as per the OP @Buddy looking for help we cant become Nerds for a solution

Some Noobs would be afraid to go into BIOS settings cos if you get it wrong (or are given incomplete instructions) you can brick your machine
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    w 11 Home 22H2 22621.1105
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer 84df3mi 2 machines
    CPU
    intel i5 9400 2.9GHz
    Memory
    16G
    Monitor(s) Displays
    lg ultrawide 29"
    Screen Resolution
    2400 x 1900
    Hard Drives
    1TB
    Internet Speed
    broadband
    Antivirus
    windows shield
Care to expand on this solution.
I see s/w free offerings such as Daemon tools, DVDfab, WinCDemu, Gizmo drive ?

These set up a virtual HDD in part of your RAM and store files as ISO. So is this going to be suitable for testing a 6GB BU file for restoration?
You can create and mount a .vhdx file using Disk Management. Once mounted as a virtual drive Reflect can restore to this drive. Windows can native boot from a .vhdx file, so you can add a boot entry to boot from your restored system in the .vhdx file.

 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD
    Internet Speed
    50 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Lattitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
the point of that is?

creating a vhd of say X gb or whatever it is, is no less writing to disk than restoring the image to a spare partition as a test.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    i5-8400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    2x8gb 3200mhz
    Monitor(s) Displays
    benq gw2480
    PSU
    bequiet pure power 11 400CM
    Cooling
    cryorig m9i
  • Operating System
    win7
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    pentium g5400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    1x8gb 2400
    PSU
    xfx pro 450
There is a way to try a restore without risking your PC. Restore to a virtual machine instead.

So why did you steer me down the dead end path of an Oracle Virtual Machine? I am confused, What are the Cons of the Virtual Hard Disc method?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    w 11 Home 22H2 22621.1105
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer 84df3mi 2 machines
    CPU
    intel i5 9400 2.9GHz
    Memory
    16G
    Monitor(s) Displays
    lg ultrawide 29"
    Screen Resolution
    2400 x 1900
    Hard Drives
    1TB
    Internet Speed
    broadband
    Antivirus
    windows shield
the point of that is?

creating a vhd of say X gb or whatever it is, is no less writing to disk than restoring the image to a spare partition as a test.

Lots of reasons.

You could have several vhdx files and you do not need to have multiple partitions. If you use expandable vhd files, it is much more space efficient.

You can attach/copy vhds to other devices, or even to a virtual machine (need to clone boot files as well).

I have 5 Insider versions as vhdx files all on a large 1 tb nvme drive.

When you get deeper into vhdx files, you can use differencing disk, so you can use them a bit like live incremental images.

I never image backup vhdx files - I just copy them to backup drive (I have oodles of space).

If you want to try different things, just copy an existing vhdx file.

Virtual hard drives are really flexible and easy to use.

Perhaps the only con is you can get a slight reduction in performance (say 3%).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0
Well @Buddy I fixed my backup crisis with brute force and ignorance of nerdy stuff (simply dont trust what I dont understand). FWIW I was able for a small ££ obtain a duplicate Acer pc W11 outfit and have now created a fair copy of my set up on both m/c with all the common apps etc. I have cheap usb storage on both and so if one has a crash I can carry on with the other - more or less without too much sweat. No nerds needed. AND remarkably I found a way around the awful Credential Manager and created a simple NAS on my router plugging in a 64G stick - simplicity in action. My data and its security is my responsibility which I fully accept.
So thats my take and ££$%^%%$£$"% M $

No doubt this will earn the scorn of all you techies but I hope it helps those mere mortals who suffer under M $ abuse of our privacy and freedom
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    w 11 Home 22H2 22621.1105
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer 84df3mi 2 machines
    CPU
    intel i5 9400 2.9GHz
    Memory
    16G
    Monitor(s) Displays
    lg ultrawide 29"
    Screen Resolution
    2400 x 1900
    Hard Drives
    1TB
    Internet Speed
    broadband
    Antivirus
    windows shield
No doubt this will earn the scorn of all you techies but I hope it helps those mere mortals who suffer under M $ abuse of our privacy and freedom

Nobody is forcing you to use Windows!

Stop whinging - use Linux or whatever.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0
I'm going to mark this thread solved. What I've done is this:

For data, I'm triggering FreeFileSync with Windows Task Scheduler. Four times a day for my work files, and end-of-day safety copies of the main backup to a second local drive and to Google Drive. I also have a "road trip" portable drive that will get updated prior to each trip and used during the trip. After the regimen settles in, I'll decide if I also want an off-site physical drive or if Google Drive is sufficient.

For Windows, software, etc. and for insurance against various computing and physical disasters, I'm writing a monthly Macrium full image of the c:\ drive, with daily incrementals. Still working out what to do about redundancy for this.

There are some details yet to work out, but it's 90% complete. And I feel much more protected than I did with the meager scheme I had with my previous computer.

Thanks to all who contributed from their experience. It helped a lot.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 22H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon G10
    CPU
    i5-1240p
    Memory
    16gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Whatever comes in it
    Sound Card
    Whatever comes in it
    Monitor(s) Displays
    No external monitor. Yet.
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    Internal 512 GB SSD
    External 6 TB, 1 TB, 225 GB desktop HDD, 2TB portable HDD
    A whole army of USB flash memory sticks
    Mouse
    Logitech M317
    Internet Speed
    500 mbps
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    CalDigit TS4 dock for all my USB stuff, speakers, and connect to Android phone
    HP MFP M277dw laser printer/scanner
PureSync is excellent for what you are looking for Editions
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 2X
    Browser
    Chrome
    Antivirus
    Avast

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