Acronis True Image or Macrium Reflect

Zardoc · Aug 24, 2021

Stigg said:
I haven't used any Acronis products in years, but in my opinion, that's a terrible decision.
I am trying to think of who that decision would appeal to.

Not me.

Wynona · Aug 24, 2021

bobkn said:
That seems optimistic. (Ignoring the emoticon.)

their there they're
to too two
its it's
here hear

I dunno about text-to-speech. Smart phone spell checkers give me a lot of grief, but I rarely use one to visit the forums.

My stupid Galaxy can't speeel at all!

cereberus · Aug 25, 2021

Stigg said:
I haven't used any Acronis products in years, but in my opinion, that's a terrible decision.
I am trying to think of who that decision would appeal to.

This is a bizzare move as imaging and malware detection ate fundamentally different activities. How does this coexist with Defender, malwarebytes etc.

In the end, TrueImage fans now have to decide to either stay on old versions or move to this new subscription based version.

I hope that Paramount never move Macrium Reflect to a subscription based model for domestic consumers.

Of course, they bring put a new paid version periodically, but the user has the choice to upgrade or not (no different to current Trueimage users with a perpetual licence of course).

The critical difference is for new Acronis users - don't pay the fee, it stops working.

Acronis's focus has always been the business market. The do do give a crap about domestic consumers.

bobkn · Aug 26, 2021

There is a trend. I once used Nero CD burning software, but gave up on that when Nero became a huge software bundle of which burning was a small part.

I'm not sure where Acronis is headed. Backup/imaging could be useful in recovering from some types of malware infection, but I'm having difficulty imagining an integrated antimalware/backup strategy.

I have a non-subscription TI 2021 license, but it may be my last. It may be time to simplify.

Stigg · Aug 26, 2021

@bobkn

If you're looking for a simple, light and extremely reliable imaging solution, then you can't go past Drive Snapshot.
It's a standalone single file executable of 451 KB for snapshot64.exe. I have text files bigger than that.

I would have done hundreds or more backups and restorations over the years without a single failure.

Stigg · Aug 26, 2021

Even Terabyte Image for Windows is very light and reliable and can even be run as a portable application.
You only need to copy the following files to a folder and you're all set.

Location (64-bit Systems):
%ProgramFiles(x86)%\TeraByte Drive Image Backup and Restore Suite

Location (32-bit Systems):
%ProgramFiles%\TeraByte Drive Image Backup and Restore Suite

ifw.ini (130 bytes)
ifwhelp.chm (134 KB)
imagew.exe (3.18 MB)
imagew64.exe (4.07 MB)
keyhh.exe (24 KB)

You really only need the two files of imagew64.exe and ifw.ini for a 64-bit system or imagew.exe and ifw.ini for a 32-bit system. I just included both both 32-bit and 64-bit executables and the help files for completeness.

It really highlights the ridiculous size that Acronis True Image is.

RolandJS · Aug 26, 2021

@Stigg -- I certainly can vouch for the pay-for version of Terabyte's Image for Windows! I have been for several years been making both DVD and USB portable boots. I guess one can make a free-version of that DVD or USB boot?
Also, I found out that DriveSnapshot is a 30day trialware, then one must buy the license. :) I have no problem with that.

Stigg · Aug 26, 2021

RolandJS said:
@Stigg -- I guess one can make a free-version of that DVD or USB boot?

No, it'll prompt for a license which is stored in ifw.ini.

If you don't include ifw.ini in the folder, and you get the license prompt, then Image for Windows will create ifw.ini with the license information included. ifw.ini also contains other personalised settings.

Stigg · Aug 26, 2021

I really don't know why more people on this forum don't use either Image for Windows or Drive Snapshot.
They are both excellent backup solutions, and extremely reliable. I guess it's because there is a steeper learning curve when you first start using it, but if you can't get enough help on this forum, then you'll get more than enough help on Wilders Security Forums in the backup, imaging & disk mgmt section.

jimbo45 · Aug 26, 2021

cereberus said:
This is a bizzare move as imaging and malware detection ate fundamentally different activities. How does this coexist with Defender, malwarebytes etc.

In the end, TrueImage fans now have to decide to either stay on old versions or move to this new subscription based version.

I hope that Paramount never move Macrium Reflect to a subscription based model for domestic consumers.

Of course, they bring put a new paid version periodically, but the user has the choice to upgrade or not (no different to current Trueimage users with a perpetual licence of course).

The critical difference is for new Acronis users - don't pay the fee, it stops working.

Acronis's focus has always been the business market. The do do give a crap about domestic consumers.

Hi folks
If they do (very unlikely though) then the solution is easy -- load any Live Linux distro - will boot from even a small USB drive - use the dd command to clone a disk or partitions or commands such as rsync, gzip etc to backup data. Linux reads and writes NTFS files without issue these days (you may need to install ntfs-3g but it's usually there by default.

You could use a Linux VM or even the WSL from within Windows itself. Using the WSL you'll probably need to install rsync.

I know this is Window 11 Forum but if there are easy to use free tools available to avoid using subscriptions or other paid software that you don't think its worth it then nothing wrong in using alternative methods. Plumbers don't just have a single tool to do their job. !!

That said Macrium V8 is well worth it if you are primarily a Windows user.

Cheers
jimbo

Tweakfiend · Aug 26, 2021

I used Acronis TruImage for 2- 3 years before Reflect came out in about 2008.
I have also had more recent free copies as a comparison .

There is no comparison on useability and performance.

Reflect is the only software ( backup or otherwise ) I have used for 13 years with 100% results.

However version 8 recovery menu layouts are slightly more involved

BobD · Aug 26, 2021

I'll write another plus for Macrium 7 free

Zardoc · Aug 26, 2021

Stigg said:
I really don't know why more people on this forum don't use either Image for Windows or Drive Snapshot.
They are both excellent backup solutions, and extremely reliable. I guess it's because there is a steeper learning curve when you first start using it, but if you can't get enough help on this forum, then you'll get more than enough help on Wilders Security Forums in the backup, imaging & disk mgmt section.

Most people like it as simple as possible. Users like us here, like the challenge of learning how to use simple software. I have customers who don't know their right from their left with this kind of software. Often more than not, I have to go into their system with remote access. Having to use a USB or DVD based to activate restore is not an option. Even if I was physically present I still would prefer the simplest, fastest way possible to recover a system (time is money

). Having drive makers like Sabrent and WD offering a simple backup solution with a GUI within Windows for recovery is within itself a large time saver. Now, if the only option is a boot method than again, the fastest simplest solution is the one that's always sought. I'm not saying that what you suggest isn't good because I haven't tried it but I'm sure you understand where I'm coming from. :wink:

Zardoc · Aug 26, 2021

@Stigg OK, just tried it. I'm impressed! Even has restore from within Windows. I created an Image and restored, unfortunately my C drive needed a scan on reboot, but I don't blame the software. I suspect an issue with this drive.

Reminds of Drive Image that I used for quite a while before Symantec bought them out.

It ain't pretty but it's simple and effective.

Bree · Aug 26, 2021

Zardoc said:
It ain't pretty but it's simple and effective.

Yes, the GUI has always been the weaker part of Reflect, though it has been improved somewhat for v8. Functionally I cannot fault it.

Zardoc · Aug 26, 2021

@Bree, I should have been more specific. I was talking about Drive Snapshot that Stigg mentioned above. I tried it just to see. You can't get simpler than that. I ran it as a portable. :wink:

about 4 minutes backup with verification.

Bree · Aug 26, 2021

Sorry, my misunderstanding - my comments on Reflect are still valid though

Zardoc · Aug 26, 2021

No worries :)

OliverJia · Sep 26, 2021

Zardoc said:
Most people like it as simple as possible. Users like us here, like the challenge of learning how to use simple software. I have customers who don't know their right from their left with this kind of software. Often more than not, I have to go into their system with remote access. Having to use a USB or DVD based to activate restore is not an option. Even if I was physically present I still would prefer the simplest, fastest way possible to recover a system (time is money ). Having drive makers like Sabrent and WD offering a simple backup solution with a GUI within Windows for recovery is within itself a large time saver. Now, if the only option is a boot method than again, the fastest simplest solution is the one that's always sought. I'm not saying that what you suggest isn't good because I haven't tried it but I'm sure you understand where I'm coming from.

Have you tried either Drive Snapshot or Terabyte Image for Windows? I don't think they are more difficult to use than Macrium. For me, Terabyte is more reliable and faster than Macrium.

cereberus · Sep 26, 2021

OliverJia said:
Have you tried either Drive Snapshot or Terabyte Image for Windows? I don't think they are more difficult to use than Macrium. For me, Terabyte is more reliable and faster than Macrium.

I am not sure how you can claim Terabyte is more teliable than Macrium as we have lots of evidence on this site to suggest Tefle Reflect is extremely reliable. I doubt many here have even heard of Terabyte.

I have just looked up its features and it offers little more than the free version of Reflect and costs $38+ for a licence.

Regarding speed, if you want fast use the relatively new FFU feature in windows. Now that is fast.