Solved Another imaging app for discussion... Minitool's Shadowmaker?

I downloaded Minitool Partition Wizard free version and Shadowmaker trial came along for the ride. However, I do notice there is also a free version available. The interface of this app is really slick and it does a lot of things. Looks to me like the free version does everything a normal user would need.
Even it's Pro Ultimate version is priced right for a perpetual license for 3 computers for $79.
Has anyone out there tried it?

Yes, I have. It was ok and decent enough.
But then there are so many pieces of backup software on the market that one is spoilt for choice.

glasskuter said:

I downloaded Minitool Partition Wizard free version and Shadowmaker trial came along for the ride. However, I do notice there is also a free version available. The interface of this app is really slick and it does a lot of things. Looks to me like the free version does everything a normal user would need.
Even it's Pro Ultimate version is priced right for a perpetual license for 3 computers for $79.
Has anyone out there tried it?

Click to expand...

I find the free version of minitool partition wizard does pretty much all most ever need.

The one feature in the paid version that can be really useful is the ability to restore lost partitions.
The free version will identify if a lost partition can be recovered but you need the paid version to actually do it.

I do not bother with Shadowmaker as it does not really offer anything that useful that I do not already have. I certainly would not pay for it.

I actually use Easus Partition Manager (paid version) which I got on a special offer very cheaply a few years ago which has a similar lost recovery partition feature which I used a few weeks ago after I somehow lost my main data partition (data was backed up though). I recovered the lost partition and 100% of the data (250+GB) in less than two minutes. I am confident the minitool partition wizard paid version would be just as good.

glasskuter said:

I downloaded Minitool Partition Wizard free version and Shadowmaker trial came along for the ride. However, I do notice there is also a free version available. The interface of this app is really slick and it does a lot of things. Looks to me like the free version does everything a normal user would need.
Even it's Pro Ultimate version is priced right for a perpetual license for 3 computers for $79.
Has anyone out there tried it?

Click to expand...

Just use the FREE version of gparted -- has far more recovery options in it, supports far more file systems and the GUI is much the same as all current partition managers. Create a bootable usb device by downloading the iso and using Rufus or any typical application you use for creating bootable usb devices.

I can't see ANY part of Minitool Partition Wizard (paid or otherwise) that can't be done by gparted or even within windows itself. I'm not anti-paid software (although I dislike subscription models) but it has to offer decently better stuff than is available on other FREE software. IMHO Minitool Partition Wizard clearly does not.

Cheers
jimbo

A good backup tool must be able to verify the integrity of your image, must able to verify the integrity of your systems being backed up (MBR) and has Delta Restore incorporated in it.

The Delta Restore will restore your image very quickly.

pewa said:

A good backup tool must be able to verify the integrity of your image, must able to verify the integrity of your systems being backed up (MBR) and has Delta Restore incorporated in it.

The Delta Restore will restore your image very quickly.

Click to expand...

There are not many that do Delta Restore. That is a nice to have but not essential.

pewa said:

A good backup tool must be able to verify the integrity of your image

Click to expand...

@glasskuter

Does it do that? I could not find any mention of verification / validation on their website.

I was also rather put off by the limitations of the free edition:-

My current free editions of AcronisTI have those limitations & more.


All the best,
Denis

Try3 said:

@glasskuter

Does it do that? I could not find any mention of verification / validation on their website.

I was also rather put off by the limitations of the free edition:-
View attachment 146970
My current free editions of AcronisTI have those limitations & more.


All the best,
Denis

Click to expand...

You can manually verify an image under Manage. Personally I'm used to Aomei Backupper which is good enough for me as I only do disk backups.

Fabler2 said:

You can manually verify an image under Manage

Click to expand...

Ah, thanks for posting that.


Denis

Yes, I finally found the verify function, too. I ran my first image with Shadowmaker last night. 86 gb of data to external nvme. Shadowmaker at default compression settings. Image+verify took 9.48 min with the resulting image being 67gb.. I can only assume those figures would be the same if I paid for the product as this is not the free version but a trial of the Pro version.

When I tested Haselo several months ago the image ended up being 61gb. I don't remember the exact amount of time it took. So, for a free imaging app, Haselo wins over Shadowmaker.
Neither of them are at Macrium levels which run the same image in 3.58 min and 47 gb resulting image, and as we all know will restore that image lickety-split...

For folks who don't image often, I guess either of those free apps would suit the purpose. Any image is better than no image. I could get by with either of those apps too, but boy, Macrium has spoiled me. I image frequently and do it for 4 machines. I'll stick with 8.1 as long as it will carry me. Hopefully, it will last as long as I do...or at least until I become too senile to remember to image.

glasskuter said:

I'll stick with 8.1 as long as it will carry me.

Click to expand...

I would do that too if I were you.

Twice, I unplugged the rescue disk (ATI 2021 and Hasleo) in the middle of a restore for some explicable reason and it messed up my MBR big time. Why did I do that? Old age I guess.

Only Macrium was able to save me as the good old restored MBR was in the Macrium image itself. That was what I meant when I mentioned a good backup app must be able to back up the integrity of your systems being backed up.

pewa said:

explicable reason

Click to expand...

I mean inexplicable reason

@pewa (and others)

Sorry folks - but if we are mainly concerned with backing up and integrity of the OS why on earth bother with delta restores etc.

If you organise your OS sensibly so only have a smallish partition and then have your data elsewhere then just backup / recover the OS in its entirity. With decent hardware and if you organise your OS sensibly backup won't take long - and in any case run it at night etc when you aren't doing anything on it so does it matter if the system takes 5 mins or 3 hrs to backup.

I think a load of people here just don't realize that there's really at least 3 different types of data which really need to be handled differently.

1) OS -- obviously without a reliable OS all else is pointless - so reasonable backups of a clean safe virus free OS. Just dump the whole kybosh.

2) "Archived data" which doesn't change -- things like ripped CD's / other multi-media etc -- back up once to 2 different types of data storage -- then forget it.

3) "daily" type User data e,g work in progress, office type stuff, network shared folders, client computers backup , multi-media such as home videos / saved tv / radio / photos /saved whatsapp etc sessions etc etc.

This is the most complex and there's no easy 1-off answer to how to manage and process this stuff. Some really critical stuff -- just leave on the cloud and back up every so often. Other data -- people have different ideas but I would forget all this stuff with incrementals / differentials - but just have a system which overwrites any data that's changed. If you need to recover an earlier version just have say 3 sets of backups.

There's all sorts of ways of managing this stuff -- some companies even employ people full time to mange this -- so some simple "generic" imaging program isn't going to be the answer.

Cheers
jimbo