Solved AOMEI Backupper (Free Standard Edition) Review


Ed Tittel, you're so right... "bakcup early and often" is the way to go. I was so glad I made an image in June 2023... that I forgot about ! But that I found when I needed it... and yeah, you're so right about Windows built-in backup utility: it is worthless.
I read your article, and I miss your mentioning of Rescuezilla. I hope you give it your attention, the people who do this for free really deserve attention.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    composed with motherboard Asustek Computer Inc. model F2A85-M LE (FM2)
    CPU
    AMD A4-4000
    Motherboard
    Asustek Computer Inc. model F2A85-M LE (FM2)
    Memory
    6144 MB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7480D
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital 150GB (Windows 11)
    WesternDigital 150GB (Windows XP)
    Seagate 465GB (Windows 7 and Windows 10)
    Western Digital 40GB Caviar (Windows 98)
    Browser
    Firefox and 12 others
    Antivirus
    Windows 11 built in Mircosoft Defender
Rescuezilla is pretty new on the scene . On the other hand Clonezilla has been around for years and has definitely earned its trust! I tried Rescuezilla many months ago but it had a problem the developer was going to have a look into. Personally, I lean toward the tried and true especially when it comes to backup programs!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Homemade
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5700G 8-Core
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO 16GB (2x8GB) DDR4 3200MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Onboard ATI Radeon
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Asus 28"
    Screen Resolution
    4K - 3840 X 2160
    Hard Drives
    PNY CS2140 500GB M.2 NVMe Gen4 x4
    Western Digital 500GB M.2 NVME Gen3
    OCZ-TRION 100 500GB SSD
    OCZ-TRION 150 500GB SSD
Windows backup works fine. Third party disk imaging programs offer more options in their guis in some ways, but windows backup has the big advantage of using vhd format. Most 3rd party programs use non writeable proprietary formats.
 

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
Windows backup works fine. Third party disk imaging programs offer more options in their guis in some ways, but windows backup has the big advantage of using vhd format. Most 3rd party programs use non writeable proprietary formats.
Fine is not how I would describe unreliable. Ditched it years ago as it failed on restore too many times.

After a brief flirtation with Acronis, settled on Macrium Reflect.

You can use just about any cloning tool to backup to a vhd (or better vhdx file). Not very space efficient though.
 

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
Windows backup works fine. Third party disk imaging programs offer more options in their guis in some ways, but windows backup has the big advantage of using vhd format. Most 3rd party programs use non writeable proprietary formats.
Windows Backup let me down more than once. Even MS recommends using a 3rd-party backup solution
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 23H2 (RP channel)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Gigabyte
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5900X 12-core
    Motherboard
    X570 Aorus Xtreme
    Memory
    64GB Corsair Platinum RGB 3600MHz CL16
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI Suprim X 3080 Ti
    Sound Card
    Soundblaster AE-5 Plus
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS TUF Gaming VG289Q
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 990 Pro 2TB
    Samsung 980 Pro 2TB
    Samsung 970 Evo Plus 1TB
    Samsung 870 Evo 4TB
    Samsung T7 Touch 1TB
    PSU
    Asus ROG Strix 1000W
    Case
    Corsair D750 Airflow
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15S
    Keyboard
    Asus ROG Flare
    Mouse
    Logitech G903 with PowerPlay charger
    Internet Speed
    500Mb/sec
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Windows backup works fine....
According to Microsoft you should not be using it.

Microsoft said:
FeatureDetails and mitigationDeprecation announced
System Image Backup (SIB) SolutionThis feature is also known as the Backup and Restore (Windows 7) legacy control panel. For full-disk backup solutions, look for a third-party product from another software publisher......1709
 

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.
You can use just about any cloning tool to backup to a vhd (or better vhdx file). Not very space efficient though.
SysInternals' Disk2vhd is probably the most convenient, and it can use VSS so you could back up a system while Windows is running (as you can with Reflect and others). No, the .vhdx isn't particularly space efficient. There's no compression, so it will be the same size as the used data in the partition(s) being backed up.

But a system image is no use unless you can restore it, that's a little fiddly with a .vhdx. But, as an exercise, I managed to put together a 'homebrew' imaging solution.
 

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.
That is a lot of steps can more easily do the same kind of thing with windows system image ui or wbadmin.

If MS do eventually remove it from the consumer editions what you describe is a way to sort of replicate it.

It probably depends how many people like you can put the punters off using it. MS are always looking to dump bits of code, they tried at one stage to get rid of xcopy. Many people put two fingers up and continued using it, which is why it is still there.
 

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
That is a lot of steps can more easily do the same kind of thing with windows system image ui or wbadmin
If it is native windows backup you want, use FFU - fast, easy and no 3rd party tools.
 

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
Nice review :-). Thought I’d try it again and the visuals of the interface seem much better than last time I used it. I was using EaseUS which was ok but I still made the odd mistake (overwriting a previous image). So will try this for a while :-)

Also my free EaseUS lifetime code ended when I had to switch to a different computer. Not transferable it seems.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion 14-ce3514sa
    CPU
    Core i5
    Memory
    16gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 evo plus 2TB
    Cooling
    Could be better
    Internet Speed
    200mbps Starlink
    Browser
    Firefox
    Other Info
    Originally installed with a 500gb H10 Optane ssd
(First of all: Windows 98 is on my computer, but I have to choose IDE instead of AHCI in the bios to get it running, so AOMEI was not used on Windows 98.)

I was triggered to send this message by someone on this forum who had heard of problems, especially boot problems, caused by AOMEI.
Second reason for sending this message were the many complaints about unbootable Windows versions on the AOMEI site. One of the AOMEI helpdesk people admitted there was an error, but that it was fixed.

I am not advertising RESCUEZILLA, no need, it is freeware. Strange reaction, Iggy.
Rescuezilla saved my ass, that's all.

Again: I DID NOT USE THE PROGRAM. I only opened it. So I did nothing wrong. Read, Iggy, read:
I opened it, had a glance at its layout, and I closed it. And meanwhile the harm was done.
And it DID kill my system.
I did not backup and did no reinstall.

It is not an exaggeration, Cerberus, it is my experience. And I read from your respons that you had boot problems too... related to AOMEI? If it was, then that's another proof of AOMEI being untrustworthy...

I recovered a Windows 11 Clonezilla backup image with Rescuezilla, so Windows 11 is up and running again, it sees all the three internal hard disks (Windows 7 and Windows 10 are on a partitioned hard disk).
I tried many things - from within Windows 11 - to resolve the multi boot problem, also bcdedit (cleaned it and set it up from scratch): to no avail.

I am beginning to think that AOMEI is just some Chinese people's copy behaviour result - AOMEI's moving from China to the USA didn't change that - from people without proper knowledge of complicated systems. *

To read an AOMEI help desk responding to many boot error customer complaints with "the program had an error, but it is fixed" is the final proof for me...

* remember the years that the Chinese government encouraged their people to produce steel? There was a documentary with video footage of a Chinese steel factory: what they did there was throwing all kinds of junk, especially old car batteries, in the ovens, thus producing steel that was highly contaminated with heavy metals, VERY toxious.
Just an example of what happens when (retarded) people without proper knowledge decide to join in with the rest of the world...
Having second thoughts now! Anyone else had issues with aomei breaking the computer or not restoring?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion 14-ce3514sa
    CPU
    Core i5
    Memory
    16gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 evo plus 2TB
    Cooling
    Could be better
    Internet Speed
    200mbps Starlink
    Browser
    Firefox
    Other Info
    Originally installed with a 500gb H10 Optane ssd
Hmm. So I did an image - which took a long time. At the end it asked if I wanted to make bootable recovery media. My usb stick won’t fit while an external drive is plugged in so I opted to make one later.

It said to make one later you go to tools - recovery environment. Which I did, two or three times but all that did was bring up a pop up trying to get me to upgrade to a paid version and showed recovery needed this.

I went back to the tools dashboard and clicked on make a bootable usb and that was what was needed to make a bootable recovery stick.

But I didn’t like that it tried to tell me to go somewhere else and upgrade if I wanted to recover.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion 14-ce3514sa
    CPU
    Core i5
    Memory
    16gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 evo plus 2TB
    Cooling
    Could be better
    Internet Speed
    200mbps Starlink
    Browser
    Firefox
    Other Info
    Originally installed with a 500gb H10 Optane ssd
Also - after making the usb stick it became “not discoverable” and couldn’t be opened or formatted. So I don’t feel too confident about that. You can’t even safely disconnect it as it doesn’t show up in the menu when going to disconnect.

As it didn’t show up I assumed it had already been disconnected and pulled it out. Not ideal as clearly it hadn’t been disconnected - and it’s still showing up in file explorer. But did disappear after a restart.

Anyway I now have a usb stick that is not discoverable and I can’t format if I want to use it for something else.

I think I’ll stick to EaseUS and read the instructions more carefully.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion 14-ce3514sa
    CPU
    Core i5
    Memory
    16gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 evo plus 2TB
    Cooling
    Could be better
    Internet Speed
    200mbps Starlink
    Browser
    Firefox
    Other Info
    Originally installed with a 500gb H10 Optane ssd
Why is that in this thread?

Better to start your own thread singing the praises of Easeus.
 

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
I’m not singing the praises of EaseUS either! But was not happy with the above experience.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion 14-ce3514sa
    CPU
    Core i5
    Memory
    16gb
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 evo plus 2TB
    Cooling
    Could be better
    Internet Speed
    200mbps Starlink
    Browser
    Firefox
    Other Info
    Originally installed with a 500gb H10 Optane ssd
Hazel123, thank you for your input, you gave interesting insight...
You write several comments, but you don't mention the name of the program where the comment is about.
I think you can't be clear enough, so in each comment please mention the program.
When you use EaseUs to make a bootable USB, then sometimes indeed Windows comes with a message that the USB needs to be formatted.
Ignore it. (Happens, for instance, when I insert my Eset * bootable USB.)

While creating a bootable USB wait for EaseUs to ask for your OK to format the USB. That takes quite some time during that process.

Sometimes indeed it happens that the USB is not present in "Safely remove hardware and eject media"
In that case right click "This PC" - click "Manage" - click "Disk management - at the top click "Action" - click "Rescan disks" - scroll to the USB
right click the part that says
Disk #
Removable
##.## GB
Online

(so, not the white part with text) and choose "Eject"

By the way: compared to EaseUs, Paragon, and that killer of my system with the name Aomei: Rescuezilla is the only one that solely operates from a bootable USB (or cd/dvd), both for creating and restoring. That - in my opinion - makes it the most reliable.

Of course, an error can be fixed, even that ultimate stupid Aomei error that ruined my easy, quiet computer life (yes, I can be dramatic sometimes ;-), and I indeed fixed it, but it is such a shame that such things happen...

* Eset offers the creation of a (free!) boot dvd (I have not yet tried the USB). I used the dvd to boot my computer, well , I was stunned, as it has the option to make an internet connection to update its virus definitions and the option to scan whatever you want. Comes with the scan result, even offers to yes or no deal with the virus. (Must be done BEFORE starting the scan.) So so much better than the Microsoft offline scan.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    composed with motherboard Asustek Computer Inc. model F2A85-M LE (FM2)
    CPU
    AMD A4-4000
    Motherboard
    Asustek Computer Inc. model F2A85-M LE (FM2)
    Memory
    6144 MB
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7480D
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital 150GB (Windows 11)
    WesternDigital 150GB (Windows XP)
    Seagate 465GB (Windows 7 and Windows 10)
    Western Digital 40GB Caviar (Windows 98)
    Browser
    Firefox and 12 others
    Antivirus
    Windows 11 built in Mircosoft Defender

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