Solved AOMEI Backupper (Free Standard Edition) Review

ruudtes · Jan 23, 2024

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.

Badger · Jan 23, 2024

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!

SIW2 · Jan 23, 2024

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.

cereberus · Jan 23, 2024

SIW2 said:
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.

BrianInEngland · Jan 23, 2024

SIW2 said:
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

Bree · Jan 23, 2024

SIW2 said:
Windows backup works fine....

According to Microsoft you should not be using it.

Microsoft said:
Feature Details and mitigation Deprecation announced
System Image Backup (SIB) Solution This 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

Deprecated features in the Windows client

Review the list of features that Microsoft is no longer actively developing in Windows 10 and Windows 11.

learn.microsoft.com

Bree · Jan 23, 2024

cereberus said:
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.

SIW2 · Jan 23, 2024

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.

cereberus · Jan 23, 2024

SIW2 said:
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.

Hazel123 · Jan 25, 2024

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.

Hazel123 · Jan 25, 2024

ruudtes said:
(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?

Hazel123 · Jan 25, 2024

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.

Hazel123 · Jan 25, 2024

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.

SIW2 · Jan 25, 2024

Why is that in this thread?

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

Hazel123 · Jan 25, 2024

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

ruudtes · Jan 27, 2024

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.

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