backup options other than Macrium?

Goldengirl52 · Jul 7, 2022

I have the free edition of Macrium, but seems the things I want for my backup are "always" pushing me to get free-trial/purchase.

I just lost my PC because for one reason, I had no backup for it and I have this new laptop thank goodness.

21H2 Version

Snip of system info below. I just want something to backup to my flashdrive for now as I don't have an external drive in my laptop. I only want to make my own schedule, for one thing, and Free Macrium won't do that.

If anyone has a 100% free backup software would you let me know please? I would so appreciate it. I do see plenty of Google searches on "Best alternatives" but I'd appreciate hearing from someone that is actually using one.

Sorry to forget the Snip of the system. I'll be back with that.
:)

Goldengirl52 · Jul 7, 2022

Here is System Information:

glasskuter · Jul 7, 2022

Most any free version of ANY software you use will nag you to buy their premium version. That's pretty much standard in the computing world.
There are others out there but the majority of users here use Macrium with quite a few of us liking it so much we repaid the folks at Macrium by buying their premium version. Maybe this thread will give you ideas for options.

Poll on Backup software

A poll to see which imaging programs people use. You can select up to three options (eg some people use more than one program or use a regular imaging program plus a cloud based one).

www.elevenforum.com

Goldengirl52 · Jul 7, 2022

the one thing I do not like is picking out a plan/schedule @glasskuter. I don't want to have it running all the time, and I want to just backup about once a month. I didn't see a plan on Macrium to do that, except the first where you maker your own schedule.

Could you suggest one of the plans that doesn't run every day? Because if I didn't see it, it doesn't mean it isn't there

Thanks for your reply btw, and I will look at your info you attached.

LeLibran · Jul 7, 2022

Everyone will have their own preference so my freeware suggestion: Personal-Backup

Been around for a long time and actively maintained; relatively straightforward to use, but with plenty of options for those that need them.

Josey Wales · Jul 7, 2022

You only have to buy Macrium Reflect once. The Support expires after one year but the Updates keep coming, It is quite worth it.

Bree · Jul 7, 2022

Goldengirl52 said:
I didn't see a plan on Macrium to do that, except the first where you maker your own schedule.

In Macrium I never use the Scheduler. Once I have set up a backup I make sure the the box to save a Backup Definition is ticked....

Then I can manually run the same backup whenever I want from the existing Backup Definition file, either as a Full or Differential backup.

Goldengirl52 · Jul 7, 2022

LeLibran said:
Everyone will have their own preference so my freeware suggestion: Personal-Backup

Been around for a long time and actively maintained; relatively straightforward to use, but with plenty of options for those that need them.

Yes, that's why it's hard to decide, but it's a place to start by trying them out. I like the Easy to find info on Personal Backup so I am trying it now :) Thank you much for the lead :)

Ghot · Jul 7, 2022

There is no other backup, there is only Zuul, er... Macrium.

glasskuter · Jul 7, 2022

By the way, if you are going to use a usb stick for a full system backup , you will need a large one. An external hard drive is a better option as it allows you space to retain more than one backup. A bare windows 11 install with no apps and no files is around 18 gb+your programs+your personal files. Backups after compression result in 60-70% the size of what you back up. Consider the size of your backups when choosing backup media.

Ghot · Jul 7, 2022

glasskuter said:
By the way, if you are going to use a usb stick for a full system backup , you will need a large one. An external hard drive is a better option as it allows you space to retain more than one backup. A bare windows 11 install with no apps and no files is around 18 gb+your programs+your personal files. Backups after compression result in 60-70% the size of what you back up. Consider the size of your backups when choosing backup media.

THIS.

And with most backup solutions, the backups are about 1/2 the size of the data on the C:\ drive.
(Or w/e drive you have Windows installed on)

glasskuter · Jul 7, 2022

Goldengirl52 said:
I want to just backup about once a month.

I backup manually once a week. I have no scheduled backup. While I'm cooking dinner or before I go to bed with 5 clicks of the mouse I will run a full backup which takes 14 minutes.

ChrisTech · Jul 7, 2022

Why not just create a bootable drive and backup to .ffu file format manually? Decent compression. Can backup to an external drive.

Bree · Jul 7, 2022

glasskuter said:
I backup manually once a week. I have no scheduled backup.

For me it's just once a month for a system image, to coincide with the Patch Tuesday updates. I have a little batch file I wrote to back up just my important user files, I run that twice a week.

glasskuter · Jul 7, 2022

Ghot said:
backups are about 1/2 the size of the data

Maybe it's the compression rate I have set but my data (81gb) ends up being a 48 gb image.

Mark Phelps · Jul 7, 2022

The PCs here that get used every day get MR image backups every week -- usually Saturday mornings. I don't have it scheduled; I just do them manually as it only takes a short time to set them up.

I agree that an external drive is a better option as it will have enough space to hold several backups -- as it is generally a good idea to have more than one available, if you need to restore a PC.

Ghot · Jul 7, 2022

glasskuter said:
Maybe it's the compression rate I have set but my data (81gb) ends up being a 48 gb image.

I just left mine on the default compression (medium). 38GB of data comes out to a 19GB backup.

Josey Wales · Jul 7, 2022

The size of mine is (11.9 GB (12,871,540,664 bytes) it took less than 3 minutes

fixer · Jul 7, 2022

Goldengirl52 said:
the one thing I do not like is picking out a plan/schedule

No need to. Once you have ticked the drives/partitions you want included you can skip Next completely and just hit Finish. Nothing could be easier.

Ghot · Jul 7, 2022

Goldengirl52 said:
the one thing I do not like is picking out a plan/schedule @glasskuter. I don't want to have it running all the time, and I want to just backup about once a month. I didn't see a plan on Macrium to do that, except the first where you maker your own schedule.

Could you suggest one of the plans that doesn't run every day? Because if I didn't see it, it doesn't mean it isn't there

Thanks for your reply btw, and I will look at your info you attached.

I agree. I don't like scheduled backups either.
I don't even want to make a backup, until I'm sure everything is clean and working properly.

It doesn't get much easier...

Macrium Software | Reflect Free Edition

Quickie Macrium picture guide...
Macrium Reflect and Bootable Rescue Media, pictures...

Macrium Reflect User Guide...
https://updates.macrium.com/reflect/v8/user_guide/macrium_reflect_v8.0_user_guide.pdf

Macrium Notes:
1. A full OS image backup will be approx. 1/2 the size of the total "used space" on the C:\ drive.
2. Backing up takes about 75 seconds (on my computer), for every 20GB of "used space" on the C:\ drive.

backup options other than Macrium?

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