Best FREE Easy To use Backup & Recovery suggestions please.

This keeps landing in my inbox this week.

AOMEI Backupper have a 1 year free offer on - AOMEI Backupper New interface, Join Campaign to win cash

jimbo45 said:

Free -- easy even for die hard Windows users

Gparted (stand alone bootable iso) --- create a bootable usb via rufus etc.

GParted -- A free application for graphically managing disk device partitions

gparted.org

complete GUI full partition manager --GUI almost identical to typical Windows partition managers plus support for a lot more file systems. -- Copy, re-size, check and repair data etc etc. Plus for those who want to use it there's a built in terminal based on debian -- so you can use the dd command or other stuff if you are up to it.

It's 100% freeware. The only snag is that unlike commercial backup systems you don't get compression or differential / incremental facilities but the OP wanted a FREE easy to use system. I've used this for years and it's always worked 100%.

cheers
jimbo

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That's interesting - how does GParted make a system image? I have GParted within Parted Magic - is the standalone one different/more features?

I think a major issue is GParted doesn't offer anything but full backups, that would consume a lot of disk in sort order if you have a large quantity of data! The free Hasleo Backup Suite has those capabilities and is very easy to use.

This thread looks helpful re Hasleo

Hazel123 said:

This thread looks helpful re Hasleo

antspants - Tips for using Hasleo Backup (Free) for the first time

This Tutorial will help guide you with using Hasleo Backup (Free) for the first time. A step by step process for creating a Windows 11 system image which is a comprehensive backup of your entire computer, including the operating system, installed programs, system settings, and personal files...

www.elevenforum.com

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I loaded Hasleo and just followed my nose, piece of cake. It's patterned very similar to a lot of other backup utilities.

I would rather backup files and folders than my entire system (personal preference), so I ran a test using Acronis (limited WD only version) and Hasleo.

While both backup programs were able to backup the files/folders I needed, I went with Hasleo because it doesn't have a program running in my system tray all the time, so less overall used resources.

Either program will backup up your files/folders, so my recommendation is use whatever program you like.

For the record, I was also using Personal Backup and while it did have the same issue that Acronis WD did (constant program in system tray), it made perfect backups that I used several times.

pewa said:

@gwc28

I like your avatar. It reminds me of my Linux Ubuntu browser.

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Goes to look at gwc28's avatar - he doesn't have one! He has a default initial. What is your ubuntu browser?

Hazel123 said:

Goes to look at gwc28's avatar - he doesn't have one! He has a default initial. What is your ubuntu browser?

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It is not so much the letter but the color of the logo.
I don’t mean browser, I mean operating system.

Ubuntu is the Linux OS on my virtual machine.

Taliseian said:

I would rather backup files and folders than my entire system (personal preference), so I ran a test using Acronis (limited WD only version) and Hasleo.

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Users who want/need more flexibility keep their data on a separate drive from the OS. Then the backup of data vs entire system is not an issue. Data is backed on a frequency and method provides easy recovery, and a separate process is used for the OS. Maybe the same tools or different.

Quandary said:

Users who want/need more flexibility keep their data on a separate drive from the OS. Then the backup of data vs entire system is not an issue. Data is backed on a frequency and method provides easy recovery, and a separate process is used for the OS. Maybe the same tools or different.

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Honestly, for me I don't mind spending the time (and a cuppa or two) doing software installs and such. My file/folder backups are settings that I don't need to keep reinstalling (OBS Scenes, RTSS profiles, My Documents, etc.) because trying to reconfigure those would be nearly impossible.

Quandary said:

Users who want/need more flexibility keep their data on a separate drive from the OS. Then the backup of data vs entire system is not an issue. Data is backed on a frequency and method provides easy recovery, and a separate process is used for the OS. Maybe the same tools or different.

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To me, personally, adding more flexibility means choosing to avoid the kind of unnecessary restrictions that would otherwise force me to keep my data on a separate drive. A free and easy to use solution to this is the bootable Rescue Media of Acronis True Image. It's free to use if you own an eligible storage product from a brand that offers the free license. These brands include major ones like WD, Crucial, Sabrent, Kingston, ADATA, Acer, and Seagate. Oftentimes you'll find that the official product page of the storage product (like a SSD) contains a free download link if the product is eligible.

That said, the bootable Rescue Media of Acronis keeps working even after you completely uninstall the Acronis software from your PC. The icon in the taskbar's notification area will be gone, and all the various background services will be gone. And stays that way so, it adds zero bloat then. Even the system image backups themselves [that you can create with the bootable Rescue Media of Acronis] have zero bloat in them, as you can use its convenient and easy to use GUI to specify what files you want to be excluded from the image that you want to create.

Personally, I, don't need to make a system backup very often. So, the extra effort of having to boot into the bootable environment each time doesn't hold me back in any significant way. Much to the contrary, it saves the potential risk of needing to troubleshoot or worse. That's just because the bootable (WinRE/WinPE-based) environment is separate and isolated from Windows and various processes running on Windows that might otherwise interfere with the image creation process. It also is why I don't trust anything else for creating an image.

I also use FastCopy for copying personal files (also including the copying of image files) with its file hash code verification and per-file error logging abilities. So, FastCopy and the option to specify exclusions in Acronis are what I prefer to use to maximize on flexibility and ease of use without the need to sacrifice on reliability when it's not necessary to sacrifice on it. That plus the fact that there is no bloat, even in the slightest. And the speed is not half bad either. And it's free. And and and...

@hdmi interesting strategy. If I understand this correctly with the OS & data on the same drive
1. OS backup is performed with exclusion of data folders
2. Data is backup up with a separate process (FastCopy or whatever

This is good as everything has a backup and is recoverable.

If an OS recovery is required it is restored from the backup, but this process would leave leave the drive without the data. So the data would have to be separately restored from its backup.

All quite doable, but I want the flexibility to restore the OS at any hint of trouble without having mess with my data, and the added amount of time that would be required for that operation. Different stokes for different folks I guess.

One thing that I get minor amusement from is all the gnashing of teeth over "system bloat". I agree that there are some instances where that's excessive, but in the greater scheme of things, is it really that big a deal? I have quite a number of applications installed that have quite a few tasks running, I've made no big thing about trying to trim every last bit of "fat".

My processor usages bounces around from 1% to 4% if I just fire up Task Manager and let everything settle down. Yes, there's lots of background processes running (115), but so what? I'm using 19% of my memory and probably 2-3% of my CPU on average. Exactly how excited should I get about cutting a couple of percent off either processor or memory usage?

@gunrunnerjohn I agree with ^^. The obsession likely started in the good old DOS days when you knew what every file on the floppy was, and worked hard to optimize the limited amount of available space. And the culture propagated from there. Maybe it is going away now that upgrading to a 2TB SSD is a casual event.

Quandary said:

@hdmi interesting strategy. If I understand this correctly with the OS & data on the same drive
1. OS backup is performed with exclusion of data folders
2. Data is backup up with a separate process (FastCopy or whatever

This is good as everything has a backup and is recoverable.

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Some of the files that are excluded from the image don't need to be backed up, though. E.g., leftover junk files like temporary files, cache files that will be automatically rebuilt, page files, etc.. If you keep at least some of your personal files in a folder on your C: drive [instead of on your D: drive], for example, then you could always decide to exclude that folder from image.

Some applications might store data on the C: drive, and, even if it were always possible to relocate that data to a different drive, it's not always feasible. I selectively put my personal files on my D: drive, and I customize my system images by specifying some exclusions accordingly. Selectively = most of them but not all of them. It [the bootable Rescue Media of Acronis] doesn't force anyone to use the ability to specify exclusions, but I use the ability. (Extra flexibility gets added in this case by being allowed to choose between using the ability and not using it.)

Quandary said:

If an OS recovery is required it is restored from the backup, but this process would leave leave the drive without the data. So the data would have to be separately restored from its backup.

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FastCopy is a copy tool. Copying folders and files lets me access them directly without needing to restore or mount an image. All that's needed to gain immediate, full access is a working PC. The total size of those specific personal files that I keep on my C: drive is rather limited, as I still use my D: drive to store the bulk of personal files. If Windows gets so badly corrupted that restoring from image looks like it will probably be the way to go, after the restore I can copy the excluded data to my C: drive in next to no time with just a few mouseclicks.

Quandary said:

All quite doable, but I want the flexibility to restore the OS at any hint of trouble without having mess with my data, and the added amount of time that would be required for that operation. Different stokes for different folks I guess.

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I have no idea what you mean by "mess with my data". The whole idea behind having 1:1 copies of the data is to completely avoid the mess that might otherwise result from the dependency on the image plus the imaging software that is required to restore or mount the image. FastCopy uses "Diff (Size/date)" mode by default. When using this operation mode FastCopy treats each file in the source such a way that a copy is made if size or date is different or if it does not exist. It's pretty straightforward IMO. Also, there is no "added amount of time", at least not as far as I can see.

hdmi said:

I have no idea what you mean by "mess with my data". The whole idea behind having 1:1 copies of the data is to completely avoid the mess that might otherwise result from the dependency on the image plus the imaging software that is required to restore or mount the image. FastCopy uses "Diff (Size/date)" mode by default. When using this operation mode FastCopy treats each file in the source such a way that a copy is made if size or date is different or if it does not exist. It's pretty straightforward IMO. Also, there is no "added amount of time", at least not as far as I can see.

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Your post said that you "selectively put your personal files on the D:" drive, so we are in sync. My response to the original poster was addressing the situation of OS and data in the same partition.

This the configuration with my 1TB SSD that is logically partitioned into 120MB for the OS, and most of the rest for data (650MB used) in another logical drive.
- the OS has a full backup monthly, and weekly incremental backups
- the data has a full backup every 3 months, a weekly incremental backups
A restore of the OS takes 12-15 minutes (no messing with the data), and the system is ready to be used normally at the end. I have done a restore a few times every year. The restore process would take a LOT longer if the OS and data was in one partition.

I have never had to do a full data restore (except for new PC or SSD), but have done selective individual file restores.

I put all the stuff that is reasonable to relocate to my data drive there, but as stated, there are a few applications that you might miss. Truthfully, anything important as far as your data should be fairly easy to relocate. All my development source files for software, hardware design, and 3D design are easily stored on the data drive. Stuff like my email data base is also easily relocated.

Hasleo Pro just landed in my Inbox.