Solved Macrium Reflect incremental file backup chains


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fixer

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Been using MR for system imaging for years but only just started with file backups. Looks promising but I'm wondering whether losing one file in an incremental chain would invalidate the whole backup? At risk of losing this month's chain I could test this of course but hoping to avoid having to do that.
 

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  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Proi716Gb
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lafite 14
    CPU
    i7
    Memory
    16Gb
    Internet Speed
    150Mbps/39Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender

  • At a glance

    Win 11 Proi58Gb
    Operating System
    Win 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    PC Specialist
    CPU
    i5
    Memory
    8Gb
    Internet Speed
    150Mbps/39Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    Incompatible Win 10 Pro PC upgraded to Win 11 Pro
fixer said:
Been using MR for system imaging for years but only just started with file backups. Looks promising but I'm wondering whether losing one file in an incremental chain would invalidate the whole backup? At risk of losing this month's chain I could test this of course but hoping to avoid having to do that.
Click to expand...
It makes no difference whether it's a system image backup or a files and folders backup. To restore an incremental set you need the full and every incremental since the full up to the incremental for the date you wish to restore to.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two Other systems

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 HomeAMD Athlon Silver 3050U8GBRadeon Graphics
    OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
    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 (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
    Internet Speed
    150 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 2021 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, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.

    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to mechanical deterioration this PC has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven in 'Other systems' to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProIntel® Core™ i5-520M8GB(integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude 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.
    In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media.
    Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package.

    Also running Insider Dev, and Canary builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.
  • My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.
Thanks Bree. If you have opted for a monthly full with daily incrementals presumably the full will only have the last version of each individual file?
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Proi716Gb
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lafite 14
    CPU
    i7
    Memory
    16Gb
    Internet Speed
    150Mbps/39Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender

  • At a glance

    Win 11 Proi58Gb
    Operating System
    Win 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    PC Specialist
    CPU
    i5
    Memory
    8Gb
    Internet Speed
    150Mbps/39Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    Incompatible Win 10 Pro PC upgraded to Win 11 Pro
If you had 6 incrementals and incremental 4 was deleted or corrupted, incrementals 1 to 3 would still work, but incrementals 5 and 6 would no longer be of use as they have become "detached".
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ16 GB solderedIntegrated Intel Iris XE
OS
Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.
Computer type
Laptop
Manufacturer/Model
ASUS Zenbook 14
CPU
I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ
Motherboard
Yep, Laptop has one.
Memory
16 GB soldered
Graphics Card(s)
Integrated Intel Iris XE
Sound Card
Realtek built in
Monitor(s) Displays
laptop OLED screen
Screen Resolution
2880x1800 touchscreen
Hard Drives
1 TB NVME SSD (only weakness is only one slot)
PSU
Internal + 65W thunderbolt USB4 charger
Case
Yep, got one
Cooling
Stella Artois (UK pint cans - 568 ml) - extra cost.
Keyboard
Built in UK keybd
Mouse
Bluetooth , wireless dongled, wired
Internet Speed
900 mbs (ethernet), wifi 6 typical 350-450 mb/s both up and down
Browser
Edge
Antivirus
Defender
Other Info
TPM 2.0, 2xUSB4 thunderbolt, 1xUsb3 (usb a), 1xUsb-c, hdmi out, 3.5 mm audio out/in combo, ASUS backlit trackpad (inc. switchable number pad)

Macrium Reflect Home V8
Office 365 Family (6 users each 1TB onedrive space)
Hyper-V (a vm runs almost as fast as my older laptop)
fixer said:
Thanks Bree. If you have opted for a monthly full with daily incrementals presumably the full will only have the last version of each individual file?
Click to expand...
The Full will contain complete copies of all the files and folders you have chosen to back up. There will be one copy of each file as it stood at the time you made the Full backup. Each Incremental will contain just the changes made to any of those files since the previous backup. The first incremental holds the changes since the full, the next any changes since the previous incremental, and so on.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two Other systems

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 HomeAMD Athlon Silver 3050U8GBRadeon Graphics
    OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
    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 (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
    Internet Speed
    150 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 2021 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, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.

    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to mechanical deterioration this PC has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven in 'Other systems' to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProIntel® Core™ i5-520M8GB(integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude 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.
    In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media.
    Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package.

    Also running Insider Dev, and Canary builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.
  • My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.
Thanks guys, all makes perfect sense. I asked because I also use BT Cloud which keeps the last six versions of every file in each of the folders you have opted to include in its backups. While I've never considered it very sensible to use backup systems or email accounts provided by your ISP I'm going to make an exception of BT for that reason. Anyway, I just wanted to be certain my backup strategy of having two sets of file backups, one local, MR, and one cloud based, BT, were both actually doing exactly what I want. I also use WinRAR backup profiles on demand and have local monthly backups going back to 1996 - OTT or what? :eek1:
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Proi716Gb
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lafite 14
    CPU
    i7
    Memory
    16Gb
    Internet Speed
    150Mbps/39Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender

  • At a glance

    Win 11 Proi58Gb
    Operating System
    Win 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    PC Specialist
    CPU
    i5
    Memory
    8Gb
    Internet Speed
    150Mbps/39Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    Incompatible Win 10 Pro PC upgraded to Win 11 Pro
fixer said:
I also use WinRAR backup profiles on demand and have local monthly backups going back to 1996 - OTT or what? :eek1:
Click to expand...
In my experience you can never have enough backups. Besides my Macrium images I use two other independent backup methods for my critical user files. My oldest backup only goes back as far as 2014 though ;)
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two Other systems

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 HomeAMD Athlon Silver 3050U8GBRadeon Graphics
    OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
    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 (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
    Internet Speed
    150 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 2021 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, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.

    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to mechanical deterioration this PC has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven in 'Other systems' to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 ProIntel® Core™ i5-520M8GB(integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude 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.
    In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media.
    Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package.

    Also running Insider Dev, and Canary builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.
  • My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.
I'm a retired LAN/WAN Network and Hardware Help Desk Manager. When we first started installing LAN's and (Novell) servers at our field offices we started server backups with a full backup on Monday night and incrementals Tuesday through Friday. That turned into a fiasco if a restore was needed and not done properly. Additionally a full backup restore took less time so we switched to only doing full backups each night.

I do Macrium full backups only and alternate between backup drives. I keep the current and previous backup on each drive. Whether that all is needed ???? I guess carryover from my network days.
 

My Computers My Computers

System One System Two

  • At a glance

    Windows 11 Proi7 1360P16GBIntel CPU
    OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 16 5630
    CPU
    i7 1360P
    Motherboard
    Dell
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel CPU
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    16" Touch Screen
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1080
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung NVME SSD
    PSU
    65 Watt Dell
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Dell
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Mouse
    Trackpad
    Internet Speed
    Google Fiber
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender and Malwarebytes
    Other Info
    Cakewalk by Bandlab and Presonus Studio One 4.6 Pro recording programs. MOTU recording interface
  • Computer type
    Laptop
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