Poll on Backup software

Bree · Sep 4, 2022

Edwin said:
Oh! I do have a backup! An old fashioned one!

RD Mercer · Sep 4, 2022

TraderGary said:
Done. I bought the 4-license version because one is for my wife, and she wanted a full version too! I'm not foolish enough to argue.

I have 4 PC's "probably more" in the house, I use

hdmi said:
Acronis True Image 2021 bootable ISO allows the target drive to be the same as the source drive, and, I can specify what folders I want to be excluded from image. When finished, I can boot back into Windows before I copy the image file onto the USB flash drive. With Ventoy, booting into the bootable ISO is child's play, and, storing some of my personal files (also including my image files) on the same USB flash drive is child's play. The image is reliable because Windows can't interfere with the process of image creation (why I only use the bootable ISO) and I make sure that the Verify image checkbox is enabled before the image creation is finished. The desktop app of Acronis True Image does not need to be installed for the bootable ISO to work. There also exists a Linux based version of this same bootable ISO.

As for using a cloud backup system. Personally, I, don't need or want that. It's just an image of my Windows system partition after all. All it does is just sit there waiting for me or Microsoft to jinx my Windows installation, and jinx it permanently. Which never actually happened to me anyway in the first place. lol The official Windows Installation ISO from Microsoft is on my USB flash drive too. I'll use that to do an in-place upgrade when I have to. I'll restore my image only if nothing else works, or seems to work. Maybe it's just luck, but in my case this has translated to NEVER. But I don't trust translators especially if they are from Microsoft. So, I keep the image just as a precaution. Because, I suppose that an SSD can still fail even if it's been carefully made by Samsung, and, you can never be too sure what the computer monkeys at Microsoft are up to next.

I know they're many others, but I've been using Acronis since 2009, it works for me and pretty simple to use, so this is why I stick with it.

hdmi · Sep 4, 2022

Bree said:
Thanks, but I think I'll stick with using just the MS functions - no 3rd party app needed.
Anyway, I don't fancy another re-write. I fixed its last known bug in 2016, just been a few tweaks since then....

Code:

REM MyBackup.bat Rev. 2.0.11 13 Nov 2017 – added exclude 'Appdata' option REM MyBackup.bat Rev. 2.0.12 01 Jun 2019 - changed net device name REM MyBackup.bat Rev. 2.0.13 22 Oct 2019 - cosmetic changes only

Of course it's not "needed". But for those who want things like error logging on a per file basis, special characters used in names of files/folders not getting mangled in the error log, verification based on hash codes, storing the hash codes to be able to reuse them later (i.e., as opposed to being forced to recalculate them which requires the files to be read an additional time resulting in wasted bandwidth on the storage controller and unnecessary load placed on the CPU), etc., it is well worth considering.

It also can offer speed improvements in a few specific scenarios where Robocopy with the /MT switch falls short. What's more, FastCopy doesn't flake out (IME anyway) when copying very large amounts of data. (Very large = much more than just a few TB.) Whereas Robocopy when it runs for a few hours it can develop some tendency to start hogging the system and becoming unreliable also as a result in those cases sometimes if using the /MT switch. FastCopy offers speed control options and other improvements to be able to avoid resource hogging. With Robocopy you might find that the only way to get where you want to be is to just stay away from the /MT switch and wait longer until finally one day you grow tired of waiting longer so then you decide to grab FastCopy. And never look back.

hdmi · Sep 4, 2022

RD Mercer said:
been using Acronis since 2009, it works

Same here, but I only ever use the bootable ISO like I said. It's the only way to be truly sure that the image will be reliable after the image verification step completed successfully.

glasskuter · Sep 4, 2022

Edwin said:
why waste eleventeen hundred GB backing up all this junk!!!

It has now been confirmed. @Edwin 's computer is as full of crap as he is!! :ROFLMAO:

Wynona · Sep 4, 2022

glasskuter said:
It has now been confirmed. @Edwin 's computer is as full of crap as he is!!

Edwin · Sep 4, 2022

glasskuter said:
It has now been confirmed. @Edwin 's computer is as full of crap as he is!!

Ummm..., yeah, pretty much!

SlicEnDicE · Sep 4, 2022

I use Macrium for system images, OneDrive, a NAS and external HDDs for other data.

Megahertz · Sep 4, 2022

Last year I bought Macrium Reflect 8 home (full version) for half the price as a limit offer for Black Friday. It comes with a free one year support.
The difference from the paid version is that you can do files and folders images that is convenient for me as I have D:\Users .

RD Mercer · Sep 4, 2022

hdmi said:
Same here, but I only ever use the bootable ISO.

That's what I use, works great!

Bree · Sep 4, 2022

Megahertz said:
The difference from the paid version is that you can do files and folders images that is convenient for me as I have D:\Users .

That's not a top priority Premium Feature for me. Rapid Delta Restore tops my list, with Incremental images a close second. However, I had used Free for two years before I bought mine and found that already met my needs.

cereberus · Sep 5, 2022

Edwin said:
Ummm..., yeah, pretty much!

Not so much full of crap, but reaching of brain storage steady state i.e. you have to forget one item to store a new item. Wouldn't it be great if you could do a brain cleanup?

Sixties Fan · Sep 5, 2022

I've used Macrium Reflect Home Edition for several years and it has got me out of trouble several times, so in my experience it's worth every penny. It can be a bit tricky to restore a backup from a NAS (I store automatic nightly backups on my Synology Diskstation and manual backups on a WD external hard drive). I found that I had to used a wired connection for a restore from the NAS and then experiment with the log-in credentials to be able to see the list of available backups. The only problem I have had was when I tried to deploy my daughter's damaged laptop to a new laptop of a different make, which made the new laptop unbootable. It took me a couple of days to find out how to reinstall Windows 11, the main problem being that it needed an ASUS driver on the USB flash drive I was using for the restore before the hard drive could be specified as the target device for Windows. So yes, as a backup, Macrium Relect is brilliant, but I wouldn't risk using the redeployment feature again, even though the first time I used it there were no problems (on that occasion, the laptop receiving the disc image was an identical machine to the source laptop).

hdmi · Sep 5, 2022

cereberus said:
Not so much full of crap, but reaching of brain storage steady state i.e. you have to forget one item to store a new item. Wouldn't it be great if you could do a brain cleanup?

I always wash my brain before I consume brain food.

Edwin · Sep 5, 2022

cereberus said:
Wouldn't it be great if you could do a brain cleanup?

BCleaner!

cereberus · Sep 5, 2022

Sixties Fan said:
I've used Macrium Reflect Home Edition for several years and it has got me out of trouble several times, so in my experience it's worth every penny. It can be a bit tricky to restore a backup from a NAS (I store automatic nightly backups on my Synology Diskstation and manual backups on a WD external hard drive). I found that I had to used a wired connection for a restore from the NAS and then experiment with the log-in credentials to be able to see the list of available backups. The only problem I have had was when I tried to deploy my daughter's damaged laptop to a new laptop of a different make, which made the new laptop unbootable. It took me a couple of days to find out how to reinstall Windows 11, the main problem being that it needed an ASUS driver on the USB flash drive I was using for the restore before the hard drive could be specified as the target device for Windows. So yes, as a backup, Macrium Relect is brilliant, but I wouldn't risk using the redeployment feature again, even though the first time I used it there were no problems (on that occasion, the laptop receiving the disc image was an identical machine to the source laptop).

It is a common issue with all packages if the new device has an nvme drive.

I create custom install wim of old device, and inject nvme drivers into boot.wim amd install.wim, and then create bootable usb drive with customised boot.wim and install.wim.

Works every time.

cereberus · Sep 5, 2022

Edwin said:
BCleaner!

Or customised version for you Ecleaner.

TraderGary · Sep 5, 2022

I've purchased the 4-license version. I want to install Macrium Reflect on my wife's computer. How do I do that? I can't find a download only for the paid version. Do I just download the FREE version and then update it with the License Key?

Badger · Sep 5, 2022

Downloading the Macrium Reflect Installer

Click this link to download and run the Macrium Reflect Download Manager

If you have purchased Macrium Reflect then Click 'Enter license key' and enter your license key to automatically download your purchased product.

Bree · Sep 5, 2022

TraderGary said:
Do I just download the FREE version and then update it with the License Key?

That works too. The only difference between Free and Home is the installed key. When I first bought mine I had been running Free for a year or so. I just changed the key and it unlocked the Premium features.