Poll on Backup software


Which imaging program do you use for backups?


  • Total voters
    421
I found a neat little Utility that works with a Ghost image....it's called Ghost Explorer and will run in Windows. It allows me to open up a Ghost image file, like you open up a ZIP file, so I can read, copy or even edit a file in the backup.
I've not used it much, but I keep it handy on my Main PC, for 'Just in case' I ever need it.

I also have "Ghost for Windows" which is just like Ghost 11.5 (DOS) but it can run in Windows.
I just don't like backing up Windows, from within Windows. That can be fraught with problems.

My Rescue Media is my Ghost boot disk!

TM :cool:
 

My Computer

...I just don't like backing up Windows, from within Windows. That can be fraught with problems.
No problems here, Microsoft's Volume Shadow copy Service (VSS) takes care of any potential problems. Virtually every system image software will use VSS when making images from within Windows.

I've been making system images from within Windows since 2014 (and restored them successfully). At first with 'Backup & Restore' on a Win7 PC, and continued to do so after its upgrade to Win10 in 2015. I only stopped using the MS system image backup in 2018 after MS broke it in the 32-bit version of Win10 1803. Then I switched to using Macrium Reflect Free.

I routinely image all of my PCs (8 at last count) once a month, all from within Windows. I have been doing so for more than 8 years (and done a restore for one or another of them at least 3 or 4 times a year). That's a lot of images I've made. Never once have I had any issues making their images from within Windows.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    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
    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, and 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2.

    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, 512GB 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.
  • 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. Also running Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a 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, 512GB 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.
True, Ghost 2003 did not speak NTFS, but Symantec bought it and upgraded it to work with NTFS drives, and after that they stopped updating the DOS versions with Ghost 11.5. In 2022 I still use the 11.5 DOS version. Finally Symantec abandoned it and they no longer sell or support it.
That was OK by me, because "Ghost 11.5" works on every OS I've ever owned, and the program is just SO Simple and easy to use, whether I'm backing up my C: drive or doing a full drive CLONE.
It boots up to DOS, from any bootable media (depends on your PC). I have it on CD's, Flash Drives, and even an SD Memory Card.
It just doesn't care, what OS is on the HD, or if there is no OS at all, just data....it will copy it.

While poking around on the internet one day, I found an ISO to a Ghost 11.5 boot disk. Just for grins, I downloaded that ISO and burned it to a CD and BEHOLD' it booted up my PC to Ghost 11.5 exactly like what I already have.

Yes, I've tried, Macrium, and at least a half dozen other so called Backup programs, over the years and I always found them wanting.
So, on the poll, I voted for "Other" and "Ghost 11.5" is my "Other".

To do a quick backup on just my data files, I wrote a Batch file, using XCOPY, to backup all my data to an external HD or FD.
It's a DOS batch file, but it runs very nicely in Windows.

TM :cool:
Oh jeeze, don't open this Ghost can of worms again. LOL
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MinisForum / UM790-Pro
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen™ 9 7940HS Processor, 8 Cores/16 Threads
    Motherboard
    MinisForum
    Memory
    32Gb DDR5 5600MHz SODIMM
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated AMD Radeon 780M
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 32" 4K
    Screen Resolution
    3840 X 2160
    Hard Drives
    1 Gb WD - Black SN850X PCIe Gen4 NVMe SSD
    1 Gb Kingston OMPGP41024Q-A0 Gen4 NVMe SSD
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
What the Bleep is going on here? I bought a 64GB USB C Drive. I just formatted it. The Macrium Media Creation told me it needed to be formatted again! So I put a check mark in the box to permit it. However, the tool went immediately to creating the drive and here is what I have.

View attachment 38556

How is that taking up half of a 64GB drive? And why is it now saying that I have a 2GB drive instead of a 64GB drive? Is that what Macrium does to a large drive when making a rescue drive?
Just format the USB drive with Ventoy so you probably never need to reformat it again. (Having to reformat also means that you lose all of the other data that you might have stored on it so, it very often makes perfect sense to want to avoid that, especially if it's 64GB or larger.) Ventoy lets you boot straight into a bootable ISO file. The FAT32 partition that is created by Ventoy is only 32MB (Megabytes) while the remaining space it can format as (a) separate partition(s) using NTFS/exFAT/etc. so all you have to do next is just copy the bootable ISO file, that you can create with Macrium Rescue Media Builder like so:

image2021-5-14_20-32-18.png


Finally, when you boot to the USB drive, Ventoy will let you pick the bootable ISO file from a list. So you could also decide to put multiple different bootable ISO files on the same drive and still be able to use the remaining free space to store other files/folders like normal. It really is that easy.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus TUF Gaming F16 (2024)
    CPU
    i7 13650HX
    Memory
    16GB DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Cooling
    2× Arc Flow Fans, 4× exhaust vents, 5× heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Internet Speed
    20Mbit/s up, 250Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
  • Operating System
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Medion S15450
    CPU
    i5 1135G7
    Memory
    16GB DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    2TB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Internet Speed
    20Mbit/s up, 250Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
Oh jeeze, don't open this Ghost can of worms again. LOL
Totally agree. This is like car enthusiasts who are convinced the volkswagon beetle was the best car on earth when really it was garbage.
 

My Computer

System One

  • 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)
For Macrium recovery I just create a 2GB FAT32 partition, so Macrium creates it there then leave the rest as NTFS for DATA, using MiniTool.


2022-09-07 08_45_10-MiniTool Partition Wizard Free 12.6.png

1662537709421.png
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Home & Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen™ 7 7730U
    Motherboard
    M1605YA
    Memory
    15.0GB Dual-Channel DDR4 @ 1596MHz (22-22-22-52)
    Graphics Card(s)
    512MB ATI AMD Radeon Graphics (ASUStek Computer Inc)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Generic PnP Monitor (1920x1200@60Hz) - P1 PLUS (1920x1080@59Hz)
    Screen Resolution
    1920 X 1200
    Hard Drives
    953GB Western Digital WD
    PSU
    45 Watts
    Mouse
    Lenovo Bluetooth.
    Internet Speed
    500 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ACER NITRO
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5800H / 3.2 GHz
    Motherboard
    CZ Scala_CAS (FP6)
    Memory
    32 GB DDR4 SDRAM 3200 MHz
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 6 GB GDDR6 SDRAM
    Sound Card
    Realtek Audio. NVIDIA High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6" LED backlight 1920 x 1080 (Full HD) 144 Hz
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080 (Full HD)
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 970 Evo Plus 2TB NVMe M.2
    PSU
    180 Watt, 19.5 V
    Mouse
    Lenovo Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    500 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
No problems here, Microsoft's Volume Shadow copy Service (VSS) takes care of any potential problems. Virtually every system image software will use VSS when making images from within Windows.

I've been making system images from within Windows since 2014 (and restored them successfully). At first with 'Backup & Restore' on a Win7 PC, and continued to do so after its upgrade to Win10 in 2015. I only stopped using the MS system image backup in 2018 after MS broke it in the 32-bit version of Win10 1803. Then I switched to using Macrium Reflect Free.

I routinely image all of my PCs (8 at last count) once a month, all from within Windows. I have been doing so for more than 8 years (and done a restore for one or another of them at least 3 or 4 times a year). That's a lot of images I've made. Never once have I had any issues making their images from within Windows.
Agreed, the VSS is very useful. I've never had an issue making system drive backups while the system is running. They always restore correctly too
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2 (RP channel)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    MSI
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D 8-core
    Motherboard
    MEG X870E Godlike
    Memory
    64GB Corsair Titanium 6000/CL30
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI Suprim X 3080 Ti
    Sound Card
    Soundblaster AE-5 Plus
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS TUF Gaming VG289Q
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 9100 Pro 4TB (gen 5 x4, system drive/games)
    Samsung 990 Pro 2TB
    Samsung 980 Pro 2TB
    Samsung 870 Evo 4TB
    Samsung T7 Touch 1TB
    PSU
    Seasonic PX-2200
    Case
    Bequiet! Dark Base Pro 901
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15S Chromax black
    Keyboard
    Logitech G915 X (wired)
    Mouse
    Logitech G903 with PowerPlay charger
    Internet Speed
    900Mb/sec
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Agreed, the VSS is very useful. I've never had an issue making system drive backups while the system is running. They always restore correctly too
I have watched it fail a couple of times in the past. Most people typically won't, but that still doesn't make it 100% reliable of course, and, a backup isn't reliable until you have verified that it is reliable, as a matter of fact they always restore correctly until they don't.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus TUF Gaming F16 (2024)
    CPU
    i7 13650HX
    Memory
    16GB DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Cooling
    2× Arc Flow Fans, 4× exhaust vents, 5× heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Internet Speed
    20Mbit/s up, 250Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
  • Operating System
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Medion S15450
    CPU
    i5 1135G7
    Memory
    16GB DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    2TB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Internet Speed
    20Mbit/s up, 250Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
a backup isn't reliable until you have verified that it is reliable, as a matter of fact they always restore correctly until they don't.
Yes, very true. A common failing of the MS built-in system imaging was that, just when you needed it the most, it would refuse to recognise a backup image as available to restore. No error or anything, Restore just would not list it as even being there!

Macrium has a verify option that reads the image, calculates a hash sum, and compares it with the hash sum calculated during the backup and stored in the image file. Of course a full restore is the concrete proof, and I must have done getting on for three figures by now, all successful.

If you want to test a Macrium image without restoring it, an alternative is to use Macrium's viBoot (included in Free) to boot the image as a Hyper-V or VirtualBox virtual machine, something I do frequently when I need to quickly run up an old image, but can't be bothered to restore it to a physical machine.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    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
    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, and 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2.

    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, 512GB 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.
  • 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. Also running Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a 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, 512GB 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.
A problem that I'm sure I've had in years past was removing portable media before it was done writing. Of course, this guarantees file corruption.

In years since I've always clicked on the Tray Icon "Safely Remove Hardware and Eject Media" and waited for the SAFE message. I've not had a problem since instituting that procedure.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 16 9640
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 9 185H
    Memory
    32GB LPDDR5x 7467 MT/s
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 8GB GDDR6
    Monitor(s) Displays
    16.3 inch 4K+ OLED Infinity Edge Touch
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2400
    Hard Drives
    1 Terabyte M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
    Cooling
    Vapor Chamber Cooling
    Mouse
    None
    Internet Speed
    960 Mbps Netgear Mesh + 2 Satellites
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge (Chromium)
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Security (Defender)
    Other Info
    Microsoft 365 subscription
    Microsoft OneDrive 1TB Cloud
    Microsoft Visual Studio
    Microsoft Visual Studio Code
    Microsoft Sysinternals Suite
    Microsoft BitLocker
    Microsoft Copilot
    Macrium Reflect X subscription
    Dell Support Assist
    Dell Command | Update
    1Password Password Manager
    Amazon Kindle for PC
    Lightroom/Photoshop subscription
    Interactive Brokers Trader Workstation
Yes, very true. A common failing of the MS built-in system imaging was that, just when you needed it the most, it would refuse to recognise a backup image as available to restore. No error or anything, Restore just would not list it as even being there!

Macrium has a verify option that reads the image, calculates a hash sum, and compares it with the hash sum calculated during the backup and stored in the image file. Of course a full restore is the concrete proof, and I must have done getting on for three figures by now, all successful.

If you want to test a Macrium image without restoring it, an alternative is to use Macrium's viBoot (included in Free) to boot the image as a Hyper-V or VirtualBox virtual machine, something I do frequently when I need to quickly run up an old image, but can't be bothered to restore it to a physical machine.
With viBoot after it boots successfully you still don't know for sure, you could decide to run additional tests to see if it continues to run without problems, but there can be no guarantees, as everything depends on whether the VSS didn't mangle anything inside the original snapshot. But if you shut down Windows before you boot into the bootable ISO of Acronis with Ventoy to create your image, then if you check the Verify checkbox before the image creation process completes, it performs a bitwise comparison in such a way that the only difference between the verification process and a full restore will be that data is not actually written to the source. The potential risk of a read error going twice undetected is pretty slim compared to overlooking a problem after you boot the image as a Hyper-V or VirtualBox VM. (Even, if you have the technical skill required to look for problems and you also remember to look carefully enough.) Choosing to use the bootable ISO of Acronis gives me peace of mind. With an NVMe SSD it doesn't take long before I can boot back into Windows. Having to move files around to free up enough space and/or having to resize partitions because else Macrium Reflect can't fit the image file on the internal SSD not only takes longer, it also makes my brain hurt─for several many hours.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus TUF Gaming F16 (2024)
    CPU
    i7 13650HX
    Memory
    16GB DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Cooling
    2× Arc Flow Fans, 4× exhaust vents, 5× heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Internet Speed
    20Mbit/s up, 250Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
  • Operating System
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Medion S15450
    CPU
    i5 1135G7
    Memory
    16GB DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    2TB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Internet Speed
    20Mbit/s up, 250Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
I use Active Boot Disk

LINK

Screenshot_20220907-145646_cropped.png
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    WiN11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom 775 System
    CPU
    Xeon E5450 3.0GHZ (OC 3.6GHZ)
    Motherboard
    ASUS PQ5-EM
    Memory
    8GB (2GBX4)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Quadro K2200 4GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    1TB|750GB USB, 3 SSDs 2 240GB 1 128GB, 750GB HDD
    PSU
    650WATT Rosewill
    Case
    Rosewill with side Window
    Cooling
    5 Fans and a big HSK for cpu
    Keyboard
    Rosewill RGB
    Mouse
    Rosewill RGB
    Internet Speed
    AT&T 150MB DL\UP
    Browser
    FireFox
    Antivirus
    None
    Other Info
    I'm lucky to even be here after 6yrs from my car accident
  • Operating System
    WiN10 LTSC
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Hp 8460p
    CPU
    i7 2670QM 2.20GHZ
    Motherboard
    Hp 161C
    Memory
    8GB (2X4GB) DUAL Channel
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 3000
    Sound Card
    Intel high Def (basically onboard)
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    OS 128GB l Storage (caddy) 320GB
    PSU
    AC (IDK the watts)
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    A USB 3.0 in the Express Card Slot

My Computer

System One

  • 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)
What has that got to do with thread topic which is about backups, not repairs?
You can create a image backup to any drive. At least that's what I have. I've extract the image and no viruses found LINK

Create with Rufus
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    WiN11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom 775 System
    CPU
    Xeon E5450 3.0GHZ (OC 3.6GHZ)
    Motherboard
    ASUS PQ5-EM
    Memory
    8GB (2GBX4)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA Quadro K2200 4GB
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    1TB|750GB USB, 3 SSDs 2 240GB 1 128GB, 750GB HDD
    PSU
    650WATT Rosewill
    Case
    Rosewill with side Window
    Cooling
    5 Fans and a big HSK for cpu
    Keyboard
    Rosewill RGB
    Mouse
    Rosewill RGB
    Internet Speed
    AT&T 150MB DL\UP
    Browser
    FireFox
    Antivirus
    None
    Other Info
    I'm lucky to even be here after 6yrs from my car accident
  • Operating System
    WiN10 LTSC
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Hp 8460p
    CPU
    i7 2670QM 2.20GHZ
    Motherboard
    Hp 161C
    Memory
    8GB (2X4GB) DUAL Channel
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 3000
    Sound Card
    Intel high Def (basically onboard)
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    OS 128GB l Storage (caddy) 320GB
    PSU
    AC (IDK the watts)
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    A USB 3.0 in the Express Card Slot
Just one question:
So you regularly do backups with a program located on your hard drive that only runs from within Windows.
Then, Horror of Horrors, lightning strikes your house and blows your PC to smithereens! It's just a smoldering mass.

I was once called to look at an old IBM PC, that had gone through a fire, at an insurance Co. office, where the monitor was melted down over the desktop case.
(Remember those flat cases, with the monitor sitting on top?)
I had to remove that monitor from that case with a hammer and chisel. When I finally got down to the hard drive, is was black from smoke.
I cleaned up the controller board and got that old drive running again. I copied all the data files off onto Floppy Disks. When I presented those data disks to the office manager, she cried. I set up a backup routine for them, where daily backups were taken off-site every night.

So how are you going to Restore your backup, since the backup/restore program just went up in smoke?
Hopefully, the backup image file was not on that smoldering mess.

As I've set up literally hundreds of backup systems for home PC's, business PC's and even one for a bank, I insist on just a few basics.
The Backup and Restore program must not be on the PC being backed up. It should only be on some removable media, capable of booting up the PC and running the Backup/Restore program.
Then the Backup Image file must not be stored on the same PC, but should be on Removable Media, that's even taken Off Premises, or put in a fireproof vault. Sequential backups should be put on different media, and then the media can be rotated, like every week.
We did that when I was a Mainframe operator for the county.

But I also believe that "a man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still" (author unknown)
So, y'all just keep on doing what you're doing, and I'll do likewise, and maybe some day we can meet and compare notes on how that turned out.

So long, Mates!
TM :cool:
 
Last edited:

My Computer

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 22631.2861
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy TE01-1xxx
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-10700 CPU @ 2.90GHz 2.90 GHz
    Motherboard
    16.0GB Dual-Channel Unknown @ 1463MHz (21-21-21-47)
    Memory
    16384 MBytes
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Monitor 1 - Acer 27" Monitor 2 - Acer 27"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    WDC PC SN530 SDBPNPZ-512G-1006 (SSD)
    Seagate ST1000DM003-1SB102
    Seagate BUP Slim SCSI Disk Device (SSD)
    PSU
    HP
    Case
    HP
    Cooling
    Standard
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave K350
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Internet Speed
    500 mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's all Folks!
  • Operating System
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 (10th gen) 10700
    Motherboard
    Intel
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel UHD Graphics 630
    Sound Card
    Built-in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer 27" & Samsung 24"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x
    Hard Drives
    SSD (512 GB)
    HDD (1 TB)
    Seagate
    PSU
    Intel i7 10th Generation
    Case
    HP
    Cooling
    HP/Intel?
    Mouse
    Logitech M705
    Keyboard
    Logitech Wave K350
    Internet Speed
    50 mbps
    Browser
    Firefox 90.2
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    Headphone/Microphone Combo
    SuperSpeed USB Type-A (4 on front)
    HP 3-in-One Card Readr
    SuperSpeed USB Type-C
    DVD Writer
Here's what I currently do...

I don't have business data, just my own personal data and photos, currently totaling less than 300 GB.

I subscribe to Microsoft 365 which includes 1 Terabyte of cloud OneDrive storage.

I now do backups 3 separate ways and the odds that all 3 would fail at the same time I believe to be infinitesimally small.

1. I keep all my data and photos in my OneDrive folder and have a constant real-time data mirror to cloud OneDrive.
2. I do a local Microsoft File History data backup, rotated between two 2TB Portable Samsung T7 SSDs.
3. I do Macrium Reflect complete image backups.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 16 9640
    CPU
    Intel Core Ultra 9 185H
    Memory
    32GB LPDDR5x 7467 MT/s
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 8GB GDDR6
    Monitor(s) Displays
    16.3 inch 4K+ OLED Infinity Edge Touch
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2400
    Hard Drives
    1 Terabyte M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD
    Cooling
    Vapor Chamber Cooling
    Mouse
    None
    Internet Speed
    960 Mbps Netgear Mesh + 2 Satellites
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge (Chromium)
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Windows Security (Defender)
    Other Info
    Microsoft 365 subscription
    Microsoft OneDrive 1TB Cloud
    Microsoft Visual Studio
    Microsoft Visual Studio Code
    Microsoft Sysinternals Suite
    Microsoft BitLocker
    Microsoft Copilot
    Macrium Reflect X subscription
    Dell Support Assist
    Dell Command | Update
    1Password Password Manager
    Amazon Kindle for PC
    Lightroom/Photoshop subscription
    Interactive Brokers Trader Workstation
The Backup and Restore program must not be on the PC being backed up. It should only be on some removable media, capable of booting up the PC and running the Backup/Restore program.
What is wrong with having both? Have the backup program on the PC and on a separate bootable media such as a usb?

That is what Macrium Reflect and others like it offer. Convenient backups (scheduled, even) without having to reboot the machine to do one, and a way to restore to a PC that can no longer boot its own OS. Reflect is identical in use when running in Windows or booted from its rescue media.
the Backup Image file must not be stored on the same PC, but should be on Removable Media.....
That one is an absolute essential, done from a running Windows it could easily be to a network drive too.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    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
    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, and 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2.

    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, 512GB 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.
  • 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. Also running Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a 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, 512GB 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.
Just one question:
So you regularly do backups with a program located on your hard drive that only runs from within Windows.
FastCopy is on my SSD and only runs from within Windows, but it's also on FastCopy and it doesn't create a dependency because it's just a copy tool like Robocopy and the like. As for images of my Windows System partition, they are just files so can also be copied like files (i.e. copied multiple times onto multiple different external media that are possible to be kept in a vault and/or be moved off site) and/or be uploaded to multiple different cloud storage providers. Of course I require the bootable ISO of Acronis to be able to restore my images. But this bootable ISO is just a file so can also be copied (or redownloaded from the Acronis website if necessary). The same also applies to Ventoy, the installer is just a downloaded file (and free) that only requires a working Windows computer to be able to format a USB drive with it. Or if I can't find a working Windows computer anywhere in Belgium, then I'll come to visit you in Florida. If there's no hurricanes.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus TUF Gaming F16 (2024)
    CPU
    i7 13650HX
    Memory
    16GB DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce RTX 4060 Mobile
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    512GB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Cooling
    2× Arc Flow Fans, 4× exhaust vents, 5× heatpipes
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Internet Speed
    20Mbit/s up, 250Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
  • Operating System
    11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Medion S15450
    CPU
    i5 1135G7
    Memory
    16GB DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe
    Sound Card
    Eastern Electric MiniMax DAC Supreme; Emotiva UMC-200; Astell & Kern AK240
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Sony Bravia XR-55X90J
    Screen Resolution
    3840×2160
    Hard Drives
    2TB SSD internal
    37TB external
    PSU
    Li-ion
    Mouse
    Logitech G402
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800
    Internet Speed
    20Mbit/s up, 250Mbit/s down
    Browser
    FF
Just one question:
So you regularly do backups with a program located on your hard drive that only runs from within Windows.
Then, Horror of Horrors, lightning strikes your house and blows your PC to smithereens! It's just a smoldering mass.

I was once called to look at an old IBM PC, that had gone through a fire, at an insurance Co. office, where the monitor was melted down over the desktop case.
(Remember those flat cases, with the monitor sitting on top?)
I had to remove that monitor from that case with a hammer and chisel. When I finally got down to the hard drive, is was black from smoke.
I cleaned up the controller board and got that old drive running again. I copied all the data files off onto Floppy Disks. When I presented those data disks to the office manager, she cried. I set up a backup routine for them, where daily backups were taken off-site every night.

So how are you going to Restore your backup, since the backup/restore program just went up in smoke?
Hopefully, the backup image file was not on that smoldering mess.

As I've set up literally hundreds of backup systems for home PC's, business PC's and even one for a bank, I insist on just a few basics.
The Backup and Restore program must not be on the PC being backed up. It should only be on some removable media, capable of booting up the PC and running the Backup/Restore program.
Then the Backup Image file must not be stored on the same PC, but should be on Removable Media, that's even taken Off Premises, or put in a fireproof vault. Sequential backups should be put on different media, and then the media can be rotated, like every week.
We did that when I was a Mainframe operator for the county.

But I also believe that "a man convinced against his will, is of the same opinion still" (author unknown)
So, y'all just keep on doing what you're doing, and I'll do likewise, and maybe some day we can meet and compare notes on how that turned out.

So long, Mates!
TM :cool:
For crying out loud, don't be so patronisingly "I am the technical god - avoid my advice at your peril".

Firstly, most modern image tool software can be run in windows, but we all know you should also have a usb backup in case of disasters (fire, theft, flood etc.).

I make frequent backups to a second internal drive as it is fast and convenient BUT periodically (say once a month), also backup to an external drive, pragmatically accepting I may have to do some updates again.

All critical data is backed up to onedrive.

So I protect against nightmare scenario of laptop getting stolen or fried but the chances of that are very low so I do not mind that the off-pc backup is slightly out of date (my apps do not change much, so it is only a matter of doing updates).

So stop pretending you are the techno-god of backups There are a lot of us on these forums who probably know a lot more than you pretend.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • 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)

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