Will File History restore on a W11 machine what was backed up on a W10 machine?


I now use Aomei , it work and it's easy to use
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home(Beta) - 23H2 - 22635.3350
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Banana Junior 5600- G Series
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Strix B550-F
    Memory
    G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 64GB 4x16
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN X
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viotek 32", 28" ASUS VP28U
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    Primary SAMSUNG 970 EVO Plus
    PSU
    EVGA BQ 700w 80+ Bronze
    Case
    Zalman i3 NEO
    Cooling
    ARCTIC Freezer 7 X
    Keyboard
    Corsair
    Mouse
    Amazon Generic with Cord
    Internet Speed
    Download: 295.11 mbps Upload: 65.35 mbps T-Mobile Internet
    Browser
    Firefox and Edge
    Antivirus
    MS - Defender
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch ProMedia 2.1
As to 'Backup and Restore (Windows 7)' it is disconcerting to hear that it can fail restore to bare metal....
The biggest failing of a 'Backup and Restore (Windows 7)' system image is that, for no apparent reason, it can suddenly fail to recognise a perfectly sound backup image as being able to be restored. Microsoft themselves deprecated it four years ago and recommend you use something (anything) else.

Microsoft said:
System Image Backup (SIB) Solution
We recommend that users use full-disk backup solutions from other vendors.
Features removed or Deprecated in Windows 10 Fall Creators Update
 

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
    50 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 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.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Lattitude 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.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
Microsoft themselves deprecated it four years ago
Ouch, that hurts. Backup and Restore (Windows 7) is still part of the Windows 10 OS and I did not suspect at all that it was deprecated 4 years ago. I feel like an idiot, I have spent many hours in those 4 years maintaining the backups.

After recovery (pun intended) I think that I don't need a disk clone. The few times that I did it, I have voluntarily rebuilt my workhorse from scratch as my first and cleanest choice. What I obviously still need is file backup. I have File History, but having another file backup software may be a good idea. I don't like installing third party software on my workhorse, so ...

... is there file backup software that can be installed on a USB stick or on the external backup medium itself?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro
Majority of them can be. Macrium for sure, and I'm pretty positive the other big players like Aomei and others can as well.

I know for a fact CloneZilla can as I use it exclusively off USB.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 Current build
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HomeBrew
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
    Motherboard
    MSI MEG X570 GODLIKE
    Memory
    4 * 32 GB - Corsair Vengeance 3600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti XC3 ULTRA GAMING (12G-P5-3955-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC1220 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Eve Spectrum ES07D03 4K Gaming Monitor (Matte) | Eve Spectrum ES07DC9 4K Gaming Monitor (Glossy)
    Screen Resolution
    3x 3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    3x Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCIe 4 M.2 2 TB SSD (MZ-V8P2T0B/AM) } 3x Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 1 TB SSD (USB)
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling’s Silencer Series 1050 Watt, 80 Plus Platinum
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 XL Dark ATX Full Tower Case
    Cooling
    NZXT KRAKEN Z73 73.11 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (3x 120 mm push top) + Air 3x 140mm case fans (pull front) + 1x 120 mm (push back) and 1 x 120 mm (pull bottom)
    Keyboard
    SteelSeries Apex Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S | MX Master 3 for Business
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
    Browser
    Nightly (default) + Firefox (stable), Chrome, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender + MB 5 Beta
  • Operating System
    ChromeOS Flex Dev Channel (current)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E5470
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6300U CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2501 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    Dell
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520 + RealTek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell laptop display 15"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 * 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 128GB M.2 22300 drive
    INTEL Cherryville 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SATA III SSD
    PSU
    Dell
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S (shared w. Sys 1) | Dell TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
For me when I'm just saving folders to a remote drive I use "TeraCopy". Its a drag and drop app that speeds up your transfer and secures and checks your files in transport. My recommendation. I would be surprised if those in the no haven't hired of or used it. I've been using it for a long time.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 22H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build By Me...
    CPU
    Intel 12th Gen Intel Core i5-12600KF, 3686 MHz
    Motherboard
    GIGABYTE Z790 AORUS ELITE AX LGA 1700 Intel Z790 ATX
    Memory
    CORSAIR Vengeance 32GB (2 x 16GB) 288-Pin PC RAM DDR5 6400 (PC5 51200) Dual-Channel
    Graphics Card(s)
    GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4060, 3x Fans, 8GB GDDR6
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung 32" 60Hz 4ms Curved PLS LED
    Screen Resolution
    1920 X 1080
    Hard Drives
    WD Blue NVME M.2 1T Boot Drive
    WD Blue SSD 1T
    WD Blue NVME M.2 2T
    PSU
    EVGA SuperNOVA 850 GT, 80 Plus Gold 850W, Fully Modular,
    Case
    Fractal Design Pop XL Air RGB Black TG ATX High-Airflow Clear Tempered Glass Window Full Tower
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black, Dual-Tower CPU Cooler with Dual NF-A15 PWM 140mm Fans (Black)
    Keyboard
    Devistator 3
    Mouse
    zelotes
    Internet Speed
    Fiber Optic: Download 332.7 Mbps / Upload 331.5 Mbps
    Browser
    Vivaldi (64bit)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
  • Operating System
    Window 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    DELL Inspiron N7110
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i3-2310M CPU @ 2.10GHz
    Motherboard
    Dell Inc. 0YH79Y
    Memory
    4 GB DDR3
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 3000
    Sound Card
    High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3 Inch Display
    Screen Resolution
    1600 X 900
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 860 EVO 500GB
    Internet Speed
    Fiber Optic: Download 332.7 Mbps / Upload 331.5 Mbps
    Browser
    Vivaldi 64 bit
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
Ouch, that hurts. Backup and Restore (Windows 7) is still part of the Windows 10 OS and I did not suspect at all that it was deprecated 4 years ago. I feel like an idiot, I have spent many hours in those 4 years maintaining the backups.

There are two quite separate functions in Backup & Restore, the System Image which can restore a replica of your working system in the event of a drive failure, and a files backup. It is the system imaging that was deprecated.

Even when it works the system imaging is awkward to use with little or no user options. There is no easy way to restore individual files from a Microsoft system image, it's all or nothing. As long as it can recognise a system image the restore is reliable though. I used it for years before switching to Macrium Reflect Free.

The files backup is more reliable, but has the disadvantage that (being designed in the days of floppy disks) saves the files to a series of linked .zip files with a master catalogue. There is no way to manually extract files, you need a working PC with Backup & Restore installed.

What I obviously still need is file backup. I have File History, but having another file backup software may be a good idea. I don't like installing third party software on my workhorse, so ...

... is there file backup software that can be installed on a USB stick or on the external backup medium itself?

One of the many advantages of Macrium (and most other 3rd-party system imaging) is that a Macrium image can be mounted as a virtual drive. You can then explore it with File Explorer to retrieve any file(s) you may need to restore. As such, a system image made with Macrium Reflect Free can be all you need. If you want a selective files and folders backup, then that is in the paid-for version.

You can never have enough backups, so in addition to my Macrium images I have also written a batch file to backup my important folders using the Microsoft command line utility RoboCopy. I also have File History turned on.

If you want a ready made files and folders backup, then I have seen others recommend Karen's Replicator. I've not needed to try it myself as I have my own solution, but it does get recommended frequently.

 

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
    50 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 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.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Lattitude 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.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
Thanks for the pointers, guys! Here is what I found so far:

Macrium Reflect
Installation on a USB stick requires a Technician License for $799 + $599/year :scream:

Aomei Backupper
Installation on a USB stick requires a Technician Plus license for $699 without upgrades or $899 with lifetime upgrades :scream:

Clonezilla Live
free and open source software installable on a USB stick :)​
for disk imaging and cloning, will likely work for BitLocker that I use :)​
not for file/folder backup although there is a cumbersome workaround which may not work for BitLocker :(

TeraCopy
exact functionality that I need for weekly file/folder backups for a reasonable $24.95 :)​
not installable on a USB stick :(

Karen's Replicator
exact functionality that I need for weekly file/folder backups for $0.00 :) :)​
not installable on a USB stick :(

TeraCopy and Karen's Replicator have similar functionalities, I like the file verification feature of the former, but things like that is of course implementation dependent. Comparison: File History can also be used for weekly 'runs' on a separate backup drive(s)

Keep the discussion going!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro
Macrium Reflect
Installation on a USB stick requires a Technician License for $799 + $599/year :scream:
Aomei Backupper
Installation on a USB stick requires a Technician Plus license for $699 without upgrades or $899 with lifetime upgrades :scream:

Macrium Reflect Free when installed on a PC can make a bootable recovery USB. When booted from this recovery USB all functions of Reflect Free are available, backup to an image as well as restoring from one. I frequently use this to image my PCs that do not have Macrium installed.

Reflect Home (single license $70, perpetual) adds file and folder backup functions.

Although I have not used it myself, I understand the same is true for Aomei Backupper.
 

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
    50 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 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.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Lattitude 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.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
If all your PCs are running Windows, you could also explore using RoboCopy. While you cannot put the app itself on a flash drive, you can write a batch file that will copy the files you want copied from one folder to another, put that on the USB and launch it on any machine running Windows that you plug the USB drive into.

Some links:




It would take some doing, as you'd either have to develop the batch script to allow for user input so you can tell it what to backup where, or set it up so that it looks for specific folders in specific locations on specific machines and makes backups of the files within those folders to your selected locations. It would take some time to set it up correctly, but once set up you'd be good to go.

And for reference, here is an article from LifeWire listing all of the above mentioned software, and tons others, as well, for backups - both file / folder based and system imaging.


For system backups, I use Macrium and CloneZilla. For file backups, I mainly do it manually. But I'm in the process of setting up a machine to use as a NAS to which I'll be backing up files soon enough, probably on a nightly basis.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 Current build
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HomeBrew
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
    Motherboard
    MSI MEG X570 GODLIKE
    Memory
    4 * 32 GB - Corsair Vengeance 3600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti XC3 ULTRA GAMING (12G-P5-3955-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC1220 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Eve Spectrum ES07D03 4K Gaming Monitor (Matte) | Eve Spectrum ES07DC9 4K Gaming Monitor (Glossy)
    Screen Resolution
    3x 3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    3x Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCIe 4 M.2 2 TB SSD (MZ-V8P2T0B/AM) } 3x Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 1 TB SSD (USB)
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling’s Silencer Series 1050 Watt, 80 Plus Platinum
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 XL Dark ATX Full Tower Case
    Cooling
    NZXT KRAKEN Z73 73.11 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (3x 120 mm push top) + Air 3x 140mm case fans (pull front) + 1x 120 mm (push back) and 1 x 120 mm (pull bottom)
    Keyboard
    SteelSeries Apex Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S | MX Master 3 for Business
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
    Browser
    Nightly (default) + Firefox (stable), Chrome, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender + MB 5 Beta
  • Operating System
    ChromeOS Flex Dev Channel (current)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E5470
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6300U CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2501 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    Dell
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520 + RealTek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell laptop display 15"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 * 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 128GB M.2 22300 drive
    INTEL Cherryville 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SATA III SSD
    PSU
    Dell
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S (shared w. Sys 1) | Dell TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
Macrium Reflect Free when installed on a PC can make a bootable recovery USB. When booted from this recovery USB all functions of Reflect Free are available, backup to an image as well as restoring from one. I frequently use this to image my PCs that do not have Macrium installed.

Reflect Home (single license $70, perpetual) adds file and folder backup functions.

Although I have not used it myself, I understand the same is true for Aomei Backupper.
You can create a bootable USB stick or optical disk with the free version of AOMEI. They work fine as well. I have always found the disks to be more reliable. Sometimes USB sticks are hit or miss whether they will boot or not.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom built
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 5600X
    Motherboard
    MSI B550-A Pro
    Memory
    16 GB Corsair Vengeance LPX DDR4-3200
    Graphics Card(s)
    PowerColor Red Devil Radeon RX 6600XT with 8GB GDDR6
    Sound Card
    Realtek integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer Nitro 24" RG241Y 144hz refresh rate
    Screen Resolution
    1920 X 1080
    Hard Drives
    Western Digital Black SN770 1 TB NVMe SSD
    Samsung 860 QVO 1 TB SATA SSD
    Seagate Barracuda 1 TB HDD
    PSU
    LEPA B650 650 watt
    Case
    Enermax Coenus
    Cooling
    Cooler Master Hyper T4 air
    Keyboard
    CM Storm Devastator
    Mouse
    E-Blue Cobra Jr.
    Internet Speed
    100mbs
    Browser
    Microsoft Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    Optical Drives: LG DVD-RW and Pioneer BluRay/ DVD burner
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus ROG Zephyrus G14
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS
    Motherboard
    Asus board (GA402RK)
    Memory
    16 GB Samsung DDR5-4800
    Graphics card(s)
    Integrated Radeon 680M and discrete Radeon RX 6800S with 8GB GDDR6
    Sound Card
    Integrated Realtek with Dolby Atmos
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Laptop screen 14" WQXGA, IPS, 120hz refresh rate
    Screen Resolution
    2560 X 1600
    Hard Drives
    1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD (WD Black SN850)
    PSU
    Battery power and Asus power brick/adapter. Also has USB-C charging
    Case
    Laptop
    Cooling
    Laptop fans in vapor chamber
    Mouse
    Touchpad and Omoton bluetooth mouse
    Keyboard
    Built in RGB backlit
    Internet Speed
    100mbps
    Browser
    Edge Chromium
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
A built-in optical disk drive is a must for my present (and next) desktop for that important reason, a reliable boot disk (y) although I prepared a boot USB stick as well for use with an on-board USB port. Both have been prepared and tested to work on the same machine (and on the same USB port even, all memorialized in a little handwritten note in the binder where I store them)

The other reason for an optical disk drive is additional archiving of my most important data (y) Obviously, I use other backup media for my main backup with more storage space.

I am a fan of optical disk drives and optical disks for their utilitarian value, may they still be around for the next decade(s) !
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro

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