Advice Request Best software for creating system image and restore it

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Peter2150

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Oct 24, 2015
280
2 other things.

1. I have macrium paid, and I take hourly incrementals, Imaging time and recovery times are amazing.

2. IFW has always been geeky, but ultra reliable. But now 2 things have changed the IFW dynamic. One is there metadata incremental imaging and restoring. All my imaging times and restore times were identical about 18 minutes on this machine. Now incremental images and restores run about 4 minutes. But the 2nd thing is Pandluck's scripts for IFW. Instead of geeky they reduce it to a once click icon and the it's autopilot. Scripts can be found here Incremental Rotate Scripts for "Image for Windows"

Pete
 

AtlBo

Level 28
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Dec 29, 2014
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Paragon since a giveaway back in 2012. Never saw the need to update the software even though Paragon has made numerous offers to upgrade for free. I guess I don't want to have to burn another boot disk, which I thought I might have to do. I like that each scheduled task uses a script which can be edited so that a previous backup can be deleted.

Had a complicated daily setup using days of the week back about 5 years ago that I ran for maybe a year. Each day had its own folder and the new one for the day replaced the old one. I combined that with a Monthly to have a monstrous collection of 8 backups. I liked that way of doing things, but next time I go down that road, I'll be searching for a compromise of some kind.

I just keep 5 backups now, but they are copied in RAID in USB storage device, so I have duplicates of them. Recommend this for backup highly or store on the cloud. The local storage is so inexpensive though. I paid $52 delivered for brand new WD My Mirror RAID with 2 500 GB WD drives. :) I'm hoping to get another one asap.

Differential and incremental backups are great, but one thing to remember. They are only as good as the single original backup they are built on. If that becomes corrupt and unusable then all of the backups are gone. I guess make sure you have some solid full backups too.

Oh yes, if you keep your backup locally use a folder lock program to protect files. Easy File Locker is the one I use for now but Secure Folders is good too. EFL gives greater flexibility for choosing which apps can access your protected areas.
 

mlnevese

Level 26
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May 3, 2015
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I have lost count how many times Macrium Reflect saved me... the last time was March this year when something corrupted the update subsystem in Windows and made it unable to load if any Windows Update was installed... I just went back a few days in my backup until i found one that was not bugged and then mounted the latest image in Windows to synchronize my documents.

Never had a failure to restore or backup. I'm a paid user by the way but I don't think the free version would be different.
 

R2D2

Level 6
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Aug 7, 2017
267
Here is what I have used in the past and am currently using. These are/were all licensed, no freeware

a) Acronis True Image - A good software which has morphed into something that can only be termed as unreliable. I dropped it like a hot potato after 2011/12. Acronis has now turned into a subscription which isn't nice in my opinion.

b) Shadow Protect - Very stable and reliable with a dated interface. It is expensive @ $99/PC, has an awfully flaky deactivation system AND Storagecraft don't really care about individuals. They are more focused on multi-license Corporate customers.

c) EaseUS - Nice interface, failed to restore during a test run. Asked for a refund. This slimeball company based in a large country in the Orient (no prizes for guessing) did not refund my $$. So, please read their 30-day refund policy very carefully. For all practical purposes, getting a refund is impossible. Yeah, before I forget, I think MiniTool also has the same policy and they are based in Canada. Probably the same bunch of folks under a different name

d) Macrium Reflect - Been with MR since 2012 and currently using MR 7. I've never had a cause to complain except when W10 CU 2016 botched up the scheduler. This was MS' fault, not Macrium. They fixed it in a few weeks. This fine software works like a Swiss watch. I beta test via the MS Insider program. MR has never failed me when performing 4 backups a day and has saved my skin with several "SOS" restores per year. I'm a customer for life. Even the free edition works great. Get it!
 
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Barakah

Level 3
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Apr 13, 2018
120
The latest version of Ashampoo Backup Pro allows you to automatically upload your Backup image to the cloud. I do upload my backups to Koofr.eu using WebDAV
 

show-Zi

Level 36
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Jan 28, 2018
2,463
@JB007
I used restoration from Macrium Reflect for the first time today. Since part of the drive on which software was installed was damaged, copy the corresponding folder from the data that was periodically backed up and end it. It was truly easy to use.
I recommend.:)(y)
 
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