Advice Request Where to install Disk Imaging Software?

[HarborFront]

Hi

I do not have one yet but planning to.

Although I know it's useful for people who frequently test software or malware but I think I need one for complete clean system backup/restore.

Just some questions.

Do I install the disk imaging software on the PC or onto the external USB stick/SSD?

For the former, if I make a backup onto an external USB stick/SSD can I restore if my PC hangs i.e. if all the icons on the screen are not working (some showing white squares etc). In short, I have no access to the disk imaging software on the PC although I can boot up from the USB with the backup image stored in it. Is the stored image an executable which can work (restore) without the disk imaging software?

How about the latter case if I install the the disk imaging software onto the external USB stick/SSD? Shouldn't be a problem if I make the USB stick/SSD bootable and restore the image from here, right?

Thanks

 

[WinXPert]

I use Drive Image XML. It's portable so it's your choice where to put it.

How about the latter case if I install the the disk imaging software onto the external USB stick/SSD? Shouldn't be a problem if I make the USB stick/SSD bootable and restore the image from here, right?

Thanks

Nope. Been doing that without having problems. Ages ago before bootable USB drives, I burn the image along with Bart PE on a CD or DVD.

 

[shmu26]

most of these softwares give you multiple installation options.
let's take macrium reflect, for instance -- that's the one I use.
even the free edition will allow you to:
1 install it on your system like any other program
2 set the recovery enviroment as a boot option
3 make a bootable usb or CD.

the last two options will allow you to restore even if your system is not functioning.

I recommend macrium reflect because it also has a tool for fixing booting errors that is better than anything I have seen.

 

[cryogent]

I personally use Macrium Reflect free on 3 pc's (desktop & laptops) at home and so far i don't have any problems.
In the category of free software another sugestion would be Backup & Recovery 14 Free Edition from Paragon, there are plenty of options in the free version.
IMO I do not think is required to invest in a back-up program unless you need incremental backups.

 

[ng4ever]

I recommend Macrium Reflect as well. I have the paid version. It was recently 30% off!

 

[ng4ever]

I personally use Macrium Reflect free on 3 pc's (desktop & laptops) at home and so far i don't have any problems.
In the category of free software another sugestion would be Backup & Recovery 14 Free Edition from Paragon, there are plenty of options in the free version.
IMO I do not think need to invest in a back-up program unless you need differential or incremental backups.

Differential imaging is free in Macrium Reflect it is incremental imaging that you need the paid version for.

 

[cryogent]

I changed that in my post allready.
Differential imaging is also free in Paragon Backup & Recovery 14 Free Edition.

 

[shmu26]

macrium paid edition has a special delta technology that speeds up the recovery process tremendously.
If you only recover when disaster strikes, you don't need it, because if you are prepared for disaster, it probably won't come...
But if you are a tinkerer like me, and you like to restore a lot, then it is worth considering.

 

[ng4ever]

macrium paid edition has a special delta technology that speeds up the recovery process tremendously.
If you only recover when disaster strikes, you don't need it, because if you are prepared for disaster, it probably won't come...
But if you are a tinkerer like me, and you like to restore a lot, then it is worth considering.

Cool! I didn't know that.

 

[Deleted member 2913]

macrium paid edition has a special delta technology that speeds up the recovery process tremendously.
If you only recover when disaster strikes, you don't need it, because if you are prepared for disaster, it probably won't come...
But if you are a tinkerer like me, and you like to restore a lot, then it is worth considering.

As shmu26 mentioned, " if you are a tinkerer like me, and you like to restore a lot, then it is worth considering." Macrium "Incremental Backup/Restore" is impressive i.e 1-3 mins or so, I dont think any other imaging products comes close to Macrium "Incremental Restore" speed.

Currently I am trying EaseUS Todo Backup Workstation, I find it good & its "Incremental Backup" beats Macrium incremental backup speed here on my system i.e few secs - 2 mins or so.
But as mentioned above Macrium "Incremental Restore" is impressive too.
On my system, Macrium Incremental Restore took 3 mins or so, EaseUS Incremental Restore took 27 mins or so.
After Macrium incremental restore, I checked the system & chkdsk mentioned error "The volume bitmap is incorrect"...chkdsk /f solved the issue.
After EaseUS incremental restore, I checked the system & Google Chrome settings mentioned corrupted...reset settings in Chrome solved the issue.

There is a EaseUS "Free" version & has all the features like incremental backup, Pre-OS Linux/WinPE console, etc...
Give a try & see...

 

[ng4ever]

As shmu26 mentioned, " if you are a tinkerer like me, and you like to restore a lot, then it is worth considering." Macrium "Incremental Backup/Restore" is impressive i.e 1-3 mins or so, I dont think any other imaging products comes close to Macrium "Incremental Restore" speed.

Currently I am trying EaseUS Todo Backup Workstation, I find it good & its "Incremental Backup" beats Macrium incremental backup speed here on my system i.e few secs - 2 mins or so.
There is a "Free" version & has all the features like incremental backup, Pre-OS Linux/WinPE console, etc...
Give a try & see...

Thanks good to know there is a free software imaging program like Macrium Reflect Pro (I guess you could say) that has all the features of it!

A lot of people that ask me questions on a imaging software this will come in handy! Most don't want to pay.

 

[shmu26]

if I remember right, EaseUs free edition does not let you schedule backups.
Macrium lets you schedule, but you can't do incremental.

 

[Deleted member 2913]

if I remember right, EaseUs free edition does not let you schedule backups.
Macrium lets you schedule, but you can't do incremental.

I tried free version too And if I remember correctly, free version has all the schedule options like one time, daily, hourly/2 hour/etc, only schedule option not available is "Event" schedule i.e sytem startup/shutdown, etc.

 

[shmu26]

I tried free version too And if I remember correctly, free version has all the schedule options like one time, daily, hourly/2 hour/etc, only schedule option not available is "Event" schedule i.e sytem startup/shutdown, etc.

sounds good! so what's the catch, I mean, what is missing in EaseUS free ?

 

[_CyberGhosT_]

Macrium Reflect is a flawless solution imho
I have used it for years.

 

[ng4ever]

Macrium Reflect is a flawless solution imho
I have used it for years.

Agreed.

 

[SHvFl]

Macrium Reflect premium is honestly not worth it's money for users that don't clone and do disk image. It's more useful and logical cost wise to buy an ssd and restore backup to that.

 

[_CyberGhosT_]

Macrium Reflect premium is honestly not worth it's money for users that don't clone and do disk image. It's more useful and logical cost wise to buy an ssd and restore backup to that.

I agree, but I do clone, and it has never cloned a drive that didn't boot.
Once I clone I store the source and boot to the newly created clone.
This has advantages and the obvious one is that it assures that the cloned drive
is in working order, I have never not once had a cloned drive fail to boot , not all solutions
are that reliable, that's worth the money to me

 

[ng4ever]

I agree, but I do clone, and it has never cloned a drive that didn't boot.
Once I clone I store the source and boot to the newly created clone.
This has advantages and the obvious one is that it assures that the cloned drive
is in working order, I have never not once had a cloned drive fail to boot , not all solutions
are that reliable, that's worth the money to me

Same here. I never had a image fail on me.

 

[Paul123]

I prefer to have the Disk imaging software separate from the O/S. Ive been using Acronis True Image for many years and find it easy to use. I boot up from the CD, and create the backup to an external drive. To restore you do the same, bootup from the CD then select the file off the external drive. You can use it via the O/S, but I just think its safer from the CD.

Never failed me yet. I also keep multiple backups going back in time. This has saved me a few times, where there's been an issue that hasn't immediately been obvious and has got copied in my backups. It means I was able to go back before whatever caused that issue.

I also keep my Windows on a separate drive to my data. That way when you restore Windows you dont wipe out your recent data.