Suggestions for software to do local backups? No Acronis!

dc2000

Member
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Location
Portland, OR
Hi everyone:

First let me share the bad experience that I had while using one of the major brands of software for the local backup -- Acronis True Image 2014. I purchased and was using their software since 2014. I set it up to make incremental backups of my local files to an external hard drive, as well as make an image of my disk C to another external hard drive. The settings in the program also allowed me to automatically remove old backups when space was needed.

This scheme seems to have worked until about a month ago when my external disk got filled up and I started seeing error messages of disk being full via the popup balloons. This infuriated me since the only reason I was using Acronis software was to make it clean up old backups in the first place. That was the first time that I posted a question on Acronis form, that went nowhere. (In that thread I also discovered that I couldn't delete old backups even manually.) So I thought, OK, obviously other users may not know what is wrong so I decided to contact Acronis tech support instead. Little did I know, that it actually cost $20 to contact their support about any issue after the initial 90 day period since the software was purchased. What?! That's right. You have to pay them to fix it :) I was so incensed by it that I even tweeted to Acronis, and got this response.

At this point I was curious to get to the bottom of it. Upon further digging into Acronis True Image I discovered a very erratic behavior, and namely, that the main process of the software was not closing after I closed its UI. It continued running, using significant number of CPU clocks & disk. Here's my other post with a screen capture of what was happening.

Upon even further digging into it, I learned that Acronis is actually a Russian company that for some reason is based in US. (That explained their barbaric approach to software tech support by charging for it.) I obviously did not know all this when I purchased their software. Now I'm seriously concerned with entrusting it to back up my data.

So now, my question. Can you recommend a local backup solution to do the following:

1. Be developed/run in a Western country? (Sorry, but no Russia, China, etc.)

2. Do the following:

- Let me set up a schedule for backups, example: Daily at 2 a.m.

- Allow to create and later do incremental image backups of my disk C:, the one with the operating system.

- Allow to do incremental backups of select folders. For instance, I may want to back up D:\My Special Files and D:\My other documents from disk D but not the rest of the files on that disk.

- Allow for automatic removal of old backups when external disk is full.

I would appreciate if someone could give their recommendations based on your personal experience.

Thank you!
 

My Computer

System One

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    Windows 8.1 Pro
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    PC/Desktop
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    Dell XPS 8700 (customized)
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    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770 CPU @ 3.40GHz
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    D: Samsung SSD 840-series, 238 GB
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    Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, IE
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    Windows 8 built-in
Norton Ghost, by itself, not bundled within other Norton products.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 Pro 64bit [MS blue-disk set]
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    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2 Acers & 1 Antec[?]
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    i7 in 2 Acers, i5 in desktop
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    Desktop w/Gigabyte
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    Two w/16GB, 1 w/8GB
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    Laptops GameWorthy; Desktop maybe GameWorthy
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    flatscreens; 2 are BluRay worthy
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    1368x768; 1600x900
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    1TB internals; 2 ext usb WD 1TB HDs
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    what's PSU?
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    Regular plus external fans
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    desktio w/PS2
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    desktop w/PS2
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    Security for now: Windows 7 Firewall, Emsisoft AM, MSE [scan-only], SpywareBlaster, Ruiware/BillP combine
Getting a short amount of technical support is pretty common with consumer type products.

I used to use Acronis, but switched to Paragon Backup. I think it is based out of the UK.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
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    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
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    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
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    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
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    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
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    23" Acer x233H
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    1920x1080
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    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
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    Corsair 620HX modular
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    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
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    ABS M1 Mechanical
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    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
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    15/2 cable modem
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    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
Imaging is the only way to go if you have a fast device to do it. Macrium all the way. Incremental backup is ok but if you want something that will bring your system back to full operation imaging is the way to go.
Depends how much one is willing to lose by often they image. Can do both image and backup.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer V3 771G-6443
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    i5-3230m
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    Acer VA70_HC (U3E1)
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    8GB DDR3 PC3-12800 (800 MHz)
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    HD4000 + GeForce GT 730M
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    Realtek High Definition Audio
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    17" Generic PnP Display on Intel HD Graphics 4000
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    1600x900 pixels
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    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250 GB
    ADATA SSD SP900 128GB
    PSU
    90 watt brick
    Mouse
    Bluetooth
    Antivirus
    Comodo
    Other Info
    Asus RT-AC56R dual-band WRT router (Merlin firmware). Intel 7260.HMWWB.R dual-band ac wireless adapter.
Macrium Reflect.
Will the winpe work to reboot and restore if you are on Windows 8.1?

Yes it works if you created it with the current Macrium release.

But if you don't want to work with a recovery CD or flash drive, use this program. It works well with 8.1. I have used it.

One Key Recovery - Create a Factory Restore Partition with AOMEI OneKey Recovery

But there are also native 8.1 facilities such as refresh with custom refresh images.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/3610-refresh-windows-8-create-use-custom-recovery-image.html
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
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    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
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    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
Thank you all for your suggestions. I can't wait to get rid of Acronis. Oh man, I wish I knew how bad it is. I checked and Macrium looks very promising!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 8700 (customized)
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4770 CPU @ 3.40GHz
    Motherboard
    Intel Z87
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Haswell on-board, 2 GB VDRAM
    Sound Card
    Haswell on-board
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer / DVI
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050
    Hard Drives
    C: Mushkin Scorpion PCle SSD, 222 GB
    D: Samsung SSD 840-series, 238 GB
    E: Samsung SSD 840 eVo, 500 GB
    F: WD (Red) HDD, 2 TB
    PSU
    Dell standard
    Case
    Dell standard
    Cooling
    Dell standard
    Keyboard
    Logitech K120
    Mouse
    Infrared wired mouse from Microsoft
    Internet Speed
    Comcast DSL
    Browser
    Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, IE
    Antivirus
    Windows 8 built-in
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