Drive Imaging--What do you use?

pparks1

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So, I've been historically an Acronis True Image Home 2010 user, but am contemplating whether it's time to upgrade to a new version or something else.

I have a handful of computers that I use at home, Desktop, machine acting as file server, my laptop, my wife's laptop, etc. I like being able to take images of these machines every now and again. However, with something like Acronis 2012, I have to buy 4 licences for my 4 computers and that will cost me $29 to upgrade the 1st license, and $50 each for the remaining 3 licenses. So, around $179 total. I think I could actually get 1 upgrade license for $29 and the 3 user family pack for $79 and only spent $110 or so.

So, i'm evaluation other good choices. I'm familiar with Macrium Reflect Free version 5.0 and that will probably meet most of my needs. I would prefer to be able to file and folder backups, but I realize this is a limitation with this product and I can live without it. I also realize that differential or incremental backups are also not possible with the freebie product.

For those who have paid for Macrium Reflect Standard 5.0, do I absolutely have to buy a separate copy for each of my 4 computers, or could I install it on all 4 computers if I elected to do so?


What other choices are available that you guys are using and would recommend?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
I am personally satisfied with windows' built in imaging capability. It's pretty short on features, but it comes with the OS.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 RTM (Retinas taking damage...)
    CPU
    i5 2500
    Motherboard
    msi p67a-g43
    Memory
    16 GB DDR3 1333
    Graphics Card(s)
    2x Nvidia 9800 GTX+
I'm not sure if I have any reason for the pro version. I pretty much only restore to the same hardware, and I don't usually have dynamic disks either.

Is there anything else that I really need to have the pro version for?

Is there a trial edition for the Macrium Reflect Standard or Pro version? I'd like to look at it before I commit to possibly spending $120 or so on the 4 license pack.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
So, i'm evaluation other good choices. I'm familiar with Macrium Reflect Free version 5.0 and that will probably meet most of my needs. I would prefer to be able to file and folder backups, but I realize this is a limitation with this product and I can live without it. I also realize that differential or incremental backups are also not possible with the freebie product.

You could use Macrium Free for image backup and something like Comodo Backup free for differential\incrementals and that would cover both areas. I haven't used either so can't speak of their quality.

Alternatively if you have enough parts to build another server you could install Windows Home Server. It can do over the network backups of all your PC's both for files and Images. You would create a Restore CD that allows you to restore an image over the network. I've seen OEM copies of WHS 2003 for around $80 and WHS 2011 for around $100. I've thought of using WHS myself but MS has discontinued it, however it may not matter if all you do is backups and file share.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7, Windows 8 RP
@pp

You can d/l the trial installer with this: Downloads - Macrium Software

Pick any edition you want to try.

I think you need pro to support gpt.

Paragon might do file/folder backup as well as imaging with their free version.

EDIT - no there is just imaging in the free paragon.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    7/8/ubuntu/Linux Deepin
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
Alternatively if you have enough parts to build another server you could install Windows Home Server. It can do over the network backups of all your PC's both for files and Images. You would create a Restore CD that allows you to restore an image over the network. I've seen OEM copies of WHS 2003 for around $80 and WHS 2011 for around $100. I've thought of using WHS myself but MS has discontinued it, however it may not matter if all you do is backups and file share.
I toiled long and hard over potentially using WHS when I retired my very old file server this past year. It just didn't end up being the right product for my needs. I ultimately just went with a new build, of a Core i3 box running Windows 7 as a file server and that has worked very well. I wanted to specifically run some home media stuff which was not suited well for the WHS product.

The images of my actual machines aren't that terribly important to me. I keep my important data on my server machine, and it's backed up to a secondary internal drive daily, with 7 days retention and then I also keep 2 external hard drives off site with synced copies of my data.

My images are more of a convenience. Especially when I just want to play with something for a short bit. It's nice to load it once, make an image and then just keep it for future testing. Macrium Reflect free would fit that bill just fine...not to mention it's proven to work with client OS's as well as server OS's both...and I do use both in my testing. I have a handful of machines that I test with, but would rather not fork out $50 per machine for testing. I also like to play and experiment with the backup applications themselves in a VM...but it's not something that I would be willing to purchase a license for.

I'm also wondering about whether I'd need to actually activate my copy of Acronis, if I make the cd and simply boot from the cd to make the image and also to restore the image. I'll have to give that a shot during my trial period. There really is no reason why I have to run the application from within Windows for the testing that I do.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
I'm happy with it that comes with windows. Why install another one that does the same function.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro x64
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer 5750 laptop
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 2.40 GHz
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD 3000
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    Samsung ssd 128 GB
    Internet Speed
    100/10
I just popped $29 for the upgrade to Acronis 2013. Lots of new features............ I've made a full/incremental backup to an external drive, I have non-stop backup running on my libraries, and I'm doing a full backup to the Cloud as I type. Made the recovery CD no problem, and I like that I can backup and restore from it. I have no problems at all with it since installing it a couple of hours ago. ymmv.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 8100 XPS Studio
    CPU
    i7 Quad Core 2.93ghz
    Memory
    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GTS240 1GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 24" HD
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Keyboard
    Dell Wireless
    Mouse
    Dell Wireless
    Internet Speed
    6/1
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Total Security 2015
I've used the one in Windows 7 several times and have had no problem what-so-ever. I suppose the one in 8 will be the same way.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion g7-120us Notebook
    Memory
    8 GIG
Another satisfied Acronis 2013 user here...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 10 Pro 64bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home built Intel i7-3770k-based system
    CPU
    Intel i7-3770k, Overclocked to 4.6GHz (46x100) with Corsair H110i GT cooler
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 OC Formula 2.30 BIOS
    Memory
    32GB DDR3 2133 Corsair Vengeance Pro
    Graphics Card(s)
    GeForce GTX 980ti SC ACS 6GB DDR5 by EVGA
    Sound Card
    Creative Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium HD, Corsair SP2500 speakers and subwoofer
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG 27EA33 [Monitor] (27.2"vis) HDMI
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250GB (system drive)
    WD 6TB Red NAS hard drives x 2 in Storage Spaces (redundancy)
    PSU
    Corsair 750ax fully modular power supply with sleeved cables
    Case
    Corsair Air 540 with 7 x 140mm fans on front, rear and top panels
    Cooling
    Corsair H110i GT liquid cooled CPU with 4 x 140" Corsair SP "push-pull" and 3 x 140mm fans
    Keyboard
    Thermaltake Poseidon Z illuminated keyboard
    Mouse
    Corsair M65 wired
    Internet Speed
    85MBps DSL
    Browser
    Chrome and Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender, MalwareBytes Pro and CCleaner Pro
    Other Info
    Client of Windows Server 2012 R2 10 PC's, laptops and smartphones on the WLAN.

    1GBps Ethernet ports
I'm happy with it that comes with windows. Why install another one that does the same function.
More features. Full, incremental, or differential backups. Ability to adjust the compression. Ability to store multiple backups, not just the latest backup. Ease of mounting the image to pull back a single file. Other features like the Acronis "Try and Decide" function which I have used numerous times.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self-Built in July 2009
    CPU
    Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
    Memory
    8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    23" Acer x233H
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
    Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX modular
    Case
    Antec P182
    Cooling
    stock
    Keyboard
    ABS M1 Mechanical
    Mouse
    Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
    Internet Speed
    15/2 cable modem
    Other Info
    Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
I'm happy with it that comes with windows. Why install another one that does the same function.

Because for serious imaging, the Windows facilities are a pain in the neck and do not work half of the time. I use free Macrium - but I run Win8 an Virtual Box.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Vista and Win7
    System Manufacturer/Model
    2xHP, 2xGateway, 1xDell, 1xSony
    Hard Drives
    5 SSDs and 12 HDs
Because for serious imaging, the Windows facilities are a pain in the neck and do not work half of the time.

The GUI does seem to be flakey at times for image backup with the dreaded "cannot find file specified", which doesn't even make sense for an image backup. However, the wbadmin command line has always worked for me.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7, Windows 8 RP
I'm happy with it that comes with windows. Why install another one that does the same function.

Because for serious imaging, the Windows facilities are a pain in the neck and do not work half of the time. I use free Macrium - but I run Win8 an Virtual Box.
I've heard others say that they, also, do not like the one built in in Windows 7. I'm sure that everyone has their reasons but I have had not one problem with it. Maybe I've been lucky. I may try just another just to see how I like it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion g7-120us Notebook
    Memory
    8 GIG
For those who prefer something other than the one inWindows, which of the free ones is the best user friendly?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion g7-120us Notebook
    Memory
    8 GIG
For those who prefer something other than the one inWindows, which of the free ones is the best user friendly?
I've used Macrium Reflect Free before and it rocks!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 8100 XPS Studio
    CPU
    i7 Quad Core 2.93ghz
    Memory
    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GTS240 1GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 24" HD
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Keyboard
    Dell Wireless
    Mouse
    Dell Wireless
    Internet Speed
    6/1
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Total Security 2015
you can also check out DriveImageXML, I used it for a long time previously, but have not used it in a long time.
Have not tried it with Win8, but assume it should work.

It is free, was stable when I was using it. Not entirely user friendly, and can be slow to create the image, but pretty quick at restore

This is really a full disk image utility, not really meant for incrementals, etc.

DriveImage XML Backup Software - Data Recovery Product

Run a Data Recovery From Our Runtime Live CD

Also, this can be run as a portable app. Just install, copy out the folder and that's it. Portable from USB.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win 8.1 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    I7-3770K
    Motherboard
    ASUS SABERTOOTH Z77
    Memory
    CORSAIR 8GB 2X4 D3 1866
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GTX680 4GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS 24" LED VG248QE
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG E 256GB SSD 840 PRO -
    SAMSUNG E 120GB SSD840 -
    SEAGATE 1TB PIPELINE
    PSU
    CORSAIR GS800
    Case
    CORSAIR 600T
    Cooling
    CORSAIR HYDRO H100I LIQUID COOLER
    Keyboard
    THERMALTA CHALLENGER ULT GAME-KYBRD
    Mouse
    RAZER DEATHADDER GAME MS BLK-ED
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    APC 1000VA -
    LGELECOEM LG 14X SATA BD BURNER -
    CORSAIR SP120 Fans x 3 -
    NZXT 5.25 USB3 BAY CARD READER -
    HAUPPAUGE COLOSSUS
Also, the Windows back up I just did was 32gb compared to ATI 26gb just after that. That's quite a difference if you're low on space.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell 8100 XPS Studio
    CPU
    i7 Quad Core 2.93ghz
    Memory
    12GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    nVidia GTS240 1GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell 24" HD
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Keyboard
    Dell Wireless
    Mouse
    Dell Wireless
    Internet Speed
    6/1
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Bitdefender Total Security 2015
For curiosity I just downloaded Macrium since most everyone likes it. I didn't use it yet but I opened it and it looked almost too easy to use. If I understand it correctly, after you open it, you select the disk or files you want to image and then select where you want to put it. You then click, Next. Is that all there s to it?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Pro
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion g7-120us Notebook
    Memory
    8 GIG
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