free backup program

[pcpete]

If we want to help a client suggest a backup their computer to their external drive, what free programs do you recommend? Do any of the free versions allow incremental backups where the client can just plug the drive in and back up the different stuff? If not free programs that do this, are there any inexpensive ones that do this? I think Macrium has a free version, but I do not think it includes incremental backups.

 

[Diggs]

Backup programs don't get much respect so to speak. I've used Ashampoo Backup Pro in the past. Not free but for $29 might as well be. Very full featured and been around a long time. Way more stuff in there than I'll ever need. On the free side of things is Cobain Backup. I've seen it being used in a few small businesses. I'm not that familiar with it though.

 

[wavey]

Windows 10 File History, free & easy.

 

[britechguy]

Windows 10 File History, free & easy.

Indeed. But, and it's a big but, only if you are looking for user data backup. And just user data backup isn't enough (though I always recommend taking separate user data backups along with full system image backups). Also, much as I hate to say it, as much as I love the ease of setting up backup with File History, they've still not made recovery using it nearly as straightforward, particularly if you want to recover to a different machine.

Macrium Reflect Free is an excellent choice, but the UI can be a bit intimidating for "the non-geek." For that client, I recommend EaseUS To Do Backup Free. These are both full system image tools that also have the option to take other types of backups.

The trick these days is getting your clients to "commit" to doing backups on a regular, cyclic basis based upon how much new data they're generating. Now that ransomware is so common it's really not safe to keep backup media attached to your machine constantly and to have the backup program in full automatic mode. That drive/those drives should only be attached when either taking a backup or doing a restore. So they need to develop the habit of "just doing it" based on their needs and not depending on full automation.

In an ideal situation, they'd have two backup drives, at a minimum, and rotate between drives at each backup, moving the drive with the latest backup somewhere other than the same place that the computer is. But, that's ideally. I'd rather have people taking backups and storing them right next to the machine than not at all. Most common failures are things like drive failures, not flood or fire where the computer is located. I've actually never had a single disaster recovery, or even known of one "up close and personal," in my entire career.

 

[carmen617]

Windows 10 File History, free & easy.

File history is the pits - the old Windows 7 backup was much better. File history doesn't include a system image, the default is to keep the files "forever" (which leads to full backup disks and clients with no idea why) and it seems to disconnect the external drive half the time, after which it starts backing up on the main drive, for crying out loud. Time Machine is the best part of the Mac ecosystem, as far as I can see. Microsoft keeps promising something like Time Machine, but not delivering.

I tend to recommend my clients purchase Acronis, but that has its problems as well. Would be happy to hear other opinions because I think backup is an important topic neglected for home users, my target market.

 

[britechguy]

I think Macrium has a free version, but I do not think it includes incremental backups.

It used to include either differential or incremental in its free version, but not both. I really don't recommend using either for a home or small business user unless they need to do very frequent (every several hours to once a day) backups. In the event of a recovery it takes much longer to do using an incremental backup scheme if there are "lots of increments."

Very often it's quite convenient for the end user to kick off a full system image backup prior to retiring for the evening or when closing up shop on a specific day. It's all done by the time they are in front of the computer and need to use it again. Recovery from a full backup is fastest.

By the way, EaseUS, even in the free version, allows you to set up an image retention strategy. You can do things like never deleting the first backup (if you want a permanent baseline "clean box" install after you've done all your customization) and retaining the last X number of backups.

 

[cypress]

If we are doing image backups I would recommend Macrium Reflect Free. I did Easeus for years and now but got tired of it. I just use Macrium Reflect. I set it up for some residential clients and also use it myself for my personal computer.

 

[britechguy]

File history doesn't include a system image, the default is to keep the files "forever" (which leads to full backup disks and clients with no idea why)

Well, it's never been touted as a full system image backup tool. It's always been presented as a versioned file history tool, and that can be an absolutely wonderful thing to have if you are making frequent changes to a set of working files and find you need to "go back a day or two."

I absolutely agree that the "forever" setting, which just keeps adding version after version after version of individual files that are undergoing constant change is really stupid, and that's a setting I change immediately. For myself, it's down to 3 months, as I've never wanted a version of anything even that old when I wanted to get an older version back.

A lot of people (mostly clients) also misunderstand the whole retention scheme in a versioned backup system like File History. They think that the backed up file itself will be purged from the backup after the retention period, which is not what's meant at all. Once a file that is remaining unchanged is in the File History backup it will remain there until and unless you delete it from the source being backed up. And even if you delete it from the source being backed up, the currently backed up version remains until the retention period you've set expires. The time for the retention scheme means that the oldest version of a file being actively changed will be only as old as the retention period allows. If it were 3 months, and you were doing hourly backups, and the file in question changed once every other day you'd have versions from once every other day with the oldest version being 3 months prior to the last time the backup was run to check for the latest updates.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

First I'd want to know what it is they want to back up, what the goals are.
Just backup a few files and folders?
Or...do a whole disk image?

I generally don't do "free" backup programs, but the few times I have, in the past, Cobian was pretty good. Also, FreeFileSync is a cool feature rich program. And of course, Windows has its own backup features which are pretty good.

If client is using any 3rd party software that may have special backup needs, I'd investigate that first. Such as with some database engines, ensure they spit out their own internal backup to a file which is not in use at the time your backup software sweeps through.

 

[Larry Sabo]

I have installed Easeus Todo Backup free version and was very pleased with it. My customer keeps his external drive disconnected until he is ready to update the back-up with new/changed files. It does this automatically, so he doesn't have to do anything but plug in the external drive and safely remove it or shut down the PC before disconnecting the drive when he's finished. He has two drives he uses for back-ups alternately; the other one uses WD SmartWare to automatically bring it up-to-date. I made a drive image for him using the same program.

 

[britechguy]

It does this automatically, so he doesn't have to do anything but plug in the external drive and safely remove it or shut down the PC before disconnecting the drive when he's finished.

True, you can keep the EaseUS background process running and do this. I just don't keep any background processes running for anything that doesn't have frequent "on demand" calls for use. I run my own backups once per month, and don't need the automatic aspect. What you've done makes more sense for your typical client that what I'm doing does.

 

[carmen617]

I have installed Easeus Todo Backup free version and was very pleased with it. My customer keeps his external drive disconnected until he is ready to update the back-up with new/changed files. It does this automatically, so he doesn't have to do anything but plug in the external drive and safely remove it or shut down the PC before disconnecting the drive when he's finished. He has two drives he uses for back-ups alternately; the other one uses WD SmartWare to automatically bring it up-to-date. I made a drive image for him using the same program.

Easeus has some nice products, but I just don't feel right recommending Chinese software, free or otherwise, to anybody these days - there is absolutely no way to know what the Chinese government has "requested" they add to the software.

 

[britechguy]

First I'd want to know what it is they want to back up, what the goals are.

Seriously, and I don't say this to be dismissive of you, that's the last thing I'd care about specifically.

Most who've never done and are not doing backups currently have no real idea of why they really need to be doing them in the first place. A full system image backup covers all bases, including user data, and can be restored to another external drive if that's all they want.

I'm not saying that one shouldn't ask, and be certain to have "the easiest for recovery" mechanism in place for them, but very often the vague statement along the lines of "I just want my data backed up," is the best you're gonna get. And we all know that, in truth, that's simply not so as we've all had "those calls" when there has been a main OS drive failure where years and years of software and customization exists, and they want that back, yesterday if not sooner, whether they ever gave that a second thought ahead of time or not.

I won't set up any backup protocol without a full system image as the first part of it, sometimes the only part of it, because that covers absolutely all bases. Depending on what they mean by a backup of their user data that could be something as simple as creating a second copy on cloud storage or an external drive up through using something like File History or other versioned user data backup software.

I really have no compunction about saying, in the situation where I'm dealing with a complete neophyte, that I very likely know better than they do about what their actual protection needs are. And particularly if they're lucky enough to be someone who has never, as yet, had a main drive failure. Always take a belt and braces approach to backing up, even if the end user says they need or want neither, as most are not in a position to make an informed decision. Going that route does not "put them out" in any way and could really save them. You get to potentially be a hero with zero downside.

 

[britechguy]

Easeus has some nice products, but I just don't feel right recommending Chinese software, free or otherwise, to anybody these days - there is absolutely no way to know what the Chinese government has "requested" they add to the software.

Not that I don't get your point, because I do, but it's well-nigh impossible to avoid Chinese software. If you own virtually any smartphone, particularly Android ones (but also iPhones), they're all manufactured in China and configured there.

And Chinese business, working on the world stage, knows what would happen were it ever to come to light that they're putting spyware on/in. And you can be certain that it would come to light. The destructive force that would unleash on that industry would be just huge. They're aware of that.

But if you don't like EaseUS then I'd definitely say Macrium Reflect Free is the way to go.

 

[YeOldeStonecat]

Seriously, and I don't say this to be dismissive of you, that's the last thing I'd care about specifically.

For residential users...that attitude is fine. Cuz all they care about is pictures of the baby, pet cat, the dog, the video of junior making a blue dagger by lighting a fart with a match, a few word documents, resumes, perhaps a personal accounting spreadsheet. stuff like that. Any backup will do.

For the business client world, which is what I live and breath in, there comes a whole different approach which looks at all angles and wants to ensure things are backed up properly so they're able to be restored successfully if the merde hits the fan.

Quickbooks can be tolerant, but over the years I've seen other programs that run on larger database engines like SQL Express or Pervasive ...not be able to be restore due to...well, how poorly they work with typical volume/shadow copy. Because much of that data is "in the air"..well, "in memory". And backup software doesn't get data in system memory, unless it's much higher end and able to support that database engine, such as backup software designed for Microsoft Exchange, or SQL Server. Not on flat files laying at rest, ready to be scooped up by backup software sweeping through. So...come time to restore....boom, no go, no luck, sorry. That's one of the reasons I always setup the database engine to create those hot snapshots and plop them in a directory that the backup software can grab.

 

[britechguy]

@YeOldeStonecat

What you're describing goes "above and beyond" even what I was trying to get at. You're doing "the business version" of what I was trying to describe: backing up in the exact way that is the absolute best insurance policy.

My central point is that while we definitely need to ask about what the client wants, they very often have wants that are not congruent with actual needs because they are not making informed decisions. That can be true of business clients, too.

It sounds like you are employing the "I know better, and will do what I know goes beyond the basics you may have identified," approach I was trying to espouse. We're hired, regardless of our client demographic, for expertise we have that they often don't. And when they don't, and when covering both my posterior and theirs can be simply and easily accomplished with no loss regarding the base request, I'll go beyond what was asked so that this happens.

I'm sure that some here will be offended by the very idea that anyone could possibly believe, "I know better than the client," but in certain respects that's virtually certain to be true for all of us. One example being, among residential clients, who among us has not stressed the need to do backups and some even offer to set things up for free if the client buys the drive, only to have them decline? They have every right to decline, but declining is stupid, and the advice to back up is definitely "knowing better" than they do.

But if I have anyone asking me to get them set up for backing up, it's never just going to be only, "pictures of the baby, pet cat, the dog, the video of junior making a blue dagger by lighting a fart with a match, a few word documents, resumes, perhaps a personal accounting spreadsheet. stuff like that. " They'll always have a full system image backup, plus a separate "that stuff" backup, probably using something like OneDrive or GoogleDrive with the sync function active.

 

[timeshifter]

Veeam is great and free for Windows systems. Set and forget. Entire system image, easy to restore single file or whole system.

 

[carmen617]

Veeam is great and free for Windows systems. Set and forget. Entire system image, easy to restore single file or whole system.

I'm not familiar with Veeam, are you referring to the Backup and Replication Community Edition download on their site?

 

[britechguy]

Good heavens, but the ISO file for Veeam Backup and Replication Community Edition is huge, 6.7GB!

 

[lan101]

Aomei backupper has worked well for free. When the built in windows one fails (a lot for me lol) Aomei generally comes through.