Microsoft’s Windows operating system comes with several features that enables users to restore the system. While the functionality helps at times, it falls short at other times.
That’s why third-party backup software remains important. The main advantage is that it can be fully independent of the operating system, provided that it supports backup media that you can boot from.
This allows you to run the software and restore the system, even if Windows refuses to boot or load, or when Windows recovery features fail.
There are numerous good and free apps out there that support all of this. My favorite for the past several years has been Paragon’s Backup & Recovery Community Edition.
It is free and supports full system backups as well as scheduled backups. While it lacks some advanced features, such as direct disc cloning or advanced partition tools. However, for the purpose of creating a full system backup, Paragon’s free solution is just fine.
What you need
Here is what you require:
- Download the latest version of the free backup software from Paragon’s website. Install the software on the Windows PC.
- An external hard drive or large USB stick. How large depends on the size of the system drive. I suggest several Terabytes, as you may want to store multiple backups on the drive. Otherwise, you’d have to delete old backups to make room.
- A recordable disc or USB thumb drive for the recovery media.
Launch the backup software after installation and connecting the external drive. You should see the following screen:
Follow these steps to create your very first backup:
- Click on “Backup source”. You get the option to backup up the entire computer, disk/volumes, or files/folders.
- Select Disk/Volumes. All connected drives are displayed.
- Pick the main drive that Windows is installed on. Look for “Local Disk (C:)” when i doubt. Make sure the entire drive is selected and not just a volume by clicking on its name. Confirm with OK.
- Click on “Destination” next.
- Select the letter of the external drive that you connected. You may alternatively create a folder on it for the backups. Confirm with OK.
- Switch to Options once back in the main interface. Here, you have several options that you may want to configure:
- Password Protection: This blocks access to the backup file unless the password is provided.
- Backup compression: Set to normal by default. If you pick “Best”, the backup file size may be smaller, but the operation will take longer. If you have enough space, you could also pick “none” or “fast” for quicker backups.
- Check backup integrity after creation: This verifies that the backup has been created successfully. Will take longer to complete.
- Go back to “backup strategy”.
- Select “is not scheduled” to schedule backups. This can be used to create automatic backups, but the external drive needs to be plugged in.
- Select “full backups only” to change that. The two other options, “chain of full and incremental backups” and “chain of full and differential backups” reduce the storage requirements, but it takes longer to restore. Here you can also select the retention, which is set to “forever” by default. You could change it to “until storage is full”.
- Activate the “back up now” button to start the process.
Once done with the first backup, launch the Settings of the app and activate the “Recovery Media Builder”. Use it to create media to boot when you need to recover a system backup.
The easier option is to pick “Use this Windows image” under creation mode. Note that you need an USB thumb drive or burn the recovery media to disc. This, along with the external drive are required to initiate a recovery process from outside of the Windows operating system.
Now You: do you use a backup software and create backups regularly? If so, which application do you use and how do you store your backups?
This allows you to run the software and restore the system, even if Windows refuses to boot or load, or when Windows recovery features fail as long as one has a way to boot into recovery mode such as a “USB thumb drive or burn the recovery media to disc.” Was wondering.
Aomei Backupper Pro has the option as does/did Macrium Reflect to have a menu option at boot that allows entering Recovery. Paragon doesn’t? The last time I used it, I thought I saw an option to install the menu option.
I keep a boot recovery on USB, but it’s great to have the option to run recovery from the boot menu. Sometimes getting the USB to boot when the system isn’t booting can be tedious. [And sometimes the menu option doesn’t appear!]
Full Image Backup–it’s one of the greatest computing gifts one can give to oneself.
Backup! Backup! Backup!
This has saved me a lot of trouble several times when I otherwise would have lost years of data and work.
I use a Disk Backup program for my System Disk which I’ve never updated because it had worked perfectly and I had no motivation to take the risk of an upgraded version that could fail.
– System Partition: AOMEI Backupper Standard For Win7 ver. 4.1.0, installed in April 2018.
– Data Partition: SyncBackSE.
Backups every 3 months or so. I do note on a file located on the Data Partition any removed, added, upgraded software since the last System Backup to make it easier to update any recovered backup.
All backups performed on an external hard drive. New System backup is performed only after a reboot to make sure I don’t backup (and recover!) a disk which could have been ‘contaminated’ and show up to be only after reboot (I guess you see what I mean). I perform full backups with AOMEI (not incremental) and I keep the latest 2.
That’s about it.
Perhaps one last thing: my Firefox’s profile is set on a RAMDisk (really faster not to mention Hard Disk practically never solicited on surfing sessions), but the RAMDisk auto-backs up only on system boot/reoboot, so should the PC crash or close by e.g. a power failure (happened recently in my town here) that I’d recover only the last RAMDisk data. Which is why I backup my Firefox profile at least one/day and always before installing a new extension (I eat them like New-Yorkers eat hot-dogs).
Merry, merry Christmas to all. Sincerely.
We use Macrium Reflect. I followed a guide on elevenforums(dot)com to get the free version, it’s still available on the devs website, you just have to know where to look.
It’s a bit technical to setup but well worth the time. We use a recovery USB with it but it can add itself to the advanced startup menu if you want.
It’s setup to run daily incremental backups (only backs up new or changed tiems) and weekly full backups (keeping the last 2).
On top of that, we keep a second copy of the full backups our second pc. All of our data and media is duplicated this way. The backups made by Macrium are only the system drive which still keeps a lot of important things, like savegames.
I create Windows 8.1 system images on an external rotary HD every couple of months. I’ve only ever used it once to restore the machine, but that was years ago. So far another restoration hasn’t proved necessary.
I also do the same for Windows 11 Pro on a separate SSD using the same method.
I’ve seen your article before on the Ghacks site when you were still the owner Martin, but haven’t ventured into the realm of using third party tools yet. Maybe I’ll give it a go one day.
For two days I have been doing test experiments with:
1. AOMEI Backupper Technician Plus v.8.1.0 EN ISO (WinPE);
2. O&O diskimage premium WinPE v.21.0.1094 x64.iso;
3. O&O diskimage premium WinPE v.21.1 build 184 – rG.iso;
4. MRSP_LTSC_8.1.8628_WinPE_10_v.2004_x64_DR_EN.iso (Macrium reflect X server plus);
5. MRSP_8.1.8631_WinPE_10_v.2004_x64_DR_EN.iso (Macrium reflect X server plus);
6. MRSP_X_10.0.8406_WinPE_11_v22621_x64_DR_EN.iso (Macrium reflect X server plus);
7. Macrium reflect X workstation v.10.0.8750 WinPE x64 Win11 EN v.26100 by fnsfernando.iso.
I tested all of these several times via USB flash, but not in a Windows environment. I tested the times for creating the final file, then tested the time for the complete system recovery from the generated file.
My conclusion is that even as a generated file, different programs create a file of different sizes. At one point – I no longer remember which program from the tests generated a file twice as large as all the other programs on my list. The one listed as number 1 on my list even managed to break my Windows, because it even offers boot options – meaning that it says that the generated file contains boot and when restoring the system asks me if I’m sure whether to overwrite the boot files. And then – a blue screen and nothing happened. Failure. That’s why I rejected AOMEI Backupper Technician Plus v.8.1.0 EN ISO (WinPE).
To clarify about the programs with positions 2 and 3 – if you use them – internet connectivity is required because they check the license. Before that, I had deliberately unplugged the internet cable to check if they would work – but – they didn’t work.
When I tested O&O diskimage premium WinPE – if I changed the settings to generate maximum compression – it told me that it would take over 1 and a half hours. When I returned the setting to standard compression (there is no other option besides standard and maximum) – it took – 2 – 3 minutes approximately. Restoring the system was also quite fast.
Then I tested Macrium reflect X in its various versions (server plus, workstation). The file generated by them seemed large to me. There is clarity by making a full copy of your partition where the OS is installed, when you have to completely restore your system – there is clarity so that you don’t mistake the letter of your partition and overwrite another partition from your HDD, for example. It generates the file quickly, and it restores the OS quickly in my tests.
My overall conclusion is that all of these programs generate files that are, in the closest case, over 2 GB, and in other cases – over double the size of my very old
(probably 10 years or more) Symantec Ghost USB flash drive that has served me faithfully. And unfortunately or happily, I will not replace Symantec Ghost with any of the ones I tested.
Today a new tool was proposed, which is from 4 hours ago.
I tested it. But it really lacks the boot ISO option. Test it yourself – it’s free.
Windows backup & recovery tool – > https://github.com/abdullah-erturk/Windows-Backup-Recovery-Tool/
https://forums.mydigitallife.net/threads/windows-backup-recovery-tool.89944/
This looks interesting, will try and see how it performs.
Yes, it might be good. But please share your direct impressions and whether you have tested it in offline mode. I am still having difficulties how to get it to work in offline mode.
@Martin Brinkmann, I notice that my comments appear/become visible 24 hours later. It is difficult to have communication this way.
@Martin Brinkmann, I managed to make an offline backup using the tool I posted in my previous post: Windows backup & recovery tool.
In just 9 minutes the tool generated the WIM file for me, which is ONLY 7,65 GB in size. Then I restored the system using this WIM file and everything went smoothly and quickly.
Yesterday I tested and published an empirical result using Macrium reflect X server plus, which generated a file with a size of 18,02 GB.
18,02 GB versus 7,65 GB under exactly the same conditions in both of my tests.
Everyone can draw their own conclusions.
That is a significant difference in size. Thanks for reporting your test results.
I did a few more tests.
This time I tested MRS_X_10.0.8750_WinPE10_v.2004_x64_DR_EN.iso (Macrium reflect server plus) and the generated file is “25.12.2025.mrimgx” – 18,02 GB. This is the file that is partition “C”. And this is with the maximum compression setting set (not medium compression and not the other weakest compression by default).
The same partition “C”, but now tested with my “Ghost v.11.5.0.2113.iso”, which is from 2010, generates a file “11.2025.GHO” with a size of – 9,38 GB.
All new and current versions of programs of this nature generate files that are either much larger in size, or take up twice the size compared to a program from 2010. This is empirical data.
So how can I use Macrium reflect server plus, when the generated size is twice as big?! Yes, it is convenient to use. Of course I won’t use Macrium reflect server plus.
You should try DisCopy from carifred .. :
DiskCopy is a user friendly disk/partition cloning tool. It’s ideal for both migration to a faster storage device and data backup.
DiskCopy has really cool features such as:
MBR to GPT and GPT to MBR.
You can chose the partition style of the target disk, it does not need to be the same as the source disk’s.
Always bootable. The target disk can be made bootable even if the source disk is not booting up.
Partition selection. Copy only the partitions you select.
Single partition cloning. Clone one partition directly to another, and optionally make it bootable.
Full disk/partition management options.
DiskCopy includes a Utilities tab with disk/partition management options.
It is freeware + very small size and great software from France!
(no Chinese or USA bloatware !!)
https://www.carifred.com/diskcopy/
And some other nice programs on main site ! –> https://www.carifred.com/
@Tron, yes, I know about this program. I used it once successfully – I cloned a partition from one HDD – to another partition on another HDD – > 800 GB transfer and it was quite fast and accurate. I am satisfied.
But DiskCopy cannot generate a single file and cannot work outside of a Windows environment. The goal is, for example, mine – outside of a Windows environment to run a program on a boot flash and make a full copy of the entire Windows OS, then to generate a single file that is sufficiently compressed. And if necessary, to use the single compressed file via boot flash to restore Windows.
OK!
If you wanna stand alone / outside windows OS :
then there a 2 programs which are now -in xmas giveaway mode – free (for 1 year! )
AOMEI Partition Assistant Professional 10.9.2 1-Year License for Free
EaseUS Partition Master Pro 19.23.00 Giveaway free 1 -Year License
https://winningpc.com/aomei-partition-assistant-pro-coupon-code-free/
https://winningpc.com/easeus-partition-master-pro-coupon-code/
(scroll down on those pages ! )
Working install with activation code before 10 januari !!