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Backups can be compressed using one of three modes: password-protected, encrypted, and set up to use a schedule. The log files made with AceBackup can optionally be emailed on the event of an error or chosen to be sent even on successful backups. Something we don't like is that some of the options in this program aren't described, which can leave you wondering what certain settings will do when they are enabled.
We successfully used AceBackup in Windows 10, but it should work just as well in Windows 11, Windows 8, and Windows 7.
FBackup allows the backup of individual files and whole folders even from your Google Drive or Dropbox account to be saved to a local, external, or network folder, as well as to those same online file storage services.
An easy to use wizard guides you through the backup process and includes preset locations you can choose to back up, like the Documents and Pictures folder, Microsoft Outlook, and Google Chrome settings. In addition, FBackup lets you add your own files and folders to a backup job. You can exclude certain data from a job by specifying a word in the folder or file name, as well as the type of file extension. Two backup types are supported in the free edition: Full and Mirror.
A full backup compresses every file into ZIP folders, while a mirror creates an exact replica of the files in non-compressed form.
Both allow encryption. Backup jobs are created using a built-in interface that corresponds with the Task Scheduler service in Windows to run a backup at times like once, weekly, at logon, or when idle. Once a job completes, FBackup can be set to hibernate, sleep, shutdown, or log off Windows.
A backup can be restored using a simple restore utility that comes built-in, which lets you restore everything or individual files to their original location or a new one. You also have the option to restore only the latest version of the files, or to run filters to restore specific file types. While testing FBackup, we found that it downloaded quickly but took a bit longer than usual to install.
It can also be installed on Windows Server , , , , and HDClone Free Edition can back up an entire disk or a select partition, to an image file. Using the Setup for Windows download will let the program run inside Windows. You're also able to back up one disk or partition to another, but it will overwrite the data on the destination drive.
Some features, like choosing a compression level and encrypting a backup, appear to be supported but are unfortunately only available in the paid version. With Macrium Reflect, partitions can be backed up to an image file or copied directly to another drive. This file can be saved to a local drive, network share, external drive, or burned directly to a disc. You can even add more than one backup location to build a fail-safe in the event that a destination becomes invalid.
You can schedule a full backup on a schedule so every day, week, month, or year, a backup will be made of any drive, including the one with Windows installed. A backup job can also be scheduled to run at startup or log on. To restore a backed up image to a drive with Windows installed, you must use the Macrium Reflect program to build a Windows or Linux rescue disc, both of which can restore an MRIMG file.
You can also mount the backup as a virtual drive that mimics a local one, allowing you to browse through the backed up files and folders and copy out anything you want. The program should work on all versions of Windows.
We tested it in Windows 10 and Windows 8. Determine if you are running a bit or bit version of Windows to know which option you should choose on the download page. Make sure to select one of the blue download links since the red ones are for the paid editions. A backup image can be built into one file or separated into chunks for easier placement on media like CDs and DVDs. You have the option to back up a drive's used data or the used and unused portions of the disk.
Restoring a backup is really easy with ODIN because you just select the disk that should be restored and then load the backup file.
Freebyte Backup can back up multiple folders at a time to any local, external, or network drive. A backup can't be compressed or encrypted with this program. Scheduling isn't built-in either, but you can make a few changes to how the program launches as well as use an external scheduling program to make it work. You can filter a backup job so that files with particular extensions get copied, leaving out all the rest.
There's also an option to only back up files that have been modified after a particular date and time, as well as a toggle to turn on incremental backups. Freebyte Backup is said to work only with Windows Vista, XP, and older versions of Windows, but we tested it in Windows 10 and 8 without any issues. Freebyte Backup downloads as a ZIP file. Inside is the portable version FBBackup. CloneZilla Live is a bootable disc that can back up an entire hard drive to either an image file or another disk.
This program is text-based, so you won't find regular menu options or buttons. You can compress a backup image, split it into custom sizes, and even check a hard drive for errors using a free hard drive testing tool before creating an image. Restoring a backup with CloneZilla Live involves taking the regular backup process steps but doing so in reverse. It sounds confusing, but following the on-screen instructions makes it pretty easy.
Karen's Replicator is easy to use, simple folder backup utility that supports a local, external, or network drive as a backup destination. Data is backed up using a regular copy method without encryption or password options, which means you can browse through a backup like you would any other folder in Explorer. Options let you exclude subfolders from a backup, filter out certain files by their extension, avoid backing up particular directories, and schedule backup jobs.
You can also decide whether or not Karen's Replicator should delete files from a backup if they're removed from the source folder. The interface of Karen's Replicator is a bit outdated but it didn't interfere with backups or our ability to find settings. Personal Backup can back up data to a folder on an external or local drive, FTP site, or network share. When selecting the files to be backed up, Personal Backup only allows single files to be added at a time.
You can keep adding more, but only one can actually be chosen at a time, which can slow down the process of creating a backup job. You can , however, select whole folders, and context menu integration is supported.
A backup can be built as an archive for each and every file, creating many ZIP files, or as a single archive which contains all the data. Options are available for encryption, compression, and file types that should be excluded from compression. Personal Backup allows a total of 16 backup jobs to be created, each of which can have their own scheduling options and incremental or differential backup type.
To use Personal Backup, you must download the proper bit or bit version that matches your version of Windows. We find Personal Backup to be very cluttered, making it hard to find what you're looking for because nearly all the settings are simply thrown into the program interface with seemingly no organization.
However, it does update a lot, which is a good sign that it's constantly trying to improve. The bit version runs on Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7, as well as Windows Server R2, , , and Windows Vista and XP users can install the bit version. Incremental backups are also supported.
Settings are available to compress a backup and manage how much splitting, if any, should be done to cut the backup into smaller pieces. Restoring data is as easy as selecting the backup image and choosing the drive to restore it to. Also, the setup file is over MB, so it could take some time to finish downloading. Take note that you need to register for a free user account on their website before you can fully use the program.
That, or log in via another account when you first open the program, like your Google account. There is no restore function, and everything that's on the destination disk is wiped clean before XXCLONE beings backing up the source drive's files. You're able to adjust the speed of the backup as well as make the destination drive bootable.
We tested this program in Windows 10, 8 and 7, but it should also work for Windows 11, Vista, and XP. PING is a program that runs straight off bootable media like a disc. It lets you back up one or more partitions to a file. There isn't a graphical interface when using PING, so you must be somewhat comfortable with a text-only navigation screen to use this program. You have the option to back up partitions to a local or external drive as well as to a network share or FTP server.
When selecting the correct source and destination drive for a backup or restore, it's actually a bit difficult to determine which drive is which. PING does not show you the name of the drive or the size, but instead just the first few files that are located on the disk. This is only slightly helpful when determining the right disk to select. You can compress a backup and optionally set it up for incremental backups in the future, both of which are options you're asked before starting a backup.
When restoring a backup with PING, you're required to know the exact path of the backed up files. You're unable to "browse" for the files like you can when an operating system is loaded, so you must know the exact path to the files to successfully restore them.
After logging in on the download page, choose the stand-alone ISO link. This program, nor backing up in general, has anything to do with the more commonly known computer term ping , as in the ping command. Areca Backup makes it simple to add new files to a backup job by supporting drag and drop. You can save a backup to any internal drive, FTP site, or network folder. Backing up to external hardware is not supported. We've ranked Areca Backup this low on the list because it isn't as easy to use as most of the other programs you see here.
Visit the Areca official website for tutorials and manuals. We were able to get this program to work with Windows 10, 7, and XP, but it may also work in other versions of Windows.
CopyWipe is a backup program that can run outside of Windows on a disc or from within Windows like a regular program, though both options are text-only, non-GUI versions. It backs up entire hard drives to other hard drives, supporting both internal and external devices like flash drives. You can copy hard drives even if they're different sizes by choosing to scale drives or do a raw copy so that everything is copied, both used and unused space.
You must confirm a copy before starting, which is a good thing, but CopyWipe doesn't provide any identifiable details to differentiate between the drives, which means you must use Disk Management to know which one is Hard Drive 0 , Hard Drive 1 , etc. We tested the most recent version in Windows 10, 8, and 7, and it worked just as advertised so long as the program ran as an administrator.
It should also work for Windows 11 and older versions of Windows. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your device and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests.
You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. By Tim Fisher. Tim Fisher. Tim Fisher has more than 30 years' of professional technology experience.
He's been writing about tech for more than two decades and serves as the VP and General Manager of Lifewire. Reviewed by Jerrick Leger. He is also a systems administrator for an IT firm in Texas serving small businesses. Tweet Share Email. Apps Best Apps Payment Services. What We Like. What We Don't Like. Download Cobian Reflector. Download FileFort Backup. Download BackUp Maker. Download Redo Rescue. Download Yadis!
Download Everyday Auto Backup. Download MiniTool ShadowMaker. Download Iperius Backup. Download Mutual Backup. Download Disk2vhd. Download GFI Backup. Download Free Easis Drive Cloning. Download Ocster Backup Freeware. Download AceBackup. Download FBackup. Download Macrium Reflect. Download ODIN. Download Freebyte Backup. Download CloneZilla Live. Download Karen's Replicator. Download Personal Backup.
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You're in! Thanks for signing up. Online backup services are another option, but desktop clients tend to offer far more flexibility. Read on for our top picks. Then head to the bottom of this article for more info about what to look for in a Windows backup program. Windows users are fortunate to have a number of excellent backup options available to choose from.
R-Drive Image has always been a favorite of ours—a low-resource-consuming product that was ultra-reliable in creating backup images of partitions and disks.
That has changed with this latest version, which now has a more modern, user-friendly interface and more versatility in the types of backups you can perform. The latest version It even adds an interesting pre-backup file scanning to root out anomalies before overwriting your previous backup—a nod to the emergence of ransomware as a concern.
Among the free programs we tested, Backupper Standard wins primarily because it has the most features, including imaging, file backup, disk cloning, and plain file syncing, plus multiple scheduling options.
This was the case with Backupper 4, and the latest version has only added more options, making it a surprisingly well-rounded free offering. We hit a few performance snags with less-conventional system setups, but for the average user, it should perform as expected.
This is largely to test reliability and hardware compatibility, but we time two: an approximately GB system image two partitions , and a roughly 50GB image created from a set of smaller files and folders. We also test the USB boot drives created by the programs.
Additionally, if you intend to back up to a newly purchased external hard drive, check out the software that ships with it. Seagate, WD, and others provide backup utilities that are adequate for the average user. Some programs automatically select the appropriate files if you use the Windows library folders Documents, Photos, Videos, etc. Boot media: Should your system crash completely, you need an alternate way to boot and run the recovery software.
Any backup program should be able to create a bootable optical disc or USB thumb drive. Some will also create a restore partition on your hard drive, which can be used instead if the hard drive is still operational.
Any backup program worth its salt allows you to schedule backups. Any backup program you use should allow you to retain several previous backups, or with file backup, previous versions of the file. The better software will retain and cull older backups according to criteria you establish. Optical support: Every backup program supports hard drives, but as obsolete as they may seem, DVDs and Blu-Ray discs are great archive media.
Online support: An offsite copy of your data is a hedge against physical disasters such as flood, fire, and power surges. Online storage services are a great way to maintain an offsite copy of your data. Backup to Dropbox and the like is a nice feature to have.
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