Question Best Cloning / Auto/Backup / Restore Software for Windows 11 ?

[Dylan Beckett]

<Moved to Apps & Software forum>

Hello

Can you please tell me the best software and versions for PC - in order of how good you think they are!
Please read below for detail as to what exactly I need it for ...

Can you please tell me the best software to do one or ideally BOTH of these things (even if need different software for both tasks)....

Copy everything on my System drive (I mean everything) so that I can at least go through it later to get all our files from within windows folders etc as well as our own.....
AND/OR do a complete CLONE of the entire system drive such that we can RESTORE the Windows clone onto a completely different drive and run it again?

My Dads PC system drive is failing badly but we still need the windows installation to go through and find lots of things that he'd saved in weird system folders within programs etc.
So I want to Backup all the files just as files and more importantly, make the clone that I can resurrect on a brand new drive?

Our system drive is currently a 2013 purchased Samsung 128GB SSD 840BW Pro 2.5".

I've never actually restored a Windows system drive backup before?
Can I restore the clone on absolutely any kind of drive, any size? How does that work?
Will it need to be restored to a partition if on a much bigger drive etc?



Thank you for your help

 

[Alabalcho]

For lot of people here, Macrirum Reflects does the job. You can also try built-in Windows backup - with creating an image, and full backup.

Of course, you'll need "backup drive"...

 

[Lafong]

Beware of Windows Backup....it is very testy, cranky, finicky, inflexible, mysterious, fussy, weird, cantankerous, and so on.

Unless you are already aware of those limitations and are aware of how to deal with them without putting your fist through a wall.

If I'm not mistaken, there are Microsoft documents urging Windows users to use a third party product instead of Windows Backup. It's being "deprecated".

 

[Dylan Beckett]

Hi @Alabalcho and @Lafong

Yeah I don't really want to rely on the Windows thing.

Was hoping to hear about a few other well know ones that are considered the best - and why some think this or that is better etc?

I've got to put my build together right now and need to know what software to get to clone my clean windows install before and after I install everything as a backup for next time.



Cheers

 

[USAFRet]

Macrium Reflect, hands down.

Once you figure out all the parameters and get a schedule set up, it is one of those things that 'just works'.


It is the basis for my whole backup routine.

What is your backup situation at home?

What is your backup situation at home? And if you don't do that, why not? Every single day, I read multiple threads here of "How do I get my stuff back?" or "That drive had 5 years of photos of my kids!!" Be it a dead drive, dropped phone, virus, accidental deletion, formatting the wrong...

forums.tomshardware.com

(Modified some since I wrote that, but thats the general idea)



And be careful about Clone vs Image.
A clone is for changing drives right now.
An Image (Full, Incremental, Differential) is for backups.

 

[Lafong]

Macrium Reflect Free Edition is about all you would need.

There is a paid version that has a few additional features you might possibly find useful

Aomei Backupper might be my second choice.

Acronis would be a distant third choice.

If you are thinking in terms of "backup", use imaging.

The image file will be very large and have an .mrimg extension.

If you are thinking about simply "moving to some other drive" use imaging or cloning.

"Can I restore the clone on absolutely any kind of drive, any size? How does that work?"

No. Not to absolutely any kind of drive. It has to be large enough.

"Clones" are not restored. Only images are restored.

A "cloned" drive is immediately bootable if the clone succeeded.

An image file must be restored to have much use, although you can open Macrium image files in File Explorer and copy out any file you want, but I have NEVER yet had a reason to do that.

"Will it need to be restored to a partition if on a much bigger drive etc?"

You can make and restore single partitions, but in normal usage you would make a single image file of ALL partitions on the drive and likewise restore ALL of them to any new drive. The new drive thus becomes a replica of the old. The restoration process does all the necessary formatting and partitioning.

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

Beware of Windows Backup....it is very testy, cranky, finicky, inflexible, mysterious, fussy, weird, cantankerous, and so on.

Unless you are already aware of those limitations and are aware of how to deal with them without putting your fist through a wall.

If I'm not mistaken, there are Microsoft documents urging Windows users to use a third party product instead of Windows Backup. It's being "deprecated".

Microsoft didn't even bother to update/rewrite it for Windows 10 --- says a lot.

 

[Dylan Beckett]

Hi Guys

Replying to all....

@USAFRet
@Lafong
@Phillip Corcoran



So I'm glad to hear a few more opinions and I feel better knowing there is a pretty strong consensus on Macrium (as I'd never heard of it).

So to clarify a few things assuming I'm using Macrium....

So I think I get what your saying re an Image is just like an iso... i've used and mounted them virutally before (eg can take stuff off them if want then turn off).

And so to make a clone is an active thing your doing copying the image onto a drive 'right now'... yeah?

So my immediate concern is as I'm setting up my fresh Win 11 install on my new build... I want to make images at various stages eg before I install anything, and after etc... Save for later just in case.

So - my question regarding partitions has to do with this Win 11 System drive.

I have a 1TB drive... but my understanding is if you want to be able to 'clone' an image to make a bootable win 11 sys drive - you need to clone the whole drive or partition?

So I'm wondering if I can make a 250gb Partition (be more than enough for Win 11 - as my games will be on their own drive?).... and leave the rest as 750gb partition (whatever)... can I just make images of that smaller partition and that's all I'd need to 'clone' to reinstate a bootable working copy of my win 11 install?

And does that mean I could even move that to another m.2 if I wanted as long as it's big enough.... literally any m.2?



And different question now...

When it comes to setting up regular auto-backups eg weekly etc...

Can I select specific folders all over the place and even whole partitions/drives.
Can I get it to only copy or modify the backup image to reflect changes only.... and/or opposed to just making repeated 'full' images of those areas I want to back up?

And can you point me in the right direction to terms to look up to find how to do that stuff easily? I've never set anything like that up before.

Only used iso's for example to backup CDs DVDs etc.


Relating to partitions in general. If I want to setup my new Win 11 install this way eg on a 250gb Partition on my 1TB m.2.... how do I do that from the very beginning? Or can I not do that?

Do I have to install it as the whole 1TB then somehow partition it down into the smaller and larger chunks? How do I do that?
Do I need some software or just use Disk Management etc?

BTW I don't have another PC with m.2 drives so I cant just pre-partition it before hand?


P.S - could someone please edit the title of my thread if possible to this:
Best Cloning / Auto/Backup / Restore Software for Win 11?


Thanks for your help guys

 

[USAFRet]

So my immediate concern is as I'm setting up my fresh Win 11 install on my new build... I want to make images at various stages eg before I install anything, and after etc... Save for later just in case.

Yes. I generally make a Day 1 and Day 2 image of my systems.
Day 1 = the initial bare OS
Day 2 = after its run all of its current updates, and my basic load of applications.
These get stashed away, and then my normal backup routine takes over.

So I'm wondering if I can make a 250gb Partition (be more than enough for Win 11 - as my games will be on their own drive?).... and leave the rest as 750gb partition (whatever)... can I just make images of that smaller partition and that's all I'd need to 'clone' to reinstate a bootable working copy of my win 11 install?

Don't bother with partitions. Doesn't serve much purpose.

Images in Macrium are only as large as the actual consumed data, not the whole drive.

Can I select specific folders all over the place and even whole partitions/drives.
Can I get it to only copy or modify the backup image to reflect changes only.... and/or opposed to just making repeated 'full' images of those areas I want to back up?

Yes, you can do do folder. But you will invariably forget one. I much prefer just working with the whole drive.
Incremental or Differential does exactly what you're looking for...only the changes since the last Full Image.
This is the last few days of my C drive.

A Full image on Jan 3, then the small incrementals. This is on a 1TB drive.

The Help documentation in Macrium is pretty good. It will walk you through the process.


This is my basic routine. Modified somewhat since I wrote this, but the general idea.

What is your backup situation at home?

What is your backup situation at home? And if you don't do that, why not? Every single day, I read multiple threads here of "How do I get my stuff back?" or "That drive had 5 years of photos of my kids!!" Be it a dead drive, dropped phone, virus, accidental deletion, formatting the wrong...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[Lafong]

...............And so to make a clone is an active thing your doing copying the image onto a drive 'right now'... yeah?

..................my understanding is if you want to be able to 'clone' an image to make a bootable win 11 sys drive - you need to clone the whole drive or partition?

You don’t “clone an image”.

You don't "copy the image".

Cloning does NOT use imaging in any way.

Imaging and cloning are different processes that can have the same result but are best used for different purposes.

You clone drives…..typically from a good and working drive to a new drive. Like when you just bought a larger or faster drive and want to move everything over to it.

You restore imaged partitions………..typically when you are in a jam of some type that you cannot quickly get out of. Such as Windows corruption, a totally failed drive, a bad software installation. Maybe you made an image file of all partitions on January 10 and your drive drops dead on January 15. You restore the January 10 image to a new drive on January 16 and your system is back in the same state it was on January 10. That's disaster recovery. Not cloning.

Note that both cloning and imaging can "transfer" all of a good and working system to some other drive. Both will have the same result if successful. I always use imaging rather than cloning, but you can use either.

Image restoration is a formal process within Macrium.....not merely "copying" in some sense.

If a drive has 1,2, or 10 partitions, you can image any or all of them separately or altogether in a single image. And likewise restore any or all of them.

If you don't include the proper partitions in the image file, then a restoration of that image file may NOT result in a bootable drive when you restore that image. Notice that Macrium has a choice on the left side of the main window that says "Create an image of the partitions required to backup and restore Windows". You can use that choice or you can select the individual partitions manually.

For “backup” purposes, you would normally make an image of ALL partitions on the system drive. If the pictures of your dog are on one of those partitions, they will be included in the image file.

Images are of entire partitions. All of the partition or none of it. Some applications (possibly one from Aomei?) claim to allow you to image ONLY certain folders and files within the partition but I’m not sure how well they work. As far as I know, Macrium does NOT allow that. It’s all of a partition or none of it. You choose which partitions you want to image.

You can make full images or incremental. That’s a personal choice. I use full only and typically make one a month.

There are tutorials all over the Internet….Youtube and many web sites.

Macrium has a PDF help file of over 400 pages available on Macrium’s web site.

Normally, you’d install Macrium directly on your hard drive like any other application. If your system is bootable, that’s normally how you would run it. But you should make Macrium Rescue Media on a USB flash drive right after installing Macrium on your hard drive so that you can still use Macrium when your system is NOT bootable.

 

[USAFRet]

Images are of entire partitions. All of the partition or none of it. Some applications claim to allow you to image ONLY certain folders and files within the partition but I’m not sure how well they work. As far as I know, Macrium does NOT allow that. It’s all of a partition or none of it.

Actually, the paid version of Macrium does. The free version does not.

But given full drive images and then Incremental/Differential, why bother with individual folders.

 

[Lafong]

Actually, the paid version of Macrium does. The free version does not.

But given full drive images and then Incremental/Differential, why bother with individual folders.

Yeah, you can use paid Macrium's "file and folder" backup capability....but it's very clunky and unnecessarily complex.

I tried it for a week and gave up on it entirely.

 

[Dylan Beckett]

Hey Guys,

@USAFRet
@Lafong

Thanks again for all the useful info - really helped nail a few things down for me.

Don't bother with partitions. Doesn't serve much purpose.

Images in Macrium are only as large as the actual consumed data, not the whole drive.

I'm very glad to hear this!

However, I still may want to create some partitions as it might make it cleaner/easier to set up autobackups and not forget things!
Plus it might be easier to make sure I only backup what I really need for System Images?


So it sounds like I can just do a clean install on my 1TB - then when I'm all installed/updated - just use Disk Management to split the 1TB into a smaller partition for the System Drive stuff and use the rest as a Storage Partition?

Is that the best program to do it in? And exactly how do I do it?

I'm really quite anxious about this part - more than a little worried I'll spend hours doing a new install, update it all and then undo all that hard work!
And again - I've only used Win 8.1 never 10 or 11 before - so there may be things I just don't know that seem obvious?

That and I haven't used partitions for a very long time.

A Full image on Jan 3, then the small incrementals. This is on a 1TB drive.

Sounds good!

This is my basic routine. Modified somewhat since I wrote this, but the general idea.

thanks - I've saved that for later.

You don’t “clone an image”.
You don't "copy the image".

Thanks for the clarification - I get it now.

If you don't include the proper partitions in the image file, then a restoration of that image file may NOT result in a bootable drive when you restore that image.

Good to know.

But you should make Macrium Rescue Media on a USB flash drive right after installing Macrium on your hard drive so that you can still use Macrium when your system is NOT bootable.

Great idea!



Thanks again guys!

 

[Lafong]

However, I still may want to create some partitions as it might make it cleaner/easier to set up autobackups and not forget things!
Plus it might be easier to make sure I only backup what I really need for System Images?

So it sounds like I can just do a clean install on my 1TB - then when I'm all installed/updated - just use Disk Management to split the 1TB into a smaller partition for the System Drive stuff and use the rest as a Storage Partition?

Is that the best program to do it in? And exactly how do I do it?

There are certain instances in which Disk Management WON'T work for that. You'll find out when you try. If it WILL work for that in your case, it's a good tool to use. If it WON'T, you use a third party tool. Worry about it later.

Anytime you make an image it's your responsibility to ensure that you are including the proper partitions.

You can include your storage partition. Or you can exclude your storage partition.

You have to decide if your "storage" (not "Windows and applications") is to be backed up by Macrium ALONE or also/instead by a third party application that makes a simple copy of all data.

You need to decide if you want to use "full images" only or if you want to use incrementals or differentials. I use full only as it meets my requirements. I make a new one every month.

I have a boot drive that contains Windows and all applications. It's quite small. It is backed up by Macrium imaging.

ALL of my data is on a totally separate 2 TB drive (not a second partition on the boot drive). I don't use Macrium to back up this drive at all.

That's my method. Others will work as well. Do what you understand.