Reliable backup software. Backup. Where will we store backups

Hello, friends!

Despite all your efforts to keep your PC running, sooner or later you will have to deal with such a phenomenon as the failure of the Windows operating system.

And the most terrible result of this can be the loss of information contained in the computer.

As you know, on a PC, in addition to photographs and all sorts of things downloaded from the Internet, all kinds of documentation are often stored. In addition, you, like most other users, probably have special programs customized according to your preferences that you would not want to reinstall. I don’t want to lose all this, right?

In order not to regret lost data and not waste time recovering it using special applications, I advise you to back up. This is the only way you can save the files you need from a sad fate.

In today's article, we'll take a look at the most effective backup software.

Acronis True Image Home

This application is the most popular among backup utilities. Although it is mainly intended for working with logical drives, nevertheless, this program can also copy certain files and directories.

The application has a large number of all kinds of settings to perform any kind of backup. So, for example, in the options of this program, you can select the type of backup, configure the creation of copies according to the schedule, etc.

There are three concepts of backups in Acronis:

incremental,
differential,
complete.

A full backup contains a complete image of a logical disk.

During the creation of a differential backup, only those files are archived that have undergone any changes since the moment of the full backup.

Incremental means adding changed files to a full backup, starting from the moment of the last backup.

Acronis also allows you to choose the level of data compression and set a password for the backup.

Acronis True Image Home can be downloaded free of charge from any computer software resource.

Norton ghost

This convenient and functional product allows you to create backup images of logical drives and carry out the system recovery process.

Norton Ghost is very similar to the software described above. You can create incremental, differential and full archives here, but in Norton Gost you can create archives with a high level of compression, which saves disk space and minimizes the recovery process.

In addition, the program provides filters that allow you to copy files of certain types, including driver files.

The program is great, but paid. The free version is only available for 30 days.

A very powerful and easy-to-use tool that you can use for free. It includes a built-in wizard, which makes it possible to perform redundancy step by step. This approach makes it possible to use the utility even for complete "dummies".

Of the huge number of functions of this application, I would especially highlight the archive protection system by setting a password and encryption, increased filtering parameters, the ability to check the status of the copied, an excellent task scheduler. With this program you can:

write backed up data to an optical or hard disk;
send them to FTP server or Comodo online server.

File Backup Watcher Free

A free utility with a step-by-step wizard that helps novice users complete all the steps correctly. Has a convenient scheduler with a user-friendly interface.

File Backup can not only backup, but also work with ZIP and write data to any optical media.

The copier

Another great free application focused on making copies in an automatic mode according to a given schedule. Prepares copies in the form of ZIP-archives and writes them to the hard disk. Allows you to create and multivolume archives.

FBackup

With this utility, you can back up all the data you need in a matter of minutes. The presence of the auto-backup function allows you to configure the backup according to the schedule, so you do not have to back up data manually.

Copies are more convenient and reliable to store on an external hard drive. Of course, a USB flash drive can also be used for this, but this method is appropriate only when backing up a small amount of information, since a large-capacity flash drive is quite expensive.

To store the reserved files on the hard disk, you should set aside some separate space for them to minimize the risk of accidental deletion.

Reservation is a rather complicated matter, requiring special knowledge and skills from the user.

Sincerely! Abdullin Ruslan

WinRAR and automatic backup of data, files in Windows 7, in Windows XP.

I think everyone is convinced that backing up valuable data is not a luxury, but a necessity.

However, only those who have already been convinced by bitter experience how terrible it is to lose irreplaceable data are really engaged in this necessary business. It is unpleasant to lose your term paper or thesis. It is painful to lose your dissertation. But all this is small compared to what it means to lose a large enterprise's accounting records for two to three years or the loss of a customer database.

However, practice shows that good intentions and fear of big losses are not enough for regular backups. These intentions disappear very quickly, and only an automatic system can be truly reliable, which will start itself, at least once a week, and copy everything that is needed to the right place.

It is especially good when backups are combined with archiving so that the backups do not take up too much space.

Established tool Windows, backup program Data archiving will never work on schedule. But the program copes with such a task brilliantly.However, in this case, you need to run it outside the system. Windows, and in command line mode. Windows serves to communicate with a person, but here a person has nothing to do - everything should work automatically, without his participation.

Let's split the task in two: first we will learn how to perform archiving in command line mode, and then what we get we will connect it to the system tool Task Scheduler so that archiving occurs according to a specified schedule, for example, every evening at 5:30 pm, half an hour before the end of the working day.

To enter the task scheduler, you must click Start - control panel, further as in the figure below (further this figure # 1 will be useful to us when we plan to automatically copy the necessary data on a daily and weekly basis). RICE. No. 1

Setting command line parameters

1. Get yourself a folder to store the files you want to back up. Let's say it will be the D: \ MyWorks folder.

The use of English letters in the names of the most important folders is not a superfluous foresight. It is also good if the name has no more than 8 characters and there are no spaces in it. All this, of course, is not necessary, but in very severe emergency situations when the disk has to be recovered , this makes the job much easier.

2. It is best if the MyWorks folder is on a separate device, such as external removable media or storage devices. It is good if it is located on another computer on the local network. As a last resort, it can be located on a separate hard disk (physical, not logical).

Finally, if there are no additional storage devices at all, you can create it on the same disk. It's certainly not a backup, but it's still better than nothing. In this case, you need to understand that in the event of a hard disk failure, such an archive will not save you, but at least it will insure you against your own ridiculous mistakes.

3. Let's outline two modes of archiving: daily and weekly. With daily archiving, all new files are added to the archive and the files that have been changed are replaced, that is, the archive is updated.

With weekly archiving, everything is the same, but the files that are present in it but are not present in the source (deleted) are deleted from the archive. This is how it goes synchronization archive. Create D: \ REZERV \ DAILY \ for daily backups, and D: \ REZERV \ WEEKLY \ for weekly backups.

4. Create a shortcut to WinRAR on your Desktop. Rename it to Daily Backup or (DAILY). Create another shortcut to WinRAR and rename it to Weekly Backup. To do this, right-click on the screen, then as in Figure 2:

Clicking on "Shortcut" will bring up a menu. In it, you need to select the program for which the shortcut is created, click "browse" and select the launching file of the WinRAR program:

The label is ready.

5. Right click to open the shortcut properties dialog Daily archiving (DAILY) and pay attention to the field An object... What is written here is the command line for launching the program associated with the shortcut (this way you can create a shortcut for any program on your computer):

The quotation marks are necessary in this case because the search path contains a space in the Program Files folder name. Whenever there are spaces or Russian characters in the search path, you should use quotation marks. My shortcuts for backup programs look like this:

When we double-click on the shortcut, the specified command will be executed and the archiving program will start. If we want to automatically perform backup operations at startup, the command line must be supplemented with additional parameters. They will tell the program what to archive and where to put the archive, as well as what to do with files with the same name.

6. Add the following parameters to the Object field:

"C: \ Program Files \ WinRAR \ WinRAR.exe" a -r -u -rr8 -y D: \ Rezerv \ Daily \ myworks.rar D: \ Wordpress \ *. *

Here: "C: \ Program Files \ WinRAR \ WinRAR.exe" - the command to start WinRAR;

a - the command "add files to archive" ( add);

R - command key that sets the archiving of all folders nested in the source ( recursive);

U is a key indicating the update mode { update);

Rr8 - a key that determines the creation of service records in the archive for recovery if necessary (record length - 8 sectors);

Y is the key that determines the automatic confirmation (yes) all requests that may arise during the operation of the program;

D: \ Rezerv \ Daily \ myworks.rar - path and name of the archive in which the daily backup is stored (moreover, the myworks.rar archive will be created automatically);

D: \ MyWorks \ - access path to the archived folder;

*. * - wildcard characters; specify that all files are archived (files with any names and name extensions).

Using an example, I want to show how to archive files ( backup of files, data) only with a certain type of extension, for example PDF documents, for this, instead of *. *, you need to write * .pdf. With this command line setting, all your pdf files will be archived the first time you start the archiving program. By analogy, you can always create a command line for any other extensions.

For me personally, the folder on my computer matters a lot. WordPress, so I created a program to copy and archive exactly this data, because it contains the basic information that I work with. My command line for this folder looks like this: "C: \ Program Files \ WinRAR \ WinRAR.exe" a -r -u -rr8 -y D: \ Rezerv \ Daily \ myworks.rar D: \ Wordpress \ *. *. Thus, you can create a backup for any folders and any data.

Important! For Windows 7, you need to run compatibility mode and check the box - run as administrator. If archiving does not start for Windows XP, you must also check the compatibility mode.

7. Close the dialog with the OK button.

8. Open the shortcut properties window Weekly archiving. In the Object field, enter the following command line "C: \ Program Files \ WinRAR \ WinRAR.exe" and -r -u -as -rr8 -y D: \ Reserv \ Weekly \ myworks.rar C: \ MyWorks \ *. *

Compare this command with the daily copy command. Firstly, they differ in the folder in which the archive is stored, and secondly, a new -as switch has appeared here. It works in conjunction with the -u switch and provides not only adding and updating files, but also synchronization, that is, deleting files from the archive that are no longer in the original folder. If, as a result of such an operation, something valuable is deleted, you can always restore the file from the daily archives.

9. Close the dialog with the button OK.

10. Check with manual launch how the shortcuts for daily and weekly backups work.

Configuring Settings for Automatic Scheduled Backups

To perform automatic data backup, we will use a special opportunityTask Scheduler.Open it with the teamMy computerControl Panel System and Security Administration as shown in FIG. 1 above.A window will appear - task scheduler. Next, we proceed according to the figures below with numbered actions:

By analogy, we create a task for weekly copying.

From now on, every day at the end of work or at the time you specify, a daily backup task will be automatically launched, and on Fridays - a special task for a weekly backup to a separate folder. This way, you will always have two backups available.

If you do not have any external device for storing backups, it is recommended to make one of the backups to a USB drive.

The ability to run the program from the command line allows you to automate other non-standard operations. You can get acquainted with the purpose of other commands and their keys using the help system of the program.

Good day to you, my dear readers. The frost hit well, so you won't get out on the street for a very long time, although it's great there, to be honest. But not the point. In the last article I talked about that. But it turns out that most people do not want to work with standard operating system tools.

On the good they are right. The built-in tools have not very good functionality, although they are quite good, but the programs are made specifically for specific needs, so the developers are trying to make it so cool that people use this particular application. Well, that's logical, right?

And there are sooo many such applications and their eyes run wild with abundance. I’ll show you a few of these applications that I think are the best, but you’ll decide for yourself which one is worthy of the title "Best backup software?" Well, if you do not mind, then I will express my opinion.

Acronis True Image

An excellent program for backing up the system, files, folders, messages, entire disk and other important information for you. This is a really powerful thing that you can use to protect your information. In this application, you can configure the frequency of copying yourself, and only those files in which there have been changes. This greatly facilitates your work and in the case of some kind of "Oops", you can return at almost any point in time. The schedule is simple and straightforward to set up.

In addition, the program has a very wide functionality and an excellent task scheduler. You can find a specific file in the image and extract it from it separately, without affecting the image itself. And a huge plus of the program is that it has its own remote space. There is, of course, a fly in the ointment. Firstly, it is paid, and secondly, some people started complaining about the last few versions.

Aomei backupper

Nice and free program. And this is already an important factor. The backup has a number of functions useful for backups, such as a simple interface, encryption and compression of backups, speed increase, copying individual files, partitions and even disks, etc. But what about without cons? Of course they will always be. I will focus on only one, but the most important thing - the lack of a schedule. Those. you can only do manual backups and cannot set the automatic imaging time.

EasyUs Todo Backup

Another good free backup software. Like other programs, this one is able to archive not only the entire hard drive and system images, but also individual files and folders. Also, the system has the ability to change to replace any file that has undergone changes. Well, among other things, the program automatically overwrites the old image, but the schedule is just a classic. It's a shame that the program does not support the Russian language, but in principle it is not difficult to figure it out.

Macrium Reflect FREE

Great program. I myself am just delighted with her. With it, you will quickly create an image of the system, the built-in scheduler works like clockwork, the simplicity and convenience of the interface, and a high degree of security. And this is not a complete list of all the advantages. But it turns out there is one drawback. Here you can only create a system image, but you will have to purchase a paid version to back up individual files and folders. So that's it.

Cobian Backup

Another pretty good free program that I would highlight among others. There is basically everything you need for a backup: copying individual files and folders, and good encryption, and a good scheduler with a schedule, and much more. This program is suitable for any user, although for beginners it may seem a little complicated to use.

Here I showed you five of my favorite backup programs. I do not advise you to choose by typing. First, look at the reviews about each program, compare the functions, but the most important thing is to test it on yourself, since one of the programs failed to restore from a backup with a bang, when, like another person, everything went well.

There are many factors due to which some will be fine and others will not. Everything can depend on the computer itself, and on your system, etc. So, if you didn’t succeed with one, it doesn’t mean that the application is crap. Although many will disagree with me. But I expressed my opinion, and you can express yours.

Of all these programs, my personal favorite is Acronis and Macrium Reflect. And I would recommend using one of them, although, as I said above, people had problems with the acronym of the latest versions. But on the 11th version, I did not notice anything bad. Everything was going great for me.

But what I recommend even more is the look stunning backup course... Here you will receive the most comprehensive information on this topic and you will quickly learn to protect your files from loss without a hitch. No, seriously, the course is so great that just anyone can handle backups. No water, but everything is just to the point.

Well, on this cheerful note, I finish my reviewer. I wish you to protect and safeguard all your important data from any circumstance.

Well, I say goodbye to you for today. I was very glad to see you on my blog and really hope to see you again. Don't forget to subscribe to my blog updates to keep up with the most interesting information. See you in the next articles. Bye Bye!

Best regards, Dmitry Kostin

Why is automatic backup necessary for every computer user?

Automatic backup will protect
files from virus damage

While working on a computer, you constantly create or edit many documents, write work reports, create diagrams, presentations, database files, store photos and home videos (in them your whole life) and their value is usually high. All this data is your files, which are stored on a hard, removable or network drive, which, like any device, can break at any time. A sudden failure of the storage medium (hard drive, flash drive) will inevitably lead to loss of critical files, on the creation of which a lot of time and effort was spent.

In this article I will show how easy it is to protect yourself from all causes of file loss at once.

The reasons for the failure can be very different.:

Breakage of a PC hard drive or flash drive, on which the files are stored, sooner or later happens to everyone. According to statistics, the lifespan of modern carriers ranges from 1 month to 5 years. The crash of a hard disk or flash drive can come suddenly, making it impossible to create backup copies of working documents.
Filesystem crash is also possible and may cause complete or partial destruction of documents.
File corruption by a virus is one of the common reasons. Even if you use modern versions of antivirus programs and regularly update your antivirus databases, the possibility of damage should not be ruled out.
Unwanted user changes... On purpose or by accident, you or your loved ones may mistakenly make changes to an important document.
Accidental deletion of files is not uncommon by the user past the Recycle Bin and you need to restore them.
Fire, earthquake, flood and other annoyances can also destroy all of your documents.

Sometimes deleted files cannot be recovered at all. Unfortunately, most of us begin to think about automatic backup (backup) only after we have encountered data loss at least once.

How to protect files from loss?

Buy an expensive and reliable hard drive? Update your antivirus software? These measures can only delay the loss of files. The most reliable and correct solution is the regular automatic backup of files on a schedule, that is, the creation of copies of important data. Regular - because the files are corrected, new ones appear, old ones are deleted, and the backups need to be updated by re-creating them.

Of course, automatically copying files on a daily basis is better, easier and faster than making copies manually. Manual copying requires your intervention and you can easily forget to create a copy of the generated changes in time. Regular auto-backup will reliably protect your files from loss and provide confidence in their safety.

Take care of automating the backup in advance!

A simple utility Exiland Backup for Windows allows you not only to create automatic backup files on a specified schedule, but also securely copy files from one company office to another (or others) via local network or via FTP, SFTP, FTPS (SSH). You can easily configure the automatic copying of files from the source folder to the destination folder, even if the destination folder is located on a remote server. Moreover, Exiland Backup provides the ability to both create backup copies of a folder by month and day, and to synchronize folders, making their contents the same.

Scheduled sync or backup - which should you choose?

The difference is that when backing up the entire history of changes is saved source folder, stored by day (backups), and during synchronization, the destination folder is always one and contains exact copy source folder. In other words, if a file gets corrupted in the source folder, then after synchronization it will also get corrupted into the destination folder.

Comparison of synchronization and scheduled backups

To set up a task, the program provides a convenient step-by-step wizard, so even an inexperienced PC user can set up automatic copying of files on a schedule.

At the Backup type step in the wizard, you can select one of the backup types (full backup, incremental backup - copying only changed files and new ones, differential backup) or synchronization of folders.

Scheduled backup. How to set up in Exiland Backup?

The program has a built-in scheduler that allows automatically start backup according to the configured backup schedule... The start time can be configured quite flexibly, for example:

Every hour from 8:00 to 17:00
Monday to Friday at 8:10 am and 3:00 pm, and Saturday only at 8:10 am
Once a day when turning on the PC or connecting a removable device (HDD, flash drive)

Setting up a schedule for a backup

The program also allows you to start tasks manually (at the request of the User).

In addition, the following tasks can be launched:

From the Windows command line
When turning on the PC
When you turn off your PC
When plugging a removable device into a USB port

The program is easy to learn, does not require any special knowledge and is designed for both system administrators and ordinary users with minimal experience in owning a PC. You can learn how to work with Exiland Backup in a few minutes... It is enough to install the program and create at least one task in it, in which to set up a schedule for automatic backup.

Exiland Backup is a combination of simplicity of the interface and flexibility of functionality for automatic scheduled backups in a local network, via FTP (SFTP, SSH), to external media (HDD, flash drive), etc. Differential copying is supported ( only changed files compared to the previous backup), which significantly speeds up the backup process and significantly saves hard disk space. The program has a completely Russian interface, competent error handling in exceptional situations, fault tolerance in case of communication breaks with a remote PC. Exiland Backup is located in the notification area (System Tray) and copies files in the background without interfering with the work of other programs.

You can download the free version of Exiland Backup Free to sample on your data before you want to purchase a license for the Standard or Professional edition.

PC backup software is necessary because the technology that computers use, especially for data storage, is not overly reliable and does not last forever. If your data was not backed up at the time of failure or serious breakdown, then you may lose it.

It would be nice if Microsoft itself provided Windows users with something like Apple Time Machine: an efficient full system recovery and backup solution that requires little interaction or customization on the part of the user.

Instead, the company delivers many recovery options: disk recovery, file backups, and even unfinished system backups (Windows 7). Online backup services are another option for creating backups, but desktop clients generally offer much more flexibility. Online backup services are another option, but desktop clients tend to offer much more customization flexibility.

There are many options for backing up your device. Read on for program analysis.

Acronis True Image 2017

Acronis True Image -the best software in terms of speed. It has all the functionality you could want, even the ability to store data online.

The program runs six processes in the background, which you will notice due to the increased loading times. If you just need to create a backup, you will probably be better than the Aomei Backupper Standard, but for those who need flexible settings, True Image is an indispensable solution.

Pros:

wide functionality and a large number of settings;
high-quality and reliable image processing and file backup.

Minuses

creates many processes in the background;
attractive, but a little strange interface;
perpetual license costs $ 30 for Plus and Premium versions

EaseUS ToDo Backup Home 10.5

EaseUS ToDo Backup -it is a program with an improved user interface and a wide range of functions. Despite the lack of file backup and sync functionality, there is support for Dropbox and other online storage services.

Pros:

Comprehensive file and image backup
Convenient interface
Backup to Dropbox, Google Drive, and OneDrive

Minuses:

Online support only available
No simple file syncing or mirroring

Aomei Backupper Standard 4

Among the free programs Backupper Standard 4 is one of the best, it has the ability to copy images, files, clone a disk, as well as the ability to schedule and create multiple schedules for creating backups. The interface of the program, although a little in a retro style, but the controls are quite simple and intuitive.

Although the program is rather slow when copying a set of files, at the same time it is the fastest software for backing up disks and partitions. The percentage of CPU used during backups is also commendable.

Pros:

Free
Reliability and quality copies

Minuses:

Slow copying
Minor interface glitches

Paragon Backup & Recovery 16 Free Edition

The program performs the basic tasks of creating backups of disks and partitions of the Windows system. It doesn't have FTP, files and folders, or online backups.

Pros:

Backups compatible with most virtual hard disks
Free for non-commercial users with registration
Doesn't create background processes

Disadvantages:

Only scheduling and saving presets in the free version
No partition for disk cloning or recovery

Macrium Reflect Free 6

This program provides sufficient functionality for the average user. If all you need is to create an image of your system and disks, then this software is the best choice.

Pros:

gratuitousness
reliable copies of the system image
disk cloning

Disadvantages:

no file backup and sync capabilities
no incremental backup

What to look for when choosing backup software

Do not buy too much, if you choose software with functions that you do not plan to use, this can lead to unnecessary load on the system and decrease its performance. If you plan to copy information to external media, be sure to check the software that comes with the package. Seagate, WD, and other backup utilities are sufficient for the average computer user.

Backup files: If you only want to copy files, then these programs are usually fast enough (the operating system and software can be reinstalled, although this is laborious and time-consuming). Some programs let you automatically select files if you are using Windows library folders.

Image backup: The image is a display of your entire hard disk (usually without empty sectors) or partitions, and can be used to restore both the operating system and data. The image is the most convenient way to recover in the event of a system failure, and also ensures that you do not miss any important information.

Boot disk: in case of a complete system breakdown, you need an alternative resource to boot the recovery system. Any backup program should be able to create a bootable optical disc or USB flash drive. Some of them will also create a recovery partition on your hard drive that can be used if the hard drive is still working.

Schedule: If you want to get an up-to-date copy of your data, you need to schedule the backup process. Any normal backup program should offer this capability.

Version control: If you are overwriting a previous file, then such a process cannot be called a backup (it is more like creating a mirror). Any program should allow you to keep multiple copies. The best solution is software that allows you to leave backups based on the criteria you specify.

Optical support: Every backup software supports hard drives, but as they seem outdated, DVDs and Blu-Ray discs are excellent archival media. If you are worried about the reliability of optical media, M-Disc claims that its discs have been reliable for thousands of years.

Online support: An exclusive copy of your data is insurance against force majeure events such as floods, fires and power surges. Online storage services are a great way to maintain a remote copy of your data. Backups to Dropbox and the like are great storage solutions.

FTP and SMB / AFP: Backing up to other computers or NAS boxes on your network or in remote locations (like your parent's house) is another way to physically protect your data with a remote or at least physically discrete backup. FTP can be used for offsite, while SMB (Windows and most OS) and AFP (Apple) are good for other PCs or NAS on your local network.

Real time: Real-time backup means that data is backed up immediately after changes, often when created or saved. Also, this feature is called creating a mirror and is necessary to save copies of frequently changing information. A copy will not help you recover your data in the event of a leak, in such a case there should be a planned backup.

Continuous backup: In this case, “continuous” simply means backups on a tight schedule, usually every 5-15 minutes, not every day or week. Use continuous backups for rapidly changing datasets where transfer rates are too slow or processing power is too valuable for real-time backups.

Performance... Most backups run in the background or during off-hours, so performance isn't a big issue in the consumer space. However, if you are backing up multiple machines or in multiple locations at the same time, or dealing with very large datasets, speed can be an important factor.

How do we test?

We run each program with the various types of backups it is capable of. This largely checks the reliability and compatibility with the hardware. We make copies: an image of approximately 115 GB (two partitions) and an image of approximately 50 GB, created from a set of smaller files and folders. Then we mount the images and check their integrity using the program's recovery functions. We also test bootable USB drives created by programs.
Translation from the site www.itnews.com