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The best Windows backup software covers our butts when our primary drive finally up and dies. Instead, Microsoft delivers a mishmash of restore points, recovery discs, file backup, and even the un-retired System Backup Windows 7 , which was probably originally put out to pasture for its propensity to choke on dissimilar hardware. 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. Real time: Real-time backup means that files are backed up whenever they change, usually upon creation or save. Instead, scheduling should be used. Use continuous backup for rapidly changing data sets where transfer rates are too slow, or computing power is too precious for real-time backup. Ideally, you should schedule backups of your data as often as possible.
This is especially true if you are working on an important project or have data that you absolutely cannot afford to lose. It is a good idea to automate the backup process and have the Windows software back up your data every hour or so.
Windows backup software, meanwhile, provides continuous versioning and backup of all the file history on your device. It will continuously and automatically backup every specified file on a device. Windows backup software also offers additional data security measures such as file encryption. Furthermore, these backup services allow you to create a bootable optical disc or USB thumb drive for recovery after a system crash.
There are cloud backup services distinct from those mentioned above that offer much, though not all, of the benefits of a Windows backup program, such as continuous backups and versioning for multiple devices.
You can learn more about them in our roundup of best cloud backup services. If you are backing up to more than one device or multiple different destinations, or if you are backing up very large data sets, then you may notice your system slow down as it performs the backup. This will cause the software to perform backups of only the files you change in real time and it requires less bandwidth and processor resources to maintain.
R-Drive Image 7 — Best overall. Pros Super reliable, quick disk and partition imaging New file and folder backup New partition manager Lean-and-mean boot media. Cons Consumer version uses proprietary image format. Pros Excellent imaging and file backup capabilities Actively protects against ransomware Cloud storage included.
Retrospect Solo — Includes ransomware protection. Pros Easy to use once learned Copious feature set Good performance New anti-ransomware backup protection. Cons Somewhat steep learning curve. Best Prices Today: 49 at Retrospect. Backupper 6 Standard — Best free option. Pros Top-notch, easy interface File backup and sync, plus imaging in one program Free version that covers the basics.
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