Looking for a good Backup utility

I've been running Nero BackItUp for about a year now, using an incremental backup of selected folders from my C drive to a USB drive. I just tried to do a restore from it and failed and I'm looking for something better.

I was never very happy with the user interface in Nero; it seemed to make it unduly difficult to setup the backup and did not (IMHO) adequately explain the choices it was asking me to make at various points. I had however assumed that it was working correctly - it certainly seemed to be "doing its thing" once a week. Unfortunately this seem not to be the case!

I just tried to use the restore facility to restore a single file that I had inadvertently overwritten. I wanted to retrieve a version from the previous week's backup. This has proven to be apparently impossible to do. Despite the fact that the Desktop folder is most definitely one of those selected for back up, the file is not listed. What is in the folder seems to vary according to which of the increments I choose. I certainly have NO desire to go back through nearly a hundred increments to try to find the one that contains it and the main undated version does not. Since the file has only been there for a month or so it should be in the most recent half dozen. It's not. Each one only contains two or three files when I have around fifty on my desktop.

I figure I'm lucky to have found out with only one file that it's a crap program; basically I am NOT impressed and am looking for something better. You guys are the experts, so can someone suggest something? I don't mind a fee as long as it's not too exorbitant; shall we say <$100? I'm after reliability and, most critically, ease of use. An intuitive and helpful interface. I'm running Win 7 Home Premium 64 bit.

Any thoughts?

A lot of folks recommend Macrium, Paragon Backup & Recovery 2012, EaseUS Todo 4.0, and Acronis. Macrium, Paragon and EaseUS have free versions as well as paid. Acronis is pretty much a paid version but they do offer a free limited function version if you happen to have (I think) a Western Digital hard drive.

marsmimar said:

A lot of folks recommend Macrium, Paragon Backup & Recovery 2012, EaseUS Todo 4.0, and Acronis. Macrium, Paragon and EaseUS have free versions as well as paid.

Thanks. If it means getting a better piece of software then I don't mind paying. Which one do you feel is the best (easiest to use)?

I'm using Macrium and EaseUS, each to a different external hard drive. I figure the chances of both images failing at the same time is pretty remote compared to using just one imaging tool all the time. But that's just me. :)

The learning curve on both is relatively easy and they both have good tutorials.

Thanks. I'll check them both out.

One question: You say "imaging tool" - does that mean that you're backing up the drive as a whole rather than on a folder by folder basis? I'd prefer the folder approach; does that make one of the two more attractive?

I'm doing both. I do daily data backups and full system images once a week. But I'm thinking about doing just system images on a daily basis. I've been testing out an eSATA connection since Christmas and it's doing remarkably well. A full system image takes about 30 minutes (compared to when I was using USB 2.0 and it was taking about 90 minutes.)

Personally, I prefer a full system image. If your computer ever goes down for the count because of a virus or otehr problem, your system image will contain everything on the hard drive at the moment the image was made. If you have a lot of programs, special personalized settings in the operating system, etc you can be full restored in less than an hour with a full system image.

marsmimar said:

I'm doing both. I do daily data backups and full system images once a week.

LOL. I'm not quite that paranoid; I just do a data backup once a week. Still better than many of my friends though. Most people just don't seem to grasp the need for any backup at all!

Thanks.

Not a problem. Hope you find something to your liking.

AussieColin said:

Thanks. I'll check them both out.

One question: You say "imaging tool" - does that mean that you're backing up the drive as a whole rather than on a folder by folder basis? I'd prefer the folder approach; does that make one of the two more attractive?

Here are some "folder" backup programs for you to check out:

SyncToy

Karen's Replicator

Second Copy

FolderClone

GFI Backup Home Edition

Syncback

Allway Sync

I think all of those are free except Second Copy.

For imaging programs, I am using Macrium Reflect Free Edition and EaseUS Todo Backup 3.0, in an alternating fashion.

I'd recommend you avoid "incremental" backups if possible. They just add another layer of complexity.