Windows 7 - Macrium or Paragon disc imager software?

Just a quick question which will no doubt ellicit many personal prefrences.As I have never done a disc image before I would appreciate a little bit of advice.I have been doing a bit of reading and these two seem to be recomended by a lot of reviewers. Second question
Is it very complicated ? as I am really just learning about computers and I don't want to break my computer. I have just done a clean install last week and I don't want to have to do another any time soon because it made my brain ache
Thank you
Harry

I tried both of them, ended up using Macrium Reflect.
The free version of Reflect is very straight forward but has some limitations : it can only restore the image from a bootable media (you cannot initiate the restoration from windows). Also you can only create a bootable CD or an ISO file; no bootable USB flash drive (I used UltraISO to wright the ISO file to a thumb drive : 7MB and works like a charm)
Paragon Drive Backup is totally free, no limited functions, you have the possibility to create a bootable USB flash drive ... I had some bad experience with it (ex : it changed the size of the "System Reserved" Partition of my Windows 7 wich got me in some trouble)

You may also consider Acronis True Image : version 8 is free (the most recent version is 2010 or v12), and if you have a Seagate or Western Digital hard drive you can get it for free (In My case Acronis True Image WD Edition based on v11)

Regards

Acronis TI 2010 is the best, but notwithstanding version 8 it is not free. Also, though some have said that version eleven works with Windows 7, only 2010 is specifically stated to be compatible. I have never worked with version 11, but I know for a fact that version 10 is not compatible.

Though I have both Macrium and Paragon installed, I have not worked enough with either to state a preference or make a recommendation, except that I found Paragon easier to work with.

macrium works fine, you can make a bootable recovery cd, restore from a 2nd hard drive, or a hidden macrium backup location. free version doesn't do incremental backups, pro does. pro also, i seem to recall, allows booting into a pre-windows boot loader that allows you to do a full image restore, similar to trueimage.

tried paragon, it corrupted my system and i wound up having to do a format and clean install of everything. i was not amused.

i am using acronis TI 2010 at the moment tho. it saved my bacon a couple of weeks ago when i tried a 'free' home version of paragon partition manager that again ate my boot partition when i tried to resize it, used ti recovery & had the day before's incremental restored in about half an hour. i'll not try any of paragon's stuff again in future. acronis or macrium are good bets tho.

Thanks to all for taking time to reply to my thread Macrium or Paragon disc imager software? I ended up using macrium I found it pretty straight forward and fool friendly so will stick with it for now so once again thank you.
Cheers
Harry

My 2 cents' worth: I tried Macrium Reflect and it didn't restore my image. I'd tried to clean install on top of an OEM, so deleted the partitions in Win 7 setup, only to be told Windows couldn't setup - view log. I then tried to restore my Macrium image - no joy. Thankfully Windows own imaging saved me.

Might try Paragon...

Though many in this forum vouch for Macrium reflect, my first preference will be for Storagecraft's ShadowProtect Desktop 4. It costs more and has an unforgiving activation/deactivation policy which keep people away generally.( I did not upgrade it to the latest version 4 because of this.) That said, it is primarily focussed on one job that is backing up and restoring, easy to use, fool-proof and does it with aplomb.

My next 2 cents will be on Paragon.

Both Shadowprotect Desktop and Paragon have received excellent reviews on reputed PC Magazines by which I go by, and my personal experience goes well with them.

My last preference will be for Acronis, though at one-time it was my favourite. I had reasons to jettison it as my primary backup software.( I still upgrade to the latest version and try it as a pastime. Old habits seldom die.)

Honestly, I have heard of Macriumreflect only in this forum and by that time I have one too many. So it is never on my list.