Can you recommend a good, reliable backup software?
Asked by
2davidc8 (
10189
)
April 22nd, 2021
So, I have an old Seagate external hard drive that I’m using with my laptop. Both laptop and Seagate drive are now very “long in the tooth” and it’s time to get new equipment.
I’ve been very happy with the way the Seagate drive works. It came loaded with backup software, which seamlessly, effortlessly, and unobstrusively backs up my files.
Here’s what it does that I like:
1. It backs up only those folders that I designate.
2. It backs up only files in those folders that are new or have been modified (i.e., incremental backup only).
3. It saves any older versions of those files into a “history” folder.
4. It keeps as many generations of history as necessary.
5. Any deleted file is also deleted from the current generation backup.
6. All backups are encrypted.
7. It does all of this silently in the background.
Now, I just bought a newer external hard drive with much larger capacity to go with my new laptop (not yet purchased), but it does not have backup software.
Can you recommend a good backup software that works as described above?
Thanks!
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16 Answers
Macrium Reflect should be able to do all that.
Can you not use the software that came with the older drive?
Copy onto the computer…?
@dabbler Not clear to me how to do it. There seem to be many folders and files. Seems proprietary.
Try going to the web site of the new backup drive and see if they offer free or low-cost backup software?
Yes, I use GFI Backup (Freeware). It’s excellent and free. I have used it for 10+ years.
The problem is that it hasn’t been updated since 2012 – it’s still available for download and use, but GFI isn’t supporting the free version any more.
I have tried Macrium, as @ragingloli suggests, but the Free Macrium is hobbled and the Home Edition is overpriced.
I recommend a Backblaze subscription. Your data is backed up at a remote site.
You can put it on a drive or upload it to the cloud.
@KRD Yes, I am planning to use something like Dropbox or iDrive for a secondary backup. With these, you download the client software and whatever you put in their folder is automatically and incrementally backed up. The free versions have limited capacity, so I’ll be using them only for certain files or photos.
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@Caravanfan & @all, does anything about a remote site backup bother you? I don’t like putting my stuff in unknown hands. But I’ve had a couple of scares lately, including having my screen turn red, and I can see that it would feel more secure in practical ways.
No in fact it saved my bacon. My big hard drive just crashed and it’s backed up online. It turned a major disaster into a minor inconvenience.
If you’re not backed up to an off site site you are not backed up.
@Caravanfan Ok, yikes, I believe you. I used to back up to CDs and keep them at work, but that’s not an option any more. Anything a person should know about using Backblaze?
@kneesox the first backup can take weeks depending on your internet speed and how much data you have. If your internet provider has a monthly limit it’s easy to exceed it. Once all your data is backed up then you’re fine and it only updates as you add or remove files. Otherwise it’s set it up and forget about it until you need it
Also it’s unlimited data but it’s per computer. So each computer is a separate account
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