What is the top recommended "set and forget" backup solution for Windows 11?
What is the top recommended "set and forget" backup solution for Windows 11?
Initial findings: Cloning System Drive
Configuration: The system drive is an M.2 4TB NVMe storage with 351 GB utilized. The target drive matches this size, connected through an AMZ Pilot docking station via USB-C.
Performance assessment thus far:
DiskGenius stands out as the most efficient software tested: under two hours.
EaseUS Copy 5.5 takes longer than a day.
EaseUS ToDo Backup requires more than a day.
Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office is slower than three days.
AOMEI BackerUpper exceeds five days.
Macrium Reflect (free version) is pending evaluation.
Summary: DiskGenius remains the top choice for disk cloning alongside your imaging tools, especially if you need scheduling flexibility. I’m hoping Macrium matches its speed for cloning purposes so I can eliminate all other disk software except Macrium! More updates soon.
Larry
Is this for Cloning, or for backups?
Not really the same thing.
Cloning is for changing the drive
right now
.
Imaging is for an ongoing backup schedule.
For instance, I would not put the Clone operation on a schedule.
That gives you a "backup" that is just 1 deep.
In addition, if you have multiple physical drives (like me), you need a physical target drive for each.
Imaging, OTOH, can give you much more depth.
An initial Full Image, then a series of Incremental or Differential.
My systems schedules enable several weeks worth of potential recovery.
I can go back to "Last Tuesday", for any individual drive.
I fully agree and am now looking forward to receiving the new HDDs to upgrade my old ones. As this imaging backup method is unfamiliar to me (I’ll follow your lead), I’ll feel more at ease generating a clone once a week alongside my regular images.
Larry
My images are stored in one main folder structure within my NAS volume. Each drive or system has its own subfolder. The nightly incremental backups complete in just a few minutes.
According to what was mentioned here, the most effective backup system is the one you actually use. I truly wish for the extra protection of a backup, even though it's a single point backup that doesn't need any extra work to set up! Larry