Most people who’ve used computers for any length of time know only too well that hard drive failures are a routine affair, and unfortunately, they often come without any prior warnings. We have all fallen victims to temperamental hard drives at some stage of our lives, and it always seems to come at the most ill-opportune moment. If you’ve already suffered because of a failed hard drive (or two), you know the importance of protecting yourself from such eventuality by backing up your important data, so I don’t really need to preach to the choir.
1. Macrium Reflect
Macrium Reflect is arguably one of the best backup software for Windows right now. It has an endless list of features to the point that you might feel overwhelmed. Yes, the software is a bit complex to use and designed primarily for professionals, but general users can also utilize this tool for creating a complete backup of their Windows PC. With Macrium Reflect, you can create a full backup image, clone a disk, set scheduled backup and do a lot more. Macrium Reflect has both free and paid versions, but the free tool comes with all the essential features including Differential backup, unlike many programs that don’t offer scheduled backups in the free version.
In case you are unaware, there are three types of backup methods generally found on most backup tools: Full, Differential, and Incremental backup. Full backup means it will simply copy everything on your PC including the OS. It’s a time-consuming process and takes up huge disk space. You can use this backup method if you are moving to a new PC. However, if you intend to create a scheduled backup system for your PC to an external hard drive then go with Differential or Incremental backup. On Differential backup, a Full image backup takes place and then it stores all the changes since the first Full image backup. This process takes less time to back up your data and is also easy to restore, however, after a week or two, you should create a full image backup to keep the size of differential backup small.
EaseUS Todo Backup is one the most feature-rich and easy to use backup utilities on Windows, and once you’ve used it for a while, it’s not difficult to see why. Similar to Macrium Reflect, EaseUS Todo Backup comes in three different flavors (full, differential and incremental) and the imaging actually comes with an option to create a Linux-based boot disc that should come in really handy should the worst comes to pass. While the software allows users to schedule and perform custom backups anytime, by default, it performs a full backup each week, and differential backups every half an hour in case it detects any change in the system. For added security, the software allows you to encrypt the full system images that can be compressed at a fairly high level so as to occupy less space on the disk.
EaseUS Todo Backup allows users to even backup Android devices. You can also split large disk images into smaller segments, and set passwords to protect your data from being spied on by any unauthorized person. Another cool feature is the Image Reserve option that allows users to delete or merge old system images to help save drive space. However, the single best feature of EaseUS Todo Backup is the ability to clone the system disk to migrate your Windows installation to another HDD or SSD. That’s a feature which is fairly common for most backup utilities, but only in their premium, paid versions. However, unlike most of them, EaseUS offers this essential feature in its free version, which makes it my personal favorite free backup software on Windows.
Acronis True Image is another advanced backup tool for Windows which offers secure backup through AI and many other smart features. Unlike other backup software, Acronis True Image brings both local and cloud storage using its personal backup solution. As for backup methods, you can mirror system images, clone disks to removable storage, create recovery drives and more. Acronis also offers all three backup systems i.e. Full, Differential, and Incremental so you are sorted on this front. However, keep in mind, Acronis True Image does not have a free version, but offers a free trial for 30 days. So, if you want to clone or mirror a full system image then you can comfortably take advantage of Acronis True Image within the trial period.
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AOMEI Backupper Standard is yet another great backup software for Windows that comes with all the features you’d expect in a free backup program. You can copy files, folders and entire partitions either manually or at scheduled intervals. Like other backup tools in the list, AOMEI also offers you the option to perform incremental and differential backups, which means once you’re done with the full backup the first time, the amount of time taken to do your subsequent backups reduce significantly. The software also offers password protection and full encryption, and has is the ability to mount a backed-up image as a virtual local drive, which allows users to explore the image just like a standard Windows installation.
5. Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows Free
Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows Free is a fairly long name for what was originally released a couple of years ago as Veeam Endpoint Backup Free. Unlike most of the other utilities on this list that are meant for the home user, Veeam is mostly known for its enterprise solutions. However, the company offers a free version of Veeam Agent for home users and it’s one of the most uncomplicated backup software out there. Within seconds, you can create a task for System and Drive back up and it will start doing its job.
Genie Timeline easily has one of the most user-friendly interfaces among all the programs listed here on the list. It can back up files and folders to a network drive from your local computer, but you can also choose to backup to a local disk if you want. Like AOMEI, it allows you to exclude file types that you don’t want to backup, and you can also manually edit out individual files and folders from your backup list. The one interesting aspect that makes the program stand out from its competitors is an iOS app that allows you to monitor a backup-in-progress from your iPhone or iPad.
O&O is known for making some of the best Windows tools which are easy to use and their latest product DiskImage is no different. If you want a consumer-friendly backup software that does not frighten you with endless options then go with O&O DiskImage. It allows you to create backups of all the drives in one click and you can also select certain folders and files. It also has an option to clone the system image which is great. Basically, you can move from one PC to another without having to change Registry, your Windows preferences, Services and more. Having said that, keep in mind, O&O DiskImage does not have a free version instead, it offers you a 30-day free trial period. So similar to Acronis True Image, you can use it for cloning disks, creating mirror images, imaging disk partition and more within the trial period.
Other than that, O&O DiskImage offers an option to encrypt your backups to protect your data from unauthorized access. Furthermore, you can create Differential or Incremental backup if you choose to get the premium plan. Having said all of that, you can also create Windows-PE based recovery media which helps you boot your Windows backup as a bootable drive. All in all, O&O DiskImage is a powerful backup software for Windows and you should definitely give it a try.
Paragon Backup and Recovery comes with much the same set of features as the ones above it on the list, but it does have a cool little trick up its sleeve unlike some of its competitors. The program allows users to save the backed-up images in a number of different file formats, including Microsoft PC Image file (VHD), VMWare Image file (VMDK) and of course, its own, proprietary PVHD image file. Like most other options on this list, you can compress the images and also split them up into smaller pieces to save disk space, and even exclude certain file types from your backup. Paragon doesn’t really lack in terms of features but comes with a fairly large installer that weighs in around 180MB, so do keep that in mind if you want to give this one a go.
9. Clonezilla
If you want a free backup software for Windows to clone system images and disks then I would highly recommend the open-source tool, Clonezilla. It does not offer you the best UI experience, but it’s very reliable and you can clone hard disks of multiple file systems without even booting to the system. Yes, you need to create a bootable thumb drive to use Clonezilla, but it is extremely fast when it comes to cloning files, folders and system images from multiple hard drives. As for the Windows partition system, it supports both GPT and MBR so that is great. Clonezilla claims that it can simultaneously fetch data from more than 40 hard drive sources without any reduction in speed. To sum it up, if you are shifting to a new Windows computer or moving your files to a new HDD or SSD then use Clonezilla to your advantage. However, keep in mind, you can’t schedule backups with Clonezilla.
If you are looking for a free backup software for Windows then why not use the native backup tool that ships with both Windows 10 and 7? The backup feature on Windows 10 is excellent as I have personally used it in the past. You can back up all your files, folders and drive to an external drive. And it’s not that Windows Backup does not come with essential features. You can customize when and how frequently you want to update the backup and what to do with the backups after a certain period of time. So if you want to use the native tool on Windows 10, open Windows Settings -> Update and Security and move to the Backup tab.
Apart from that, you can also use the Backup and Restore utility that ships with both Windows 10 and 7. It’s the older way to backup your computer, but it offers full system mirroring which means, it will copy all your files, folders, drive and the operating system. So, if you are moving to a new PC, this handy tool can help you with the transition. You can find Backup and Restore in Control Panel under the System and Security menu.
Unless you literally have nothing of note on your PC, backing up your computer is an essential part of your digital life, but many of us keep ignoring that until it’s too late. Personally, I used to use Acronis True Image many moons ago, and it helped me migrate my Windows 7 Pro installation from my 320GB 7200RPM HDD to an MLC Nand-based 250GB SSD. However, Acronis unfortunately doesn’t offer a free version of its backup and recovery software, so we couldn’t really put it on our list, seeing as this is strictly a compilation of the best free utilities.
