Best Free Backup Program

Reg Hardware recently put Bvckup on their 10 freeware gems list. Worth a look?

I've been using 'Create Synchronicity'. It's free, open source and portable. Does both backup and synchronization, and has worked very well. Very small execuatable (<250 k).
http://synchronicity.sourceforge.net/

I would find it difficult to recommend Toucan when the program does not run properly and development appears to have stopped on it.

To my first point:
Defining a rule causes the program to crash, immediately. Rules are critical to getting the backup, and especially a restore, to do what you need it to do.

To my second point:
Toucan version 3.0.4, its last release, was 11/30/2010.

There is a 3.01 beta that has time on it, but it is really buggy.

This program is just what I was looking for, and is a great effort, but it needs to work, without major bugs.

I've been using Cobian for many years. It is an easy to use program, which provides full file, incremental and differential backups, with the function to save any number of sets of full file back ups with intervening differential or inceremental ones - e.g.:
FileA_Full_2012/01/11, FileB_Full2012/01/11,...
FileA_Incr_2012/01/12, FileB_Incr_2012/01/12,...
FileA_Incr_2012/01/13, FileB_Incr_2012/01/13,...
FileA_Full_2012/01/14, FileB_Full2012/01/14,...
FileA_Incr_2012/01/15, FileB_Incr_2012/01/15...

It can copy open files and will verify the copies using CRC. It has a flexible scheduler, where series of back-ups can be scheduled at different frequencies.

Files are copied in their original form (.doc, pdf, excel etc), and can be accessed the same way as the original - i.e. there is no dependence on the continued availability of the back-up program. Files can also be compressed and/or encrypted during the back-up process.

The one major shortcoming of the product is that there is no restore facility. It is possible to copy back the back-up files to the replacement disk. However, this can become complicated and tedious if there are a number of incremental or differential files to be restored on top of a restored full back-up copy, which may have been created many days previously.

Can anyone recommend a back-up product that has all the facilities of Cobian, plus a restore component?

I don't quite understand the limitations of file backup vs. image backup software when one has lost a bootable partition.

Can file backup programs like Backup Maker that DO NOT copy locked files create a backup that can be fully restored, OS, apps & data, in case of total destruction of one's boot partition? In other words, can one use such software similarly to image partition backup software?

What about file backup software that uses VSS to copy locked files? Can this type of software restore a full bootable partition?

I used to use the standard Windows backup feature that comes with Windows 7 to store onto an external hard drive. This seemed fine until I started to get error messages, which when Googled, showed problems with reparse points. I don't understand Microsoft'd explanation of how to deal with this, nor do I understqand how it suddenly became a problem. Is there any freeware backup program that would not crash because of these issues? All I really need to backup is documents, photos, internet bookmarks, that sort of thing. Any suggestions gratefully received.

Hello,

With regards to Genie Timeline:

Once a backup has been created (using an external drive to back the files up onto) does Genie recognise that specific hard drive or any external drive that ends up having that letter e.g. E:

Basically if I remove the backup drive and insert a different external drive into the same usb port will Genie think it should backup to that drive?

And does it matter what usb port the external drive is plugged into?

I'm setting up a backup system for my sister who lives 50Km from me so want it to be as simple as possible.

Cheers,

Paul

Another vote here for Comodo Backup (currently using 4.0.7.14). I tried several others incl. Windows 7 native, Acronis, Areca (which I was excited about) and more and just kept getting either errors or random lockups or file name length problems or whatever. I was already using Comodo Firewall and had seen the Backup in the comments to this article and others. So simple after you let it scan your system to backup all docs, pics, vids and music to network drive on a Full Backup then just run incremental. Pure cake. I'm on a wireless connection on my laptop (server running FreeNAS is wired to dsl router)and it took 3 hours to do a 36 GB backup but after that, quick and solid. No errors. No lockups. Mount backup as drive to browse files (not necessary if you saved in simple format, but I use CBU format to discourage curious eyes on my home network). Solid. And above all, for beginners, the help files are very intuitive, detailed, and easy to understand with graphical examples; far more professional looking that some of the others' help sections.

Thanks for this great review! I loved Backup Maker since the first second I've used it - so easy to use and compared with other tools very fast!

I completely missed the listing of "A Hyperactive Nag Screen" as a CON with respect to Backup Maker. It's so annoying, I uninstalled the program and am looking for an alternative. I understand everyone's right to make a living, but for me, nag screens that pop up every time I boot up the computer as well as intermittently are a huge negative, and I'd urge you at Gizmo to place more emphasis on providing negative scores for freeware products with aggressive nag screens. For me, I couldn't rate Backup Maker as a top pick because of this "feature."

Keep up the great work, though - I use your advice all the time!

Hello,

I just installed BackUp Maker and am very impressed of its functionality. There was a "partner offer" when installing the software, but it was very easy to prevent installation by clicking "Decline".

So, my questions is: When does the nag screen appear? I am using it for two days now without any nag screen and I already created about 8 or 10 backups yet.

Thank you

Pietro

It is really a pity the review does not mention if we can pause a very large FTP backup, shut the computer down, go to sleep and resume it the next day.

This is very important if we want to save energy, once the backup can be performed while we are using the computer. Right? If some people adjust sleep and hibernation just to save little bits ow power, they must be also interested on saving so many hours so uselessly, unless need the backup with the least delay possible.

I just came across this today, CrashPlan. May be a worth a look at. Has some interesting features, not sure what type of backups are offered for the onsite backup, but I found the option to be able to backup to a peers computer quite interesting.

http://www.crashplan.com/consumer/crashplan.html

The first time I installed Backupmaker, i suffered from the Incredibar which I removed with great difficulty.

Just tried it again and find it impossible for amateurs. Setting up is ridiculous unless one knows what all the questions mean to a user.

Then, after by guess and by God finishing it I can find no way to start the programme and do a bacup. Whatever I do simple brings up the setup screen.

Don't install Backup Maker!

It insists on installing some weather app and some browser "default tab" crap. I want a backup program, not more crap.

I tried fbackup, and despite its promise to only back up files that have changed, it NEVER did this. Instead, when backing up my audio library, it deletes the entire existing backup and starts from scratch, taking about 48 hours to complete the backup, when only a couple of gigs had changed. There was nothing screwy going on with the modified date on the files, it just seemed to ignore them. I am uninstalling and trying other options.

I think you may have missed the best pick. I've look at several of these, but I'm using Cobian Backup.
Check it out.

http://www.educ.umu.se/~cobian/cobianbackup.htm

It's free, allows scheduled backups, FTP upload, and much more.

My question is there a backup standard that several programs could restore from? I am just wondering if I start using one program but later decide to use something else, is there a format that works across several programs?

Backup Maker does a nice job, but I swore off it when an update installed "Incredibar" MyStart. (Yeah, I clicked through the installation too fast.) This not only installs the Incredibar program (which can be removed using the standard Windows uninstall method) but also changes Firefox's home page setting (so much for my choices) *and* modifies Firefox's configuration file to permanently point address bar searches to MyStart. To reset my search preference to Google, I had to resort to messing around with the Firefox configuration file, which appears to the the only way to remove the MyStart "feature". That's not exactly friendly and it's certainly not an obvious way to remove unwanted software.

Technically, Incredibar/MyStart are not malware -- well, I don't think they are -- but they certainly are annoying-ware. Any software that installs extra junk, and installs it in a way designed to be difficult to remove, is not acceptable, so no more Backup Maker for me.

If you do install Backup Maker, beware!

Backup Maker is the best free program I've tried, but I've not looked at the others here. I've not been using it long but apart from backing up open files I'm happy with it.

If you want mirroring, then use ASCOMP's sister program to Backup Maker, called Synchredible. All you do is synch on way, from source to destination. Only changed programs are copied and it is scheduled with several options.

This is one of the more interesting sites I have come across.

I have tried several of these as I wonder if I am missing out on something but I keep going back to MS own free utility SyncToy http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=15155 It has always performed well for me and never let me down. Granted it can be a bit slow at times but I tend to run it during the night (with the added benefit on these cold mornings that it keeps my computer room warm!!)

So what do these do that SyncToy doesn't - would be interested to know so that I can see if I am missing something.

www.comodo.com/home/backup-online-storage/comodo-backup.php

Comodo Backup so far definitely seems to be better than any of the ones I have tried on here. It requires registration, and seems to want you to use their cloud storage, but you don't have to install the cloud storage part and you can do a backup to anywhere you want.

Hello,

Am I allowed to mention a paid program here in the hope that someone knows of a very similar freeware alternative?

I don't want to break any rules.

Regards,

Paul

Hello,

What would be the best freeware to basically start backing up any new or changed files as soon as I attach a specific external drive.

I understand that I would have to setup a backup initially of course but then I want it to be automatic.

I guess Genie Timeline would be good but I have 3 separate users on my pc (my wife, my daughter and myself). I would rather not have to setup backups from each user account but as I understand it, that would be necessary correct?

Regards,

Paul