Computer's don’t have an endless life, and unfortunately, we depend on them for saving all of our important data but PCs do get corrupt, and hard drive crashing is also a very normal thing, so it’s sensible to back up our data to protect it from such events of misfortune. Thankfully, there are many backup software available that will let you create a complete backup of all your important data to an external hard drive or to the cloud storage. Although, most of these tools are paid, but there are some free software or plans as well. You just need to decide whether the data you want to backup is worth paying for or not.
Computer's don’t have an endless life, and unfortunately, we depend on them for
saving all of our important data but PCs do get corrupt, and hard drive
crashing is also a very normal thing, so it’s sensible to back up our
data to protect it from such events of misfortune. Thankfully,
there are many backup software available that will let you create a
complete backup of all your important data to an external hard drive or
to the cloud storage. Although, most of these tools are paid, but there
are some free software or plans as well. You just need to decide whether
the data you want to backup is worth paying for or not.
From
viruses and software bugs, to hardware failure or human error, there
are many potential dangers waiting to trash your files.
And
if the worst happens - you lose personal photos, your music library,
important business documents - then that could be a real disaster. Which
is why it's a very good idea to back up your PC on a regular basis.
This
is never going to be fun, of course, but with the right software it'll
be easier than you think. And you may not have to spend anything,
either, because there are some great free backup and disk cloning tools
around.
Whether
you want to copy the contents of your Documents folder somewhere, clone
one drive to another, or create a backup image of your entire system,
we've found plenty of programs that can help.
So what's the best free backup and disk cloning software? Read on for our recommendations.
1. AOMEI Backupper
If you like your backup programs to be simple than AOMEI Backupper's
straightforward interface will appeal immediately. Choose the drive or
partition to back up, the destination drive, and a click later Backupper
will be creating an image for you.
The
program has plenty of power, though, if you need it. There are options
to encrypt or compress your backups. You can create incremental or
differential backups for extra speed. You're able to restore individual
files and folders, or the entire image, and there are even disk and
partition cloning tools.
What
you can't do, unfortunately, is schedule backups - they must be run
manually. But otherwise AOMEI Backupper is an excellent tool, packed
with features yet also easy to use.
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2. EaseUS Todo Backup Free
Just like most free (for personal use) editions of commercial products, EaseUS Todo Backup Free has a few limitations - but the package still has more than enough features for most people.
The
program can run both image and file-based backups, for instance,
manually or on a schedule. You're able to run full or incremental
backups.
An
option to limit write speed reduces the impact backups have on your
system performance. It's possible to individual files or folders, or an
entire image via the program's recovery disc. And there are tools to
clone and wipe drives, too.
On
the negative side, you don't get encryption, there's no differential
backup, and you only get a Linux-based disc (not Windows PE). But EaseUS
Todo Backup Free still looks like a great program to us.
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3. Redo Backup and Recovery
Redo Backup and Recovery is
an imaging backup tool with a difference. Instead of installing a
program, you download a large (249MB) ISO file, and burn it to CD or USB
key drive. Then just boot from it to launch a simple tool which can
back up your drives, and restore them later (even if Windows won't
start).
There's also an undelete tool, and even a web browser if you need to look for help on your PC problems.
The
program isn't exactly convenient, then. You can't schedule backups,
they all have to be run manually, and there are very few options.
But
it's also easy to use and free for everyone, so if you only want to run
backups occasionally - or want a system you can use on any PC, without
installing software - then it might be worth a look.
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4. Cobian Backup
Cobian Backup is
an excellent file backup tool with lots of features. You get full,
differential and incremental backups, for instance; zip or 7zip
compression; AES 256-bit encryption; include and exclude filters; a
strong scheduler, backup to or from FTP servers, and the list goes on.
Every aspect of the program is extremely configurable, too (there are
more than 100 settings you can tweak).
PC
or backup novices are likely to find this a little overwhelming. If
you're more experienced, though, you'll love the amount of control
Cobian Backup gives you over every aspect of the backup process.
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5. Macrium Reflect Free
One of the most popular free (for home use) disk imaging programs around, Macrium Reflect Free delivers a solid, if basic feature set via an easy-to-use interface.
The
program doesn't have incremental or differential backups. And you don't
get encryption or password protection. This does make creating a backup
job very easy, though (choose the source drive, the destination, maybe
set the compression level and you're done).
There's
a capable scheduler; you can mount images in Windows Explorer, or
restore them entirely with both Linux and Windows PE-based recovery
discs. And overall Macrium Reflect Free is a great choice for anyone who
wants a simple but reliable image backup tool.
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6. DriveImage XML
Free for personal use, DriveImage XML is
a lightweight alternative to the more bulky imaging competition. Backup
is as easy as choosing a source drive, a destination, and (optionally)
setting your compression level.
Restoration is just as simple, and the only significant extra is an option to copy directly from one drive to another.
There
are some complications elsewhere. Click "Task Scheduler", for instance,
and you'll get instructions on how to manually set up Windows Task
Scheduler to run your backups. But if you need just a basic drive
imaging tool then give DriveImage XML a try.
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7. FBackup
FBackup is
a capable file backup tool, free for both personal and commercial use.
The interface is simple and straightforward, and there are a number of
features you don't always see elsewhere.
Plug-ins
allow you to back up individual programs with a click; there's support
for include and exclude filters; and you can run "mirror" backups, which
just copy everything without zipping it up (which makes restoring files
very easy).
Compression
isn't so good, though (it's the weak Zip2), and the scheduler is also
more basic than you'll see elsewhere. But if your needs are simple (or
you're tired of "free for personal use" tools) then FBackup should
appeal.
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8. Backup Maker
At first the free-for-personal-use BackupMaker seems
like any other file backup tool, with incremental or full backups
available, scheduling, compression, encryption, include and exclude
filters, and so on.
But
interesting extras include support for online backups to FTP servers,
and running backups automatically when a USB device is connected.
The
program stores data in Zip files, too, making them very convenient to
access. And Backup Maker comes in a tiny 6.5MB download, far more
manageable than some of the bulky competition.
If you're a home user looking for capable file backup then Backup Maker could be ideal.
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9. Clonezilla
Just like Redo Backup and Recovery, Clonezilla isn't a program you install: it's a bootable environment which you can launch from a CD or USB flash drive.
And
it's seriously powerful, to you're able to create an image of a drive;
restore an image (to one drive, or many at the same time); or clone a
drive (copy one drive to another), with plenty of low-level control over
how this works.
While
Redo Backup and Recovery focuses on ease of use, though, Clonezilla is
more about providing advanced options, like "run unattended Clonezilla
via PXE booting". It's not complicated - it's probably the best free
disk cloning software around - but the program is aimed at experienced
users, and backup beginners should look elsewhere.
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10. Paragon Backup & Recovery 2013 Free
Another free (for personal use) version of a commercial drive imaging product, Paragon Backup & Recovery 2013 Free is a good tool with some restrictions.
There's
strong support for the basics: you can create image backups (full or
differential), compress and encrypt them, use exclude filters to help
define what's included, run backups on a schedule, then restore specific
files and folders or the entire image.
Extras
include the "capsule", a separate partition to help keep your backups
safe. And a good set of basic partition tools is included, too.
Problems?
You don't get incremental backup; you can't clone disks or partitions,
and the interface occasionally feels a little complex. Still, Paragon
Backup & Recovery 2013 Free is a quality tool, and well worth your
attention.
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11. Duplicati
If you need online file backups then Duplicati is
one of the most versatile tools around, with support for saving files
to SkyDrive, Google Docs, FTP servers, Amazon S3, Rackspace Cloudfiles
and WEBDAV-based storage.
The
program can also save to local and network drives, though, and includes
plenty of useful options (AES-256 encryption, password protection, a
capable scheduler, full and incremental backups, regular expression
support for the include/ exclude filters, even upload and download speed
limits to reduce any impact on your system).
So whether you're saving files to the web, or locally, there's something for you here.
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