Recommended backup software

[StuartR]

I am thinking about trying different backup software, as I'm not happy with the support from Acronis. What products do people recommend?

My main requirements are:

• Automatically scheduled full and differential backups
• Ability to backup disks, partitions and files
• Ability to backup to and restore from a network share
• Bootable media that can recover from a network share
• Ability to restore to bare metal
• Ability to browse to and recover individual files, even from a disk/partition backup

Other things that I would like, but could live without if I really had to:

• Auto delete of old backups based on date / number of backups
• Option to backup to and restore from a cloud service
• Ability to create encrypted backups
• Email notification of successful and failed scheduled backups
• Ability for a scheduled backup to run a script before the backup

[John Gray]

Having been driven away from Shadow Protect by its truly-awful licensing and customer service issues, I have been happily using Macrium Reflect for image backups and incrementals, combined with Robocopy (task-scheduled BATch files) for file copies.

I haven't gone through your requirements lists because you'll undoubtedly do that for yourself!
As always, a new backup program can take a little getting used to but the product is well supported by forums where both the technical staff and 'ordinary users' participate.

[StuartR]

Thanks John, I'll put Macrium Reflect on my list of products to evaluate

[Rudi]

Like John, I use macrium Reflect for partition/drive backups and I use SyncBack for file backups.
(BTW: The SyncBack link refers to the paid for Pro Version, but I use the Free version which does all I need and MUCH more.)

[StuartR]

One of the things I like about my current solution is that I can backup files and folders with differential backups and multiple generations. Since all of my data is in veracrypt encrypted drives I have to back it up as files and not as partitions (the partition is encrypted and the backup software can only see the files).

[BOOBALAN.V]

I had an experience in this. But i don't know about back up software. But if you really want to protect your files then think about to take a back up minimum two to three different ways. if you back up a file with one source then it's not a real back up. Because after i bought a seagate back up plus 1TB external hard disk i copied all my files to external hard disk then i emptied my system's memory. Then some times i used to work with external hard disk but one time my hard disk was not working. Then went to service center but they asked so much cost to recover all my files. But one good thing is hard disk was under warranty period. So i got new one. Based on my this bad experience best way to back up is choose more than one way to back up the same file.
1. Online
2. DVD
3. Hard disk

I just shared my opinion. Thanks.

[JoeP]

You might want to check out TeraByte Drive Image Backup and Restore Suite.