Drive Image Freeware Questions

Current Freeware Drive Image Software Under Consideration:

1. Seagate DiscWizard/Maxtor MaxxBlast
2. Paragon Drive Backup Express
3. DriveImage XML

I have tried to research the above freeware drive imaging software but am still unclear on some things. Please answer the following questions.

1. Do any of the above programs allow you to store to and retrieve from CD/DVD media?
2. If you wish to try one and then uninstall and try another, do all of the programs do a "clean" uninstall? I have heard somewhere that "left-overs" from an uninstall can interfer with the next imaging program.
3. I have heard that DriveImage XML requires that you make your own boot CD/DVD. Is this difficult to do?
4. If you are just doing a simple Image from the hard drive containing the Operating System to another internal hard drive or external USB drive and you want the most simple and user friendly software, would Paragon Drive Backup Express be a good choice?

Thank you.

 

seagate disc wizard is a cut down version is acronis and it leaves alot behind...
paragon doesnt leave anything behind when uninstalled.
paragon drive backup express is a very good deal.
i use the paragon drive backup paid version everyday and it has never let me down.

 

I will response to what i encountered.
2.It's possible to encounter leftovers.Before i used Paragon ,one of the similar programs not present in your list messed up my MBR after an uninstall,and had do use a recovery cd.In fact is was more complicated i suppose, since a friend of mine helped me as i couldn't see the boot cd.
I never uninstalled Paragon so i don't know it's leftovers.

4.I think so.You can make an opinion from the images.

 

1. paragon and acronis allow you to store directly to cd/dvd.
2. Acronis leaves leftovers. Paragon on my system uninstalls perfectly but in case it leaves behind its hot processing driver it could give problem to drive image xml.
3. Yes you must make your own bartpe based cd.
4. Absolutely. Paragon Drive Backup Express is very easy to use and at the moment I consider it the best freeware image application.

Panagiotis

 

pandlouk, do Drive Backup Express too requires the boot from cd or USB Pen, or it allows to restore also from the HD and from partition to partition ( D < C for exemple ) like True Image ?

 

You don't need the boot cd to restore.You can restore from HD.Of course if you restore OS image you'll need reboot.

 

As virtumonde said you can restore from the windows enviroment. When you want to restore the system partition it will ask you to reboot.

Panagiotis

 

Thanks to everyone.

One more question: Does Paragron Drive Backup Express allow backup to a NAS (Network Attached Storage)? I would like to try out Paragon on my kid's PC but it only has one hard drive in it at this time.

Thank you.

 

Yes, but you can also perform a backup on the drive itself.

All the shadow imaging applications can perform a backup of a partition on the same partition (paragon, acronis, symantec, storagecraft, IFW, drive snapshot, drive image xml, etc.).

 

For Paragon Drive Backup Express is it possible to partition a very large (8 GB+) USB Flash Drive, make a bootable Paragon Drive Backup Express on one partition of the drive and then make an Image and store it on the other partition? I realize that saving the Image to and Restoring from the Flash Drive may be quite time consuming.

Ideally I would like to be able to save the Image to DVD(s), but it is my understanding that the Express version does not have this option. Is that true?

Thank you.

 

If you have created Ultimate Boot CD for Windows CD, DriveImage XML is on it already.

 

pandlouk and virtumonde: thanks. A last question, Paragon Drive Backup Express has a " secure zone " as True Image has, selecting during the pc boot, to run the restoring process ?

 

No you can't create a secure zone with drive back-up express.Paragon names it "boot capsule"and it's available in the paid products Drive Backup Personal or Drive Backup Professional.

 

Thanks a lot.

 

I have not tried to create a dedicated partition but I wouldn't recommend having a backup image on a flash drive.

You can burn the image's files on DVD. The files that you need to save are:
*.PBF (1st file of the image)
*.001 (2nd file)
*.002
....
and so on.
Pay attention to not include the *.pfm. (it is not needed; it only stores some information like the directory you inittially saved the image).

Panagiotis