Seeking Recommendations

Have you tried to restore an image from both?

 

Anyone tried the Acronis boot medium? ISO file? For Acronis its the best for backup and recovery because its complete off the host system. Same for Aomei.

The Aomei Boot Loader seems pain to me, in some cases it might fail. I tried to recover (testing purpose) a partition on one of my 3 hdd - aomei failed because on booting it mixed up the hdd and thus it must fail because parameters did not met the partitions. There was no problem with 2 hdd. that test is now 2 years ago, so i dont mind any longer.

what i read is that some people recommend Macrium Reflect, either free or paid, because it runs flawlessly in any way.

at least you have to try the software. i started with a symantec backup which onyl needed a 1.44 boot disc, then ghost, then this and that and finaly acronis. but acronis get bloated somewhere so i started to use the ISO file. the look and feel is same as the installed version and it felt good until now. you need to try out which of those you can handle better than others.

PS if someone considers to use Aomei backupper Pro he/she/it should look here for the latest valid key(s)
https://forum.malekal.com/viewtopic.php?t=66229
(last key is valid until 2022 for installation and updates, license is valid for a year)

 

I didn't try the restore operation.

If a video file present in the created images/backups run fine, then (most probably) the created images are fine and will restore successfully. @Peter2150 mentioned this/was his observation. (if I remember correctly)

In the past, I have performed a few restore operations following the mentioned approach/observation with Macrium Home, EaseUS Workstation, and Veeam for Windows Free. All the restores were successful.

 

Then you are fine, unfortunately most people backup their system without trying a restore, and when disaster strikes a restore may not work for all sorts of reasons. Having 2 backup/restore programs is definitely safer as long as both restore with no errors. Even though Macrium has never failed a restore, after any update, the first thing I do is a backup and restore to make sure everything is working normally. I ought to have a second backup program, but so far I've had no problems.

 

@Osaban,

Does Macrium still require the download of over 1 GB for WinPE?

 

My rescue media is 800 MB.

 

For a PE10 build you will need a one time 1gB download . For a WinRE build it uses you own System's recovery Wim.

 

This thread has made me aware that perhaps having a second backup/restore program is neither a bad idea nor overkill. A member, not too long ago had recommended Veeam as a reliable program, therefore I installed the free version, created a recovery USB, backed up and restored without any problems. It is not as fast as Macrium during the restoration stage (although the paid version of Macrium is faster than the free edition) but not too slow either. Having two programs makes it even easier to test restores in terms of peace of mind. Veeam is also fairly intuitive in its operation, there was no need to check the user guide.

 

Thank you for the info.

I also checked the Macrium article on WinPE or WinRE. They recommend WinRE for most users and if you don't need advanced features.

 

@Osaban, Veeam Free provides PreOS Console now?

 

I don't know what the PreOS Console is in Veeam (I've had the program for a day), but I can tell you what the free installation provided: Veeam Agent for MS Windows, Configure Backup, Create Recovery Media, File Level Restore, Volume Restore...

 

@Osaban, I have used Veeam and like it. I meant a PreOS Boot option like Macrium.

 

I chose Paragon Backup & Recovery 17 CE, as my secondary backup imaging program. I have only had to restore a complete image one time and Macrium Reflect 7, saved me then. I will not be attempting an image restore again, unless it is an emergency. However, individual files and folders is another matter. Between the two programs, it was easier for me to restore an individual file or folder with Paragon than Macrium. Does anyone have experience with Paragon? If so, I would like to hear of your experience, regarding complete image and file/folder restores.

 

jpcummins,

I do a couple a week. Easy.