Every computer user probably knows that no system is safe from errors and even critical failures, when it is not possible to restore it using conventional means. For this, programs have been developed for backing up and restoring the system, including utilities that allow you to create backup copies of hard drives and logical partitions. Consider the most popular utilities of various difficulty levels.
Data backup and recovery programs: feasibility of use
Some users have some misconceptions about how powerful these types of utilities are. Unfortunately, they mistakenly believe that the easiest option would be to simply copy user files to other logical partitions than the system one. There is another category of users who believe that you can copy the entire system partition to another location, and then, in the event of a failure, restore the system from this copy. Alas, both are mistaken.
Of course, this technique is applicable to user files, but not everyone wants to clutter up another logical volume with a bunch of information or constantly keep on hand an external media such as a USB HDD, a bunch of disks or flash drives whose capacity is clearly limited. And with large amounts of data, you should also consider the time of copying from one volume to another. Backup and recovery programs for both the system and partitions work slightly differently. Of course, in most cases removable media will be needed, but the created backup copy will take up many times less space.
The basic principle of operation and options for functioning
As a rule, most of the well-known and widely used utilities today mainly use the principles of creating images and compressing copied data. At the same time, images are most often used specifically for creating copies of the operating system, which allows you to restore it after an unexpected critical failure, and utilities for copying partitions or user files assume compression by type of archiving.
As for the backup options, there may be two. In principle, almost any program for backing up a system offers the use of external media (DVD-ROM, USB flash drive, etc.). This is due only to the fact that during system recovery you will have to boot not from the system partition, but from a removable medium. The image in the logical partition will not be recognized.
Another thing is disk backup programs. In them, you can save the necessary information in other logical partitions or, again, use removable media. But what if the used hard drive volume is hundreds of gigabytes? No optical disc can record this information even in compressed form. Alternatively, you can use an external HDD, if it is, of course, available.
As for choosing the right utility for saving user files, the best solution is a scheduled backup program. Such a utility is capable of performing this operation without user intervention, saving all changes made over a certain period of time. New data can be added to the backup, as well as old data - deleted from it. And all this in automatic mode! The advantage is obvious - after all, the user in the settings only needs to set the time interval between the copy points, then everything happens without it.
"Native" program for backup Windows
So, for starters, let's dwell on our own tool of Windows-systems. Many people think that the Windows built-in backup program does not work very well, to say the least. Basically, they don’t want to use it just because the utility takes too much time to create a copy, and the copy itself takes up a lot of space.
However, she has enough advantages. After all, who else but Microsoft specialists should know all the subtleties and nuances associated with the components that are essential for the correct recovery of Windows? And many users clearly underestimate the capabilities of the built-in tool. After all, it is not in vain that such a backup and recovery program is included in the main set of the system?
The easiest way to access this utility is from the standard "Control Panel", where the backup and recovery section is selected. Here you can use three main points: creating an image, creating a disk, and setting up copying. The first and second difficulties do not cause. But the third is quite interesting. The system will offer to save a copy on removable media, having previously determined the device itself. But if you look at the parameters, you can save a copy on the network, which is perfect for "LAN". So in some cases, such a system backup program will become a good tool for creating a backup with the possibility of subsequent recovery of Windows from this copy.
Most popular utilities
Now let's look at the utilities, which, according to many experts, today are the most popular among users. Just note that it is simply impossible to consider all backup programs, so we will dwell on some of them, given the level of popularity and complexity of their use. A rough list of such utilities might look like this:
- Acronis True Image.
- Norton Ghost.
- Back2zip
- Comodo BackUp.
- Backup4all.
- ABC Backup Pro.
- Active Backup Expert Pro.
- ApBackUP.
- File Backup Watcher Free.
- The copier.
- Auto Backup and many others.
Now we will try to look at the first five. Please note! At the moment, backup programs are mainly considered for workstations (user computers). Solutions for server systems and networks will be considered separately.
Acronis True Image
Of course, this is one of the most powerful and popular utilities that enjoys well-deserved success and the trust of many users, although it refers to entry-level programs. Nevertheless, she has enough opportunities.
After starting the application, the user enters the main menu, where you can select several options. In this case, we are interested in the backup and restore section (there are additional utilities in the menu that will not be considered for obvious reasons). After entering, the "Master" is activated, which will help to create a backup. In the process, you can choose a copy of exactly what you need to create (a system for recovering from scratch, files, settings, etc.). In "Copy Type" it is better to select "Incremental", as it will save space. If the volume of the medium is large enough, you can use full copy, and to create multiple copies - differential. When creating a copy of the system it will be offered to make a boot disk.
Here's what is interesting: the utility shows fairly high rates of backup backup speed, time, and compression. So, for example, data compression of the order of 20 GB will take an average of 8-9 minutes, and the size of the final copy should be a little more than 8 GB.
Norton ghost
Before us is another powerful utility. As usual, after the start of the program, the "Wizard" is launched to help you go through all the steps.
This utility is noteworthy in that it can be used to create a hidden partition on the hard drive where a copy will be stored (moreover, both data and the system can be restored from it). In addition, you can change many parameters in it: the type of recovery point, read control, type of recording, compression, the number of points for simultaneous access, etc. As for performance, the same 20 GB application compresses to a size of just over 7.5 GB, which takes about 9 minutes. In general, the result is pretty good.
Back2zip
And here is the scheduled backup program. It differs in that its installation takes only a couple of seconds, and after starting it automatically creates a new task and starts copying the data, assuming that the user files are stored in the My Documents folder. Unfortunately, this is the main minus.
At startup, the task must be deleted, and then select the source destination folder. There are no "wizards" in the usual sense, everything is done from the main window. In the scheduler, you can set the copy interval from 20 minutes to 6 hours. In general, the simplest solution for entry-level users.
Comodo backup
Before us is another interesting utility that can compete even with commercial products. Its main feature is the presence of as many as five operating modes and a huge number of settings.
Interestingly, the utility is able to respond to changes in the files that make up the backup in real time. As soon as the source file is changed and saved, the application immediately creates a copy of it, adding and replacing the final element in the backup. Not to mention the scheduler, we can separately note the start of creating copies either at the start or at the exit.
Backup4all
Finally, let's look at another free utility that allows, so to speak, in one fell swoop to make backups for everything that may be needed in the future at the same time.
This utility is interesting in that it allows you to save copies not only on external or internal media, but also on networks, or even on FTP servers. There are a lot of editable parameters and settings, among which there are four copy methods, as well as support for the UDF file system. In addition, the interface is very simple, and the display of folders and tasks is presented in the form of a tree structure according to the type of "Explorer". Also, the user can divide the copied data into categories like documents, drawings, etc., assign each project its own label. Naturally, there is also a "Task Scheduler", in which you can specify, for example, making copies exclusively at the time of low processor load.
Server Systems Solutions
For server systems and networks, specialized backup programs are also available. Among all this diversity, the three most powerful can be whitened:
- Symantec Backup Exec 11d System Recovery.
- Yosemite Backup Standard Master Server.
- Shadow Protect Small Business Server Edition.
It is believed that such utilities are a good backup tool for small businesses. Moreover, recovery from scratch can be performed from any workstation located on the network. But the most important thing is that the reservation needs to be done only once, all subsequent changes will be saved automatically. All applications have an interface like "Explorer" and support remote control from any terminal on the network.
Instead of an afterword
It remains to be added that not all data backup / restore programs have been considered here, allowing you to create backups of both systems and files, and then restore them from the created copies. However, it is thought that even brief information about these programs will give many an idea of how this works and why all this is needed. For obvious reasons, we leave the question of choosing the right software open, since it already depends on the preferences of the user or system administrator.