Imaging is the most convenient to restore in case of a system crash, and also ensures you don’t miss anything important. Image backup/imaging: Images are byte-for-byte snapshots of your entire hard drive (normally without the empty sectors) or partition, and can be used to restore both the operating system and data.

Some programs automatically select the appropriate files if you use the Windows library folders (Documents, Photos, Videos, etc.). Seagate, WD, and others provide backup utilities that are adequate for the average user.įile backup: If you want to back up only your data (operating systems and programs can be reinstalled, though it’s mildly time- and effort-consuming), a program that backs up just the files you select is a major time-saver. Additionally, if you intend to back up to a newly purchased external hard drive, check out the software that ships with it. Features you don’t need add complexity and may slow down your system. How to pick a backup softwareĪs with most things-don’t over-buy. We also test the USB boot drives created by the programs. We then mount the images and test their integrity via the program’s restore functions. This is largely to test reliability and hardware compatibility, but we time two: an approximately 115GB system image (two partitions), and a roughly 50GB image created from a set of smaller files and folders.

We run each program through the various types of backups it’s capable of. This program is among our favorites, sporting an easy and attractive design, the full range of file and image backup capabilities, and even a very worthwhile free version, yet due to stiff competition in the field, it wasn’t quite able to nudge its way into the top picks. Case in point is our recent review of EaseUS ToDo Backup 2022. Windows users are fortunate to have a number of excellent backup options available to choose from. See PCWorld’s roundup of best external drives for recommendations on reliable storage options-an important component in a comprehensive backup strategy Then head to the bottom of this article for more info about what to look for in a Windows backup program. Online backup services are another option, but desktop clients tend to offer far more flexibility. Read on for our top picks. Instead, Microsoft delivers a mishmash of restore points, recovery discs, file backup, and even the un-retired System Backup (Windows 7), which was probably originally put out to pasture for its propensity to choke on dissimilar hardware.

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