Should I settle on Acronis True Image (paid version) or Macrium?

jimbo45 said:

Hi folks
whatever you use you can never have too much backup. I'm sure about 70% of Windows problems could be fixed if people backed up their systems regularly.

Also folks DO test a restore from time to time -- it's no good taking backups for Donkey's Years and then you need a restore and it fails -- might be simply due to backup media has become defective or whatever. It's best to have more than one - and as I pointed out earlier those who have NAS type systems should back those up as well -- large capacity HDD space is cheap these days -- for data backup you don't need mega fast disks either --those small 4TB WD pocket sized self powered passport drives are ideal for that purpose -- connect via USB3 still acceptable performance although if using 2 or 3 at the same time it's best to connect them via a powered hub.

Cheers
jimbo

I have Macrium set up to do a full backup once a week and differentials every day. The storage is a Seagate 5 TB, so I guess I'm good. I check to verify the backups every so often.

Wynona said:

I have Macrium set up to do a full backup once a week and differentials every day. The storage is a Seagate 5 TB, so I guess I'm good. I check to verify the backups every so often.

If you are using PRO, a neat test is to fire up the image backup as a virtual machine using Macrium Viboot.

cereberus said:

If you are using PRO, a neat test is to fire up the image backup as a virtual machine using Macrium Viboot.

I would, but haven't had time to get into Viboot yet. Soon . . .

lbeck,

FWIW, I have been using the free sawn-off versions of ATI for several years and am perfectly happy with them.
- The free versions only work if a WD drive {for the ATI WD Edition} or Samsung / Seagate / ... drive {for the Seagate DiscWizard edition} is connected. It can even just be a USB-connected external drive but cannot just be an SD card.
- The free versions are generally about 2 years behind the latest ones.
- I can only make full images not incrementals or differentials.
- I am not entitled to support but the only time I needed their help I got it anyway [I think I routed my support request wrongly but I admitted I had the free version in my query & they decided to help me - it must be my magnetic personality].
- Like anybody else, I can use the ATI forum & knowledgebase as well as the Seagate DiscWizard knowledgebase.
- I use a trial version of ATI every couple of years to make a new ATI boot disk that is more reliable than those made by the free versions. Doing so only makes any difference on a very old Windows 10 computer that has an awkward hardware configuration [its 'qualifying' disk is connected through the old DVD connection].

-- I have tried Macrium Reflect [free] as an experiment but I did not find any additional capabilities that I would, in practice, make use of.
-- I once bought the full ATI version but was given a full refund a month or so later when I asked why they had ditched its interoperability with Windows system images that I had previously found useful [they had not, in fact, continued that feature after Windows system image formats changed from .vhd to .vhdx].
-- Horses for courses.

Denis

Intrepid1 said:

Acronis reliability has gone down and complexity has gone up over a period of ten years and management were apparently impotent to stop it. I dropped them years ago. The first requirement of any backup software is reliability. Macrium is 100% reliable and also easy to use.

100% completely agree.

100% Macrium as the choice of available options. Nothing (nothing) is perfect, but Macrium is as solid as they come. I use it religiously.

Related thread, for other opinions and viewpoints:

How much do you trust Macrium Reflect? - Windows 10 Forums