Macrium reflect system restore like function?

Redbatman said:

Hi I was wondering does macrium reflect have a system restore like function? I'm asking since I think I remember someone saying it had a similar function without having to backup a full image?

Not exactly but it has ability to create differential images or incremental (paid versions) images which can be used effectively like system restores but you still need a full backup base image to start from.

There's a huge difference. Restoring a disk/partition image means restoring everything on it. Thus if you restore an image of C: and you have user data on it, the user data is restored just like everything else.

System Restore, by contrast, doesn't affect user data.

=> once again, don't put user data on C: as far as is possible.

"...the user data is restored just like everything else..." remember OP -- restoration is to the date of the image, meaning if your backup is 3 months old, then your restore will be "three months older" than present data situation - just before troubles began.

dalchina said:

There's a huge difference. Restoring a disk/partition image means restoring everything on it. Thus if you restore an image of C: and you have user data on it, the user data is restored just like everything else.

System Restore, by contrast, doesn't affect user data.

=> once again, don't put user data on C: as far as is possible.

Agree, the one danger with Macrium is potentially losing data if on c drive of you restore older image.

However, if you do say daily scheduled differential/incrementals, and restored some days back, losing data, you can mount latest diff/inc to access "lost" data. Best thing to do is to make an inc/diff before actually winding back.

Conversely as well, although system restores do not lose data in user directories, they do lose programs installed since restore when you wind back but do not reinstate them if you wind forward. Incs/diffs are 100% reversible in this context.

Totally agree with your main point ie keep data on a different drive/partition. It makes backup stratagies much easier.

dalchina said:

=> once again, don't put user data on C: as far as is possible.

Really hard to do sometimes. I had so called portable programs write to the user folder and registry I know when I made changes they reverted back before my Macrium image.

Agreed, almost anything installed uses various folders and registry keys. Just think how much more robist the OS might be if users could never overwrite anything related to the OS...

I was thinking more of documents, media files, data related to emails, favourites....