Paragon Backup and Recovery 17 - New

bilateral · 28 Jan 2019

Denis, (@Try3), I am glad to read your observations about SMB1, and the latest Windows 10 updates (in the linked post you included). My sense is that the most recent posts (I think yours have been some) have most often confirmed that MS fixed the problem, but that a few people may be clinging to old "gloom and doom" information. I have not worried about it much with my router setup. As to the need to use SMB1, a couple of laptops we have here were managing without it, but one desktop machine networking would not work properly unless it was enabled.

I tried once more with a Paragon restore disk to get it to find my network, using the information they provided. I still cannot get it to work, so I am giving up on that. Paragon does have an easy way to back up and restore files, even select folders and individual files, from within Windows, so I may continue to use it for that; but I need a better solution for backing up the OS / C: drive. I've just downloaded Macrium Reflect, and am about to try that out.

However, I think maybe I have been beating a poor path by trying to back up my OS system directly to the NAS, even though Paragon seems to do it. It is just not easy to get access to the NAS from outside of Windows when it is time to restore. Maybe I should be backing up to an attached drive, and then I would copy a backup of that folder to the NAS. Or, if I can back it up to the NAS (more convenient with multiple computers), I could then copy it to a drive I would attach to a particular computer when I needed to restore the OS with a USB or CD startup.

Wynona · 28 Jan 2019

bilateral said:

<Snip>
I've just downloaded Macrium Reflect, and am about to try that out.

However, I think maybe I have been beating a poor path by trying to back up my OS system directly to the NAS, even though Paragon seems to do it. It is just not easy to get access to the NAS from outside of Windows when it is time to restore. Maybe I should be backing up to an attached drive, and then I would copy a backup of that folder to the NAS. Or, if I can back it up to the NAS (more convenient with multiple computers), I could then copy it to a drive I would attach to a particular computer when I needed to restore the OS with a USB or CD startup.

I have a 5 TB external HDD for my backups, and it works fine.

Porthos · 28 Jan 2019

Personally, I don't use the differential/incremental features. I also do not leave my external plugged any longet than it needs to make the backup (full each time).

Bree · 28 Jan 2019

Porthos said:

Personally, I don't use the differential/incremental features. I also do not leave my external plugged any longer than it needs to make the backup (full each time).

Up to recently I haven't used differentials either. I've been in the habit of making a Full image after each cumulative update and keeping the last couple of Full images as a fallback. But with two or sometimes three CUs a month I've started to run out of space. I now make a Full image for each 'Patch Tuesday' "B" release on the grounds that this is the only one with new security fixes, then a Differential for any "C" or "D" release in the month.

...updates are published on the second Tuesday of each month, known as the “B” release (“B” refers to the second week in the month), and are the only regular monthly releases that include both new security fixes and previously released security and non-security fixes..
We also release optional updates in the third and fourth weeks of the month, respectively known as “C” and “D” releases. ...These updates have only non-security fixes.

Windows 10 monthly security and quality updates overview - Windows 10 Forums

Compumind · 28 Jan 2019

I remember doing both incrementals and differentials...

Now, the way that I have configured my system makes frequent Full Images a breeze. Special thanks to USB 3.1, Gen 2.
If you have a couple of SSD's, it is very easy to do.

Nothing like having the "whole enchilada" and using Rapid Delta Restore (when needed) with Macrium Reflect.

FWIW.

bilateral · 28 Jan 2019

@Wynona: How many computers do you use that 5 TB drive for? Do you move it around as needed? If you are just backing up one machine, an external drive kept nearby seems like the way to go but if you have 3 or 4 computers in your house, you either need to move it around, or you need a backup drive for each of them.

But I see that some (@Porthos) don't seem to mind moving it around. It's an option. I just thought it would be simple to have a NAS on the network and not have to mess with the hardware.

Wynona · 28 Jan 2019

bilateral said:

@Wynona: How many computers do you use that 5 TB drive for? Do you move it around as needed? If you are just backing up one machine, an external drive kept nearby seems like the way to go but if you have 3 or 4 computers in your house, you either need to move it around, or you need a backup drive for each of them.

But I see that some (@Porthos) don't seem to mind moving it around. It's an option. I just thought it would be simple to have a NAS on the network and not have to mess with the hardware.

I only back up this Production and Insider dual boot desktop plus a data drive inside with a paid version of Macrium. I leave the external drive attached, since I have Image Guard.

Since the laptops are Insider machines and are rather lean on the programs side, I back them up on a separate and smaller external drive with the free Macrium.

bilateral · 03 Feb 2019

@Bree: If you see this, please note my question below.

I reopened this thread a week ago by asking some questions about Paragon backup software. Several thoughts were offered in response--the most prominent were the number of people who prefer Macrium Reflect. I have since had a chance to research my issue more with Paragon, Macrium, and a third choice. I should note that my concern has been particularly with using the Rescue Media, which would be essential if I were trying to restore an OS drive from the backup. I'll write more shortly about what I found, but I first have a question for Bree, who wrote:

@Bree: "The one share I couldn't map to was a usb HDD being shared by my router. That was because my router only supports SMB1 and Macrium 7.2 uses the 1709 version of WinPE. Like Windows itself, SMB1 is disabled by default in the 1709 PE (and later). I have to enable it in Windows to be able to use that network drive. Fortunately there's an option in the advanced settings of the Macrium rescue media builder to enable SMB1."

I found the setting in the Macrium Reflect Media Builder by clicking the Advanced button/Options/Enable legacy SMB1 support. However, when I used the Rescue flash drive I created from this, although it shows me that the LAN adapter is "connected" when it is, I still cannot get to the network. Macrium is at least as resistant to finding the USB share I have on a router. This was true in the Windows software as well. Win 10 Macrium also asks me to type a network name and credentials for my network, which does not work. It asks me to enter the server name--I tried both the name of the NAS and the IP address, and neither worked. I eventually found I could get to the network to save a backup after a good deal of searching how to do this, but I still could not get to the USB share.

Possibly part of my problem is that my Windows is set up for Advance File Sharing with name and password for other LAN computers (all have the same Users), but this is already enabled on the computer, which is probably why I can finally get to the network from Macrium on the computer. And I changed my network name from "WORKGROUP". But though I have a password for the USB share, that does not work. I get a message, "The network name cannot be found." The same message occurs in the Rescue media for both the Network and the USB share.

Can anyone tell me if there is something I am missing or doing wrong?

Bree · 03 Feb 2019

bilateral said:

Possibly part of my problem is that my Windows is set up for Advance File Sharing with name and password for other LAN computers (all have the same Users), but this is already enabled on the computer, which is probably why I can finally get to the network from Macrium on the computer. And I changed my network name from "WORKGROUP". But though I have a password for the USB share, that does not work. I get a message, "The network name cannot be found." The same message occurs in the Rescue media for both the Network and the USB share.

Can anyone tell me if there is something I am missing or doing wrong?

The only two differences I can see between your network and mine is that my network drive is shared out by my router as USB1 with full guest access - no name/password required to connect. Also, all my PCs have password protected sharing turned off. Each PC has a Temp folder shared out with full access for Everyone, so as long as I connect with a name/password that exists on that PC I get full access, as you can see in this screenshot of a PC booted from the Macrium PE10 rescue media.

In fact, this was something of a first for me - taking a screenshot of the Macrium rescue environment. It was made possible by using Ctrl-PrtSc then pasting into a copy of the MSPaint from WindowsXP that I'd run from a mapped drive, then saving the image to the same mapped drive.

Paragon Backup and Recovery 17 - New-macrium-pe10-networking.png

bilateral · 03 Feb 2019

Thanks for responding, Bree. Those two differences do seem significant to me.

I'm not sure my router will let me access without a password. I'll check with support. There is a Guest sign-in, but that also has a password. I mapped the USB drive to a folder in Windows, so that allows me to access it as a local disk in Windows, and Paragon for Windows shows this mapped drive in the options to save a backup to a Local Drive, just like other disks and partitions on my machine. Not so with Macrium for Windows--free version (not to mention the Rescue media--even with SMB1 installed), Macrium does not show the mapped drive for USB as a Local Disk, and I found it impossible to find a way to include it somehow.

The password protected sharing is another issue. I don't think I want to turn this off, though it's probably safe to do so in my home environment. I have used it for as long as I can remember!