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I use Windows 7 on a RAID-0 harddrive array, and for christmas got a 1 TB Toshiba External harddrive. While the Toshiba comes with it's own backup program, this program fails for no error message I can decipher.

So, what is a good backup program that is compatible with windows? I don't much trust Windows backup system as it often fails on it's own.

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Do you want to backup whole partitions/disks or just certain files? – CGA Dec 26 '09 at 17:48
I want to backup the entire partition – Nekira Sudacne Dec 27 '09 at 17:16
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7 Answers

up vote 2 down vote

I'm a fan of Cobian, it's free, older versions are open source; it supports disk, CD/DVD and FTP; it can do Full/Incremental/Differential backups, and has the option to keep multiple timestamped copies of files. In my experience, it's the most reliable backup software on Windows.

If you're looking to do remote backup, an rsync based solution is the best; Deltacopy is good.

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up vote 2 down vote

I like FreeFileSync for its simplicity and lightweightness. It is very clear and understandable and doesnt bundle the backedup files in to one big file

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up vote 1 down vote

If you want full drive backup (and even if you don't), Windows Backup is brilliant and I do not understand why you are saying it fails... perhaps you have more serious issues with your machine that you need to look in to.

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I think the OP was saying that the Toshiba backup program fails... I agree that the Windows Backup facility will suit many people's requirements. The problem is that many people don't even realise that it's there... – Gcoupe Dec 26 '09 at 18:40
I'm with you on this one, there's nothing wrong with Windows Backup. Any issues experienced with it should be investigated. It's definitely good enough. – Graeme Donaldson Dec 26 '09 at 20:18
I tried windows backup first, when I say it fails, I mean it goes so far, then says that the backup failed due to an error and the backup is unuseable. It litterally fails and I don't know why. – Nekira Sudacne Dec 27 '09 at 17:17
Have you looked in the event log? Or can you try again and take a picture of the screen and I will see what I can do to help you. – William Hilsum Dec 27 '09 at 17:43
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up vote 1 down vote

CrashPlan is excellent. You can either back up online ($3.50 per month), back up through a network to another computer, or back up to your external hard drive.

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up vote 1 down vote

Areca Backup is excellent.

It basically allows you to select a set of files / directories to back-up, choose where and how (as a simple file copy, as a zip archive, ...) they will be stored, and configure post-backup actions (like sending backup reports by email or launching custom shell scripts)

It has been designed to :

  • Be as simple as possible to set up : No complex configuration files to edit - Your backup configuration (which is stored as an XML file) can be edited with Areca's graphical user interface.
  • Be as versatile as possible : Areca can use advanced backup modes (like "delta backup") or simply produce a "basic" copy of your source files as a standard directory or zip archive (readable by WinZip or other archivers).
  • Allow you to interact with your archives and the files they contain : Track different versions of a specific file, browse your archives, recover or view specific files, merge a set of archives, ...

Areca is free open source software.

To Image and Backup logical Drives and Partitions, i recommend DriveImage XML

DIXML is freeware.

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up vote 0 down vote

I really liked syncback. I used the freeware version. I liked the availability of synchronized folders, and syncback has a fairly easy to use gui.

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up vote 0 down vote

For basic file back-ups (not system back-ups), I use Microsofts SyncToy and schedule it to run, via the Windows Scheduler, at start-up.

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protected by Ivo Flipse♦ Jan 29 '11 at 0:20

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