What free disk imaging software do you use?

[Grx]

Hey there, I'm looking to backup my drive, but don't know what software to use.

What software do you guys use/recomend me to use?

 

(I'm running windows 10 btw)

[Electronics Wizardy]

for Windows backup just use the built-in backup program. 

[SCHISCHKA]

linux live cd does it. its also got tools to check integrity

[Grx]

Just now, Electronics Wizardy said:

for Windows backup just use the built-in backup program. 

 

Just now, SCHISCHKA said:

linux live cd does it. its also got tools to check integrity

Do I need linux installed for it to work?

[Electronics Wizardy]

Just now, Grx said:

 

Do I need linux installed for it to work?

Just use the one in Windows. It's fine and built in. 

[SCHISCHKA]

4 minutes ago, Grx said:

 

Do I need linux installed for it to work?

i said live cd, that means no install required

[KuJoe]

For a full disk image, I use https://www.runtime.org/driveimage-xml.htm

 

For file backups, I use software that came with my NAS (Synology Cloud Station Drive) and SyncThing.

[tekgeek1205]

y r u backing up...

 

just because you should?

 

move to a new computer?

 

reinstall windows?

 

other?

[kirashi]

24 minutes ago, Grx said:

Hey there, I'm looking to backup my drive, but don't know what software to use.

What software do you guys use/recomend me to use?

 

(I'm running windows 10 btw)

The best backup system is one that is platform agnostic, redundant, open-source, non-obfuscated, and of course, one you actually test doing a restore with once you've backed up. That rules out Time Machine on MacOS, Windows 7 Backup (this is still an option in Win 10) and WIM images, Crashplan, Backblaze, and many other solutions on the market, because they all either obfuscate the data, or are closed-source and rely on specific operating systems to restore the data.

 

Personally, I'm a big fan of RAW file duplication, which I achieve using StableBit Drive Pool with my dual SSDs and dual HDDs. To be clear, this is NOT a backup, since it's still inside my active system, but it ensures redundancy without using the atrocity that is hardware RAID. For actual backups, personally I'm a big fan of TAR archives for files that don't change much, such as my RAW photo imports (before editing), and rclone for more complicated stuff.

 

I don't use rclone yet because I have no real NAS to backup to, but it's on my roadmap. For smaller more critical files, like documents, taxes, and other frequently accessed files I like DropBox Pro because it's simple and works better than any other file sync client I've tried. Plus, you can restore any revisions of files changed or deleted within 30 days, or longer if you pay for the extension period. And it's the ONLY cloud based file sync client that reliably works on Linux without fiddling about with 3rd party workarounds. To me, these features outweigh the proprietary nature of Dropbox in every way, at least until something better comes along.

 

Now, to answer your disk imaging question: DriveImageXML is a great option, although not exactly open-source, along with my tried and true favorite, CloneZilla.

[Grx]

17 minutes ago, tekgeek1205 said:

y r u backing up...

 

just because you should?

 

move to a new computer?

 

reinstall windows?

 

other?

Mostly just for having a backup in case my hard dies, but being able to reinstall windows would be pretty sweet too.

[tekgeek1205]

do you want to do the back up (you push a backup button when you want to back up)or do you want to have a program do it on a schedule?

 

 

before go any further.....backups are useless if on the same drive. best to have it external from you computer. If you didnt know.

[Grx]

3 minutes ago, tekgeek1205 said:

do you want to do the back up (you push a backup button when you want to back up)or do you want to have a program do it on a schedule?

 

 

before go any further.....backups are useless if on the same drive. best to have it external from you computer. If you didnt know.

I'd like to do it myself.

 

And I do have a 64gb usb that I bought for backuping my important files on it, but after I saw the techquickie video on Drive Images, I thought I'd keep one on it too.

19 minutes ago, kirashi said:

The best backup system is one that is platform agnostic, redundant, open-source, non-obfuscated, and of course, one you actually test doing a restore with once you've backed up. That rules out Time Machine on MacOS, Windows 7 Backup (this is still an option in Win 10) and WIM images, Crashplan, Backblaze, and many other solutions on the market, because they all either obfuscate the data, or are closed-source and rely on specific operating systems to restore the data.

 

Personally, I'm a big fan of RAW file duplication, which I achieve using StableBit Drive Pool with my dual SSDs and dual HDDs. To be clear, this is NOT a backup, since it's still inside my active system, but it ensures redundancy without using the atrocity that is hardware RAID. For actual backups, personally I'm a big fan of TAR archives for files that don't change much, such as my RAW photo imports (before editing), and rclone for more complicated stuff.

 

I don't use rclone yet because I have no real NAS to backup to, but it's on my roadmap. For smaller more critical files, like documents, taxes, and other frequently accessed files I like DropBox Pro because it's simple and works better than any other file sync client I've tried. Plus, you can restore any revisions of files changed or deleted within 30 days, or longer if you pay for the extension period. And it's the ONLY cloud based file sync client that reliably works on Linux without fiddling about with 3rd party workarounds. To me, these features outweigh the proprietary nature of Dropbox in every way, at least until something better comes along.

 

Now, to answer your disk imaging question: DriveImageXML is a great option, although not exactly open-source, along with my tried and true favorite, CloneZilla.

&

39 minutes ago, KuJoe said:

For a full disk image, I use https://www.runtime.org/driveimage-xml.htm

 

For file backups, I use software that came with my NAS (Synology Cloud Station Drive) and SyncThing.

Thank you, I'll give them a try

 

 

[Grx]

44 minutes ago, SCHISCHKA said:

i said live cd, that means no install required

&

49 minutes ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Just use the one in Windows. It's fine and built in. 

I'll try and see how it goes, thanks!

[tekgeek1205]

i would just keep pulling you important stuff off like you normally do. A full image will be around the size of your used space on your hard drive. Do you have that kind of room? If you have room, Acronis True Image is what i used to use but its been a while. I don image any more.  I just make copy of important files when they are created or downloaded on a 2nd internal hdd and drag and drop to an external once a week. Giving me a spinning backup and one in the closet.

[tekgeek1205]

PS my drive in the closet should be off location (fires and stuff), but that's overkill for my needs

 

Family photos = external safety deposit box and hdd

[Grx]

22 minutes ago, tekgeek1205 said:

A full image will be around the size of your used space

Oh, really? Ok then, I guess I'll stick with backing up individual important files...