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ntbackup replacement for Windows 7?

C

cubby1223

Lifer
I am absolutely fed up with Windows 7 built-in backup software, and I haven't liked any 3rd party software yet either.

Is there any direct replacement for ntbackup? That software which was included with XP was perfect. I'm finding the Windows 7 replacement to be very incompetent, mainly it continues to create more and more backups until the external drive is full then stalls out without a clue of how to continue.

I've had that happen with Acronis too, have fought many times with that software to force it to automatically delete the oldest copies when the drive is full. Maybe their newest software is better I haven't tried.

The software included with Seagate & WD drives infuriate me too, they often only back up the files and directories it deems important (I've gotten majorly screwed by this in the past), and don't have good options to set the time of the backup (run overnight, not during the day when I'm using the system).


ntbackup was perfect. Create a backup job for each day of the week, and create 4 or 5 rotating saturday jobs. Easy, simple, covered everything, old backups removed off, perfect.

What is my best replacement option now? Thanks!
 
Try out Macrium Reflect, it should do what you need. I think it's great, esp. if you do full image backups.
 
Chiefcrowe said:
Try out Macrium Reflect, it should do what you need. I think it's great, esp. if you do full image backups.
Click to expand...

+1

I was previously a long time Acronis user, but switched to Macrium when Acronis proved unable (or unwilling) to fix the "Operations are in progress" bug that has persisted across multiple versions.

I eventually bought a Macrium Reflect Pro license (I wanted the "Redeploy to new hardware" function) and have been completely satisfied with the software. They are also very proactive about releasing updates to fix bugs as well which is another plus.
 
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Steltek said:
+1

I was previously a long time Acronis user, but switched to Macrium when Acronis proved unable (or unwilling) to fix the "Operations are in progress" bug that has persisted across multiple versions.

I eventually bought a Macrium Reflect Pro license (I wanted the "Redeploy to new hardware" function) and have been completely satisfied with the software. They are also very proactive about releasing updates to fix bugs as well which is another plus.
Click to expand...

I have also switch from Acronis to macrium reflect. Macrium is just so much easier to use. I run full backups every day to a Server 2012 R2 target so I use the dedupe features built into the OS to get the space savings. I can backup about 500GB of data in 2.5 hours over 10GBe.

The one thing I wish they would add because I backup each drive separately in case there is a corrupt job or something is the ability to schedule jobs and run job 2 after job 1 finishes.
 
I wish Macrium had a premium customer service where you can call & ask for help. How do you about testing your images to make sure they will restore? I'm still trying to figure that out...
 
Off the top of my head the only thing I can think of right now is to get a spare HD, take out your original and restore the image to it and boot from that drive. It definitely is a hassle but worth it....


VeroK said:
I wish Macrium had a premium customer service where you can call & ask for help. How do you about testing your images to make sure they will restore? I'm still trying to figure that out...
Click to expand...
 
yinan said:
The one thing I wish they would add because I backup each drive separately in case there is a corrupt job or something is the ability to schedule jobs and run job 2 after job 1 finishes.
Click to expand...

doable with a batch file(s) and task scheduler.
 
I would still recommend to use Acronis, although I did have the same problems described by Shltek, I have fought many times with that software to force it to automatically delete the oldest copies when the drive is full. Maybe their newest software is better I haven't tried.
I figured it out in their latest version (2014) after few tries-and-errors. You need to choose “Custom Backup Scheme”, set method to “Incremental”, create Full Version every, say, 5 incrementals. Then select how many chains you want (Store no more than…Chains).And obviously select “Do not delete first chain”. It’s not exactly “whole space”, but if you select GB maximums, you will condemn yourself into consolidation, which will kill your external drive and time.
 
Symantec system recovery allows pretty granular control of backups and allows for both file level restore as well as image restore to the same or different hardware. It will create differential backups and regularly purge old back up sets based on your criteria. You can download a free trial for 60 days.
 
Also if you have some spare hard drives and an older system you could grab ya Windows Home Server 2011 as it has a backup and recovery system built in.

Other than that, I also give a huge vote for Macrium Reflect as well.
 
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