World Backup Day: choosing a hard drive for backup. Creating an exact copy of the system with all programs using Acronis True Image

When working on computer devices, we constantly have important data that we would not want to lose. To prevent this from happening, it is necessary to back up the most necessary information. In computer parlance this is called "backup". What is a backup and how it is done you will learn from this article. I’ll say right away that this thing is extremely necessary and with the right approach it will take very little time, but it will save much more of it + save your nerves. Tested for myself.

Backup (from the English backup - “spare”) is the creation of a copy of the contents of the hard drive. Why do you need to back up your files? As a rule, for long-term storage of information, ordinary users use a hard drive that is in everyday use. Although magnetic media is a fairly reliable device, over time it loses its resource, and files can be irretrievably lost. A backup is made to prevent this from happening: lost information can always be copied from backup storage to new permanent media. Unlike working ones, which are always available and temporary, backup copies are made on a disk or flash drive that is disconnected from the computer. How to create a HDD backup?

When creating a copy of a disk, you need to be guided by several principles to ensure maximum data safety and “painless” information recovery:

Regularity. The frequency of creating a copy depends on how regularly the data on the hard drive is updated. The average user does not need to backup daily: in most cases, copying once a week is optimal.

Separateness. It makes no sense to keep a copy on the same hard drive that is the main storage location. The type of media used for backup depends on the importance of the information: in everyday life, any hard drive or CD is sufficient; for more serious backups - archiving - special expensive drives are used.

Double check. After making a copy, you need to make sure that it is not damaged - open several random files and make sure they are safe. This needs to be done regularly, preferably with every backup.

Systematization. It is necessary not only to place all files in one place, but to divide them into categories according to a user-friendly principle. Often, data backup programs create images - archives, which are a single file in which all copied information is stored. Each category must have a separate image. This will allow you to backup files of different importance with different frequencies. Thus, working data, which is more important and updated more often, will be copied weekly, and an image of the operating system can be created occasionally, only with the most significant changes.

There is no need to do manual copying - there is software that runs in the background and independently performs computer backup according to the specified settings when you connect the backup media to the computer. However, before choosing a program, you should decide on where the copy of the disk will be stored.

Where to save the copied data?

There are 2 main backup methods: to physical drives or using cloud services on the Internet. They have their advantages and disadvantages, and different types of media also have some features.

External HDD

This option is more popular than the others, as it is quickest and easiest to back up to an external hard drive. External hard drives exist in two versions:

a regular hard drive inserted into a special box for connecting to USB;
Large flash disk.

This device is quite reliable for storing copies at home and costs relatively little. An external drive with flash memory is as reliable as an HDD, but you shouldn’t use regular flash drives: they can break at any time.

Laserdiscs

For computer backup, any type of disc can be used - CD, DVD or Blu-ray. They are easy to use and can be stored for a very long time, but have a number of disadvantages:

the need for careful handling, protection from sudden temperature fluctuations and mechanical stress;
the need to equip the computer with a recording drive;
possibility of disk damage due to frequent overwriting;
small volume - from 700 MB for CD to 25 GB for Blu-ray (the largest HDD today has a capacity of 10 TB).

Because of these disadvantages, laser drives are more often used for archiving - long-term storage of files of particular importance that are rarely accessed. For this purpose, special rooms are even built in which ideal storage conditions are maintained.

Cloud services

Clouds are remote servers for computer backup. The most controversial option. Its advantages are the following:

copies can be accessed from anywhere in the world, from any device connected to the Internet;
maximum separation of data - a copy is stored not only on the user’s computer, but even in another country;
backups are created automatically.

The advantages are significant, but the disadvantages are also significant:

There is no confidence in the security of the data: it is unknown whether the information is encrypted and who will be able to use it, whether the backup of the servers themselves is reliable, etc. In this regard, you can rely on the reputation of companies providing cloud services.
Without access to the Internet, the data cannot be recovered.
You need an unlimited channel with good speed if information is copied in large volumes.
Not a lot of space is provided for free; to get additional space you need to pay a subscription.

Today there are many cloud services for disk backup - Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, etc. There is no significant difference between them for the end user (except for the cost of subscription and ease of access to storage).

Backup programs

When using Windows OS, you can use the standard computer backup tool - when you connect a flash drive or external hard drive, the system itself will offer to use it as backup storage, and will also provide the ability to select folders that should be saved. Very convenient and easy to use for an inexperienced user. The only drawback is the lack of encryption.

Windows 10 can also save and backup data using the Microsoft cloud service. For a fairly modest fee, 1 TB of server space is provided, copying is performed automatically when changes are made to folders specified by the user, access to the storage is possible either through the Microsoft website or directly from Explorer on the computer. The downside is the lack of control over copying. Once the process has started, you can stop it only by turning off the Internet or turning off the computer; it is impossible to cancel the copying.

Third-party file backup programs include paid and free products. Among the paid ones are:

Acronis True Image. The standard version costs 50 euros, the upgraded version with a subscription to 50 GB of cloud space costs 40 euros per year, and the premium version, which includes additional products and 1-5 TB of cloud space, costs from 80 to 240 euros per year.

Paragon Backup & Recovery. It costs only 890 rubles, quickly copies the entire contents of the computer and allows you to restore data even if the OS is completely inoperable.

ABC Backup Pro. A very simple program, controlled by literally three buttons. There is a scheduler that performs automatic backups at specified intervals.

Free programs for computer backup:

Genie Backup Manager. Easy to use, but demanding on system resources.
Handy Backup. It features a simple interface and high speed of operation.
Back2zip - backs up data in zip archives. The simplest possible program.

These products have many analogues, and they are all similar to each other. There is no particular difference what to use. The main thing is to ensure the safety of the drives and regularly update the backup copies.

Once again, I repeat that backup should not be neglected, since you can create a copy of data very quickly and effortlessly. It may seem that the probability of losing information is too small, and backup is a waste of time, but the time, nerves and often money saved in the event of a computer breakdown cannot be overestimated.

Disk backup- this is the creation of an exact logical (sector-by-sector) copy of the hard drive in the form of a file. Hard disk backup programs must be able to create copies of boot and virtual disks. Handy Backup allows you to automate all operations to save your hard drive as a file.

What is disk backup: key features of the HDD backup program

The program should be able to select any hard drive for backup, including drives connected via a network, via a USB interface, or local ones. The program must also be able to create backups of virtual disks.

Automation of the hard drive backup procedure

Hard drive backup should be automated whenever possible, including automatically starting a backup task once at a certain time or when an external USB hard drive is connected, as well as starting missed tasks.

Secure storage of disk backups

A hard drive backup may contain dangerous or important information, so the program must be able to protect it by encrypting HDD backups. In addition, the program must support various storage media, for example, Yandex.Disk clouds, Dropbox or FTP server.

Benefits of Handy Backup

Managing the launch of hard drive backup tasks according to schedule

Run your tasks at a specified time with an interval of months to minutes, or when a system event occurs, for example, creating an automatic backup when connecting a USB HDD drive to a PC.

Hard drive backup security tools

Built-in algorithms for encrypting data and transmitting information over encrypted channels (including support for the SFTP and FTPS protocols, as well as calling external encryption programs).

"Hot" and silent hard drive backup

The program uses the VSS service to receive data for disk backup without stopping its operation. In addition, the program can be run in "silent" background mode as a Windows service.

Network drive backup

Video tutorial on creating a hard drive backup and restoring it

This video describes creating a backup and restoring a hard drive using the Disk Image plugin and the HBDR utility. The Handy Backup interface is shown in English, but for Russian the steps are similar. The interface of the Handy Backup Disaster Recovery utility is available only in English!

Attention: This video instruction assumes that the Handy Backup software is already installed on the computer, and the Handy Backup Disaster Recovery utility is already installed on the USB drive. If this is not the case, please download and install Handy Backup and Disaster Recovery before starting, according to the video instructions.

Handy Backup provides convenient and secure automatic hard drive backup. Try it now by downloading a 30-day free version of the program with a full set of features!

From viruses and software bugs, hardware failure or human error, there are many potential dangers infecting your files.

Or even worse could happen - for example, losing personal photographs, a music library, important business documents - something that could be truly valuable. That is why it is necessary to create a backup copy of your computer automatically.

Doing it yourself is very difficult, but with the right software it will be much easier than you think. Without any monetary expenses, because there are some free backup and disk cloning programs.

If you want to, copy the contents of your documents somewhere , clone one disk to another, or create a backup of your entire system, I found many programs that can help.

Action Backup

Action Backup is perhaps the best scheduled file backup for home and work computers. The program is very convenient, as it combines ease of use, as well as wide functionality for performing backups. With Action Backup you get: support for full, differential, incremental backups, automated* saving of backups to FTP servers, CD/DVD, remote network resources, zip64 format support, support for the shadow copy function, work in windows service mode *, automated deletion of previous (outdated) archives*, sending a report by e-mail and much more (a detailed description of the functionality is available on the official website of the developer).

Action Backup is perfect for both beginners and experienced users, making it an excellent tool for backing up files on home computers, workstations and servers.

* - available only in the paid version. There is a comparison of versions on the official website.

Aomei Backupper

If you like backup programs, Aomei has a simple interface. Select the drive or partition to back up, the destination drive, and click Backupper there will be an image creation.

The program has pretty good tools if you need it. There are options to encrypt or compress backups. You can create incremental or differential backups for increased speed. You can recover individual files and folders, or the entire image, and there are even disk and partition cloning tools.

What you can't do unfortunately Scheduled backups- they must be launched manually. But otherwise Aomei Backupper is an excellent tool, with a huge number of functions, but also easy to use.

EASEUS Todo Backup Free

Like most free (personal use) commercial software programs, EASEUS Todo Backup Free has a few limitations - but the package still has more than enough features for most people.

The program can work on both a file and backup file basis, for example, manually or on a schedule. Are you able to work with full or incremental backups.

The ability to limit write speed reduces the impact of backups on system performance. This is possible in individual files or folders, or the entire image using a disk recovery program. And there are tools to clone and format drives too.

On the negative side, you get no encryption, no differential backup, and you only get disk-based Linux (not Windows PE). But EASEUS Todo Backup Free still looks like a great program to us.

Redo Backup and Recovery

Redo Backup and Recovery — is a visualization backup tool with a difference. Instead of installing the program, you need to download a large (249MB) ISO file and burn it to a CD or USB drive. Then just boot from it to launch a simple tool that can backup your hard drive and restore them later.

There's also a recovery tool, and even a web browser if you need to seek help for a PC problem.

The program is not entirely convenient. You can't schedule backups, they all have to be run manually and there are very few options.

But it's also easy to use and free for everyone, so if you want to run an occasional backup that you can use on any computer without installing software, this is the product for you.

Cobian Backup

Cobian Backup is an excellent backup software with a lot of features. You get full, differential and incremental backups for example; ZIP or 7zip compression; AES 256-bit encryption; include and exclude filters; scheduler, backup or FTP servers, and the list goes on. Every aspect of the program is extremely customizable (there are over 100 parameters you can customize).

PC or backup, beginners will most likely find it very difficult. If you are more experienced you will love the number of tools Cobian Backup gives you control over every aspect of the backup process.

Macrium Reflect Free

One of the most popular free (for home use) disk imaging programs, Macrium Reflect Free The basic set of functions through the interface is easy to use.

The program does not have incremental or differential backups. And you won't get encryption or password protection. It makes creating backups very easy though (select source drive and set compression ratio, done).

There is a planner; You can mount the images in Windows Explorer or restore them completely from both Linux and Windows PE recovery disks. And in general Macrium Reflect Free An excellent choice for those who want a simple but reliable image backup tool.

DriveImage XML

Free for personal use, DriveImage XM is an easy alternative to more advanced competitors. Backup is as easy as selecting a source drive, a destination and (optional) setting the compression level.

Recovery is just as simple, and the only significant extra is the ability to copy directly from one drive to another.

There are some complications elsewhere. Click the "Task Scheduler" button and you will receive instructions on how to manually configure Windows Task Scheduler to start the backup. But if you only need a basic rendering tool then give DriveImage XML handle.

FBackup

FBackup is a good file backup tool, free for personal and commercial use. The interface is simple and clear, and there are a number of features.

Plugins allow you to back up individual programs with one click; there is support for including and excluding filters; and you can run "Mirror" backups, which simply copy everything without compressing it (which makes file recovery very easy).

Compression isn't as good, though (it's weak Zip2), and the scheduler is also more basic than you'll see in other programs. But if your needs are simple then FBackup should suit you.

Backup Maker

Free for personal use at first BackupMaker It seems like any other file backup tool, with optional or full backups available, scheduling, compression, encryption, include and exclude filters, and so on.

But interesting additional services include support for online backup on FTP servers, and when performing backup automatically when a USB device is connected.

The program data is stored in Zip files, too, which makes them very easy to access. AND BackUp Maker comes in a small 6.5Mb installation package, much more manageable than some of the bulkier competitors.

If you are a home user looking for way to backup files, then backup Maker could be perfect.

Clonezilla

Just like repeating backup and restore, Clonezilla not the installer: it's dos boot environment, which can be run from a CD or USB flash drive.

And it's a seriously powerful program, too: you'll be able to create a disk image; restore an image (on one disk, or on several at the same time); clone a disk (copy one disk to another), with more control.

While Repeat Backup and Restore focuses on ease of use, however, Clonezilla more about providing additional options like "unattended" Clonezilla via PXE boot." It's not difficult, probably the best free disk cloning program - but the program is aimed at experienced backup users, for beginners it is better to find a more suitable option.

Paragon Backup & Recovery 2014 Free

Another free program for personal use, Paragon Backup & Recovery 2014 Free
is a good tool, with some limitations.

Strong support for the foundation: you can create an image backup(full or differential), compress and encrypt their use exclusion filters to help determine what is included, do scheduled backups, and then restore individual files and folders or all of them.

Additionally includes a separate section to help keep your backups safe. And a good set of basic tools section are included.

Problems? You won't get incremental backups; You can't clone disks or partitions, and the interface sometimes doesn't feel very good. Nevertheless Paragon Backup & Recovery 20134 Free A quality tool and worth your attention.

Duplicate

If you need online backups then Duplicate is one of the most versatile tools, with support for saving files SkyDrive, Google Docs, FTP servers, Amazon S3, Rackspace Cloudfiles and WebDAV.

The program can also save to local and network drives, although it does include a lot of useful options (AES-256 encryption, password protection, scheduler, full and incremental backups, regular expression support to include/exclude filters, even upload and download speed limits to reduce the impact on your system).

So whether you save files online, or locally, then this program is for you.

Backup to external hard drive and recovering information from an external drive are convenient ways to ensure the safety of your data. Handy Backup makes backups to an external drive using a plugin Computer and various task automation tools.

Copy via USB connection

The data backup task can be configured to run automatically when the selected USB drive is connected to the computer. It does not matter which USB port the external drive is connected to.

Saving in original format

Information from a backup copy can be used without prior restoration, since all copied data is stored unchanged and can be used directly at the storage location.

Data compression and encryption

To save space, a backup to an external drive can be compressed and, for added security, encrypted using a built-in algorithm.

Supported external drives for backup

External USB drives: From Western Digital, Toshiba and any other manufacturers, with capacities from 250 GB to 3 TB and above, using USB 3.0 interface or even wireless access, can be connected for backup using Handy Backup.
USB storage devices (“flash drives”): familiar to many USB flash devices of all types, as well as memory cards (via a USB card reader). Windows and Linux drivers are used to access devices, eliminating compatibility issues with USB devices.

Automatic backup to external hard drive

Handy Backup fully automates backup to an external USB drive, allowing you to automatically run a copy task whenever the USB device associated with the task is connected to your computer.

External disk for backup: connection with the task

The program always “remembers” a specific USB device associated with a specific task. Therefore, it does not matter which USB port the selected external drive is connected to. Handy Backup automatically detects the desired device when connected.

Handy Backup is a flexible and powerful tool for backing up and restoring an external drive. Get to know it by downloading and installing the latest version of the program with a full set of tools and features for a free trial period of 30 days!

How to backup an external hard drive?

To create a data backup task from an external drive, please use the sequence of actions below:

Open Handy Backup and create a new task by clicking the button on the main panel, the Ctrl+N key combination, or selecting the appropriate item in the menu.
Select task type in Step 1 – data backup. If you want to use the auto start feature when connecting a USB device, check the “Advanced Mode” checkbox.
Expand the data source group in Step 2 Local and Network Drives.
Select a plugin Computer. In the right window, click on the letter corresponding to the name of the connected external drive for backup.
In the window that opens, indicate the data that you are going to save as a backup copy of the external drive by checking this data.

In Step 3, specify a location to store your data.
Next, configure the task as you wish. These steps for backup tasks to an external drive are no different from task settings for other types of data.
In Step 6, check the box that allows you to run the task when you connect the external drive selected in Step 2 as a data source to your computer.

In the next steps, complete creating the task and give it a name. All is ready!

Backup to external drive

Creating a backup task to an external hard drive using the Computer plugin is no different in logic from backing up an external drive described above. Just indicate external drive for backup in Step 3 as storage.

Recovering data from an external hard drive

Open Handy Backup and create a new task. Select a task in Step 1 data recovery. In Step 2, specify your external hard drive as the storage location for the recovered data and select the file on it backup.hbi, containing the necessary recovery information.

Automatic data recovery from an external hard drive is possible, but we do not recommend using it to avoid losing sensitive data, with the exception of cloning tasks (see below).
You can clone information from external hard drive backups by changing the location to restore data using the “Change location” button in the recovery dialog. In this way, you can create tasks for automatically cloning data from disk.

Video tutorial: Creating an automatic backup to an external drive

The video below shows step by step the process of creating an automatic backup task to an external drive (USB) when connecting it to a computer.

Attention: Following the instructions given in this video file assumes that a copy of Handy Backup is already installed on your machine. If you do not have Handy Backup installed yet, please download and install it.

Very often during the operation of a computer a situation arises when it is necessary to reinstall the operating system. And this can lead to a lot of troubles, since all programs installed during the operation of the PC will be lost along with the OS. And if reinstalling Windows takes a little more than one hour, then it can take days or even weeks to find all the necessary software. However, this problem is easily solved thanks to special software that allows you to create a backup copy of your hard drive in advance.

Backing up a hard drive is classified as a preventative measure, which is a very labor-intensive process. After all, simply clearing the tin of accumulated debris is sometimes not enough. Sometimes it becomes necessary to configure some applications to work normally or install a more recent driver version. Absolutely all users face these challenges. However, the most advanced ones approach the task more intelligently and optimize this process by backing up the most important files and programs.

This approach allows you to optimize the process of operating your computer and save a lot of time when servicing the device. After all, as statistics show, every user very rarely uses programs from other developers and gives preference to more familiar and time-tested utilities. Therefore, the optimal solution if the operating system crashes is to not completely reinstall it, but to restore it using a backup copy to a working state, preserving all installed programs. And this procedure takes much more time than doing everything from scratch.

There is a special category of software designed to create a backup copy of a physical or logical partition. All of them are almost identical, have a similar set of tools and are completely free, and the main difference is in the interface of the working window. One of the most common programs in this category on the RuNet, which even novice users know about, is Acronis. The program has a simple interface and great functionality, however, you must purchase a license for the right to use it. However, this utility has many analogues that perform similar operations and are free. It is about them that we will talk in our article today.

Redo Backup

This utility has become widespread among many novice users due to its minimal set of the most important tools, high reliability and intuitive interface. The program runs in the Linux environment, does not load the system and contains a minimal amount of information.

Among the main features that the utility is endowed with are the creation of backup copies of physical partitions, the ability to roll back all HDD parameters to factory settings, collection of detailed statistics on the state of the hard drive, a partition editor, recovery of deleted files, a graphic and text editor integrated into the utility for viewing documents and a file editor. manager.

When creating an image of one of the partitions of a persistent storage device, you can specify one of the available logical partitions, any external drive with the required amount of free space, or a remote computer as the storage location. The program packs the image very tightly, so you can even save it to a regular CD or an old USB flash drive with a capacity of 2 gigabytes.

AOMEI Backupper

This program has several editions, two of which are freely available. It is worth noting that one of them is intended for older versions of Windows, and the second is for seven and higher. As for the set of tools and functionality, both versions of the program are almost identical and allow you to perform similar operations with hard drives. As for the commercial edition, its main advantage is the ability to create an image of a hard drive partition through incremental copying, during which copies are created only of files changed during the operation of the operating system. This allows you to significantly reduce the time it takes to create a disk image. In addition, the paid version includes the ability to backup over a local network, and also supports working via the command line.

According to the developers themselves, the paid license works many times faster than its free counterparts. However, in practice this difference is not significant, so there is no point in paying for this program.

If we compare this utility with Redo Backup, discussed earlier, AOMEI Backupper has much more advanced functionality. For example, this program can create a disk image in different ways: by cloning, by copying contents from one partition to another, by creating a standard image in which all data is combined in one file. In addition, the utility supports setting the compression ratio, which allows you to, if necessary, control the size of the image in order to save free space.

To further work with the image, it must be written to a CD or flash drive. In most cases, to implement this, you need to install special utilities, however, AOMEI Backupper supports writing an image to a USB drive, so installing additional software is not required.

It is also worth noting that the utility allows you to pre-configure the process of creating a hard drive image. For example, the user can tell the program to create copies only of used files that are stored in the affected sectors of the HDD. This allows you to significantly reduce the image size. In addition, you can manually adjust the degree of file compression.

Clonezilla

Another application for creating an image of HDD partitions, available for free. Its creator is private programmer Stephen Shiau, originally from Taiwan. Despite the fact that the utility was created on open source, it has a very complex interface, or rather, it would be even more accurate to say that there is practically no interface at all, so it will be very problematic for inexperienced users to understand how to work with it. The entire process of working with the program is carried out using text commands. The program has Russian localization, so it will be easy to use for domestic users. You can specify the required language at the very beginning of the backup process.

One of the main advantages of this utility is the maximum level of localization. It can work with all desktop operating systems that exist today and supports all modern file systems.

To create a bootable flash drive, the first thing you need to do is download the installer from the developer’s official Internet resource onto your computer. The type of installation package depends on the operating system installed on your computer. It is worth noting that if the secure boot function is activated on your OS, then you need to download a separate distribution designed for Linux operating systems.

The installation file will be downloaded in zip format. After the download process is completed, you need to unpack its contents onto a USB flash drive, and then run the makeboot.bat file.

A backup can be created in two modes: in the form in which the system is presented on the computer (i.e., with all folders and individual files) or as a single file. Regardless of the form in which you create an image of the logical partition, using each of them you can subsequently restore the OS. The utility has very good functionality and practically does not consume hardware resources, so it can be used even on weak machines.

However, the program also has one drawback, namely, it creates a full backup of the entire logical partition, so the volume of the external data storage device must be equal to the amount of space occupied by the operating system.

It is worth noting that a regular and server version of Clonezilla is available. The second is designed to work over a network and allows simultaneous copying on multiple computers connected over a local network.

Backup & Recovery 14 free version

The arsenal of software from the Paragon studio contains a lot of useful free and commercial utilities created for the Windows OS, one of which is Backup & Recovery 14 Free Edition, with which users can create an image of the operating system.

The program is free, however, it can be used exclusively for non-commercial purposes. Today, the developer has created a newer version with a paid license, however, the old version still does not lose its relevance. At the same time, it works excellently not only with the seven, but also with newer versions of Windows operating systems.

It is worth noting that in the free version most of the tools are blocked, and to use them you need to update the utility to the commercial version, however, they are quite enough to backup the system. In addition to the main function, using the program you can control various parameters of logical partitions, for example, assign a different letter, check the file system, hide the partition from prying eyes and some other operations.

In the main menu of the program there is an integrated utility designed to create an image of the system partition. Before creating an image, the user can specify the type of operating system, where the image will be stored, a set of drivers for the necessary devices that will be included in the image, local network connection settings and many other parameters. The image is saved in the standard ISO format, supported by most modern programs.

The utility can work in two modes: firstly, the image can be created using the standard method, which involves saving the image file to any other logical partition of the computer or external drive, and secondly, the file can be saved to a virtual disk created by the utility itself, with the purpose of storing a large number of backup copies in one place. This approach is very useful, since there is no need to create a separate directory and constantly move files into it from other sections.

The big advantage of this utility over other programs in this category is the increased level of security. Its essence lies in the fact that when this function is activated, the backup copy is placed in the so-called capsule, located in a hidden section of the hard drive to which user access is blocked.

It is worth noting that the utility has two interfaces: standard and tiled. In addition to differences in design and ergonomics, the standard interface may be unstable. This manifests itself in the following: when creating an image of a Windows OS, the program may generate a system error and interrupt the image creation process. The reason for this is unknown, however, the problem can be solved very easily. If, while creating an image of a logical hard drive partition, the process was interrupted by the utility, you need to restart the application in tiled mode. After this, no problems will arise during the operation of the utility.

The software works reliably with all types of HDD, regardless of the cluster size and the file system used.

DriveImage XML

The DriveImage XML program was developed by Runtime Software, which is known to most users as a manufacturer of utilities for recovering deleted files. The company is the author of many software products, however, they have not received much recognition from users for various reasons. Nevertheless, the utility for creating a hard drive image, DriveImage XML, is a very useful and practical solution that is used by many Russian-speaking users. The main reason why the utility has become widespread is its accessibility.

To use the program, it is not necessary to install it on your computer, since the developer has provided the ability for the utility to work in a Linux environment. It is worth noting that of all the backup tools discussed in our article today, this utility has the widest range of tools and the greatest functionality.

By and large, this program is a set of utilities that allow you to back up your hard drive, restore deleted files, check logical partitions for errors, defragment, format, delete existing and create new partitions, change the volume label and much more. Such a large set of tools and functionality is not found in any utility that is freely available on the Internet these days.

In addition, on the official Internet resource of the company you can download an installation file, which is a set of programs, which, in addition to the utility mentioned above, includes a set of programs for viewing Internet sites, working with multimedia content and text files.

Runtime Software implements a shadow copying algorithm that allows you to create a backup copy of entire hard drive partitions, including files located in the system and hidden partitions that are not visible in the operating system. The final hard drive image consists of two files: the first has an xml extension and is a description of the created image, and the second is assigned the dat format, which directly acts as a backup copy of all files stored on the logical partition. The tools and some functions integrated into the utility that are tied to standard operating system services may not work during the operation of the program, however, the developer himself warns about this, so if you are faced with the fact that some Runtime Software functionality is not available, do not be alarmed worth it, the utility is fully functional.

Conclusion

Utilities designed to backup a system partition are a universal solution that can be used not only to roll back a crashed operating system to a working state, but also to ensure the safety of important information that you want to save no matter what. For example, these days everyone uses digital cameras, and the captured images are stored on the computer’s hard drive. Imagine what would happen if malicious software penetrated your PC and damaged or completely deleted your cherished memories? And with the help of the applications discussed in this article, you can ensure complete safety not only of photographs that capture all the most pleasant and important moments from your life, but also other important information. And this opportunity is available to you completely free of charge.