



That copy can then restore the backup image to the hard disk. That disk contains enough of an operating system to boot and run a copy of Reflect also included on that disk. Restoring an image is similarly straightforward, with one exception.įor example, if you’ve replaced a damaged hard drive and you want to restore your most recent backup image to it, you’ll need something to boot from.īefore you need it, use Reflect itself to create a bootable rescue disc and save it somewhere. Naturally, there are options to increase the compression of the image, protect it with a password, encrypt the backup, and more.īut for a basic image backup, you can pretty much bypass all of that. All that you need to do is specify where the backup image should be stored. Click the “Create an image of the partition(s) required to backup and restore Windows” and Macrium configures a backup for you to do just that. System image backups in Reflect are almost a one-click operation. … if your data is in only one place, it’s not backed up.Īnd, of course, like any good software, it needs to be relatively straightforward to use and give you reasonable support options.Īdditional features beyond those basics are nice, but certainly not required. Browse and restore individual files from image backups.Restore that complete image to a machine that cannot itself boot because it contains an empty replacement hard disk.Make a complete image backup of a disk and most importantly, your system disk.In my opinion, a good backup program needs to be able to: Over the years, I’ve developed a set of criteria – a set of features and characteristics – that I want out of a backup program before I recommend it.

As I’ve said repeatedly, if your data is in only one place, it’s not backed up. In my opinion, that’s why it’s critical that you backup your computer and data regularly. And someone with more than a little experience will also be able to share horror stories of how and when they learned this important lesson. I consider backing up to be one of the fundamental necessities for anyone who uses a computer.Īs anyone with even a little experience will tell you, you will lose something important someday without a backup it’s not a matter of if, but a matter of when.
