Best Free Hard Drive Image utility for Windows 7?

[DaveLembke]

I have seen a number of free Image utilities online, but was curious as to which one is best for Windows 7 which will allow burning a spanned DVD image set?

Recently I found that my licensed copy of Norton Ghost 2003 does not like Windows 7 32-bit Home Premium. I am trying to find a suitable replacement to Ghost 2003 that will allow burning of spanned disc's to create a restore set for my highly configured Windows 7 box. Recently when I had to rebuild my Windows 7 box I was reminded of how important it is to create a good image set to baseline my machine and save from hours of rebuilding with software installs, security updates, and custom configurations.

I know that I could just use a restore point if the HD remains healthy, but as was the case with this most recent rebuild, the 250GB Hard drive crashed with the clunk of death and all data was lost, so I want to avoid restore points as my only method of restoration. Back in the days of my Windows XP builds Ghost 2003 had my system back up and running from burned CD and DVD's quickly and all I had to do is perform security updates for updates/patches that were released after the burn date of the image.

[Allan]

http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx

[Allan]

Additionally, here's something I put together a while back in response to a question on another forum. It may be of some use to you:

Disk Imaging software takes a "snapshot" of your drive as it exists at the time you create the image. You can then restore the entire image or any file(s) or folder(s) you choose. It is a virtually foolproof way of backing up your system and providing a safe haven in the event of a catastrophe that requires you to blow away your system partition and restore it to a previous state. It also allows you to "test" various software and be confident that you have a the ability to return to the prior state any time you choose.

 
I use Acronis True Image. It is the best of breed, but it isn't free. The best free alternative is Macrium Reflect.


1) I create an image of my system partition once a week to a second hard drive and keep the 2 or 3 most recent images. I also image my other partitions about once a month. I always enable "verify image" in the options. It takes a little longer, but insures a valid image.

2) I also create an image before performing any drive level function (ie, changing the size of a partition) or making any significant change to the OS (installing a service pack, upgrading IE, etc). Also sometimes before installing new software.

3) Images may be created on any medium (cd, dvd, external drive, etc). For obvious reasons they should not be stored on the same drive you are imaging. The best option is a second internal hd if you have one.

4) Images may be created "in the background" within the OS. If you need to restore the system partition, that will need to be done before the OS loads. You can start the process within the application in the OS and it will then tell you it needs to reboot to finish the process. Alternatively, you can boot to a "recovery disk" which you can create when you first install the software (or to the application disk itself if you have one). Other partitions can be restored without a reboot.

[overthehill]

 
I use Acronis True Image. It is the best of breed, but it isn't free. The best free alternative is Macrium Reflect.

Allan.
As far as free, how would you compare Macrium Reflect with Paragon Backup and Recovery 11. If memory serves me, I believe that it was you that informed us of these free apps. on Giveaway of the Day. I did take advantage of both. Just recently though I also backed up my systems with Paragon 11 (compact version) but have not yet used recovery. The compact version appears to be just that. Simple and easy to use.
Your thoughts? and thanks, overthehill

[Allan]

Paragon is a solid product, no question. But if I had to rate them I'd put Macrium at the top of the free list.

[overthehill]

Paragon is a solid product, no question. But if I had to rate them I'd put Macrium at the top of the free list.

Thanks Allan, you just did . Appreciate that. overthehill

[BC_Programmer]

Just recently though I also backed up my systems with Paragon 11 (compact version) but have not yet used recovery.

Part of testing a backup system is doing both the back-up and recovery portion. It's important because if you cannot properly recover a backup- it's pretty much useless.

[overthehill]

Part of testing a backup system is doing both the back-up and recovery portion. It's important because if you cannot properly recover a backup- it's pretty much useless.

Thks, BC_ and I hear what you're saying. I do however have my systems backed up with other "tried and trusted". These I know work. In the event that this Paragon "compact version" could have possibly??? gave me action, I threw the question out there. Right now my systems are running as they should. In this case the thought came to mind; if it ain't broken, don't fix it.
overthehill

[hartbeatmr]

Good evening overthehill

Just in case you are not aware of it W7 has it's own imaging tool. When you use it you will be prompted to make a disk and where you want to store the image. I don't know if W7 basic has image function but I do know W7 Home Premium does.

Just go to control panel > system and security > back up and restore and look on the left for "create a system image" and "create system repair disk. The down fall to this built in UT is you cant pick to restore say a couple of files but you can restore the PC to the point when the image was made in-case of hard drive failure.

Hope this helps     

[overthehill]

Good evening overthehill

Just in case you are not aware of it W7 has it's own imaging tool. When you use it you will be prompted to make a disk and where you want to store the image. I don't know if W7 basic has image function but I do know W7 Home Premium does.

Just go to control panel > system and security > back up and restore and look on the left for "create a system image" and "create system repair disk. The down fall to this built in UT is you cant pick to restore say a couple of files but you can restore the PC to the point when the image was made in-case of hard drive failure.

Hope this helps 

Thks, hartbeatmr for your input.
But, my question was more related to Macrium being the best free backup and recovery.
If you notice my profile you will see that I'm running Vista. EASEUS and Macrium Reflect have worked well for me but I was a little curious about Macrium being the best and was simply wondering about the comparison (Macrium vs Paragon) which Allan has already answered. I didn't mean to stick my nose into a Win 7 thread but was curious about the comparison. overthehill

[DaveLembke]

Thanks for everyones input on this... going to have to check into what hartbeatmr stated with W7 built in image feature. I created the System Repair Disc, but wasn't aware of a System Image Feature built into 7 for full recovery. I am using Windows 7 Home Premium.

Long time ago I use to use the windows backup utility, but I got burned with that utility with system/data state recovery one too many times failing and then having to perform a full lengthy rebuild.

When first introduced to Ghost 2003 I was like OMG FINALLY a system recovery tool that I can count on and with so many recovery features. At first I used it just burning CD's back then,( like 12 CD-R's per system image) but then when I found the ability to save money and time not burning disc's and backup system image from work stations to a system with large hard drive to store images of the many systems and being able to push the image over the LAN to the workstations, that then became my most favorite feature. Even converted my 1.44MB floppy of ghost boot for network support with static IP to a bootable CD that acts like A: drive. This was the perfect method until Windows 7 came along and didnt play well with Ghost 2003. Also newer versions of Ghost to have the Network Imaging options, you have to buy into Enterprise Licensing of Ghost which is costly. I decided to buy 4 boxes/Licenses of Ghost 2003 to be properly licensed for my 4 Windows 2000 & XP machines.

Will also check into Macrium Reflect to see which one I like better. And as BC stated and I learned with the old Windows System Backup/Restore utility, you should always test to make sure you have a good backup/image. I have a spare HD that I will place into my system to push the image to and test for success before labeling my DVD-R's as being a tested "known to be good" recovery set.

[Salmon Trout]

I created the System Repair Disc, but wasn't aware of a System Image Feature built into 7 for full recovery. I am using Windows 7 Home Premium.

All 6 versions of Windows 7 (Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate) have the backup image feature. However, to backup to network share you need one of the last three on that list. All will backup images to hard drive or DVD sets. I have been using it for 2 years.

... you should always test to make sure you have a good backup/image. I have a spare HD that I will place into my system to push the image to and test for success before labeling my DVD-R's as being a tested "known to be good" recovery set.

This is very sensible. Without knowing your backup solution will work, you are taking a big gamble.

[DaveLembke]

Cool... I found it!   

I guess I never found this feature because of my grudge against MS Backup and Restore of years past. Sweet that they finally made the transition to an Image vs *.bak files which never worked out well for system recovery for me, even when installing say a clean install of Windows 2000 Pro and then using the backup - restore from backup utility to stomp on top of the clean OS to push original build system state/ programs over top of clean.

Many thanks everyone. Going to try this out tonight ... And TEST   

[Salmon Trout]

I know it says if you make a system image backup you cannot restore individual files or folders, but in fact the image is a standard vhd and you can mount it as a drive letter and copy whatever you like.

[patio]

When i 1st installed Vista 64bit Ultimate after everything was setup the way i like with all important apps having a fresh install i created the image...

Then threw a spare HDD in to test and the image got to 91 % and failed...

Needless to say i have no impression of Win7's image app as i refuse to try it.

[Salmon Trout]

Then threw a spare HDD in to test and the image got to 91 % and failed...

Needless to say i have no impression of Win7's image app as i refuse to try it.

I suspect you found out that the HDD is unreliable. I have used the W7 image backup on 1 64 GB pen drive, 4 different hard drives: (1 internal, 1 USB, 1 FireWire and 1 NAS) and have restored OK from all of them.

[Dumb_Question]

I've just created a sector by sector image of my HD using EASEUS DiskCopy.  It seemed to work OK, the sample of files I looked for were present and correct, the partitions ands data on them were all the correct size to better than the nearest 0.01 GB.

I haven't used my copy (backup), I hope never to have to !

This version (free one) of EASEUS requires you to make a bootable CD/DVD, and you run it by booting from that.  This has the advanrage, they say, of making it O/S independent.

but I've another question:
I'm running W7 on an HP Pavilion, and I've just been reading in HP Advisor about the W7 Image backup, which has also been described in this topic.  I was thinking of making a set of 'System Recovery Disks' using HP's own software, which only allows to you do this once, when I read this article.  The question is, why would anyone use HP proprietary software to create System Recovery Disks (4 or 5 DVDs I understand) which modifies your system, when you can make as many system images as you like with the W7 backup imaging software, which preserves your system ?

Dumb_Question
2.August.2012
HP Pavilion dm4 1050ea - Windows 7

[BC_Programmer]

I haven't used my copy (backup), I hope never to have to !

As I believe has been noted before in this thread by myself and others, backing up or imaging a drive without then testing the created image/backup is not a good idea, for a few reasons.

1. The Interface will be unfamiliar.

So you find that your drive is corrupted, or something is wrong and you need to restore the Image. The first question is how. The second, is once you know how, you aren't going to be as familiar with the restore interface as you were with the backup interface, and given the possibility of lost data and the general anxiety this sort of thing can cause, one wrong move or mistaken button press could end badly.

2. There is no reason to assume the image is good

The only way to know if an image is actually good to restore is to restore it, the same way you would if you had a Hard drive disaster or other issue that required you to do so. I would recommend that this become a part of the routine; make the backup image, verify it, and then restore from it. Obviously the last item has some issues  that might crop up, so it might work better with a configuration that let's you restore without overwriting existing data (since if you restore in place and find it was corrupted you no longer have the originals!). Most imaging programs have good verification techniques but you cannot trust them 100% and more importantly It's a good idea to familiarize yourself with the restore interface so you aren't wandering blind when you do need to restore.

Backing up and imaging is only a safety net if it works. Many people create backup images that simply do not work for one reason or another, meaning they are basically wasting time to make their data feel safer, rather than actually making it safer.

The question is, why would anyone use HP proprietary software to create System Recovery Disks (4 or 5 DVDs I understand) which modifies your system, when you can make as many system images as you like with the W7 backup imaging software, which preserves your system ?

"Recovery" disks wipe everything and put the machine into the factory default state. This means it will have any originally installed (bundled) applications and other crapware. Personally I never use the recovery disks.

[patio]

Backing up and imaging is only a safety net if it works. Many people create backup images that simply do not work for one reason or another, meaning they are basically wasting time to make their data feel safer, rather than actually making it safer.

Quote of the Month Finalist ! !

[RobCr]

This post is for future Googlers
Allan recommended Acronis, and lamented that it was not free.
Assuming that you write your images to somewhere safe (EG an external Dock, with a 3.5" drive sticking vertically out of it), then Acronis  HAS A FREE VERSION.
Buy a Seagate 3.5" drive to shove vertically into your dock.
Make sure that the dock can take a 2GB drive, as that size is the sweet spot (in Aust) for price per GB (TB).
Now go to the Seagate web site, and download the free Seagate DiscWizard (Acronis program).
After you install the program, immediately make a bootable CD, and use that for your image creating and recovering. I do that, and I only use the installed program for browsing the contents of past images (looking for a file or two).

Acronis have foolishly 'hidden away' the Verify option. You get to it via the Tools option, where your history of past images are listed. If you right click one there will be a Verify option. You should always Verify your images, immediately after creating them.

I have two external drives, in their individual Docks ($25 per Dock), so that I am not shoving drives in and out. I alternate the drives that I save images into.

[soybean]

but I've another question:
I'm running W7 on an HP Pavilion, and I've just been reading in HP Advisor about the W7 Image backup, which has also been described in this topic.  I was thinking of making a set of 'System Recovery Disks' using HP's own software, which only allows to you do this once, when I read this article.  The question is, why would anyone use HP proprietary software to create System Recovery Disks (4 or 5 DVDs I understand) which modifies your system, when you can make as many system images as you like with the W7 backup imaging software, which preserves your system ?

I have a new HP laptop (Windows and just made a set of  'System Recovery Disks' using HP's own software.  It took 6 DVDs.  As far as I know, all manufacturers provide a way to do this.  Many years ago, manufacturers issued recovery discs (for full restoration to the original configuration) with new computers. When manufacturers stopped doing that, probably to save costs, they added the capability for the user to create a set of recovery discs.  These user-created recovery discs are the same thing as the recovery partition on the hard drives of these newer systems but, of course, the recovery partition on the hard drive will be useless if the hard drive fails.

As you and others have stated, a set of such recovery discs can only take your system back to the original configuration.  So, I agree that making periodic drive images with a drive imaging tool such one of the ones mentioned in previous posts is the best practice.  After you've made many changes to a computer, you really don't want to have to go back to day one and re-configure it all over again.  Still, having a set of recovery DVDs seems worthwhile; that way, you do have the option of going back to the original configuration and getting a fresh start.

[soybean]

I just now realized I quoted a post from Aug. 2012.  If I had noticed at the time, I would not have posted.

[DaveLembke]

Hey its fine..lol... i've done that before or accidentally posted to the virus/malware section by accident where I am not allowed to yet until I get the necessary qualifications to do so.

I ended up getting a drive duplicator for $80 and going this route actually. My system although is a Compaq is basically just the Compaq enclosure with all new guts inside. The Windows 7 install was a clean installation so I didnt have the option for burning a system restore set as computers off the shelf come with these days. Back when I bought this Compaq in 2003 and it came with Windows XP Home it had this utility and that came in handy for a few rebuilds until the motherboard died in 2009 after 6 years of heavy use.

So currently I have a master backup drive that is 500GB that I can use to build other 500GB drives off of and insert into this computer. I tried to perform a 500GB to 1.5TB clone and it did not like cloning different sized drives to migrate the data from 500GB to 1.5TB, but if I wanted to, I could always use the Seagate Disk Utility that came with the 1.5TB to migrate the 500GB to the 1.5TB at some point. The drive duplicator is pretty simple, just populate it with drives in the correct locations to not write an empty drive of 0's to the drive with all the data and start it and it has an LED indicator that shows its progress. Transfer took almost 1.25 hrs drive to drive for 500GB and I positioned a desk fan blowing cool air across them as they chugged and one was built from the other.