Is Acronis still the best option to do this? I recently lost a 1 TB SSD and had to reinstall all my software which took quite some time. I'm looking to create an exact clone backup (system and apps) that I can restore on new drives if anything should happen to this one in the future. I don't care about authorization inconveniences. Thanks!

 

The best software is the one that really backs up your data in case of emergency:

O&O DiskImage Professional
/www.oo-software.com/en/diskimage-backup-your-data

Acronis let me down once and like you I had to reinstall everything.

 

Try EaseUS.

 

Maybe try https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree
Been using it for years without any problems.

 

i clonev my system with hardware clone station - perfect result .
ICY BOX Dual SSD und Festplatten Docking Station USB 3.0, SATA Clone Station, Schwarz: Amazon.de: Elektronik & Foto

 

And I use Ashampoo backup!

Now you should know which one is the best!

 

acronis saved my ass several times throughout the years, i m pretty satisfied with it, but i know there are many alternastives,even in the freeware realm. I haven t felt the need to change so far though

 

Last edited: Apr 3, 2022

Acronis. Been using it for years for the same scenario that happened to you. Just recently saved my ass too.

 

Clonezilla or Macrium Reflect do the trick for me since many years.

 

Thank you all for the suggestions. Happy to know there are a few cheap and free options are out there.

 

i use MacriumReflect 7.3 dwnld from sanet and work fine cloning an internal Hard disk to an external solid state drive, then later i switch and install the external as solid state internal with windows 10 and booting and working well since december without any promblem. I recomend MacriumReflect 7.3 as a simple solution. for these case.

 

Been using ACRONIS for years. YES YES YES! Is very reliable and I'll do ya one better, as they say.
Should you ever want to relocate your hard drive (or image it to another drive, like and NVMe SSD) that's in a new PC, you'll only need to download the drivers for the chipset, the mobo and a few other peripherals, but It'll start up whiz-bang, Bob's your uncle fast and not be a problem in most cases. I went from an i7 core on a regular SSD to an i9 core NVMe SSD - new MOBO and all - with an Acronis Image (universal restore method) and it all moved over flawlessly!

 

R-Drive Image

 

I just use whatever came with the kingston hard drive I bought but then again I've only used this type of software for a hard drive update.

if it's for back up are you not better off using a back up system? clones go out of date.

Since you've already bought a 2nd hard drive then my recommendation to you would be to set up a "RAID 1" set up. It will make the 2 hard drives mirror each other.

RAID 1 drive configuration is old fashion and I think most I.T. Technicians have forgotten about it since the newer raid versions (ie. 3=10) have the ability to enhance read write speed but it is the version that creates exact clones of the drives.

The only problem with RAID 1 is this only protects you from mechanical fault. if you get a virus then both drives get a virus. a later version of the RAID drive configuration will probably have a solution for this but I've never used them.

Ask the more experienced computer user for details for setting it up and what RAID system to use.

I myself haven't used it in years since blue-ray disks made it possible for me to burn the large software and sample packs on to single disks.
I have a habit of a clean install of windows and the software every year. It's a bummer when I lose a disk with the samples on as it's a couple of days of setting disk to copy to a hard drive but it's not like we have disk failure on a regular basis. I think I end up running out of space and having to upgrade hard drive before they reach their life expectancy.

 

this one was reviewed by i youtube channel i blindly trust, it s completely free https://personal-backup.rathlev-home.de/index-e.html

 

I'm totally ignorant to how all this works but I'm definitely interested and have wondered about making a c drive clone before.

So is this a software that writes to the new drive? Is that usually how it's done?

 

yes

 

Totally Clonezilla, It has never failed me either. USB flash boot and bingo.
ONly down side if you are a Windows user you have to make a bootable USB flash drive and the GUI it not as pretty as a windows version. But it works perfectly.

 

I was in the same boat hence why I created the thread. I imagined I would simply be able to create a 1 TB image file that I would tuck away offline on another external drive somewhere until I needed it but it appears to be more involved than that. I definitely have more homework to do.

 

This looks very interesting.