Imaging software helps you preserve all your hard drive data. We look at 3 backup apps.
Historically, performing backups has been a tedious and time-consuming process fraught with limitations. While Microsoft has improved Windows’ backup functionality in general, Windows 7 still misses the mark when it comes to a full-featured backup and restore application.
The major reason that Windows’ Backup and Restore Center doesn’t fully satisfy is because it doesn’t offer the ability to ghost (or image) a hard drive. Ghosting works by creating a copy of all of the populated sectors on a hard drive and storing that raw data to a single file.
The advantages are numerous. For example, the backup file can be compressed to save space and then stored on another hard drive, optical disk, network share or other storage device. In addition, ghosting preserves all hard drive data (files, applications and operating systems) in a single operation, which greatly simplifies the backup process.
Ghosting technology also allows you to recover data in one simple step, by just restoring the complete image file to a hard drive. Some backup products also allow you to mount an image backup and then access individual files or directories to locate a particular file for copying, restoration or access.
For this roundup of backup applications that include ghosting functionality, I looked at Acronis True Image Home 20, Paragon Backup and Recovery 10 Suite and TeraByte Image for Windows. (At one point in time, Norton Ghost from Symantec is the imaging market leader, but the product was updated — to version 15 — too late to be included in this roundup.)
The products all offer the ability to back up a computer with imaging technology, restore those images to a hard drive and access individual files stored in an image file. They also offer incremental backup technology, where users create a master backup image and then update that image with only what has changed on the system since the initial backup.
What’s more, the products all support the ability to restore an image to dissimilar hardware. In other words, the restoration process can strip out proprietary hardware drivers and allow the backed up operating system to boot on a different computer. That can be a great tool for upgrading to a new system or recovering from a disaster where the original device is not salvageable.
For the most part, the products all offer similar feature sets, but each has features that go beyond the basics. For example, Acronis True Image Home 2010 offers support for online/hosted backups via the Web, while TeraByte Software’s Image for Windows includes support for Linux and DOS, and Paragon Backup and Recovery 10 Suite includes the ability to convert images into virtual hard drives.
How we tested:
I tested the three applications on a Lenovo T61p notebook running Windows 7 Ultimate (64Bit), a Toshiba Portege R-600 notebook running Windows 7 Ultimate (32Bit), and a white box PC with an AMD Phenom CPU, running Windows Vista Home Edition. All systems featured USB 2.0 ports (for use with an external USB hard drive) and gigabit Ethernet connections to a Network Attached Storage (NAS) device.
To time the products, I backed the Lenovo T61p (about 70GB of data) to an external USB 2.0 hard drive using each product’s complete backup option, and then followed up with incremental backups.
While imaging is at the heart of Acronis True Image Home 2010 ($50), it is the way the product functions that helps to set it apart from other backup programs. Usability seems to be the key theme here — Acronis has done a great job of simplifying everything about backup, from installation to saving data to restoration.
Installation proved to be very easy on my three test systems, taking very little effort. The installation program checks for the latest version of the product and prompts you to download and install the newest version, if available.
One installation issue concerns the product key. To license the product you have to type in a code of 28 digits. Acronis recommends that you cut and paste the code from your registration email — and I’d second that.
At a Glance
Acronis Inc.
Price: $50
Works with: Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7
The installer allows you to select where to install the product. For most users, installing everything in the default locations is probably the best bet. Installation takes only a few minutes and may require a reboot.
Launching the product presents users with an attractive, simple tabbed interface with all of the primary functions organized in a logical fashion. The home screen (the first choice) offers an easy path to any of the wizard-based functions, such as backup, recovery, options and so on. Users can drill further down into the products capabilities via tabs, which include backup, recovery, tasks and log, try and decide, and a tab for tools and utilities.
It took about two hours to perform the backup of the 70GB of data. Subsequent backups using an incremental setting only took a couple of minutes, simply because I was only adding a few hundred megabytes to my initial backup each time.
Acronis has introduced some interesting features that users will really appreciate. For adventurous types, Acronis offers “try and decide,” which allows you to create a quick backup, install some new software to try out and then restore the system if you don’t like the new software.
Another feature worth noting is “nonstop backup,” which automatically backs up changes to a drive partition every five minutes. Nonstop backup is ideal for users who make changes to their systems frequently, or for small businesses that need to keep their systems up to date — in case of data loss, only 5 minutes of information will be gone.
The Online Backup Center allows users to back up files and folders to an optional online backup service hosted by Acronis, starting at $4.95 per month for 25GB. That way, you create local backups on a regular basis, and then back up important data files to the Online Backup store — a best-of-both-worlds approach for protecting a system.
Users can restore data from an image file, which can be located most anywhere – on removable storage, a network share, burned into a DVD, or pretty much any other storage device. The product can also create bootable rescue media — in other words, a bootable CD that brings up a specialized Acronis operating environment, which can then be used to restore an image file. The special Acronis recovery environment allows users to connect to removable media and network devices, so it is a snap to find an image file and restore it to a hard drive.
Acronis True Image Home 2010 includes a few nice extras, such as the online backup service, the Try and Decide feature, and several tools and utilities that help users with tasks such as safely deleting files and cloning hard drives. The company has pulled all of that off in a clean, easy-to-use package that has very little room for improvement.
All things considered, Acronis True Image Home 2010 is probably the only backup product any Windows user would ever need.
Paragon Backup and Recovery 10 Suite
Paragon Software has been offering backup and disk management tools since 1994 and the company’s expertise is evident in the its newest product: Paragon Backup and Recovery 10 Suite. The software comes in both 64 bit and 32 bit versions; I downloaded both for testing.
I found installation to be straightforward. I was prompted for a product key and serial number; just as with Acronis, your best bet is to copy and paste the key code and serial number from the registration e-mail or your account on the Paragon Web site. (When you purchase a Paragon product, you create an account on Paragon’s site, which then becomes the portal to download products and get license codes and product keys.)
Launching the application brings up an attractive interface that is clearly aimed at making the product easy to use. First-time users can quickly identify how to perform backups, restore files or do any other basic task, all without having to refer to a manual.
At a Glance
Paragon Backup and Recovery 10 Suite
Paragon Software Group
Price: $70
Available for: Windows 2000/XP/Vista/7, DOS, Linux, WinPE
Large descriptive menu buttons make it easy to launch wizards that make backup, restoration, file selection, creating rescue media and building schedules relatively straightforward. A tabbed interface located on the left side allows users to drill down into some of the more advanced features, such as converting images to virtual hard drives or browsing existing images to copy individual files.
Most users will find using the Smart Backup option the way to go. It is very easy to use and offers a good level of customization during the definition process. Options let you target e-mails, media files, or documents, or manually select specific files. The product offers multiple options for the location of a backup files, including network drives, burn to DVD and store to any FTP site.
On the other hand, some users may be confused by the product’s virtual mode. Basically, all operations are “stored” and do not occur until you hit an “apply” button to activate the task — in other words, it actually looks like a backup is occurring, sort of a full dress rehearsal. Advanced users can forgo the virtual mode by changing the program’s preferences.
One very nifty feature is the product’s ability to convert an image into a virtual hard drive. That way, if you system fails altogether, you can run that image as a virtual hard drive on a system running desktop virtualization. That could prove to be a fast way to retrieve important data or run applications during a system disaster.
The product also offers a backup component that is loaded in the system tray, which handles automating the backup process using a snapshot process. This creates a static version of the current data on the hard drive. When the application detects changes in the data on the hard drive by comparing snapshots, an incremental backup is executed.
Performance was adequate. I was able to back up the 70GB of data in about two hours and 15 minutes. Subsequent backups using the incremental setting only took a few minutes, depending upon how much information was changed on the hard drive.
Where Paragon Backup and Recovery 10 Suite really shines is with features such as the ability to back up, restore and convert virtual hard drives, as well as create WinPE bootable rescue media.
TeraByte Image for Windows v. 2.51a
Image for Windows is almost elegant in its simplicity.
Installation was a very straightforward process, which I accomplished in a matter of minutes. The company offers no installation disks or other media; you have to download the application from the TeraByte Software Web site. The company offers a fully functioning trial version which operates for 30 days and can be used an unlimited amount of times during the trial period. TeraByte also bundles in support for DOS and Linux in its product.
When you launch Image for Windows, you are presented with a basic screen, where you can choose to back up (full or changes only), restore (automatic or manual), validate or copy. There is also a link to a settings screen where you can make changes to an application — for example, you can change the level of compression or password-protect the image file.
At a Glance
TeraByte Image for Windows v. 2.51a
TeraByte, Inc.
Price: $38.94
Available for: Windows (all versions), DOS, Linux
Most users will need to do a full backup only the first time and then back up changes for each subsequent use. Both procedures are very simple: The program prompts you to tell it what to back up, when to back up, where you want the backup to go and what options you want (password, compression level, etc.).
One interesting option is called Phylock, which stands for “physical lock.” Phylock’s job is to prevent other applications from writing to the hard drive during a backup — that way no changes are missed during the backup process. The idea here is to prevent data corruption, but the concept may be a little confusing to a neophyte user.
Image for Windows does have several advanced features — the company chose to place those features in supplemental applications, which are included with the product. Those applications are accessed separately from the main application. For example, an application called TBIView can be used to open image files created by Image for Windows and select individual files for copying or accessing. You will also find applications for burning images on to DVDs or CDs, creating rescue disks and others.
Performance proved to be quite good. I was able to back up my 70GB of data from a highly fragmented hard drive to a USB 2.0 external hard drive in about an hour and 40 minutes, versus the two hours it took with Acronis.
Subsequent backups only took a few minutes using the “Backup (changes only)” option.
Compared to other imaging products, Image for Windows is very basic. It seems that TeraByte took the approach of keeping the main application simple for new users, while keeping the advanced capabilities separate. That way, neophytes can use the product, while advanced users can hunt for the features that they want.
Conclusions
All three products work exceptionally well when it comes to backing up and restoring a Windows 7 (or earlier OS) PC. Where they differ is in the bundled features.
Paragon Backup and Recovery 10 Suite offers the most robust feature set and an impressive array of advanced features, while TeraByte Software’s Image for Windows proved to be the simplest to use and also offers additional (but separate) capabilities that techies will like. Acronis True Image Home 2010 seems to fit right in between the two for ease of use and advanced features.
The best choice comes down to how you expect to use the product. If you’re looking to play around with virtual machines, then Paragon would be the ideal pick. If you want online, “in the cloud” backup capabilities, then Acronis would be the best. And finally, if you’re looking for technical flexibility and a simple interface, then TeraByte should be your choice.
Frank J. Ohlhorst is a technology professional specializing in products and services analysis and writes for several technology publications. His Web site can be found at www.ohlhorst.net.
