Best Free Software Tools for Safeguarding Your Files: A Ranked Review Collection

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Free backup programs are exactly what you think: no-cost apps that can manually or automatically make copies of the important data on your hard drive and save them somewhere safe like a flash drive or disc. Some have remote backup options for storing data on a different computer.

Every program on this list offers a free version. While some also provide optional paid features, they are not required to use the core functionalities.

We also keep an updated list of free online file storage sites , which are useful if you’d rather offload your files online and access them anywhere.

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Disclaimer: This post includes affiliate links

If you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

EaseUS Todo Backup

What We Like

• Lets you back up the system partition
• You can add security to your backups
• Finding files in a backup is easy
• Lets you tweak lots of settings
• Supports multiple backup methods
• Lets you restore the system partition even without a recovery disc
• Backs up whole HDDs, specific partitions, and individual files and folders

What We Don’t Like

• Can’t sign up for email notifications
• Doesn’t support event-based backups
• Can’t enable file exclusions

EaseUS Todo Backup can back up individual files and/or whole folders to and from a location on a local drive or network folder, as well as save backups to a cloud storage service (they even give you free online storage on their own servers, if you need it). In addition to particular, custom content, the program can also back up an entire disk, partition, or system drive.

While scheduling a backup, or once one has completed, you can run an incremental, differential, or full backup on the same data.

Backups are not readable from File Explorer, so you must use EaseUS Todo Backup to view the data. More specifically, you can double-click the backup file to open it in the program, where it_looks_ like File Explorer and is just as easy to use, but you have to have the program installed to open the backup. A timeline of backups is shown so that it’s easy to choose a particular time from which to restore files.

You can restore whole folders and/or individual files to their original location or a custom one.

It also allows changing the file compression of a backup, limiting the backup speed and priority, preserving security settings during a backup, splitting an archive into a smaller section, password protecting a backup, and scheduling a backup on a one-time, daily, weekly, or monthly basis. You’ll need to pay if you want disk cloning features.

I’ve used this program for many years, and I highly recommend you try it before any of the others on this list. It’s compatible with Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, and Windows Vista.

Download EaseUS Todo Backup

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AOMEI Backupper Standard

What We Like

• Backups are condensed into one single file
• You have full control over what gets backed up, to the file level
• It’s really easy to use
• Lets you encrypt and compress the backup, among other options
• Can back up intelligently to avoid capturing unused space
• Provides scheduling options
• Supports cloning hard drives

What We Don’t Like

• Some settings found in other backup programs are missing in this one
• You can’t pause backups, only completely stop them
• Free version hardly ever gets new features

Four backup types are supported with AOMEI Backupper Standard: disk backup, partition backup, file/folder backup, and system backup. You can also clone a partition or entire disk to another drive.

All backed-up data, no matter the type, is held in one single file, which can be saved to a local or external drive as well as a shared network folder. You can also back up your files and folders to AOMEI Cloud, the company’s online file storage service.

AOMEI Backupper supports encrypting a backup with a password, setting a custom compression level, receiving email notifications once backups have been completed, splitting a backup into pieces of a custom size (like for CDs and DVDs), and choosing between an exact backup (copies used and unused space) or an intelligent sector backup (just backs up used space).

Scheduling is supported, so you can choose to run a backup on one occasion only or every day, week, or month, as well as at a continual interval throughout the day. Advanced settings are available to choose a full, incremental, or differential backup.

I particularly like the restore function. You’re able to mount a backed-up image as a local drive and search through the data as if it were truly in File Explorer. You can even copy out individual files and folders. Instead of exploring a backup, you can also restore all the data with just a few clicks.

I’ve used the program on Windows 11 and Windows 10, but it also works on Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.

Download AOMEI Backupper Standard

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MiniTool ShadowMaker

What We Like

• Lots of awesome features
• Super easy to use
• Updates often with new features

What We Don’t Like

• Some features appear free until you click them

MiniTool ShadowMaker is packed full of some really great features. It backs up not only files and folders but entire hard drives.

You can back up disks, partitions, and files and folders to any local, external, or networked drive. Backups can run on a set schedule daily, weekly, or monthly, but only incremental backup is supported (not full or differential). It’s also your choice if you want to back up every sector or only the used ones.

With this program, you can set a custom file size for the backup so that it fits on CDs, etc. Custom compression, email alerts, hibernation file exclusion, password protection, and backup verification are supported, too.

You’d think the features would end by now, but it also has a tool to restore a backup even if your computer won’t start. You can also use MiniTool’s free backup software to clone non-system drives, manually mount a backup for easy browsing, and set up a file/folder sync job.

Some features are excluded in the free version and only available if you pay. However, what you get with the free edition is still much better than what some free backup tools supply.

This software was built to run on all editions of Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7.

Download MiniTool ShadowMaker

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BackUp Maker

What We Like

• Selecting what to back up is easy
• Interesting ways to trigger a backup job
• Supports wildcards and conditional statements
• Lets you restore only the files that have been changed since the backup
• Supports lots of other features like encryption

What We Don’t Like

• All backed-up data is saved to a ZIP archive without an option for another format
• You can’t password protect the program itself

BackUp Maker can back up individual files and/or folders directly to a disc or a local or external hard drive. It also works as a free remote backup solution since it can save files to an FTP server or network folder.

Simple selection lets you choose common files and locations to back up, such as internet browser bookmarks, music, and videos.

Data can be included or excluded from a backup by folder or file name, as well as by using advanced filtering options with the use of wildcards.

I love all the options. Backups can be restricted to run on certain days of the week or month, can launch when you log on or off, can be scheduled to run every so many minutes, and can even be automatically launched only if a certain USB device is plugged in.

Conditional settings can be set like only running a backup if a particular file or folder is found anywhere on a local, external, or network location. You’re also given the choice to run a backup only if files have changed since a certain date, within the last so many days, or since the last full backup.

When restoring a backup, you can choose any location on your computer and optionally select to only back up new files.

BackUp Maker also supports encryption, splitting of the backed-up files, pre/post tasks, running missed tasks, custom compression, and assigning shortcut keys to run backups without opening the program interface.

This backup software is supported on Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP, as well as Windows Server 2022-2003.

Download BackUp Maker

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COMODO Backup

What We Like

• Supports backing up very specific groups of data
• Lots of file format options for saving the backed up data
• One supported backup destination is sending the data over email
• Several scheduling options
• Backups can be protected with a password

What We Don’t Like

• Setup attempts to install an additional program
• Last update was in 2014

COMODO Backup has tons of great features. It can back up Windows registry files, files and folders, email accounts, particular registry entries, IM conversations, browser data, partitions, or entire disks like the system drive.

Data can be backed up to a local or external drive, CD/DVD, network folder, FTP server, or sent to someone as an email.

Various backup file types are supported like creating a CBU, ZIP, or ISO file as well as running a two-way or one-way sync, using a regular copy function, or creating a self-extracting CBU file.

Depending on the backup file type you use, you can specify if it should be spliced into smaller pieces, compressed, and/or password protected.

The scheduling options are very specific, enabling a backup to run manually, at login, once, daily, weekly, monthly, when idle, or every so many minutes. Missed jobs can even be configured to run in silent mode to suppress all notifications and program windows.

One thing I really like about COMODO Backup is restoring files. It’s simple because you can mount the image file as a disk and browse through the backed-up files as you would in File Explorer, copying out anything you wish. Alternatively, you can just restore the whole backup image to the original location.

This free backup program also supports email notifications, file exclusions by extension type, using Volume Shadow Copy for copying locked files, disk/partition mirroring, changing CPU and network priority, and running a custom program before and/or after a backup job.

Although the software has been abandoned for years, I was able to use it without any problems. It’s said to run on Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.

Download COMODO Backup

During setup, COMODO Backup tries to install another program that you must deselect if you wish for it not to be added to your computer.

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DriveImage XML

What We Like

• Saves everything to just two easily manageable files
• Can also back up unused disk space
• Supports splitting the backup into multiple pieces
• Lets you clone one drive to another
• Includes a bootable program that can restore the system partition

What We Don’t Like

• Must use the command line to schedule backups
• Starts a backup with little warning
• Can’t restore a backup to a drive that’s smaller than the original
• Unable to protect a backup with a password
• Last updated in 2016

DriveImage XML can back up the system drive or any other attached drive, to just two files that can then be stored on a network folder, local disk, or external drive. A DAT file is made that contains the actual data that’s on the drive while a small XML file is built to keep descriptive information regarding the backup.

Before a backup is performed, you can choose to also back up unused space, compress the files, and/or split the backup into smaller sections. If splitting into pieces, you are unable to specify the size of the slices, which is unfortunate.

You can restore a backup image onto a hard drive (that’s the same size or larger as the original) or browse through the backup using DriveImage XML. You’re able to extract individual files, search through the backup, and even directly launch some files without restoring everything.

Scheduling is supported, but it’s done only with command line parameters, which is useful if using Task Scheduler to automate a backup.

DriveImage XML can also back up, or clone, one drive to another without creating an image file. This method, as well as a regular backup and restore as described above, can also be launched before Windows boots, using the Runtime Live CD .

The program will start a backup during the wizard when you seemingly least expect it, so ensure you’re ready to start the backup when clickingNext on the screen entitled_Backup_ .

It’s said to work with Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP, as well as Windows Server 2016, 2012, and 2008.

Download DriveImage XML

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Cobian Reflector

What We Like

• Lots of options to truly customize the backup
• Several destination options
• Open a program automatically before/after a backup
• Also free commercially

What We Don’t Like

• Not as attractive as some other backup programs
• Restoring isn’t an option in the program; you have to manually restore files from the destination folder

Cobian Reflector can back up files, drives, and folders to and from all the following locations: local disk, FTP server, network share, external drive, or a manual location. Any or all of these destinations can be used alongside the others for both the source and backup location.

A full, differential, or incremental backup can be used. It also supports automatically removing empty folders from a backup and utilizing Volume Shadow Copy.

You can set up the program to encrypt and/or compress a backup into individual archives for each file, do a simple copy without archiving anything, or archive the entire source location into one file. If compressing a backup, you also have the option to configure splitting it into smaller sections, which is useful if using the files on something like a CD.

Scheduling a backup can be very precise. Cobian Reflector can run a backup job once, on startup, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, or on a timer that runs every so many minutes.

Several options are available for launching tasks before and/or after a backup job runs, some of which include starting a program, stopping a service, hibernating the computer, and running a custom command .

This program also supports choosing a backup priority, running a job as a different user, sending failed/success logs to one or more email addresses, and defining advanced filtering options to include/exclude data from a backup.

Unfortunately, there are no restore options short of just browsing the backup folder and pulling out the files.

It works with Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, and Windows Vista. Windows Server editions are supported, too.

Download Cobian Reflector

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FileFort Backup

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What We Like

• Walks you through a wizard to create a backup
• Unique ways to store the backup
• You can save the backup to a cloud storage service
• Supports encryption
• Backups can run on a set schedule
• Lets you define a backup by the files’ size and extension

What We Don’t Like

• Can’t perform a system partition backup or a full disk backup

FileFort Backup lets you back up files to a BKZ file, self-extracting EXE file , ZIP file, or a regular mirror backup that simply copies the files to the destination.

A wizard walks you through the backup process to help you specify what files should be backed up and where they should go. You can back up multiple folders and/or individual files to an external drive, CD/DVD/Blu-ray, network folders, or another folder on the same drive as the source files.

When choosing data to include in a backup, you’re able to filter the files to only include ones that are under a certain size and/or a particular file type.

You can encrypt a backup, schedule backups daily or weekly, and optionally run missed ones at startup.

Restoring a backup gives you the option to restore to the original location or a new one.

macOS (10.5 through 10.14) and Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP users can install FileFort Backup.

Download FileFort Backup

Several other programs try to install during setup, and you must manually deselect them if you don’t want them on your computer.

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Redo Rescue

What We Like

• Backs up the entire computer at once
• Really easy to use
• Several options for where to save the backup
• Free for both commercial and personal use
• Includes other useful tools

What We Don’t Like

• No option to back up individual files and folders
• Can’t browse through backup like you can a folder’s files
• It can’t be used from within the OS
• Big download (over 600 MB)

Redo Rescue doesn’t support backing up individual files and folders. Instead, this program backs up an entire hard drive at once by running from a bootable device like a disc or flash drive.

You can use Redo Rescue to back up a drive to an internal hard drive, external USB device, a shared network folder, or over FTP, SSH, or NFS.

A collection of files backed up with this program can’t be read as regular files. To restore the data, you must use the program again and then select the drive you wish to restore the files to. The destination drive will be completely overwritten with the backed-up data.

Redo Rescue is best used in a situation where you wish to be able to restore an_entire_ hard drive. While this type of backup does include all the files and programs on the drive, it’s not meant for individual file and folder restoration.

Download Redo Rescue

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Yadis! Backup

What We Like

• Lots of options can be customized
• Backups can be run automatically
• A backup job can run based on file activity
• Can exclude certain files from a backup

What We Don’t Like

• The automatic backup schedule can’t be changed
• Each backup job can handle only one folder
• Can’t back up specific files; only a whole folder at once
• Unuseful restore options
• Password protection and encryption aren’t included features
• No longer actively maintained

Back up folders to an FTP server or local, external, or network drive with Yadis! Backup.

Any number of file versioning is supported, and you have the option to keep the original folder structure intact for better organization. You can also exclude subdirectories and define included/excluded files by their extension.

The only scheduling option is to run backup jobs automatically or manually. There are no custom options, like on a per-hour or day basis.

Yadis! Backup can be set up to monitor when a file is created, removed, and/or changed. If any or all of these events take place, a backup job will run.

Even the settings you’ve modified in Yadis! Backup can be configured to back up to a specified folder when changes are made so that you don’t lose your custom options.

You can only choose one folder to back up at a time. Any additional folders need to be created as their own backup job.

Something I don’t like is that there are no options for easily restoring backed-up files. To access files that have been backed up is to simply browse through the backup folder, whether it be on an FTP server or a different drive.

I used this program in Windows 7 and Windows 10, but it should also work in other versions of Windows.

Download Yadis! Backup

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Everyday Auto Backup

Click here

What We Like

• Backups can be set to run on a schedule
• Can prevent subfolders from being backed up
• You don’t need the program to restore backed up files
• The program is extremely easy to use

What We Don’t Like

• Lacks encryption and password protection options
• It backs up whole folders at once, not specific files
• Doesn’t automatically run missed backup jobs
• Only full backups are supported (not incremental, etc.)
• You can’t pause a backup
• Hasn’t been updated since 2014

Everyday Auto Backup is really easy to use. It can back up folders to and from a local disk or network location in just a few clicks.

It supports an option for excluding subfolders entirely, and can also exclude files from a backup by name and/or file type. Scheduling can be set for more than one job at a time and supports hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, or manual backups.

There are no password options or encryption settings. While that’s unfortunate, it also means you can use the backed-up data as normal files you can open and edit.

The minimum requirement is that you’re using one of these operating systems: Windows 8, 7, Vista, or XP. It should also work in newer versions, like Windows 11 and 10.

Download Everyday Auto Backup

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Mutual Backup

Mutual Backup is an interesting option because instead of storing the data on a flash drive or other device attached to your computer, this one copies everything over the network. It’s ideal if you need free offsite backup.

The program lets you store copies of your files on a friend’s computer, no matter where it’s at. It’s a bit like an online backup service, but instead of paying for storage space on a server somewhere, you and a friend can exchange free space on your own hard drives to store the other person’s backups.

This also works on your own network, so if you want to keep your videos backed up to the computer downstairs, you can do that, too.

All files are encrypted and compressed before transport, so someone on the other computer can’t see what you’re backing up. File and folder filtering are supported. Restoring is as easy as choosing which files you want to download back to your computer, and you can, at any time, delete the remote backup from your own computer.

If you’re connecting with a friend outside your network, they’ll have to set up port forwarding , and you’ll need to know their public IP address . Upload/download throttling is supported.

This app runs on any Java platform, so it works on Windows, Linux, and other operating systems.

Download Mutual Backup

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Disk2vhd

Disk2vhd is a portable program that creates a Virtual Hard Disk file (VHD or VHDX ) from a physical disk. The purpose is to use the file in Microsoft Virtual PC, though other virtualization software may also be used, such as VMware Workstation.

The great thing about this tool is that you can back up the primary hard drive you’re using_as you use it_ . This means you don’t need to boot to a disc or avoid backing up your primary hard drive. Also, only the used space is backed up, meaning a 40 GB drive with 2 GB of used space will only produce a 2 GB backup file.

If backing up the drive you’re currently using, ensure “Use Volume Shadow Copy” is enabled so Disk2vhd can copy files that are currently being used.

It’s ideal to save the backup image to a drive other than the one you’re backing up to avoid performance degradation.

There’s also support for creating a backup file using the command line.

Disk2vhd works with Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, and Windows Vista, as well as Windows Server 2008 and newer.

Download Disk2vhd

Microsoft Virtual PC can only use VHD files that don’t exceed 127 GB in size. If any larger, other virtualization software might be more suitable.

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Smartli Backup

What We Like

• Really simple and easy to use.
• Can run from a portable device (no installation necessary).
• Support for importing and exporting backup plans.

What We Don’t Like

• Can’t edit an existing backup plan (must delete and start over).
• Can’t choose a custom backup location.

This is the perfect backup solution if you’re not interested in advanced settings. It’s very easy for anyone to use, and is totally portable, so you don’t have to install it.

Smartli Backup lets you create multiple backup jobs. You can back up a single file or a folder. Backups can be scheduled to run once every 24 hours, or you can pick a less frequent schedule, like once per week.

You can restore a backup to any folder of your choosing, but all backed-up files are stored in the same place, which is a subfolder within the Smartli Backup installation folder.

It works on Windows 8.1 and newer, and Windows Server 2012 R2 and newer.

Download Smartli Backup

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Iperius Backup

Iperius Backup backs up files from a local folder to a network or local drive.

The program interface looks really nice, is clean, and isn’t at all hard to use. The menus are displayed side by side in separate tabs, so it’s simple to move through the settings.

Files can be added to a backup job one at a time or in bulk through a folder, and a backup job can be saved locally or on a network, using one of three backup types. You can also choose the number of backups to store.

Aside from ZIP compression, email notifications, and password protection, Iperius Backup has some other custom options as well. You can include hidden files and system files in the backup, shut down the computer after completing the backup, favor compression speed over high compression, and run backups on a schedule.

In addition to the above, Iperius Backup can launch a program, another backup job, or a file before and/or after a backup job.

When building a backup job, you can also exclude files, particular folders, all subfolders, and particular extensions from the backup. You can even include or exclude files that are less than, equal to, or greater than a specific file size to ensure you’re backing up exactly what you want.

This program is said to be compatible with Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, and XP, as well as Windows Server 2022 through 2008.

Download Iperius Backup

Several of the options in this free version actually only work in the paid, full version of Iperius Backup, such as backing up to Google Drive. You’ll be told which features cost when you try to use them.

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GFI Backup

GFI Backup supports backing up files and folders from a local location to another local folder, an external drive, a CD/DVD/Blu-ray disc, or an FTP server.

It’s really easy to add more than one file or folder to GFI Backup to be included in a backup job. The folder structure looks just like it does in File Explorer, letting you place a check next to anything you want to be included.

A backup can be encrypted with a password, compressed, split into small chunks, and even built into a self-extracting archive.

You can choose to restore certain files or select entire folders at once to be copied back to the original backup location or saved elsewhere.

GFI Backup also includes a sync feature, detailed scheduled tasks, and incremental and differential backups.

It should be able to run on all versions of Windows, including Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7.

Download GFI Backup

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FBackup

FBackup allows the backup of individual files and whole folders (even from your Google Drive or Dropbox account) to be saved to a local, external, or network folder, as well as to those same online file storage services.

An easy-to-use wizard guides you through the backup process and includes preset locations you can choose to back up, like the Documents and Pictures folder, Microsoft Outlook, and Google Chrome settings.

This software lets you add your own files and folders to a backup job. You can exclude certain data from a job by specifying a word in the folder or file name, as well as the type of file extension.

Two backup types are supported in the free edition:Full and_Mirror_ . A full backup compresses every file into ZIP folders, while a mirror creates a replica of the files in non-compressed form. Both allow encryption.

Backup jobs are created using a built-in interface that corresponds with the Task Scheduler service in Windows to run a backup at times like once, weekly, at logon, or when idle. Once a job is completed, FBackup can be set to hibernate, sleep, shut down, or log off Windows.

A backup can be restored using a simple restore utility that comes built-in, which lets you restore everything or individual files to their original location or a new one. You also have the option to restore only the latest version of the files or to run filters to restore specific file types.

While testing FBackup, I found that it downloaded quickly but took a bit longer than usual to install.

It’s officially compatible with Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, and Windows Vista. It can also be installed on Windows Server 2022, 2019, 2016, 2012, and 2008.

Download FBackup

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Ocster Backup Freeware

Ocster Backup permits backing up files and folders to any local or external hard drive.

When adding content to back up, you must browse for each file and folder you want to be added. While you_are_ able to select multiple files at once, you can’t quickly add numerous folders like some of the other backup programs from this list can do.

You can encrypt a backup with Ocster Backup, set up a daily or weekly schedule, and exclude content by name, extension, or folder.

Also, another plus is that the original directory structure is still present when you restore the files, which makes it rather simple to navigate through them.

Ocster Backup is limited in that it doesn’t support backing up to a network drive, and restoring files is an all-or-nothing deal where you must restore everything at once.

The official list of supported operating systems includes Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.

Download Ocster Backup Freeware

Ashampoo Backup has replaced Ocster Backup, but you can still get the last released version through the link above.

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Free Easis Drive Cloning

Free Easis Drive Cloning is_extremely_ easy to use. Just open the program and choose_Create Image, Restore Image,_ or_Clone Drives_ to get started.

You’ll walk through a wizard with any option you choose. The first will ask you to choose the drive you wish to back up and where to save the IMG file. The_Restore Image_ option is just the opposite of the first, and the last selection lets you clone a drive to another without having to first create an image.

The bad thing about Free Easis Drive Cloning is that it backs up_everything_ , even the unused, free space of the drive. This means if you’re backing up a 200 GB hard drive that has only 10 GB of actual data, the IMG file will still be 200 GB in size.

This software is said to work with Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, and Windows 2000. I tested it in Windows 10 and Windows 8 without running into any problems.

Download Free Easis Drive Cloning

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AceBackup

AceBackup is relatively easy to use and accepts saving backups to a local drive, FTP server, CD/DVD, or a folder on the network. You can optionally save to more than one location if you want multiple places to store your files.

Backups can be compressed using one of three modes: password-protected, encrypted, and set up to use a schedule. They can also be configured to launch a program before and/or after the backup completes.

You can include/exclude files from the backup by their extension type, which is helpful if you’re adding a large sum of files that include ones you don’t necessarily need to back up.

The log files made with AceBackup can optionally be emailed in the event of an error or chosen to be sent even on successful backups.

Something we don’t like is that some of the options in this program aren’t described, which can leave you wondering what certain settings will do when they are enabled.

We successfully used AceBackup in Windows 10, but it should work just as well in Windows 11, Windows 8, and Windows 7.

Download AceBackup

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HDClone Free Edition

HDClone Free Edition can back up an entire disk or a select partition, to an image file.

Using_Windows Setup_ will let the program run inside Windows. You’re also able to back up one disk or partition to another, but it will overwrite the data on the destination drive.

Use the_Hybrid ISO_ if you’re not running Windows XP or newer. It also contains an ISO image for burning HDClone Free Edition to a disc, which can be used to back up the partition with the OS installed, since it runs before the OS launches.

Some features, like choosing a compression level and encrypting a backup, appear to be supported but are unfortunately only available in the paid version. You also must have a paid edition to use this on a Windows Server OS.

If the Windows program is used, it can be installed on Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP.

Download HDClone Free Edition

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Macrium Reflect

With Macrium Reflect, partitions can be backed up to an image file or copied directly to another drive.

If saved as an image, the program will produce an MRIMG file , which can only be opened and used with Macrium Reflect. This file can be saved to a local drive, network share, external drive, or burned directly to a disc. You can even add more than one backup location to build a fail-safe if a destination becomes invalid.

You can schedule a full backup on a schedule so that every day, week, month, or year, a backup will be made of any drive, including the one with Windows installed. A backup job can also be scheduled to run at startup or log on.

To restore a backed-up image to a drive with Windows installed, you must use the Macrium Reflect program to build a Windows or Linux rescue disc, both of which can restore an MRIMG file.

Once an image is made, you can even convert it to a VHD (Virtual Hard Disk) file to use in other applications. You can also mount the backup as a virtual drive that mimics a local one, allowing you to browse through the backed-up files and folders and copy out anything you want.

Macrium Reflect also supports splitting a backup into smaller pieces, custom compression, full disk backup (includes free space), and automatic shutdown/hibernation/sleep after a job finishes.

Neither individual file/folder backup nor encryption is supported.

How to Use Macrium Reflect to Create a Recovery Drive for Windows

The program should work on all versions of Windows. I tested it on Windows 10 and Windows 8.

Download Macrium Reflect

Determine if you are running a 32-bit or 64-bit version of Windows to know which option you should choose on the download page. Make sure to select one of the blue download links since the red ones are for the paid editions.

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Karen’s Replicator

Karen’s Replicator is an easy-to-use, simple folder backup utility that supports a local, external, or network drive as a backup destination.

Data is backed up using a regular copy method without encryption or password options, which means you can browse through a backup like you would any other folder in Explorer.

Options let you exclude subfolders from a backup, filter out certain files by their extension, avoid backing up particular directories, and schedule backup jobs.

You can toggle Karen’s Replicator to only copy data if: the source file is newer than the backup, the sizes are different, and/or if the source has been changed since the time of the last backup.

You can also decide whether or not Karen’s Replicator should delete files from a backup if they’re removed from the source folder.

The interface is a bit outdated, but it didn’t interfere with backups or my ability to find settings.

I used Karen’s Replicator on Windows 10 and Windows XP. It should work in other versions of Windows as well.

Download Karen’s Replicator

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Freebyte Backup

Freebyte Backup can back up multiple folders at a time to any local, external, or network drive.

A backup can’t be compressed or encrypted with this program. Scheduling isn’t built-in either, but you_can_ make a few changes to how the program launches as well as use an external scheduling program to make it work.

You can filter a backup job so that files with particular extensions get copied, leaving out all the rest. There’s also an option to only back up files that have been modified after a particular date and time, as well as a toggle to turn on incremental backups.

Freebyte Backup is said to work only with Windows Vista, XP, and older versions of Windows, but I tested it on Windows 10 and 8 without any issues.

Download Freebyte Backup

Within this download is a portable version of the program (FBBackup.exe) and a regular installer (Install.exe).

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ODIN

ODIN (Open Disk Imager in a Nutshell) is a portable backup program that can create a full image of a drive.

A backup image can be built into one file or separated into chunks for easier placement on media like CDs and DVDs.

You have the option to back up a drive’s used data or the used and unused portions of the disk. The latter would require more space than the former, since copying free space along with the used space would mean_everything_ would be backed up, creating a replica of the original drive/partition.

It’s too bad there aren’t any encryption options, but you_c_ an compress a backup using GZip or BZip2 compression. Plus, restoring is very straightforward: select the disk that should be restored and then load the backup file.

I tested ODIN on Windows 8 and Windows 7, but it should also work for other versions of Windows.

Download ODIN

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CloneZilla Live

CloneZilla Live is a bootable disc that can back up an entire hard drive to an image file or another disk. This program is text-based, so you won’t find regular menu options or buttons.

Image backups can be stored on a local or external drive as well as a SAMBA, NFS, or SSH server.

You can compress a backup image, split it into custom sizes, and even check a hard drive for errors using a free hard drive testing tool before creating an image.

Restoring a backup with CloneZilla Live involves taking the regular backup process steps but doing so in reverse. It_sounds_ confusing, but following the on-screen instructions makes it pretty easy.

Download CloneZilla Live

Before downloading it, you have the option to choose a ZIP or ISO file. I recommend the ISO file because it’s not much larger than the ZIP file and will save you a step later.

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Paragon Backup & Recovery Free

Paragon Backup & Recovery lets you back up whole disks or specific partitions to several virtual image file formats.

If you want to password-protect the backup, you can save it as a Paragon Image (PVHD) file. Otherwise, the program also supports backing up data to a VMWare Image (VMDK) file or a Microsoft Virtual PC Image (VHD) file. Incremental backups are also supported.

Settings are available to compress a backup and manage how much splitting, if any, should be done to cut the backup into smaller pieces.

You can also choose which file types and/or directories to exclude from a whole disk backup.

Restoring data is as easy as selecting the backup image and choosing the drive to restore it to.

Overall, Paragon Backup & Recovery is a bit harder to use than some of the better programs on this list. You’ll need to register for a free user account on their website before you can fully use the program.

Supported operating systems include macOS and Windows 11, Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7.

Download Paragon Backup & Recovery Free

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Personal Backup

Personal Backup can back up data to a folder on an external or local drive, FTP site, or network share.

When selecting the files to be backed up, this program only allows a single file to be added at a time. You can keep adding more, but only one can actually be chosen at a time, which can slow down the process of creating a backup job. You_can_ , however, select whole folders and context menu integration is supported.

A backup can be built as an archive for each file, creating many ZIP files, or as a single archive that contains all the data. Options are available for encryption, compression, and file types that should be excluded from compression.

Personal Backup allows a total of 16 backup jobs to be created, each of which can have its own scheduling options and incremental or differential backup type.

Email alerts can be sent on the completion or error of a backup job, a program can be launched before and/or after a backup runs, and you can easily set a backup to shut down or hibernate the computer when it’s finished running.

I find Personal Backup to be very cluttered, making it hard to find what you’re looking for because nearly all the settings are simply thrown into the program interface with seemingly no organization.

However, it does update a lot, which is a good sign that it’s constantly trying to improve.

The 64-bit version runs on Windows 11, 10, 8, and 7, as well as Windows Server 2008 R2, 2012, 2016, and 2019. Windows Vista and XP users can install the 32-bit version.

Download Personal Backup

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XXCLONE

XXCLONE is very basic in that it can simply copy all the contents of one drive onto another. Plus, there’s no restore function, and everything that’s on the destination disk is wiped clean before XXCLONE begins backing up the source drive’s files.

You’re able to adjust the speed of the backup as well as make the destination drive bootable.

I tested this program on Windows 10, 8, and 7, but it should also work for Windows 11, Vista, and XP.

Download XXCLONE

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PING

PING is a program that runs straight off bootable media like a disc. It lets you back up one or more partitions to a file.

There isn’t a graphical user interface, so you must be somewhat comfortable with a text-only navigation screen to use this program.

You have the option to back up partitions to a local or external drive as well as to a network share or FTP server.

When selecting the correct source and destination drive for a backup or restore, it’s actually a bit difficult to determine which drive is which. PING doesn’t show you the name of the drive or the size, but instead, just the first few files that are located on the disk. This is only slightly helpful when determining the right disk to select.

You can compress a backup and optionally set it up for incremental backups in the future, both of which are options you’re asked before starting a backup.

When restoring a backup, you’re unable to “browse” for the files like you can when an operating system is loaded, so you must know the exact path to the files to successfully restore them.

Download PING

This program, nor backing up in general, has anything to do with the more commonly known computer term_ping_ , as in the ping command .

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Areca Backup

Areca Backup makes it simple to add new files to a backup job by supporting drag and drop. You can save a backup to any internal drive, FTP site, or network folder. Backing up to external hardware is not supported.

You can encrypt, compress, and/or split a backup into small sections. Areca Backup can easily filter the types of files to be backed up by extension type, registry location, directory name, file size, locked file status, and/or file date.

Before and after a backup job runs, you can set up a file to be launched and/or an email to be sent. Conditional settings are available like only running the file or sending the message if the backup succeeds or throws an error/warning message.

You can restore one or more individual files and/or folders to a custom location, but you aren’t given the option to restore to the original backup location.

I’ve ranked Areca Backup this low on the list because it isn’t as easy to use as most of the other programs you see here.

I was able to get this program to work with Windows 10, 7, and XP, but it may also work in other versions of Windows.

Download Areca Backup

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CopyWipe

CopyWipe is a backup program that can run outside of Windows on a disc or from_within_ Windows like a regular program, though both options are text-only, non-GUI versions.

It backs up entire hard drives to other hard drives, supporting both internal and external devices like flash drives. You can copy hard drives even if they’re different sizes by choosing to scale drives or do a raw copy so that everything is copied, both used and unused space.

You must confirm a copy before starting, which is a good thing, but CopyWipe doesn’t provide any identifiable details to differentiate between the drives, which means you must use Disk Management to know which one is_Hard Drive 0_ ,Hard Drive 1 , etc.

I tested the most recent version in Windows 10, 8, and 7, and it worked just as advertised so long as the program ran as an administrator.

Download CopyWipe

How to Create a Full Backup on a Windows 11 Computer

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