Back-up Software

[olympus]

Can anyone offer a suggestion for simple-to-use, free back-up software that they have personal experience of?

I've looked at the Ultimate List of Free Software on the FAQ and Useful Information sticky and I found Gizmo's Freeware Reviews on the Best 46 Free Utilities but no indication as to relative merits.

Gizmo's offering for Backup includes a three-chapter exposition which seemed (before I gave up) to require disc re-partitioning and other complicated procedures which I would prefer not to do.

So, simplicity/ease of use/ease of restoring is the prime requirement.

Grateful for any recommendations.

[BOAC]

No OS given, so I'll start with

MS Backup
A bat file to copy smaller chunks set up in scheduler.

Both work fine and are free.

"simplicity/ease of use/ease of restoring" - both

[milsabords]

Browse to Tucows, CNET downloads or any such site, select the Backup category, you will find lots of free programs, along with user comments and ratings.
I use Drive Image XML on XP and Vista.

[Mornington Crescent]

Sync Toy from MS works fine if you just want to back up folders such as My pictures or My docs. If you like that sort of thing you can schedule a routine back up with Task Scheduler (part of windows). It lets you back up to any drive on your system.

[Simonta]

If you know your way around Windows (PC savvy or above), then Cobian is good. It's the one I use. I like it because it runs as a service and is "fire and forget".

The reason I say if you know your way around is because it's open source and sadly, like so much such OS software, is poorly designed and has some very frustrating limitations, mainly in how it handles incremental backups with complete backups every xxx days. The other problem is that there is no automated restore but for the insurance cover, I'm prepared to accept the cost of a manual restore given that I've only lost one hard drive in more years than I care to think about.

With good knowledge, they can be worked around.

Took me ages to get it to do what I needed but once done, can be forgotten about.

Cobian Backup | Download Cobian Backup software for free at SourceForge.net (http://sourceforge.net/projects/cobianbackup/)

If your needs are simple, then I echo previous posters recommendations on Windows Backup and SyncToy.

Cheers

Simon

[seanbean]

Take your pick:

Best Free Backup Program (http://www.techsupportalert.com/best-free-backup-program)

I've been using GFI for about 12 months - no probs/issues.

[Fratemate]

Ditto Sean Bean,

I've been using GFI and it does what it says on the tin. It's easy to use, free and reliable.

[oldbeefer]

I've been very happy with Paragon Paragon Backup & Recovery Free Edition - Free Download (http://www.paragon-software.com/home/db-express/download.html)

[Mike-Bracknell]

Robocopy, Sync-Toy, Dropbox (all free...to a certain extent...and all recommended:ok:)

Backup Exec, Veeam* (all not free, but still recommended, and what I tend to use day-in, day-out).










(*not necessarily any use to you whatsoever, but hey!)

[olympus]

Thanks for all the tips guys.

I've had a look at each suggestion and decided to have a go with GFI. It does seem straightforward to use and the welcome email links to an 'idiot's guide' video. Oh and when I lived in Ireland my car was registered GFI 99!

Thanks again.