Backup Programs

This page is part of the "legacy" version of HTCC online. It's here for continuity and reference. This website has been semi-retired since 2009, and is seldom updated.

Backup is easy, restore is hard

Restore won't work unless your backup job did what you thought it would. Check the content of your backups to see that they contain what you expected -- at least the first few times. Also, test your restore method before you need to restore a file. It's too late to test after you desperately need to restore. ;-)

Restore can end in disaster if you pick the wrong restore option. Usually you'll want to restore just one or a few files. Watch out though -- it's easy to pick or click the wrong option. If you restore the whole backup set you'll probably overwrite perfectly good recent files with older files. Learn how to restore just what you need before you're in a panic. ;-)

Many backup programs have a fatal blind spots:

  1. The archive bit is a risky way for a backup program to determine which files to back up. Other programs may flip the bit between backups. Then the backup program will skip the file when making incremental or differential backups.
  2. Nothing external to encrypted volumes ( files which contain encrypted files) may ever change, and backup programs will skip them when making incremental or differential backups. [solution]

Simple backup methods

Windows System Restore is a backup program of sorts, but it primarily backs up Windows related files and the Windows registry. It's a good idea to make a restore point just before you make a major change, like installing a new program. It will not backup your user files however. It's a good way to fix Windows when something goes badly wrong, but it's not much use for anything else. [tips]

Windows Explorer (AKA "My Computer", or just "Computer" in Windows 7) makes a simple, effective backup tool. Just "select" the files, folder or folders you want to backup > "right-click" the group of files that you've selected > choose copy > then paste them in the folder where you want to put your backup. You can also use "right-click and drag" to copy files to their backup destination. (left-click and drag is likely to do something you don't intend).

Microsoft provides "SyncToy", a free "synchronizing" tool. It's equally good for backup. SyncToy is easier to use if you have your files reasonably well organized. I've used it myself. It's simple and it works great!

"Zip" programs make good backup tools. They offer file compression and can be more convenient than copy and paste.

DVD/CD Burner software can be used to create backups directly. You CAN even save the list of files and folders in your backup as a project list. That seems great, but there's a gotcha. Files that have been moved, deleted, renamed, or modified are NOT included in subsequent backups. I always create a new project when I'm making new backups this way. You can also create a backup by using a Zip or backup program, and then burn the resulting file to DVD/CD.

Backup programs

Programs designed specifically for backup let you save backup projects. They make it easy to back up the same set of files whenever you want. You won't forget which files you want to back up, and you won't have to locate them again. Some can be used for incremental backup -- only new or changed files are added to the archive -- which saves time and space.

My choice...

I use Backup4all Pro for almost all my local backups. Even though it has powerful options it is relatively easy to use. Backup4all uses its own file index to keep track of what's been backed up and when. That's the only reliable way to do it if you use incremental or differential backup -- other methods often skip files that should have been backed up. [free version]

Update: Use "full" or "mirror" (unckeck "Fast mirror" too) to back up encrypted "volumes", such TrueCrypt files. Backup programs cannot detect any changes from outside these files, even though the contents change. That's just the way they work. Any other backup type will fail to include an encrypted volume even though the contents have changed.

You can easily back up directly to CDs/DVDs with Backup4all (not the Lite version). You don't need a burning program. They have good help and suggestions on using these removable medias for backup.

Backup4all is easy to use, but it takes a while to get the hang of it. Experiment with some small scale backup and restore operations to find out just how it works. Hint: Don't click the restore button if you only need to restore some of the files. Select the backup you want to restore from. Then use the file tree to find the file. You'll see the available file versions in the pane below the file tree. Right-click the version of the file that you want and select "Restore". $40

Email backup

Whether you download your email or use Web mail, there are some messages you wouldn't want to lose. There are many ways to back up messages manually, but it is more convenient to back them all up automatically. I use Mailstore because it provides an easy way to do that.

Mailstore [free] lets you restore messages, but you can also easily find and read them right from the Mailstore program. You can back up email from any of the programs and services shown, from any email service that has an IMAP of POP3 mailbox, and from any email messages that you may have saved before.

You'll find more email backup programs at Gizmo's Freeware.

Other programs

Gizmo's Tech Support Alert site also has reviews of the top free backup programs.

FreeByte Backup is a simple free backup program that is easy to use. I'd advise against using it for incremental backups though. It relies on the "archive" bit to determine if the file has changed since the last time, and I've found that isn't always reliable. Some changed files may not be included in the backup.

I tried ZipBackup just to see if it is as good as claimed. It seems to be just right for the average user. Not too complicated, good user interface, does just what it should and no more. Most importantly, it's not too confusing to restore files with. I recomment using the option to append the date and time to the backup filename. $29.95

ZipBackup and Backup4all (above) put backups in standard Zip files, rather than proprietary formats. You don't need the program itself to restore files. You can use any Zip program, or Windows XP itself.