Macrium Reflect Free is a free disk backup and cloning software for Windows PCs and WHS users that can back up and clone your hard disks, operating systems (OS), or partitions. But is the free version of Macrium Reflect enough? This article will focus on a Macrium Reflect Free review to help you learn more about the details of this software. Let's dive into the specifics.

Overview of Macrium Reflect Free

With multilingual support for dozens of languages, Macrium Reflect has long been one of the most popular backup programs among global Windows users. Macrium Reflect Free is available for both commercial and personal use. It works well on Windows machines, but it cannot back up servers.

Macrium Reflect Free

With Macrium Reflect Free Edition, you can create an accurate and reliable image of a hard disk drive or individual partitions. In the event of partial or total loss of your system, you can use this image to restore the entire disk or partition.

It also comes with an excellent boot media creation tool that lets you tweak Windows PE to match the operating system you want to back up. It supports both MBR and GPT disks, and you can choose which drivers to install.

Macrium Reflect Free Edition's user interface is straightforward but appears somewhat outdated. It lets you backup your computer and schedule backups. As a free program, it enables you to create valid backups to keep your data secure. The free version allows for full backups and differential backups, but not incremental backups, which are available in the paid versions.

Macrium Reflect Free is limited to imaging or cloning entire disks or partitions (no file backups or other options). It does offer an option to select just the partitions needed to recover the Windows operating system, though.

To run Macrium Reflect Free, your system must meet the minimum system requirements:

Macrium Reflect Free System Requirements:

    • Keyboard and mouse • At least 512 MB of RAM (1 GB recommended) • Windows XP Service Pack 3, Windows Server 2003 Service Pack 2, or later

Key features of Macrium Reflect Free

With a basic understanding of what Macrium Reflect Free has to offer, let's take a closer look at its main features.

A user-friendly interface for beginners. New users often forget to create backups. Many of the programs that let you do this look overly complicated. Macrium is easy to understand and use, even if you've never used backup software before.

⚒️ Backup and Restore functionality. Macrium Reflect allows you to easily back up your hard drives or entire computer and restore the backup when needed.

Decent image compression. Macrium Reflect Free compresses backup files to a reasonable size for easy restoration.

Scheduling. With scheduling options, you can set up backups to occur in the middle of the night or at other times when you don't need the computer for anything else.

Clone and image hard drives. You can use it to clone or image a hard drive. The imaging process can take up much less space for backups.

User Feedback on Macrium Reflect Free Edition

Macrium Reflect Free is a popular and practical tool for backing up and cloning Windows computers, earning praise from many users who appreciate its free offering. Here are some reviews from G2 and TrustRadius users:

    • "Free backup of all content on your computer."
    • "Powerful disk and partition imaging and cloning tool."
    • "Great product, very easy to use."
    • "Excellent backup and cloning software."

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Macrium Reflect Free

Expert Rating: 

Pros

  • Free to use
  • Powerful encryption features
  • Lifetime license
  • Stable and reliable disk imaging backups

Cons

  • Available only for Windows
  • No cloud backup option
  • No incremental backups
  • No file and folder backup feature

Our Verdict

Macrium Reflect offers some nice features but doesn't stand out significantly from its competitors. If you only need to create system images and disk backups, Macrium Reflect Free is a reliable choice.

Latest update: Macrium Reflect will no longer offer a free version

From the above information, it's clear that Macrium Reflect is a useful tool for creating system images and disk backups. Unfortunately, Macrium Reflect will no longer offer a free version to users. The announcement reads:

This email is to inform you that Macrium Reflect Free will be deprecated on January 1, 2024. Security patches will be provided until January 1, 2024, but after this update, there are no plans for any further feature enhancements or non-security related updates. --- From Macrium Software

This means that as of January 1, 2024, Macrium will no longer offer a free version of its software. If you want to continue using Macrium Reflect, you'll need to upgrade to Macrium Reflect Home, which offers additional features.

Generally, Macrium Reflect Free has limitations when it comes to backing up files, cloning disks, and creating disk images. If you're a big fan of Macrium Reflect, you can upgrade to Macrium Reflect Home. But is it worth upgrading to Macrium Reflect Home?

It's worth noting that Macrium Reflect Home costs $49.99 per computer per year, which is more expensive than most backup software on the market. Also, while you can enjoy more features, the Home edition may not be as perfect as you expect. For example, you may encounter the Macrium Reflect clone failed error when cloning a hard drive on your computer.

To learn more about whether Macrium Reflect is no longer free, you can read the article linked below.

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Is Macrium Reflect still free

Is Macrium Reflect still free?

This article discusses whether Macrium Reflect still offers a free version. You can get more information in this post. Read More >>

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The Final Verdict: Is Macrium Reflect Still a Good Backup Choice? The Final Verdict: Is Macrium Reflect Still a Suitable Backup Option?

All in all, we can conclude that Macrium Reflect is no longer a good option for backup and cloning. The free version of Macrium Reflect is okay for recovery, while Macrium Reflect Home is a bit expensive. Hence, it's a better choice to go for alternatives to Macrium Reflect such as Todo Backup.

In the realm of backup and recovery, the name Todo Backup is one that deserves mention. It's also our top recommendation as a substitute for Macrium Reflect for your backup and recovery needs.

Todo Backup is a feature-packed and user-friendly backup and restore solution for Windows and Mac computers. It comes in three versions: Free, Home, and Advanced Server. The Home version has three pricing plans: Standard Yearly at $39.95, Premium Yearly at $59.85, and Standard Lifetime at $79.95.

This backup software enables you to automatically back up files, folders, system, disks, and applications. Additionally, it lets you store your backups in multiple locations such as local drives, external drives, NAS, secure zones, and the cloud. Most importantly, it offers 250GB of free cloud storage space to back up your files to the cloud, ensuring data security.

"Highlights of the Todo Backup Tool"

Todo Backup is a tool that can cover all your needs, whether you want to clone a hard drive, create various backups, or image your disk. It also offers advanced options like backup encryption, mounting and unmounting backup images, making it a great alternative to Macrium Reflect Free. You can download and use it with confidence for securing your data.

Here's how to back up your files using the Todo Backup tool.

Step 1: To begin the backup process, click the Select Backup Items button.

Create File Backup Step 1

Step two: Identify four categories of backups: files, disks, operating systems, and mail.

Create File Backup Step 2

Step 3: A list of local and network files will appear on the left side of the screen. Expand the directories and select the files you want to back up.

File Backup

Step 4: Choose where you want to save your backup, following the on-screen instructions.

Step 4: Create Backup

Make sure your backups are encrypted, and set up a backup schedule by clicking on Options within the Backup Options. You can also choose to start a backup at a specific time by clicking on Options within the Backup Schedule. There are many other customizable options for you to explore.

Backup Options

Step 5: You can store the backup file on your computer, in the tool's cloud service, or on a network-attached storage (NAS) device.

File Backup Step 4

Step Six: Todo Backup lets clients store copies of their files on third-party cloud drives or on the company's own cloud storage.

If you want to back up your data to a third-party cloud drive, choose “Local Disk,” then scroll down and add a “Cloud Device.” Enter your account information when prompted.

Click “Cloud,” register, and log in with your tool account to store backup files in the tool's cloud storage service.

Backup to Tool Cloud

Step 7. Click Backup Now to start the backup process. When it's done, the backup will appear as a card on the left side of the screen. Right-click it to learn more about how to delve into the backup job.

File Backup Step 7

In short

This article is a review of Macrium Reflect Free. There's no doubt that Macrium Reflect Free is a practical tool for safeguarding your data. However, the lack of file/folder backup, incremental backups, and cloud backup options is disappointing. Worse still, Macrium Reflect Free will cease to function on January 1, 2024. As such, Macrium Reflect is no longer the optimal choice for your data security needs.

Fortunately, you can use the Todo Backup tool to help keep your data safe. It allows you to create different backups, and it has a free version that can be a great alternative to Macrium Reflect Free. So, what are you waiting for? Download it now and give it a try!

Frequently Asked Questions about Macrium Reflect Free 1. What is Macrium Reflect Free? Macrium Reflect Free is a free disk imaging and backup software that allows users to create a complete backup of their computer's hard drive for recovery in case of system failure or data loss. 2. Which operating systems does Macrium Reflect Free support? Macrium Reflect Free supports Windows operating systems, including Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7, Vista, and XP (SP3). 3. Can I back up entire hard drives or only specific files and folders? Macrium Reflect Free lets you back up entire hard drives, individual partitions, or specific files and folders, providing comprehensive data protection. 4. How does the backup process work in Macrium Reflect Free? The software creates a disk image file containing all data on the hard drive. This image can be used to restore your system to its backed-up state when needed. 5. Can I schedule automatic backups? Yes, Macrium Reflect Free supports scheduling tasks, allowing you to set up automatic backups daily, weekly, or monthly based on your preferences. 6. Does Macrium Reflect Free offer encryption features? While the free version doesn't include advanced encryption, you can store backup files in password-protected compressed archives for added security. 7. How do I recover data from a backup? When needing to recover, you can use Macrium Reflect Free to browse and select the backup file to restore. You can then choose to recover the data to its original location or another location. 8. What's the difference between Macrium Reflect Free and the paid version? The paid version offers additional advanced features like differential and incremental backups, network backups, script support, and more robust scheduling options. The free version is better suited for basic backup and recovery needs for individual users. 9. Is Macrium Reflect Free secure? Yes, Macrium Reflect Free is a reliable tool from a well-known software company with a wide user base and positive reviews. However, no backup software can guarantee 100% data security, so it's recommended to regularly verify backup integrity and correctness. 10. How do I get and install Macrium Reflect Free? You can directly download the latest version of Macrium Reflect Free from the official Macrium website. After downloading, follow the installation wizard's steps to install the software.

Is Macrium Reflect safe?

Is Macrium Reflect safe? Absolutely. Macrium Reflect is a tool for backup, cloning, imaging, and recovery. It can help protect your data on Windows computers. You can use it with confidence. However, it's worth noting that the free version of Macrium Reflect will be discontinued, and the Home edition is a bit expensive.

2. Is Macrium good for cloning?

If you're searching for disk cloning software to clone HDD to SSD, Macrium Reflect is a solid choice. It lets you clone hard drives and migrate data swiftly and effortlessly. However, occasionally, you might run into an issue where the cloning fails.

3. Is Macrium Reflect free or paid?

Macrium Reflect offers both free and paid versions. The free version allows for full backups and differential backups but does not offer incremental backups like the paid version does. If you need to back up many files on a daily basis, the paid edition would be more suitable due to its incremental backup feature. The free version will cease to be supported as of January 1, 2024.