Best Free Norton Ghost Alternative for Windows 10

Are there any reliable alternatives to Norton Ghost for Windows 10?

In the past few years, I've always relied on Norton Ghost for system and file backups. However, after upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10, Norton Ghost 15.0 is no longer functional. It appears to be incompatible with the new Windows system. Each time I attempt to launch Ghost, Windows 10 prompts me to enter the product key. Upon doing so, I receive an error message stating that the Product Key is invalid. Therefore, I'm wondering if there's a reliable alternative to Norton Ghost for Windows 10. I genuinely need a program to create a complete system image, as a safeguard against unexpected system issues and data loss disasters.

What is the best alternative to Norton Ghost for Windows 10?

As many computer users are aware, having a complete copy of your Windows partition is crucial. This allows for a swift and effortless restoration in case of any issues. However, Norton Ghost 15 is not compatible with Windows 10. Therefore, you need to find an alternative to back up your computer. In this regard, we recommend a reliable option, the free backup software. This tool enables you to effortlessly create full backups of your entire Windows installation. Below, we will guide you through the steps to create an image of your Windows 10 system and data using this software.

Steps to backup Windows 10 computer using free backup software: 1. **Select a Backup Tool**: Choose a reliable and free backup software, such as Macrium Reflect Free, tools Todo Backup Free, or AOMEI Backupper Standard. Download and install it on your Windows 10 computer. 2. **Launch the Software**: Run the installed backup tool, and you'll typically see an intuitive interface with various backup options. 3. **Create a Backup Plan**: Choose "Backup" or a similar option from the main menu. You may have choices like "System Backup," "Disk Backup," "Partition Backup," or "File Backup." Select the one that suits your needs. 4. **Choose Source**: If you opted for "System Backup," the tool will automatically select the necessary system files. For "Disk" or "Partition Backup," select the drives or partitions you want to back up. For "File Backup," browse and select specific files or folders. 5. **Set Destination**: Specify where you want to save the backup. It's recommended to use an external hard drive, USB drive, or network location for safety. Ensure there's enough space to store the backup. 6. **Schedule Backup**: If desired, configure the backup schedule. You can choose to run it daily, weekly, monthly, or upon specific events (e.g., system startup). 7. **Add Additional Settings**: Some tools offer advanced settings like compression level, encryption, or backup splitting. Customize these as per your requirements. 8. **Start Backup Process**: Review your settings, and click "Backup Now" or a similar button to initiate the backup process. This may take some time depending on the size of data being backed up. 9. **Monitor Progress**: Keep an eye on the progress bar to ensure the backup is running smoothly. Do not turn off your computer during this process. 10. **Verify Backup**: Once completed, verify the backup by checking its contents or performing a test restore. This ensures the backup is functional in case of a system failure. Remember to periodically update your backups to keep them current and relevant to your data.

Reinstalling Windows and applications or recovering data can be a lengthy, tedious, and potentially costly process. However, with free backup software, you can save time and money by automatically creating periodic full backups of your computer. As a free, powerful, and flexible solution, it's an excellent choice for Windows 10 backup and restore when Norton Ghost fails to operate. Let's explore how it works to perform backup tasks in Windows 10.

Step 1. The first time you use Todo Backup to back up files, click Create backup on the home screen, then click the big question mark to select backup contents.

Step 2. Since you're going to back up files and folders on your computer, proceed with the "File" backup mode, where you can choose to back up photos, videos, documents, and all other types of files.

Step 3. Navigate to find the files, folders or directories you want to back up, select them all and click "OK".

Step 4. Next, you need to choose a backup location to save and store the backup.

Step 5. Todo Backup enables users to save backup files to any device that is convenient for you, such as a local hard drive, external USB drive, SD card, network drive, NAS drive, or even the brand's cloud drive. Personally, we recommend selecting the cloud drive over physical drives to store crucial backups due to its better accessibility, flexibility, and security.

To access the Tools Cloud, all you need is an email registration and login.

Step 6. If you're interested in an automatic and intelligent backup schedule for the next file backup task, proceed with the "Options" setting. Here, you can encrypt a confidential file backup, compress the backup image size, or customize a backup scheme to specify when the next backup should start.

Customize an advanced and automated backup task here:

Step 7. Click "Backup Now" to initiate the file backup process. The completed backup files will be displayed on the left side in a card view.