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Free Image Format ConversionA hard drive is the physical component in a computer used for storing data. Backing up your hard drive is crucial for safeguarding information in case of a failure. There are various hard drive backup software options available, and here, we will discuss five of the best and most popular ones.
After testing 12 hard drive backup programs for overall performance, reliability, speed of backups, and compatibility with various types of drives, we've selected the five best hard drive backup software options. Here's a breakdown of our test results:
| ⌨️ Number of software tested | 12 |
| ⏳ Duration of testing | 3 weeks |
| ? Testing devices | A Lenovo desktop and a HP laptop |
| ? Types of hard drives | Samsung SSD, Toshiba HDD, WD SSD, Sony SSD |
| ⌚ Backup time | 15 minutes to 4 hours |
| ? Compatible operating systems | Windows, macOS, Linux |
| ? Pricing | $50 to $300 |
Here's a quick look at the five best hard drive backup software programs we'll be reviewing:
The Importance of Backing Up Your Hard Drive
Most people take it for granted that their computers will be available when they need them. But what happens when a computer crashes, taking all of its data with it?
Hard drives are an essential component of any computer. They house all your important data and files, which is why having a solid hard drive backup strategy is crucial for protecting your information.
This is where hard drive backup software comes in. It can help you create a backup of your hard drive and restore your data in case of a crash.
Hard drive backup software is a program that helps you create backups of your computer's hard drive. This way, if your computer crashes or gets hit by malware and viruses, you can recover your data from the backup.
How to Choose Hard Drive Backup Software
There are many different hard drive backup software programs available, each with its own set of pros and cons. It's essential to choose a program that suits your needs, as not all programs are suitable for every situation.
When choosing a hard drive backup software, consider the following factors:
- Level of backup protection offered. Some programs only back up data files, while others also back up disks, partitions, or create a system image, and so on.
- Types of backup media supported. Some programs save backups to CDs or DVDs, while others back up to removable storage devices like USB flash drives or external hard drives, cloud storage, or network locations (like NAS).
- Types of backups supported. Some programs only support full backups, while others also accommodate differential and incremental backups.
- Compatibility. Certain programs work only with specific types of hard disk drives or operating systems. Make sure the program you choose is compatible with your hard drive and OS.
- User-friendliness. Some programs are very user-friendly, while others are more complex and require some technical knowledge to operate.
- Security and reliability. Ensure that the backup program you choose is reliable and offers high levels of security for your backed-up data.
Based on these criteria, we have selected the 5 best free hard drive backup software for Windows 11/10/8/7. They are Todo Backup Free, Paragon Hard Disk Manager, Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office, Handy Backup Standard, and Macrium Reflect Free. Let's see what each of these disk backup programs can do for you.
Read more: Top 10 Offline Backup Software for 2024
5 Best Hard Drive Backup Software for Windows 11/10/8/7
1. Tool - Todo Backup
Compatibility: Windows 11/10/8/7
Todo Backup Free delivers a comprehensive solution for disk backup and recovery. It supports various backup types, allowing you to create full backups and incremental backups, and it accommodates multiple backup media, including internal hard drives, removable storage devices, cloud storage, and network locations. It also supports various types of hard disks, such as IDE, SATA, SCSI, and SSD drives.
Main features:
- File and folder backup: Backup specific files, folders, or file types, including documents, photos, music, and emails.
- Disk/Partition backup: Backup an entire hard drive or a specific partition.
- System backup: Backup the operating system, installed programs, and settings.
- Incremental and differential backup: Backup only the files that have changed since the last backup, saving time and storage space.
- Scheduled automatic backup: Set up automatic backups to run on a schedule.
- Pre-os mode: Recover your system when it fails to boot.
- Free cloud storage: Store backup files in the cloud, including services like Tool Cloud, Google Drive, OneDrive, which is a future trend in backup. Offers 250GB of free cloud storage space for each user.
Advantages:
- Straightforward backup management
- User-friendly interface
- Multiple backup storage paths
- Secure password-protected backups
- Email notifications
- Fast backup speed
Disadvantages:
- Requires an email account to log in.
2. Paragon Hard Disk Manager
Compatibility: Windows 11/10/8/8.1/7 SP1
Paragon Hard Disk Manager (safe link: https://www.paragon-software.com/home/hdm-windows/) is an all-in-one hard disk management solution. It can back up, restore, partition, format, and erase disks. In essence, it's a full disk manager with backup capabilities. Its backup feature is free, but other features may require a purchase.
This all-in-one tool eliminates the need to download several programs, and it's a good choice for someone with backup experience, since its interface can be a little confusing.
Main features:
- Data backup and recovery: Backup hard drives, partitions, files, and folders.
- Disk and partition management: Create, resize, format, convert, delete, and hide partitions.
- System management: Install operating systems from USB drives or DVDs.
- Disk Wiper: This tool easily erases HDDs or SSDs of any size. It can clean up unused space and wipe disposed hard disks.
Advantages:
- Integrated hard drive management tool
- Flexible backup and recovery options
- Full support for UEFI and virtual machines
- Stable performance and capacity
- User-friendly and reliable operation
Disadvantages:
- The interface can be somewhat intricate, which might not be beginner-friendly
- Doesn't have cloud backup capabilities
3. Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office
Compatibility: Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS
Acronis Cyber Protect Home Office (secure website: https://www.acronis.com/en-sg/products/true-image/), formerly known as Acronis True Image, is a reliable computer protection solution that offers features such as data backup and recovery, file synchronization and sharing, cloud storage, and cybersecurity.
This fantastic computer management program can ideally back up all the data on your computer, including files, photos, apps, disks, and systems.
Its backup features are free. For more, you pay.
Main features:
- Data backup and recovery: Back up hard drives, partitions, files, folders, and systems.
- Full image backup: Backup everything on your hard drive, including the operating system, applications, settings, and data.
- Incremental and differential backups: Backup only files changed since the last backup, saving time and storage space.
- File synchronization and sharing: Sync files across devices and share them with others.
- 1 TB Acronis Cloud Storage: Provides 1 TB of free cloud storage space.
Advantages:
- User-friendly interface
- Flexible backup options
- Comprehensive network security solutions
- Real-time backup capabilities
- Swift backup, cloning, and restoration
Drawbacks:
- No email notifications or chat support in the free version
4. Handy Backup Standard
Compatibility: All versions of Windows 11, 10, 8.1, 8, 7, and Vista
Handy Backup Standard (secure link: https://www.handybackup.net/handybackup-standard.shtml) is a popular hard drive backup software known for its intuitive interface and comprehensive features. This program allows you to easily and quickly back up your hard drives, files, folders, applications, videos, music, documents, and even Outlook emails. Furthermore, it can restore hard disks, partitions, and files from backup images with just a few clicks.
Main features:
- Multiple source options: Back up disks, partitions, files, folders, emails, documents, videos, and music.
- Backup freely: Locally, to external hard drives, network storage, FTP/SFTP servers, cloud storage with WebDAV support, or NAS devices.
- Flexible backup scheduling: Choose to run backups daily, weekly, monthly, or on-demand.
Advantages:
- User friendliness
- Flexible backup options
- Provision of encryption and secure backup protection
- Stable performance
Disadvantages:
- Customer service may be inconsistent
- At times, it may duplicate content beyond the specified limit and perform the same task repeatedly
5. Macrium Reflect Free
Compatibility: Windows
Macrium Reflect Free (secure link: https://www.macrium.com/reflectfree?mo) is another feature-rich and powerful free disk backup software that offers comprehensive protection for your hard drives and files. It can clone your hard drives and partitions, and even create system images to safeguard against data loss due to hard drive failure or system crashes.
Main features:
- Disk cloning and partition backup: Easily clone your hard drive or partition to safeguard your data.
- System rescue: Restore an unbootable system to its previous working state.
- Direct disk cloning: Clone the entire hard drive, including the operating system, applications, and settings, directly to another disk.
Advantages:
- Intuitive interface
- Offers free cloning functionality
- Flexible backup options
- Provides reliable hard drive protection
- Creates bootable rescue media
- Scalable and user-friendly log viewing interface
Drawback:
- Slightly slower backup speeds than some other options
Best Scheduled Disk Cloning Software for Windows
With a scheduled cloning software, you can easily create a scheduled disk clone backup and protect your data. If there's any issue with your computer hard drive, you can immediately replace it with the cloned one. The data recovery step is skipped compared to backup.
Conclusions
Hard drives are essential components of computers, storing all data and information. Losing data from a hard drive can be a disaster, which is why having reliable hard drive backup software is crucial to protect your data. The five best free hard drive backup software options mentioned above are available for you to choose from. You can compare them in terms of compatibility, features, pros, and cons, and select the one that suits your needs the most.
Our top pick is Todo Backup Free, which offers a comprehensive hard disk backup and recovery solution for free. It's user-friendly, with flexible backup options, and it provides reliable disk protection along with the creation of a bootable rescue media. If you're looking for hard disk backup software, Todo Backup Free is your best bet.
Frequently Asked Questions About Hard Disk Backup Software
1. How do I back up my entire hard drive?
There are multiple ways to back up an entire hard drive. You can use the built-in Windows feature "Backup and Restore" to create a system image. Alternatively, you can use a tool like Todo Backup to back up the entire hard drive or individual partitions.
2) Which backup tools are best?
There are many backup tools to choose from, and the < a href="/backup-recovery/how-to-use-backup-and-restore-windows-7.html">Backup and Restore that comes with Windows 7 is a good one. If you're looking for a third-party tool, we can recommend Todo Backup. It's a professional backup tool that will cover all your needs for file, folder, disk, and system backups.
What is Full Backup Software?
A full backup is the most basic and comprehensive type of backup. It involves copying all data to a disk or tape for storage. Every backup strategy should begin with a full backup to have a complete copy of all data on one media set, followed by incremental or differential backups as needed.
Which software is used for PC image backup?
Most backup software includes options for disk and PC imaging backups. Among them, Todo Backup is one of the best choices, which can be used to back up and restore files, folders, disks, partitions, and systems. It also features scheduled automatic backups and various backup types. You can also use it to migrate your OS to another HDD/SSD.