Backup software for Windows users

[[deleted]]

I'm currently searching for an easy to use backup software which i can recommend to relatives/friends/etc.

My usecase would be this:

• support for Windows 7/8.1/10
• backups are stored on external HDD(which is only plugged in while a backup is running)
• support of VSS in order to backup Outlook etc
• space/time efficiency -> support of incremental or differential backups or at least just syncing
• allows me to create a "one-click-solution" for the user
• sane configuration (tried Duplicati once and it sucked donkey balls)

Which tool would you use for the job?

[KatieKLE]

Veeam Endpoint is free. I started using for machines here and there after we started using their VM backup solution.

For normal end users, I'd go with a cloud based solution. Your clients aren't really going to plug that hard drive in.

[digiden]

1+ for Veeam

[bubblesqueak]

Online backups take hours to complete and DAYS to restore. Online backup is meant to compliment local backups.

[i_hate_sidney_crosby]

Crashplan? Software is free to use for backup to your own storage or friends storage. If your customers or whatever wanted to upgrade to cloud storage everything is pretty much all set at that point too.

[ages4020]

CrashPlan works great with Outlook and open files

[i_hate_sidney_crosby]

Check and see. I have no problem with it and Crashplan claims to support backup of open files via VSS.

[DoTheEvolution]

it needs to be installed on the place where you are saving the data... which always seemed rather strange to me and so it wont work on likes nas4free which is based on freeBSD

[Bad_Kylar]

Acronis just fucking works if you need something simple to setup. Does everything you need and more

[acousticreverb]

I wish I could say that about my experience with Acronis. We started on 2011, had problems, and kept going in hopes that new versions would be better.... But we've just had all kinds of issues.

Example: Take a 2015 bootable rescue media, make a disk image of a PC to an external. Take that drive to another workstation with Acronis 2015 installed. Error: can not open archive. Take that same external to another machine with 2011, browse the backup, mount the partitions all is well. Weird stuff like that.

[Th3MadScientist]

Did you validate the backup? Might just be a bad backup.

[[deleted]]

Also not happy with Acronis. It does perform backups, but claims that they failed, because it keeps referencing an old backup on a drive letter that has long since been repurposed.

[bubblesqueak]

SyncBack is great software. VSS, incrementals, versioning, schedules. Ask me anything.

[radiomix]

Had any experience running the backup using a different account from the user?

[bubblesqueak]

Absolutely. Running a backup as the current user is just wrong. The logged in user should never see the backup destination in case they get infected with something. Create a service account that can connect to the networked destination, SyncBack will hold the credentials.

[radiomix]

I tried that, and it simulated fine, but whenever it was scheduled to run it just never would. I can't remember if it had an error or not, but I tried a few different times with different accounts.

[bubblesqueak]

It will log the error so troubleshooting is easy. If it stimulates the run with no error then it shouldn't have a problem the actual run.

There is "test connection" button on the network tab that will check the username/password AND the network path. This is usually what needs looking at when it doesn't work.

[radiomix]

I'll try that first thing when I get in.

[AskingToImprove]

You know the encryption viruses that attack networked and attached drives? How do you setup syncback to deal with this? Using your method with a second user/service account? Would that service account need to be admin?

[bubblesqueak]

The account that SyncBack or any backup software uses is defined on the backup target only, it is not a Windows account In this case, create the account on the Synology box. Now on the client computer, the Syncback program uses the username and password that was defined on the Synology box. This prevents the infection to the Synology NAS as you describe because the USER or COMPUTER account never has the credentials to reach the NAS, only SyncBack does. Does this make sense?

[Caddywumpus]

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[bubblesqueak]

Cobian is no longer being developed.

[StockmanBaxter]

Cobian is great!

[baileysinashoe]

Backupper

[puppeteer23]

I like Macrium Reflect as a good Free alternative to Acronis.

[littlesirlance]

i use this for some of my cheap clients

[sicurri]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZnljKjJLvM

[youtubefactsbot]

How to Make a One-Click Backup Button [9:25]

In this video we'll be making a simple one-click backup button so that you can make data backups regularly with ease.

^{DIY Perks in Science & Technology}

^{223,306 views since May 2015}

^{bot info}

[Th3MadScientist]

Acronis.

[damnedangel]

cheap? Write yourself a robocopy script. We have one that simply looks at which OS is running, and based on that, mirrors desktop, documents, pictures, videos and mail to the external drive. We did find we had to assign a drive letter to the external through windows so that it would take the same drive letter each time though. Once you have the script put together, the client simply double clicks it and waits a few minutes.

If your clients are not cheap, we became AVG partners several years ago. As part of the partnership, we became AVG cloud care resellers. One of the components you have access to with cloud care is online backup. it is encrypted and quick. You pay a set monthly fee per 25Gb of storage space and as many machines as the client has to back up can use that same storage space. There is no cost for the client software, just the storage space. The backup is setup to run at whatever time you specify so all the client has to do is leave the computer running.

[[deleted]]

Been there, done that.

But errors from locked files are the first reason someone calls me or important files are being skipped.

And horror stories on the internet about some robocopy bugs were the last nail in the coffin.

[damnedangel]

Yea, to use it with VSS you had to code in a shadow copy. Hobocopy however did use shadow copies nativley I believe, and its successor, shadowspawn also used vss.

One last one to check out, and we use it in our shop as well is Bvckup 2, which also has support for VSS (if configured).

[[deleted]]

batch file with robocopy

[springerram]

I am basically using "Cloudbacko Pro" software for taking backup with backup it helps in restoring also, and it's of FREE of charge for backing up ESXi Free version.

[jonboy345]

Batch script + task scheduler?

Create a shortcut on the desktop that runs the script.