# What is some good backup software? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [April 24, 2012, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-some-good-backup-software/619797 "2012-04-24T11:44:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 11:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-some-good-backup-software/619797/1 "2012-04-24T11:44:41Z")
I have an external drive I would like to use to back up our laptops. But I want software that will only back up what I want it to (say, My Documents) and once it does the initial backup, subsequent backups will only be incremental (will only back up new and updated files, and not all 300GB of movies, music, and assorted crap on my hard drive). Also, since I have a laptop that’s not always sitting around plugged into my external hard drive, it won’t be doing scheduled back-ups, but will have to be content to back up the computer when I get around to plugging in the external hard drive and manually asking it to back up (every week or so, probably). Oh, dopers who are wise in the ways of software, please advise one who is pig-ignorant in said ways: what software would you recommend that is good for my needs? I am running Windows, by the way. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-some-good-backup-software/619797/2 "2012-04-24T13:30:58Z")
I recommend Acronis True Image. ---
**Author:** ![jdc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@jdc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jdc)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-some-good-backup-software/619797/4 "2012-04-24T20:01:03Z")
Windows 7 has built in Windows Backup that will do both a image and data backup. Works well and free with the OS. ---
**Author:** ![Giraffe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/giraffe/32/129_2.png) [@Giraffe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giraffe)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-some-good-backup-software/619797/5 "2012-04-24T20:20:45Z")
I highly recommend [Crashplan](http://www.crashplan.com/). Their free software will automatically do exactly what you want: incremental backups onto an external drive when said drive is connected and available. You can throttle bandwidth, set the frequency, tell it to slow itself down when you’re actively using the computer, etc. It’s powerful, unobtrustive and efficient. And if you have stuff you’d really hate to lose, their online backup services are pretty reasonable. ---
**Author:** ![Silver\_Tyger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/fbc32d/32.png) [@Silver\_Tyger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Silver_Tyger)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-some-good-backup-software/619797/6 "2012-04-24T21:05:36Z")
> [@jdc](#): > > Windows 7 has built in Windows Backup that will do both a image and data backup. > Works well and free with the OS. Except it’s _incredibly_ slow. ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2012, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-some-good-backup-software/619797/7 "2012-04-24T21:17:19Z")
I recommend [Rebit](http://rebit.com/products/rebit-5/). They also have a hybrid version that combines local and cloud storage. ---
**Author:** ![Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sophistry_and_Illusion)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-some-good-backup-software/619797/8 "2012-04-25T05:14:44Z")
Thanks for the recommendations; I will check these out. ---
**Author:** ![Diver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/858c86/32.png) [@Diver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diver)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-some-good-backup-software/619797/9 "2012-04-25T23:13:34Z")
I use a free Microsoft program named SyncToy 2.1. You can download it [HERE](https://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=15155) ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2012, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-some-good-backup-software/619797/10 "2012-04-25T23:40:37Z")
Macrium Reflect is free for the basic version. It is well polished, works well, and does what you want. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 11:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-some-good-backup-software/619797/12 "2012-04-28T11:19:19Z")
I use Ghost and I’m happy with it. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 11:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-some-good-backup-software/619797/13 "2012-04-28T11:52:11Z")
[SyncBack](http://www.2brightsparks.com/syncback/index.html) ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2012, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-some-good-backup-software/619797/14 "2012-04-28T21:54:39Z")
> [@Diver](#): > > I use a free Microsoft program named SyncToy 2.1. > You can download it [HERE](https://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=15155) I suppose you can use that, it’s pretty good. I use it mainly to replace the Briefcase, which is nice in WinXP but horribly broken in Win7 (and Vista). I use\* [Cobian Backup](http://www.cobiansoft.com/cobianbackup.htm). It’s free. \*Way too rarely ---
**Author:** ![BigRony](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/838e76/32.png) [@BigRony](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigRony)\ **Post date:** [June 9, 2012, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-some-good-backup-software/619797/15 "2012-06-09T16:16:15Z")
> [@Sophistry\_and\_Illusion](#): > > I have an external drive I would like to use to back up our laptops. But I want software that will only back up what I want it to (say, My Documents) and once it does the initial backup, subsequent backups will only be incremental (will only back up new and updated files, and not all 300GB of movies, music, and assorted crap on my hard drive). Also, since I have a laptop that’s not always sitting around plugged into my external hard drive, it won’t be doing scheduled back-ups, but will have to be content to back up the computer when I get around to plugging in the external hard drive and manually asking it to back up (every week or so, probably). I would recommend to try @Max SyncUp. I do only scheduled incremental backup every day, but you can do back up only when you plug in the external hard drive. It’s possible too. I’ll be glad if it helps you.🆒 ---
**Author:** ![Waterman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/b2d939/32.png) [@Waterman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Waterman)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-some-good-backup-software/619797/16 "2012-06-10T06:00:23Z")
A vote here for Backup4all Professional. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-some-good-backup-software/619797/17 "2012-06-10T15:18:46Z")
Guess I’m old-school. I right-click on “My Documents” and select Copy. Then I navigate to my external hard drive and select Paste. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-some-good-backup-software/619797/18 "2012-06-10T15:39:09Z")
> [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > Guess I’m old-school. I right-click on “My Documents” and select Copy. Then I navigate to my external hard drive and select Paste. If you have a tons of documents, that can be time-consuming, because it copies all the files, whether they have changed since the last backup or not. Backup software will compare the time stamp of the source and destination files, and if they are the same, it skips them, and only backs up the files that have changed. If you are backing up a large number of media files, like music or videos which can be very large, the difference in backup time could be hours. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [June 10, 2012, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-some-good-backup-software/619797/19 "2012-06-10T16:56:44Z")
I use [Genie Backup Manager.](http://www.genie9.com/) It doesn’t just back up documents. It can back up all your software settings too. My email client, for example. It can restore all my messages, and my spam filters, account details, passwords, etc. I don’t know if the other backup software suggested in this thread has a similar feature, but that is what sold me on genie.