Free (or low cost) backup software?
 

Can someone perhaps recommend a low-cost (or better still, free) software for backing up my computer to an external drive?

I use a simple batch file using xcopy, with a line for each main subdirectory
Like xcopy c:\D\*.* e:\bakupT\D\*.* /s /m /y /r for files in subdirectory D
I only backup data files & email and not program files
You need to be disciplined on where files go on your hard disk

I think carpediem may be looking for a less technical method.

Agreed, bit its simple and not the technical (DOS based)

I'm reasonably computer literate for a non-IT guy, and used to use DOS, and it sounds pretty complex to me. I wouldn't know exactly which files needed to be backed up, etc., especially based on obscure file names. It would require a pretty good knowledge of DOS syntax, etc.

Don't both Windows and OSX have built in backup software?

I use crashplan and have had no issues backing up or restoring from external drives (though I now back up to my home server using crashplan).

Crashplan is free to use for backing up to either a friend running Crashplan or to a network drive. The built-in Windows Backup works fine too.

Same here - Crashplan free for local, plus paid at their site.

I have been using SyncBackFree on my Windows box for a while.

Can you tell us what you want backing up, and what flavour of operating system you use? This should help us choose what might suit you. For example, if you have a Windows 10 laptop or a Mac desktop we might offer different solutions.

Do you want the drive to be a physical external hard drive plugged into your computer, or an external "cloud" solution?

To give you an idea of what I am on about, I have a Macbook Air laptop and a Mac desktop. They are regularly automatically backed up using a Mac backup system to a 2TB storage device plugged into my home network. But all the important files are also stored "off-site" in the "cloud" solution that comes with my Office 365 subscription. If the house was burgled or burnt down and the computer and 2TB backup store was lost, I could get access to the essentials pretty quick, and use them on my Windows desktop in another location until I bought a replacement device. Belt and braces!

Or do you just want something to copy your hard disk to an external hard disk of the same size or larger?

I use DirSyncPro to back up specific directories.

I use DriveImageXML

You don't tell us what OS you are using. I personally use robocopy a tool that comes with every release of windows.

https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/...(v=ws.11).aspx

I use SynbackSE having paid for the software after using the free version for a number of years and felt I owed a little to the developers. This creates local copies of my data on a NAS.

I also have Crashplan running for all the machines in the house - I've just renewed after a 4 year deal. Not happy to find that it's now a yearly sub only, though good value for the volume of stuff I have backed-up and versions. 2Tb+

Finally, I also run a weekly Macrium Reflect Image of my two main drives. The downside of the free version is that you need to check the logs to make sure all has worked well. I missed this and had a HDD failure this year, only to find the Image had failed as the disc had been failing for weeks. Luckily, the Synback copies were good and Crashplan filled in the gaps of a couple of new files.

You can never have too much back-up.

Don't rely just on local/external drives - always put your photos and key docs into some kind of cloud service.

You didnt mention what OS and version you are using but I highly recommend this software. I dont know how long it will stay free but this is one of the better backup software companies out there these days. https://www.veeam.com/endpoint-backup-free.html

I use it for my personal backups, lots of great features and I never notice it backing up while I am working.

The OP has not been "live" on FT since he posted the question, so we are just going to have to wait and see what flavour of OS he/she prefers!!

Thanks for your response ...
OS = Win 7 Home Premium on my desktop & Win10 on my laptop
B/U what= Mainly data files & downloaded files
B/U type= Prefer local external drive (although some have crashed in the past). Having said that, I like your idea of a physical + cloud option. And that seems to be seconded by MAN Pax as well.

If I can attach that to my PC and then have the software backup periodically without any intervention on my part, that would be nice. But when I tried this several years (e.g. 10 years) ago, I had two external drives (one Seagate and one WD) crash on me. So I am not sure whether having these drives run all the time is a good idea or not.

If you have any further advice, I will really appreciate that

Thank You!
Were you recommending the Veeam Backup Essentials 9.5 OR the Veeam Backup Free Edition OR the Veeam Endpoint Backup FREE?

I would be happy to give it a whirl.

When backing up to a WD external hard drive, the built-in WD software is good enough.

When backing up from Windows to any external HD, Microsoft's SyncToy is good enough and seamless. Unfortunately, it has no way of setting up automatic backups, though Windows task scheduler can take care of that

Veeam Endpoint Backup FREE 1.5

I think you will find it a pretty easy software to use.

I've been using this for years. Works fine:

https://www.goodsync.com/

I'm going to also put in my 2c for Crashplan. I use the paid version on my primary workstation and the free version on a number of other systems. My files get backed up to multiple locations and I use the version control extensively. My source code directory gets backed up to a local SD card with ten minute versions so if I screw up my code I can go back even if I have been offline. Pretty much all data on my system gets sent to Crashplan's server, my office server, and my home media center in encrypted form so I have truly multi-site backup. It is painless and it works great. Many backup solutions work great until you go to restore - but with Crashplan there has never been an issue.

I can say exactly the same thing about Mozy :)

Saved me several times.

Just to throw in another option. I believe the 2GB plan is free.

FreeFileSync. Lots of options and works as advertised....

Unfortunately, Crashplan is exiting the home consumer market, so I have to find a new home. They have partnered with Carbonite, which is pretty darn expensive--even with the 50% off promo, and that's just for the first year.

Any other suggestions?

I'm in the same boat. I was going to accept their switch to the small business plan since it's 75% off the first year. I have 5 devices backed up, so that's still comparable pricing for a while. It will give me a long time to figure out something better.

Seems like nothing but a price increase... they're perfectly happy to continue backing up home users for $10/month. And dropping support for computer-to-computer backups is another way to force users into their cloud.

I will also probably switch to the SMB plan under the 75% off offer... $2.50/month takes me well into 2019 before I have to switch. At that point it's probably off to Backblaze, unless something better surfaces between now and then.

Crashplan has never worked right for me for any significant length of time (I used it to back up part of a home NAS to the cloud). I'm actually considering backing up to Amazon S3 instead but that seems like it'd be one of the more expensive options--even if opting for "reduced" redundancy.

For those who don't have advanced needs, Backblaze might be reasonable at $5/mo or $50/yr for their home service.

That is probably what I'll migrate to next year.

I'll probably take the small business route for at least the first year, but my current end data is this January.

I haven't received an answer, but I assume using their software to backup to a USB drive in parallel with backing up to their cloud goes away. When I had to replace a non-system disk a few months ago, I restored overnight with no worry about ISP bandwidth limits. This I may miss the most.

It doesn't appear so. From their Features page here: https://www.crashplan.com/en-us/business/features/

Scroll down to the "Desktop applications" section - the screenshot shows a local backup to an external USB drive.

Edit: I just scrolled down even farther and found this:
I think it's just the computer-to-computer backup that goes away. Which is kind of a bummer - that was a cool feature to get data off site without putting it in CrashPlan's cloud.

One thing I hadn't realized is that CrashPlan quietly ended its offering where they mail you a drive for a large restore. If the poop hits the fan one day and your local backups aren't sufficient, you'll be downloading your entire backup from the cloud. Backblaze not only still offers this, but it's free, assuming you mail back their drive.

Sorry, I meant the free version of that, without a subscription. I'm sure I can continue it if I do the Small Business plan. But in the past you could use the software for free to just backup to a local USB drive with no cloud storage. I don't see Carbonite, Backblaze, or other with that, so if I switch, I'm left without the ability to do a local restore.

I'm not sure on that. But I can confirm that if you are using the CrashPlan Small Business client, you are not able to back up even to local drives if you don't have an active subscription. So I would think this points your hand eventually being forced. Certainly the CrashPlan personal client isn't going to be maintained going forward. Even if it continues to work and allows you to back up locally without an active subscription, you are basically left hoping there will never be issues with the app that require updates to fix. That's not really a position I'd want to be in with my backups. And you can't switch to the SMB client without paying...

Mozy Home backup allows simultaneous cloud and local backups.

http://mozy.com/product/mozy/personal

Here's an article on it, which recommends Backblaze.

https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2017...ats-next-best/

Just wanted to bump this thread to see if anyone has made an official switch from Crashplan to another provider. I will probably transition to BackBlaze, but I'd love to hear about any other good alternatives.

For what it's worth, I've had no issues with Backblaze so far. And the monthly cost is less expensive than I expected, too. ^

I took the 1 year of 75% off Crashplan's Small Business service. $25/year and both cloud and local backup. A year from now I'll need to make the decision - hopefully alternatives have evolved by then.

I'm happy with my move from Crashplan to Backblaze. Your post reminded me that I've never actually tested a restore! So I just did one from a file that was created last week. The interface takes a bit of getting used to, but it works.