Top 6 Windows Backup Software for Windows 11/10/8/7 (2023)
What is Windows backup used for?
Talked about very often in information technology, Windows backup refers to the copying and archiving of computer data. You may backup data that is important for you, such as personal files, programs or even the operating system. In general, Windows backup has two distinct purposes: one is to recover data from an earlier time; the other is to restore data after its loss or corruption.
Why do we need a reliable Windows backup utility?
Firstly, data loss is a quite common experience for computer users. Once, a survey indicated that almost 66% computer users had encountered the condition of losing files on their home PC. In order not to suffer the great pain and not to destroy the weekends’ pleasure, we should regard backup as one of our most important tasks, especially backing up our system drive and critical information.
Secondly, problems like hardware/software conflict, bad ram, hard disk drive overload and virus attack occur from time to time. With a Windows backup image at hand, we can restore our computer to a normal state again, no need to spend much time reinstalling Windows operating system. That is really convenient!
After searching on Google and many forums, I find plenty of backup software for Windows platform, including inbuilt tools and third-party software. In the following parts, we'll have a closer look at common Windows backup utilities.
💡 Quick Navigation:
Windows inbuilt backup tools
1. File History
2. Backup and Restore (Windows 7)
4 best Windows backup software (free and paid)
1. Qiling Disk Master (free and paid) 🔥
2. Cobian Backup (free)
3. Macrium Reflect (free and paid)
Windows inbuilt backup tools
Windows has two inbuilt backup tools: File History and Backup and Restore (Windows 7). Learn more about them as follows:
1. File History
File History automatically creates incremental backups of files stored in Libraries (including those for users participating in a HomeGroup) to a different storage device like an external hard drive or network share. You can use it if you want to create a backup for user profile.
2. Backup and Restore (Windows 7)
Backup and Restore (Windows 7) enables users to create system image backups as well as file/folder backups. You are able to restore your system and personal data from the backups created earlier.
💡 Limitations of Windows inbuilt backup tools
👉 File History: In Windows 10, you can add other files outside the default user folders to the File History backup plan. However, on Windows 11, you can no longer customize what is backed up. In other words, you cannot backup what you want to backup as you wish.
👉 Backup and Restore (Windows 7): The highest frequency of an automatic backup is daily, not hourly. Besides, you cannot choose a cloud drive as the backup location.
4 best Windows backup software (free and paid)
If you are not satisfied with Windows inbuilt backup tools, you can resort to reliable third-party Windows backup software. I pick up four popular Windows backup programs here.
1. Qiling Disk Master (free and paid)
Qiling Disk Master is the best backup software for Windows 11/10/8/7. There are seven backup types available in Qiling Disk Master - System Backup, Disk Backup, Partition Backup, File Backup, Email Backup, Outlook Backup and Cloud Backup, totally covered all personal and small business backup demands. You are able to save the backup image on a local disk, external hard drive, USB stick, NAS device, and cloud drive, etc.
To have changed data backed up automatically, you can enable schedule backup. The scheduled backup can be run in the way of incremental and differential backup to reduce backup time and backup image size. What's more, you are allowed to create a boot device so that you can restore your computer in case of boot failure.
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👍 Pros |
👎 Cons |
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+ Backup all kinds of data on your PC + A wide range of backup locations + Support full/incremental/differential backup + Compress, split, encrypt backup images + Create bootable rescue media |
- Some features are locked in the free edition |
2. Cobian Backup (free)
Cobian Backup is a free file-backup program that can be used to make automatic backups for your directories and files. It can be run as a service or as a regular application. You are able to backup to some other location in the same computer, to the network and even to an FTP server. Backup compression and encryption are also supported.
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👍 Pros |
👎 Cons |
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+ Support a dummy backup + Backup to local/network location or FTP server + Industry-standard encryptions such as AES 128, 192, and 256 |
- Only support file/folder backup |
3. Macrium Reflect (free and paid)
Macrium Reflect is powerful Windows backup software that allows you to create and schedule effective backups. It creates disk images and file backup archives using Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service. You can use it to backup whole partitions or individual files and folders into a single compressed, mountable archive file. The achieve file can be used to restore lost or damaged data later.
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👍 Pros |
👎 Cons |
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+ Multiple backup locations + Support converting an image to a VHD file + Excellent compression and deduplication capabilities |
- Complex user interface |
To sum up
Windows inbuilt backup tools offer limited backup features. If you are looking for the best Windows backup software, you can try third-party programs. Cobian Backup is good for file backup; Macrium Reflect allows you to convert an image to a VHD and apply it in other applications; Qiling Backup offers convenient centralized backup management; Qiling Disk Master provides all-around backup solutions and has an intuitive interface.
Apart from the backup & restore features, Qiling Disk Master is also wonderful cloning software. You can use it to clone an SSD to a larger SSD. Why not give it a try?
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