A home version of Macrium's backup utility Macrium Reflect.
In this digital age, safeguarding our data has become an essential part of modern living. Whether we store it in the cloud, on a portable USB drive, or on an external hard disk, having a backup strategy in place is critical for those who value their digital possessions.
Macrium Reflect Free Edition aims to provide a versatile solution for data protection, offering various ways to back up your drives and secure your data from corruption or system failures.
A glimpse into the world of backup apps
Though backup apps can be notoriously challenging to decipher, Macrium Reflect's interface strikes a balance between simplicity and functionality. Upon launching the app, users are immediately presented with a clear overview of their drives and available storage space.
Navigating through the menu on the left, users can choose to clone a drive, create an image file for Windows' backup and restore function, or utilize more advanced options. Unfortunately, the file and folder backup feature is exclusive to the Home edition.
Reviving and cloning drive images
In addition to backup capabilities, Macrium Reflect enables users to restore drive images through the app. This process creates a new partition containing the restored image, accessible via File Explorer or the app itself.
Cloning a specific disk is another handy feature, greatly simplifying the process of transferring data to a new storage unit. Being able to clone an entire drive and access it through File Explorer makes backing up your data a breeze.
Advanced technologies for rapid restoration and cloning
Macrium Reflect boasts Rapid Delta Restore (RDR) technology, enabling swift data recovery from single or multiple full backups and reducing restore times by 90% or more. Pre-defined backup plan templates are available, including traditional and Incremental Forever plans, or users can create custom plans.
Incrementals Forever offers an efficient method for maintaining a set number of the most recent incremental backups by consolidating the oldest incremental files into a single synthetic delta. SSD Trim support provides automated SSD optimization, enhancing performance and longevity.
The Rapid Delta Clone (RDC) technology further improves cloning capabilities, speeding up disk cloning activities by 90% or more, leveraging RDR technology.
Final thoughts
Macrium Reflect proves itself as a robust app for data protection. While the paid tiers unlock additional features, the free version offers ample functionality for casual users looking to secure their data.
Features of Macrium Reflect Free
- Backup Verification: Verify that backups are valid and complete.
- Cloud Backup: Transfer images to the Cloud for remote storage.
- Command Line Support: Utilize command line options for automated scripting.
- Disaster Recovery: Create a WinPE rescue media environment to recover/repair systems.
- Email Notifications: Receive email notifications after scheduled jobs complete.
- Encryption: Encrypt backups with a password.
- File Exclusion: Exclude files from backups based on type or size.
- File Versioning: Retain multiple versions of a file over time.
- File and Folder Backup: Backup individual files and folders with ease.
- Full System Restore: Restore entire system to different hardware or virtual environment.
- Image Compression: Compress images to save space.
- Incremental Backups: Quickly create smaller, more frequent backups.
- Restore Points: Easily restore individual files and folders.
- Scheduling: Schedule backups to run automatically at set times.
- Smart Sector Copies: Quickly copy drives regardless of size.
Compatibility and License
Macrium Reflect Free is a restricted version of commercial software, often called freemium which requires you to pay a license fee to unlock additional features which are not accessible with the free version. Download and installation of this software is free, however other similar programs are available from backup software which may have what you need. 8.1.7387 is the latest version last time we checked.
What version of Windows can Macrium Reflect Free run on?
Macrium Reflect Free can be used on a computer running Windows 11 or Windows 10. Previous versions of the OS shouldn't be a problem with Windows 8 and Windows 7 having been tested. It comes in both 32-bit and 64-bit downloads.
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