Macrium Reflect free backup and recovery software review and features
Read the review of the free backup software Macrium Reflect and know the features of this software. See what all this software can do to help you make a backup of your data and how you can decide how to customize and schedule your backup.
Macrium Reflect Free can be said to be as one of the most popular free disk imaging programs around which is great for home use, and which can deliver a solid backup performance if the basic features are set through its easy-to-use interface. It frees you completely from making the Backing up the computer a tedious experience. Macrium Reflect Free Edition does file backup job incredibly easy and it is all because of its intuitive user interface that has been incorporated with highly useful wizards.
Macrium Reflect Free Edition is an award winning imaging and disk cloning solution offered for free. You can simply protect your documents, images, videos, music and e-mails through this useful backup tool. Now upgrading your hard disk or trying for a new operating system has to give you the safe knowledge that things are securely saved in an easily recovered backup file and that is what Macrium Reflect Free can give you. It supports backups from local to, network, USB drives and burning them to DVD formats. But this is a version for non-commercial home use.
Key Features
Macrium uses VSS Service and henceforth it is fast. In most of the cases of cloning software and disk imaging we rely upon the Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service. It is the same with Macrium's disk imaging software. The result seen is a faster imaging process. When Windows is using it, the service takes a few seconds to one or two minutes to create the images. But Macrium Reflect may take a little bit longer but not more than that. For restoration too, VSS is the method that is used and so even that part is also working with faster speed as well. In comparison to manual backup Macrium saves hours of time put together! Simultaneously you can carry on with your work while the image is being processed. That is the most beneficial aspect of Macrium in comparison to other back up programs.
Compression
Macrium is able to compress the disk images till 40 per cent. That indicates that with Macrium you are able to store more number of backup copies. Whether you choose a manual backup or a scheduled one, you are going to store more number of backup copies irrespective of whichever backup device you would be using. All you need will be a CD to boot to the PE environment set either in Windows or Linux environment. Once you are there, you are free to use the backup device and restore the copies of data as you want.
Ease of Use
Though the processes followed in Macrium may look complex but if you consider its working speed, you will find the GUI helping you get the work done easily in both the cases of backing up data and restoring them. For a boot restore in your system, you have to go for a BART PE or WAID PE integrated in the restoration CD. But this integration can be done automatically when you are going to use the backup or the restoration wizard.
Windows Versions
Macrium goes well with Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, 8/8.1 in 32 and 64 Bit.
Pros
Macrium Reflect is an easy to download software in your thumb drive.
It has a very effective help wizard that guides you through the process of backup and restoration.
Cons
The micro SDHC is not visible. The program slows the computer a little while working and was unable to browse other resource-intensive programs at that point of time.
Macrium Reflect also lacks the feature of a secure delete task.Wrap Up
Macrium Reflect has provided several backup options including full, incremental and differential backup. This is an application which runs fast with a very user friendly interface and it comes with a bunch of different advanced tools which are ideal for experienced users.
