In this article I want to talk about the problem of saving data.

We all are once faced with the fact that we need to save important information, be it photos, text documents, 1C: Enterprise databases of all configurations, or any other important information for us. Many users do not want to waste their time or do not know how to write a small "batch file" correctly to copy their data. That's why there are small programs for backing up various data. You can read more about backup.

I faced the need for automatic backup when I needed to copy databases from 1C: Enterprise every day. While looking for a convenient and suitable program for my requirements, I found what I needed - this is the Cobian Backup 11 program. This program turned out to have a very understandable and not complicated interface, and most importantly, it is free, which is very good nowadays.

1. Installing the program

And so let's move on to installing the program. Download the distribution package of the program from the official website and run the downloaded file. On the first page of the installer, select the language you need and click "Further" .

On the next page, we will be asked to read the license agreement and accept the terms of this agreement. We press "Further" .

Before us there is such a window with a choice: where and what to install.

• "Shadow Copy Initiator"serves to copy files even when they are open or in use by applications. I recommend installing it, but if you need a backup for one time, then, in principle, you can not install the shadow copy initiator. The shadow copy initiator requires Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 to be installed. How to install the .NET Framework component in, read.
• Installation script is needed in order to remember all the parameters of the current installation, and at the next installation, do the same, without your participation.

By default, we are offered to install this program as a service, I recommend leaving everything as it is if you will use it on a server or on a computer where there are several users. Firstly, as a service, the program will work even if no one has logged into the system, and secondly, the program will be able to use network resources to store data on an ftp server, on another local computer in your network or on a network storage.

If you need it, for example, for one-time use, or you do not have to refer to it too often, then you can choose any of the items of your choice.

When installing the program as a service, you must specify the administrator account and password.

That's it, the installation is complete.

2.Setting up the program

Let's proceed to the main task of setting up a backup task. We start the program, select from the menu "The task" , then "New task".

The New Job Wizard will start. Here we set "Name" tasks, set the necessary checkboxes and select "Copy type» .

Go to the tab "Files", then press Addto indicate what to copy and where.

We indicate the file, directory or folder on the ftp server that you need to copy. We also indicate where to copy by choosing from the list. Everyone should understand that making a backup and saving it to the same hard disk, in case of its physical collapse, nullifies all your efforts, it will be problematic to restore information, when saving to different partitions of the disk, it will save you only in cases when you crash section where basic information is located or when deleting. Therefore, try to save it to an independent medium, such as a network storage, an external hard drive, a USB flash drive or a computer located on the same network, and of course to an ftp server.

Go to the bookmark "Schedule"... As you can see, the settings here for any occasion of life, you can customize it as you like: at least once a year, at least every day at a certain time.

Go to the tab "Cyclicity". Zhere you can set the priority of your job, and to save space, you can adjust the number of full copies to keep.

Go to the tab "Compression"and indicate what kind of compression and division into parts of your files we need.

3. Conclusion

In general, I really liked this program, I think many will like it. A very clear and simple interface will not cause problems with setting up those tasks that you may need in everyday life.

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Content

People who actively work at a computer, regardless of their age, social status and professional field, actively use a variety of electronic documents. The programmer creates the source codes of the programs, the secretary prints orders and memos, the photographer processes his pictures. Even a small, unintelligent child has many important documents on his computer - game state save files.

Documents, on the creation of which months, years of painstaking work were spent, can be lost in a matter of seconds, and this can happen at any time, for reasons beyond your control. It takes a lot of effort, time and health to restore important data. Unfortunately, more often than not, the user begins to think about creating backups only after losing valuable information.

A smart and inexpensive way to keep your important data safe from collapse is to back up regularly. For such purposes, there are special programs that take all the care of the safety of information.

This guide will consider programs that allow you to operate with folders and specific files. The general principle of operation of all review participants is identical - you create a task in which you include the most important documents, and then plan a schedule for its launches. And you can read about the features of the programs in the text of the guide.

After the first start of the program, you are greeted by the Wizard, who offers to immediately organize a backup project.

During the first step, you enter the name of the project, and then proceed to the procedure for specifying the files and folders involved in the backup. You can set separate rules for filtering file lists so that you do not need to specify each item separately. As a next step, you can specify exclusion rules. Such a list filtering system allows you to flexibly specify which specific files need to be archived. For example, excluding files with the * .bak extension from the backup can be considered a very logical solution.

The next step is to specify the location of the archive files. You can specify not only the local file system, but also FTP resources, local network, and an optical drive partition. The last solution is not entirely intuitive. Yes, the program allows you to create backups on CD and DVD media. In such cases, this is emphasized by a separate group of options to ensure the correct configuration of the drive.

After selecting the backup target, you are asked to start configuring additional program options. And finally, during the last step of the Wizard, you can familiarize yourself with all the points of the current project, after which the program will recommend creating a separate shortcut that is responsible for calling the current document. As mentioned earlier, the program does not have its own scheduler, and the backup can only be started manually, if you do not resort to third-party products.

You can add new files to the project at any time, change the current rules, filters. In addition, there is a separate group of options, the control of which is applicable to all opened projects.

First, the choice of compression algorithm for archive files is allowed. You can choose a ZIP archiver, but this restricts the archive size to 2GB. Using the CAB format removes this limitation. The archive can be self-extracting, access to it can be closed with a password, as well as using encryption.

Active Backup Expert Pro has built-in tools for creating a remote connection with a provider. The backup files can be autonomously transferred over the modem.

The program contains quite powerful mechanisms for backing up data, but its very concept is not entirely familiar, it runs counter to the traditional structure of this class of products.

Official site:
Size: 8046 KB
Price: 29.95 $

Backup4all successfully combines rich functionality and ease of use. New backup projects are created using the Wizard, which decomposes all operations into several steps. Inside the working window of the application, you can view the tree structure of the current project, highlighting the various states of the files - modified, new, excluded, and others. As predefined examples, you are encouraged to back up the My Documents and My Pictures folders, and Internet Explorer Favorites.

All tasks can be presented in a tree structure based on groups. By default, you only have one Samples element. If you create additional groups of tasks, their list will be displayed at the top / bottom of the sidebar. All you need to do is click on the title of an element to switch to the current group.

Creating a new backup task begins with specifying its name, selecting a group, and a unique icon. You are also given the opportunity to immediately select a set of predefined settings. Each task can be accompanied by a text description.

You can specify the local file system, network, or FTP server as the backup destination. If you are going to store copies on hard drives, you must additionally specify the destination folder. However, you can immediately select the logical drive of the optical drive, after which the program will offer to specify several additional options that are inherent exclusively to burning discs. Backup4all uses its own recorder module. It is allowed to specify an arbitrary write speed, the ability to forcibly clear rewritable disks before recording. You can also use the UDF file system in conjunction with DirectCD / InCD, which allows you to transparently add files to media, without the hassle of creating new sessions, importing old data. Using FTP as a backup destination allows you to connect to servers directly or through a proxy, using authorization, SLL encryption. You can severely limit the speed of receiving and sending data.

There are four types of backups - full, incremental, differential, and mirroring. Depending on the percentage of difference between the current backup and the original archive, the program can automatically replace intelligent backup methods by creating a full copy. Backup4all supports several methods of encrypting archives, and also allows you to protect access to the backup with a password.

If you selected multiple folders when specifying the source files to back up, then most likely not all data needs to be saved. You can work with two types of filters - included and excluded. As a result, depending on the specific situation, you can specify unique rules for including and excluding files.

The next step allows you to describe some additional points of the backup procedure. For example, what criterion should be used to find out whether a file has changed or not? The program allows you to select many parameters for assessing the state of the data. Various attributes of the file system, checksum, indexing and many other parameters can act as factors that determine whether a file has changed or not. The backup can be associated with some third-party action, such as launching an application. Backup4all offers to assign similar actions to be performed before and after backup. The task execution can be accompanied by sound signals, as well as by sending a notification of completion to an arbitrary email address.

And finally, the last stage of the Wizard's work is the description of the scheduler's work. Backup4all allows you to use the built-in Windows tool, but also has its own scheduler. The program has a large number of options for scheduling backup execution. For example, a workstation might wait for a period of low CPU utilization to complete a task with minimal disruption to the system. Another example - if the program detects that the computer is running on batteries instead of power, then the creation of a backup copy must be postponed.

Any project can be saved to the hard drive as a separate shortcut. For example, you decide to use the built-in scheduler. When configuring the task, specify the launch of the Backup4all project shortcut. When an event occurs, the scheduler will automatically call a third-party backup tool.

The program allows you to visually track the status of the backup. With the help of a group of filters located on the toolbar, you can specify the criteria for the displayed data, which allows you to visually track all file changes. Backup4all can display detailed statistics for each project, as well as export data to CSV files.

Before data recovery, you can specify specific versions of files, and also perform unpacking to an arbitrary directory (not over the original data).

Backup4all has one interesting feature called One Touch Backup. Its essence lies in the ability of the program to detect connected USB devices and, if successful, immediately offer to start a backup. In the program settings, it is enough to specify the source folder or select a predefined task. The backup is started with one click, hence the name - "backup at the first touch".

Backup4all has high-quality localization, which allows using the program even for those who are not familiar with the English language. This program cannot be called the most powerful, functional in the entire market sector. Backup4all is aimed at those who value not only broad functionality, but also usability. You can flexibly change the appearance of Backup4all (customize panels, change their layouts) based on your own preferences. This, perhaps, is not so important for a program that performs backup, but even performing purely technical operations, one would like not to lose beauty, convenience, and clarity. With Backup4all, you can back up in comfort.

FBackup makes backups. Is free.

About FBackup

FBackup has a simple interface and friendly wizards for configuring backup profiles that will prompt you to define:

• Where You want to keep backups (destination).
• what You want to reserve (objects).
• how You want to back up the data (using a full copy followed by archiving into zip files, or you need an exact copy of the original data without packing it into an archive).
• When You want to back up (you can schedule tasks to start automatically, or perform them at your discretion).

Once you have configured a backup profile, you can start it manually by clicking the Run button (or F6), or, if you have added it to the scheduler, according to the schedule. FBackup allows you to easily back up data from local drives (including those connected via USB) to other USB / Firewire drives, or connected network shares. It is possible to create standard zip archives (when using full copy mode), or exact copies of the source without performing packing (using mirror backup mode).

Read More Screenshots

Key Features

What makes FBackup stand from the crowd

The program is free for personal and commercial use.

FBackup is a free backup software for home and office use. This means you save money instead of having to pay for another data backup program.

Automatic reservation.

You create a backup profile, set it to automatically start, and you won't remember it again. FBackup will automatically create copies of data at the appointed time, which gives you not only confidence in the safety of files, but also additional free time.

zip package of backups.

When backing up the full type, the source files are archived using the standard zip algorithm. FBackup uses ZIP64 compression to create archives larger than 2GB. Moreover, you can protect archives with a password, which will be requested when extracting data from them.

Testimonials

What our users say about FBackup

I "ve tried many backup applications over the years. Cobian, Comodo to name a couple. Though those are very good, freeware solutions. I must admit that after trying FBackup, this one is the best I" ve ever used. It is also very powerful and unique as far as backup software is concerned.

DarrenWalker (Fileforum)

Very useful piece of software for any user. Simple to use and easily backups your files and protects from corruption. I recommend this to anybody looking for a simple and easy to use software for backing up their important files. It "s free so it means you don" t pay for anything.

Raidenzxz (Download.com)

Have used this software both for back up and more importantly for restore. It worked as advertised. It was simple and worked well. It has saved me now twice when a bad motherboard took out the hard drives in raid mirror setup. I like the better package now due to the greater range of ability.

Breebree (Fileforum)

Easy to use and able to specify just what is to be backed up. I have it set up to do 7 different jobs, Videos, Documents, Music, Desktop, Outlook and Photos. Options of "zip, mirror and full" backup formats provide flexibility when capacity constraints are a factor.

HjHarris (Download.com)

A complete, easy to use, reliable and versatile backup application at last. I was impressed by FBackup after trying (and uninstalling) so many others. FBackup does all the things I want to be done, so it "s here to stay. Recommended!

Nicholas (Fileforum)

Amazingly full-featured for a free program. Broad capabilities, including all the "standard" backup options, but with many more features that the competition holds out for paid upgrades only. It took awhile to find FBackup among all the tools out there, but it was worth the extra searching.

Kfitzharr (Download.com)

Tutorials

Watch videos that show FBackup in action

We "re Softland

Learn more about the company that makes FBackup

About Us

Softland is a company founded in 1999, committed to providing quality software by using innovative development solutions. We always put the needs of our customers first and that "s why we value our users" feedback.

It is difficult to predict when a device will fail, so a data retention plan should always be at hand. Just in case.

Failure to back up your data could result in loss of data at some point in the future. Disk drives are by no means as reliable as they might seem at first glance. Ultimately, they can become unusable, burn out, burying such important information for you in their bowels.

This is why it is so important to use backup software. In the event of a failure, this little software will help you save all data and restore it.

Of course, paid programs offer a lot of functionality, but free apps can do the job well. Let's take a closer look at some of the best free backup software.

Cobian Backup

A convenient, absolutely free program, an extended version is also available to users. Among other languages \u200b\u200bduring installation, you can choose Russian, which greatly simplifies the process of using Cobian Backup.

The function of shadow copying should be noted separately. It duplicates in the background all changes that are made to the system "right now". This includes not only user actions, but also the operations of the system itself.

In other words, when restoring data, you will receive the most recent version of your information.

The program also offers a number of complex functions that may be superfluous for beginners. In particular, it is the ability to schedule copy tasks. For example, you can create several copies at once and store them separately so that in the future you will definitely be able to access at least one of them.

In Cobian Backup, you can choose where to store the backup. Users have at their disposal not only a disk, but also a local network, as well as an FTP server. The program offers a number of handy tools for people with multiple devices. For example, you can run multiple copies at once from different locations.

This saves the user's time. Despite the fact that the backups themselves are created quite quickly, data recovery takes much longer. In other words, if you urgently need to get access to this or that information, it will not be easy to do it: depending on the size, extraction takes half an hour or more.

Conclusion: Not a bad program that quickly creates takes, but slowly extracts them. Supports multitasking when working with copies and is suitable for servicing multiple connected devices.

Genie Timeline Free

In this program, a system copy is created in a few clicks. Equipped with an automatic copy check function, which saves a considerable amount of storage.

The program fully lives up to its name: it is literally a timeline through which you can recover even previously deleted important files.

With Genie Timeline Free, you can archive documents, pictures, music, videos and more.

Conclusion: Simple and at the same time functional software, which, in addition to creating backup copies, will also help restore files that were once lost.

Acronis True Image

The program is not entirely free, but provides users with a long trial period. There is support for the Russian language.

Acronis True Image allows you to create a bootable external drive, making it easier to use your copies. Basically, you can boot the system onto any device you want.

At the same time, recovery can be carried out selectively, choosing which files or folders to extract this time. Conveniently, all manipulations can be performed without shutting down or restarting the system. This feature is especially useful when the user knows that the data is so damaged that re-entering the system can no longer be done without losing information.

The program allows you to copy data to an external drive, scheduling tasks. For example, you can periodically update information in a semi-automatic mode. So you can always be sure that the copy is "fresh" and will help you restore the most recent version of the system if necessary.

Conclusion: Acronis True Image saves not only system and user files, but also settings, and is ergonomically managed. Supports Mac OS. The only drawback is the need to purchase a license after the trial period expires, although it can be renewed.

Google Backup and Sync

A simple program from the global digital giant, compatible with macOS and Windows. Your system files and folders are subject to storage, as well as user information, for example, photos. Your Google Drive account is used as the storage location.

Of course, this imposes certain restrictions on the amount of stored information, but the user does not need to look for a USB flash drive and keep it at hand: access to the Internet is enough and the data will be restored as quickly as your connection to the network allows.

To get started, the user just needs to choose which folders and files you want to create, and the software does the rest. The software will monitor, modify folders and files. It will also sync data between different computers, and files can be retrieved through the application.

Conclusion: Lightweight, simple and fast copying tool. Completely free. Of the minuses, only a limited amount of backup can be noted (however, you can expand your Disk and store more information there), as well as the need for an Internet connection.

Paragon Backup and Recovery 16

Another free backup software. In addition to basic functions, it will help you make backups of all systems, including individual parameters such as location.

The program also includes a set of data management tools, which includes the WinPE recovery environment. With its help, users can create a bootable external drive, through which you can always restore the system to the current or another device.

You can add drivers or other data to the image. During recovery, this will help you get started as quickly as possible.

Conclusion: The program is great for manual or automatic data copying, for this you only need a USB flash drive of the required size. The software has a user-friendly interface and fast work, especially in comparison with other free programs. Even complex options are available to users for free.

Macrium Reflect Free

The backup software is fast and highly compressed. On average, the weight of the copied files will be 40% less than the original.

They can also be stored both on your hard drive and on external media. There is a built-in engine for writing to CD and DVD. You can create a backup without rebooting the system, which is very convenient. In this case, the necessary files and folders will need to be selected manually from those offered by the program. The resulting image can be updated.

Conclusion: The program is completely free, lightweight, but limited in functions. This is offset by high speed and excellent data compression performance. For example, 10 GB of data will be copied for about 12 minutes, and it will weigh about 6-7 GB.

EaseUS Todo Backup Free

This software offers step-by-step instructions for quickly copying, restoring files and folders. The software can back up everything from entire systems to individual files.

To save space, users can only back up changes made since the last backup. A task scheduler is also built in, so the backups are updated from time to time.

Data can be copied to CD / DVD, local hard drive, external drive, iSCSI device, or any network target.

Conclusion: A program with extensive and completely free functionality and variability of parameters.

Comodo BackUp

Free copying software to help you find and remove duplicate files. You can create copies of the system both automatically and manually.

Even data from individual accounts, such as email, browser bookmarks or settings, can be copied. Users have the ability to synchronize devices, if necessary, you can perform full or partial copying of information.

Copies can be saved to local disk, optical media such as CD / DVD / BD disk, as well as network folder, external disk, FTP server. If necessary, the program will send your backup copy by email.

Conclusion: Convenient software for creating backups. For storage, it is not necessary to have an external medium, and if necessary, the resulting image can always be supplemented.

Use one of these apps and you can always recover your data.

Recently, a friend of mine asked me to explain to her how to back up data. She is a humanist, so she needed options in which nothing needs to be configured. Since she is not a stupid person who likes to understand the problem and make a decision herself, I decided to collect basic principles for her and describe the pros and cons of certain options (as I see them). I decided to publish here in case it is useful to some of you - to help a friend or relative. I would be very glad to have comments on how the text could be made simpler and clearer.

Basic principles

1. Regularity and frequency

Backing up data should be as regular as taking pills. It is for this discipline that one can thank oneself if suddenly there was some kind of collapse. Sometimes it can be very painful to lose even just a few working days due to the fact that a backup has not been completed. To answer the question - how often it is possible to make a backup, having understood the data for what period of time it would be least painful for you to lose. One of the best options is to back up your data once a week on weekends.

Separation

It is desirable that the data be stored on a separate external hard drive (or other medium), stored in a separate location from the main data. The principle is quite obvious - if a problem occurs, it will be localized in one place. For example, if the hard drive on your computer breaks down, the backup drive will function perfectly. However, it is worth striking a balance between ease of access and security. A hard drive next to a computer greatly increases the motivation to use it for its intended purpose. And at the same time, this is not the safest option for very important data that cannot be lost in any case. That is why there is a distinction between backup and data archiving.

Rechecking

As soon as the first backup of the data is made, you must immediately check that this data can be restored from it! This means not only that the files are visible. You need to open several files to choose from and check that they are not corrupted. It is advisable to repeat such a check once in some period (say, once a year).

Differentiation

Best practice is to categorize data. The category could be their importance to you, the frequency of updates, or just the topic.

Often, backup programs make so-called “images”. They look like one single file. So, in each such image, it is better to save various data.

What is it for. Data of different importance requires different handling, this is obvious. You will probably want to keep your important documents more carefully than, say, a collection of films. By dividing the data by frequency of updates, you can, for example, save time taken up by backups. Topic - what data is it desirable to restore together in one step? A striking example of two types of backup, which should be done separately:

Data backup

These are Word documents, photos, movies, etc. The same applies to this, but is often forgotten - bookmarks in the browser, letters in the mailbox, address book, calendar with appointments, banking application configuration file, etc.

System backup

We are talking about the operating system with all its settings. Such a backup eliminates the need to reinstall the operating system, make all settings, and install programs. However, this is not the most essential type of backup.

Where to backup

1. External hard drive. Can often be bought right in the box. There are laptop drives - such drives are small in size, but more expensive. Ordinary hard drives can be purchased relatively cheap with a volume of 2 TB - then you won't have to worry about disk space for a long time.

Reliable enough (if not dropped or shaken excessively)
+ Relatively inexpensive

You must not forget to connect the backup disk yourself
-Not very convenient to carry (not applicable to laptop drives)

2. USB-stick - suitable as an additional tool when you would like to transfer data from one computer to another and / or have it at hand. Also, if the data itself does not want to be stored on a computer.
There is one big but - the flash drive has a limited number of entries, so if you store application data on it, which will write intensively, then the usb stick will quickly order to live a long time. In addition, in my personal impression, they break down quite often. My friend, buying the most expensive flash drives, which were positioned as "not killed", received a broken flash drive in a month or two. To be fair, I must say that I still have not a single flash drive broken, some have been working for 5 years already. Nevertheless, I would not store data on only one usb-stick.

Mobile storage
+ Takes up little space
+ Very cheap

Unpredictable reliability

3. Data storage on a remote server (or in the cloud).

There are pros and cons:

The data will be available not only at home, but also at work, while traveling.
+ Local separation of the main data and backups (for example, if it happens, God forbid, the fire data survives)
+ There is no need to connect a hard drive for backup, as a rule, everything is done completely automatically.

It is advisable to encrypt the data, since it is not known who can access it
-A large amount of traffic is spent (if it is limited, then problems arise)
-Often only data up to 2 GB can be stored for free. So, such a backup is an additional cost item.

A list with a good description of the services can be found

How to backup

Here is a list of applications that you should pay attention to (in my opinion) when backing up to your hard drive.

Of the free are popular

1. Genie Backup Manager is a very convenient program, but it slows down a little when working
2. Handy Backup - simple interface, works fast.

Additionally

Often in the settings of backup programs there is an option - to make an incremental or differential backup. The practical difference is pretty simple. With a differential backup, you can save on the space it takes up. But there are only two recovery options: data in the state when the full backup was made + data at the time when the differential was made.

An incremental backup, on the other hand, allows you to rollback to any of the moments in the past when the backup was made. However, especially if changes in data occurred frequently, space will be eaten up quickly.