Free Backup Software

The majority of free backup software provides only basic functionality regarding data backup. Their primary aim is to automate all actions that are generally done when you back up your files manually. Most of these programs can't be used for hard disk imaging or cloning and don't support things like hot database backup and recovery. And even if you manage to find a free program that can image your drive, it's very unlikely to support files-based backup, scheduling, and other necessary features.

Storage Media

Paid backup software offer much richer choice of supported storage media. It is of much importance: for example, many enterprises back up their data on magnetic tape. And tape streamers require programming of the appropriate drivers which is a very nontrivial task. Moreover, integration of a mere DVD burning tool is not easy – even major products like Windows XP weren't capable of burning DVD discs until year 2004 or so! It comes as no surprise that most free backup software don't have it either.

Support

Lack of support is probably the weakest place of free backup software. When you purchase a program, you can be sure that in case of a problem you will receive qualified help and answers to your questions. With free applications there is no such opportunity. Will it conflict with other software you install? Will it continue working if you decide to move to another system? You can never know.

Another question is today's worldwide migration to Windows Vista (which is not supported by absolute majority of free backup software). If you are planning to upgrade to it – and sooner or later you'll have to, because 95% of new hardware produced today is meant for Vista, – you will inevitably have to use commercial soft. Authors of free backup tools rarely rewrite their programs; and chances that new free software appears in the nearest future are very small.

Time to sum up. If you are content with regular files-based backups that are stored on simple media (for example, another hard disk) and if you are not planning any major upgrades, then you definitely may go for free backup software. But if you need a program for something more complex, e.g. HDD cloning, it's highly recommended to use a professional software which is proven to work correctly and error free. Do remember: it's all about data protection. In many cases time and efforts needed to recover your files will cost you much more than the most expensive piece of backup software.

The above article said about most frequent troubles accompanying data loss and three types of data that require three different approaches to be backed up. Now as we learned about the importance of making regular backups, it is necessary to understand if the use of specialized backup software is a must or it is possible to organize everything by your own.

A simple Internet search reveals a lot of free and commercial software
designed specifically for backup. Although the price of such programs may reach hundreds of dollars, they are often thought to perform "simple copying on a schedule" and aren't paid much attention. To see if they are worth the money, let's briefly run through particular components of the backup process.


Backup Scheduling

One of the most important parts of any backup plan is automation of copying and related procedures (compression, encryption, etc.). The basic idea is to set up a task only once, and then leave it to backup software. Can this be done manually? Yes, if you can write a proper script (batch file). Its automatic performance can be easily configured through Windows Task Scheduler. The one significant thing you need to remember is that automation assumes controllability, i.e. the script must provide logs and notifications about backup results.

Selecting Data for Backup

The main principle of data protection suggests that backups should be made regularly. When it comes to practice, it is not always clear how to filter new and modified files from the whole set of data that is backed up. While this question is successfully resolved in backup software, writing an appropriate code for comparing data already backed up to current situation on the disk is much more difficult.

Another problem is the lack of disk imaging function in Windows. Files-based backup doesn't allow backing up operating system, boot records and other data not represented as files. Without image-based backup, recovering after major failures means reinstallation of OS and applications which takes a lot of time and efforts. On the other hand, implementation of disk imaging in backup software raises its price at least by $20, and there are no good freeware programs for this.

Backup Storage

Then, it is important to define where your backups will be kept. If you are not planning to store your files on external media, this won't be of any trouble for you. But recording your backup to DVD disc or transferring it to a remote FTP server will require much bigger efforts. Built-in disc burning engine, FTP client, as well as support for other storage media make up a very important part of backup software. At the same time mere integration of a third-party DVD burning application in a backup script is a non-trivial task.

Let's summarize the features that our script – a potential substitute for a backup program – needs to have so far. With each execution, it must start with determining files that are not backed up yet. Then these files should be compressed and, if necessary, encrypted (both most likely require the use of external solutions). The script should preferably cooperate with some FTP client, so you can store backups with maximum security. Finally, it should log all operations and notify about results, so you can always be sure that your data is backed up.

Let's see what we can conclude from that. Writing a script and automating backups through built-in Windows tools is not a problem if you have certain programming skills and know what you want to achieve. But if you want your backups to be a little bit more complex, there is no choice: use specialized backup software. Writing and debugging a script of your own is much more unprofitable in terms of time and efforts than paying for a finished, well-thought out product.