Managing Backup: Three Software Solutions Compared

Conclusion

All three backup solutions worked flawlessly, but there are obvious differences that require consideration. Windows 7 Backup and Restore, Acronis True Image 2010 Home, and Rebit are all reliable solutions. We used Hitachi’s Portable Rugged as the backup target, but most other USB 2.0 solutions would work equally well.

Windows Backup is great because it comes included with Windows 7 and is finally a solid solution. As with similar apps, you can backup and restore data using backup sets, but Windows 7 Backup and Restore can also create recovery images of your entire system installation. The program works fast, and we were pretty happy to see how well it meets basic backup requirements. It does not support many advanced features, except for scheduling and versioning, though.

This is where True Image 2010 Home scores well. Technically, True Image is a system and partition image solution, much like Symantec Ghost and others, but it's now so feature-rich that it exceeds what one would expect from a “Home” title. You can schedule your backup process, select different backup modes, encrypt backups, or even use the nonstop backup feature, which can minimize the risk of a data loss to extremely low levels. Finally, it even includes a tool box for safe data deletion, disk cloning, and import of an existing Windows backup. If you want full control, this is your solution.

Finally there’s Rebit, a powerful, ultra-easy solution. Once installed, it requires only a few clicks to constantly back up your files and maintain versions of all file changes. The storage target gets converted into a read-only drive for safety reasons, so introducing this level of total protection comes at the price of available storage space. Consumers with a single PC will come off best with this solution unless you want to back up to a network target. In this case, only Windows Backup and True Image are left.