Backup Software

[lnh]

I switched to Macrium Reflect a number of years ago. I believe it was something that Mario was using and liked at the time. Now that the company is going subscription I wonder if Reflect is still the best option out there. In general I try to avoid subscription software when I can, and that is becoming increasingly difficult. What do folks recommend?

[Mario]

Acronis is subscription only. Macrium is subscription only.
I still run version 8 (?) on my computers, which works well so far.
Duplicati (https://duplicati.com/) (free) comes to mind, but it's "block"-based, not an imager like Macrium. If this makes a difference depends on your usage pattern and how many files you change per day.

I guess all software will go subscription-only in some way in the future.
Having a constant revenue stream is important for developers, constantly working on improving the software without the need to somehow come up with a "big bang" feature to encourage existing users to purchase an upgrade.

This is the situation I'm in again. When I don't find enough people to upgrade to IMatch 2025, I've wasted 18 months of my spare time and the IMatch project cannot continue.

Computers, service tent, software cost, server rent. I've just renewed my Authenticode signing certificate (required to sign installers) and it now costs over 230€ per year and requires an additional hardware key device or an certified online wallet because of changes in security requirements.

[frankdarwin]

Hello,
I have also been using Macrium 8 for many years.
In the time that I have been using various other backup software such as Acronis and other well-known manufacturers, I have constantly been looking for other programs. According to the motto "the better is the enemy of the good".
After I came across IM (also the "enemy of the good", by the way) and installed it, I came across Macrium in the forum.

It only took me a few days and a few tests with Macrium to realize that I had found the best backup software I had ever used.

I, too, am actually an opponent of subscriptions.

But in this case I will make an exception. Having a predictable, steady source of income helps a lot in being able to absorb and justify future application development expenses.

Apart from that, I have no reservations about subscribing to Macrium.
The product is very good, there are several updates a year, the service is good (if you need it) and I haven't found anything better so far.

This is the situation I'm in again. When I don't find enough people to upgrade to IMatch 2025, I've wasted 18 months of my spare time and the IMatch project cannot continue.

Mario is right!
I would also take out a subscription for him immediately.

Frank

[Mario]

Apart from that, I have no reservations about subscribing to Macrium.
The product is very good, there are several updates a year, the service is good (if you need it) and I haven't found anything better so far.

I agree. For me (!), if a software is good and important for what I do, it's worth paying a few bucks per month or once a year. You get continues development, support etc. Of course  mileage will vary for other persons.

Macrium has enabled me to replace failed C: SSDs without a hitch two (!) times (buy a new SSD, replace the damaged one, boot from a Macrium rescue disk and restore the last backup to the new SSD).
It also saved my buttocks on several occasions when I've deleted the wrong file or a file became damaged for some reason.

That makes it worth the money.

I would also take out a subscription for him immediately.

Thank you, much appreciated.

It's actually quite hard to find a payment processor (like MyCommerce / Digital River I currently use) these days. All the payment providers like CleverBridge, Paddle, FastSpring etc. go SaaS (software as a service, aka subscription). Selling a software for a one time payment with perpetual license like IMatch becomes old fashioned, I guess.

A paid IMatch upgrade with 40% on the original purchase price every ~18 months would result in a 4$ monthly subscription. Not free, but also not terrible. 4 bucks gets you half a cup of coffee at Starbucks

[mastodon]

I have to admit, that software as a sservice is the only way to go. You can't always improve, and there is a level, where most users don't actually neeed any improvement, just reliability. And most things can be done with free softwares.

[Mario]

where most users don't actually neeed any improvement, just reliability.

And support. And updates to code that interfaces with 3rd party services, which change their API often. And updated certificates and security so you can install the software and run it securely.

And most things can be done with free softwares.

I prefer the free and privacy-friendly Signal over WhatsApp. And I donate a couple of dollars every year to Signal. It's free, but they still have to cover the operating cost. ExifTool is free. But I donate money for it every year, since I think Phil should get something back to allow him to continue. I also own 2 copies of FastPictureViewer, just to give something back to the LibRaw project, though.

I believe if somebody does good work, he should get paid.

[axel.hennig]

The "Backup Software" topic comes up here from time to time. See e.g. here:

https://www.photools.com/community/index.php/topic,12020.msg

[Jingo]

Macrium for me too... it just... works.  I have many profiles set up to do clones, incremental and differentials on a monthly and nightly basis... never had a failure so long as my drives don't run out of space.  I'd gladly pay a subscription if I ever needed to update my software version.

The interesting thing about SaaS is ownership of the data and what happens if a vendor goes out of business or you decide to no longer subscribe to the software. If everything is stored in the cloud on their servers and you have no way of exporting your data locally (or the data is in a proprietary format)... you will be out of luck.

[lnh]

In fairness to Macrium, I think the "deal" of 1/2 price yearly upgrades lands the annual cost for a home user at a reasonable price point for the quality and value received. Like others I've been using v8 since it came out, but they specifically will sunset support and updates at some point in the not to distant future.

I also give an annual gift to Signal and buy mobile apps rather than use the free version and pay for the premium version of Bitwarden which offers little over the free version.

But don't get me started on what Capture One is now charging for a subscription. For a non-professional user it's become way out of line with its value even compared to the Adobe bundle. That one renews about a month from now and might have to seriously look at some open source alternatives.

I do some 3d design and 3d printing and have to call out Autodesk for making a very functional version of Fusion 360 available to the hobbyist at no cost.

[JohnZeman]

Just to throw my 2 cents worth in here, 6 months ago I replaced my 7 year old HP Envy computer with a new HP Omen 40L and I had quite an eye opening experience as I explored just what it had.  I found a standard 8TB SATA hard drive for my D: data drive but for the life of me I could not find the 1TB C: SSD.

So I did some Googling and found out my new computer has something I'd never heard of before, a NVMe SSD which is a small 3" circuit board mounted on the mother board.  So then I researched NVMe SSDs and was startled to find out just how long of an expected lifespan they have, which on average is 600 TBW (terrabyte writes).  As of today, 6 months after I purchased this new computer CrystalDiskInfo tells me I've only written 7 TBW to the SSD.  At this rate the SSD should far outlast the rest of the computer.

That said of course I still need to back everything up on a regular basis so I've been debating with myself as to whether I should upgrade to the new release of subscription Reflect?  Or stick with the way I've been doing it for the past several years and that's to use robocopy scripts to backup the entire D: SATA drive and key folders (like IMatch) on the NVMe C: SDD and I'm leaning towards the latter.  And then to do periodic duplication of the NVMe SSD with a standalone duplicator.  To do so I'll need to purchase a different NVMe drive duplicator which is about $200 along with a spare NVMe drive.

[Jingo]

But don't get me started on what Capture One is now charging for a subscription. For a non-professional user it's become way out of line with its value even compared to the Adobe bundle. That one renews about a month from now and might have to seriously look at some open source alternatives.

As a hobbyist photography - I hear you on the cost of some of these programs... but honestly, the amazingness of RAW editors like DxO turn my images into works of art that I'm proud to print and put on the wall... DxO is simply outstanding especially their noise reduction and sharpening algorithms... worth the price I pay!

[RobiWan]

It's always a challenge when a provider - in this case Macrium - suddenly switches to a subscription. When I think about what my R5 or my 600/4 cost, the 50USD/year for 4 licenses is really worth it.
Before Macrium I had always worked with Acronis and always had trouble when I really needed the backup. Macrium has never let me down in the last 10 years.
By the way - Capture One subscription is expensiv, but for me is the RAW engine much better than Adobe. So also worth the money.

Robert

[Uwe]

Hello,
What is your opinion on the AOMEI paid version?
Uwe

[RobiWan]

A possible alternative for me might be Veeam. But whether it really offers everything that Macrium does and I had to rewrite all my scripts again.