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[B]Best PC equivalent to Time Machine?[/B]

Joel Arvidsson

Joel Arvidsson

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Is there any good "set and forget" backup programs on pc that you could restore the full system on like Time Machine on mac?
I read on the forum that Shadow copies is good. Want to hear if more people recommend it or other software.

http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?58764-looking-for-ideas-for-BACK-UP-WORKFLOW
post #3

The Windows equivalent to Time Machine is "Shadow Copies". Just right click on any folder (on a drive with recovery enabled) and move to the Previous Versions tab. It is a little known fact that Shadow Copies predates Time Machine. It does exactly the same thing as Time Machine although the Time Machine interface is a lot cooler. Windows 8 will have a full fledged "History Vault" GUI for the Previous Versions tab. Backup and Restore Center covers many of the other features of Time Machine, and more. Of course, neither Shadow Copies nor Time Machine are of any use when it comes to a hard drive failure. In that case, you will need to try out dedicated recovery software (Recuva is the simplest) or if the failure is hardware oriented, look for professional recovery solutions.
 
I have always used Backup and Restore. In Windows 8 Shadow Copies has been phased out and replaced with File History which does exactly what Time Machine would. In some ways Shadow Copies was more useful than File History or Time Machine but none of these solutions are anywhere near as robust as good old Backup and Restore though. The good news is you can use both Backup and Restore and File History simultaneously on Windows 8. The former for a complete backup solution, the latter for a quick UI of your file history as in Time Machine. Aside from data, Windows 8 also has awesome Refresh and Reset options. If something goes wrong with the OS you can refresh your installation in 10 minutes without affecting your files and programs. (Legacy apps do have to be reinstalled though, but WinRT apps are retained) Also worth checking out Storage Spaces which works like a much more flexible version of RAID.

There are of course many third party programs, including cloud backups. The only one I have used is Crashplan, very reliable and multi-platform too.
 
Subhadip Sen said:
I have always used Backup and Restore. In Windows 8 Shadow Copies has been phased out and replaced with File History which does exactly what Time Machine would. In some ways Shadow Copies was more useful than File History or Time Machine but none of these solutions are anywhere near as robust as good old Backup and Restore though. The good news is you can use both Backup and Restore and File History simultaneously on Windows 8. The former for a complete backup solution, the latter for a quick UI of your file history as in Time Machine. Aside from data, Windows 8 also has awesome Refresh and Reset options. If something goes wrong with the OS you can refresh your installation in 10 minutes without affecting your files and programs. (Legacy apps do have to be reinstalled though, but WinRT apps are retained) Also worth checking out Storage Spaces which works like a much more flexible version of RAID.

There are of course many third party programs, including cloud backups. The only one I have used is Crashplan, very reliable and multi-platform too.
Click to expand...

Hi, I wanted to start using File History in windows 8 but I could not choose what drive to backup from. I could only choose the destination disk where the copys would store. The default for File History is the user map with library etc. I think I can go c:/users/"user"/ and right clic on the folder "my documents". Choose proerties. Under the location tab I can now change the location of my documents to another drive.

My question is, will moving this folder mess upp Adobes programs that has an map inside the "my documents" folder.

I dont want to mess upp adobe to get the "File History" backups starting.
 
I am using sync toy, with the windows task scheduler.

Every month on local hard drive, every time my external USB drive are plugged in, the targeted USB drive are updated with the latest files.

I'm using the same principle with google drive, so everything saved has a cloud output as well, for using some files on my iPad too.

So USB drive for critical files, sync to a local archive folder, saved to google drive. It's been like that for two years without problem
 
Ok its time to se if there is any newer better solutions for automatic backups 2015 on pc. Is there any better backup feature in windows 10 vs 8.1?
 
I've been using SyncBack Pro for years and it's great. Very customizable.
 
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