Unlike File Sync software which maintains multiple copies of folders between computers or storage devices, Backup software it meant to save a copy of entire hard drives or newer SSDs (Solid State Disks). Backup software can save an image of your computer and that becomes very valuable if and when your hard drive crashes or system will not boot up.
Having encountered this situation less than a ago, I had to dive into a handful of backup programs because I did not have a disk image saved. While I always backup my data files to several other media, this did not help me to fix my Windows 10 boot problem.
I had to find a program I could boot from a flash drive that would then allow me to select all my user profile folders and create another backup of them. Once that was done, I used my computer’s Restore feature to go back to the factory version of Windows 10, which was about 3 years older. Then I performed all the Windows updates to get it back “in shape.”
After the restore and update processes I then made a new image backup of the C drive, just in case of another crash. The one free program I found that performed all of this is the first one below. The other two have free downloads but they are limited versions.
Some of the free backup programs are:
Lo and behold, not too long after I repaired my desktop at the time, it had a memory failure. Due to its configuration, when its 16gb Optane memory chip failed, the hard drive would no longer load. Optane memory was part of a disk array and it how it sped up the desktop without using a full SSD hard disk. It was after this that I purchased another desktop and was able to restore most files from the AOMEI backup I had already created. Replacing that desktop is discussed in this article, Going to a Mini PC.
I recommend everyone check out these backup programs as soon as possible because hardware does fail.