In the past I have always used Acronis True Image to create a System Image. However, I have two issues with Acronis, firstly it is not cheap at around £40 ($60 US) per computer and secondly it has more bells and whistles than a Thailand Taxi - consequently I have only ever used about 10% of its functionality.
User data files are no longer an issue because online Cloud storage is either free or very inexpensive. It works well, uses minimal system resources and can be setup to happen seamlessly in the background. So for a user to become physically involved in making backups of data files is quickly becoming a thing of the past. For me it is already a thing of the past.
So the question now is - What is the best solution for creating a System Image Backup in W8.1?
Not to be confused - I am referring specifically here to a "Full System Image Backup" and not to the quick and easy W8.1 Recovery Drive, which is a simple task for which one only needs a relatively low-capacity USB.
Most computers today are delivered with the next-to-useless manufacturers "Recovery Partition". After using a computer for a period of time, who in their right mind would want to revert the machine back to the system state in which it was delivered. I have yet to be convinced that these "Recovery Partitions" are anything but an easy way for Support to provide so-called support while the machine is still under warranty. Just try it - log a support call with a manufacturer while the machine is still under warranty and I absolutely guarantee that no matter what your problem you will receive an email telling you in great detail how to revert the machine back to Zero - really helpful stuff :down:
The W8.1 media options for creating a System Image Backup are Hard Disk, DVD's or Network. Why not USB? 64GB USB's retail for around £15 ($25 US), so what's the big deal....? Or perhaps there is some smart hacker out there who has found a way to create a System Image Backup using a USB...? ..... hmmm.... yes, I can also do that the problem is getting the machine to boot from the SIB USB...
The literature also says that if you use DVD's you will need "..... dozens of DVD's.....". Why? Verbatim sell 8.5GB DVD's for under £1 each. I would think that about 5 of those would be enough for a System Image Backup?
So, what is the best, easiest, both time and cost-effective method to create a System Image Backup. Time is an important consideration because one will probably need to do this once a month to coincide with the MS Tuesday Updates - to be done before you install the updates of course :p
I would appreciate the views of others on the subject.
TiA
T.
User data files are no longer an issue because online Cloud storage is either free or very inexpensive. It works well, uses minimal system resources and can be setup to happen seamlessly in the background. So for a user to become physically involved in making backups of data files is quickly becoming a thing of the past. For me it is already a thing of the past.
So the question now is - What is the best solution for creating a System Image Backup in W8.1?
Not to be confused - I am referring specifically here to a "Full System Image Backup" and not to the quick and easy W8.1 Recovery Drive, which is a simple task for which one only needs a relatively low-capacity USB.
Most computers today are delivered with the next-to-useless manufacturers "Recovery Partition". After using a computer for a period of time, who in their right mind would want to revert the machine back to the system state in which it was delivered. I have yet to be convinced that these "Recovery Partitions" are anything but an easy way for Support to provide so-called support while the machine is still under warranty. Just try it - log a support call with a manufacturer while the machine is still under warranty and I absolutely guarantee that no matter what your problem you will receive an email telling you in great detail how to revert the machine back to Zero - really helpful stuff :down:
The W8.1 media options for creating a System Image Backup are Hard Disk, DVD's or Network. Why not USB? 64GB USB's retail for around £15 ($25 US), so what's the big deal....? Or perhaps there is some smart hacker out there who has found a way to create a System Image Backup using a USB...? ..... hmmm.... yes, I can also do that the problem is getting the machine to boot from the SIB USB...
The literature also says that if you use DVD's you will need "..... dozens of DVD's.....". Why? Verbatim sell 8.5GB DVD's for under £1 each. I would think that about 5 of those would be enough for a System Image Backup?
So, what is the best, easiest, both time and cost-effective method to create a System Image Backup. Time is an important consideration because one will probably need to do this once a month to coincide with the MS Tuesday Updates - to be done before you install the updates of course :p
I would appreciate the views of others on the subject.
TiA
T.