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Paragon System Backup 2010 Special Edition (English Version) Giveaway
$29.95
EXPIRED

Giveaway of the day — Paragon System Backup 2010 Special Edition (English Version)

System Backup 2010 is simple, automatic and reliable backup solution for complete PC protection!
$29.95 EXPIRED
User rating: 230 67 comments

Paragon System Backup 2010 Special Edition (English Version) was available as a giveaway on February 17, 2010!

Today Giveaway of the Day
$69.00
free today
Cut out images perfectly, mount them neatly, and remove distracting elements!

Simple, automatic and reliable backup solution for complete PC protection!

System Backup is based on simplicity and minimal user participation… as easy as 1-2-3:

  1. Download and install the software.
  2. Follow the recommendations of the software - decide, where and when to back up.
  3. Relax! Complete PC backups will run automatically.

Key Features and Benefits of System Backup:

  • Intuitive user interface. System Backup is based on simplicity and minimal user participation.
  • Advanced notification system. Color indicators in the system tray inform you about the level of danger your system and data are in and prompt you with ways to fix it.
  • Set-and-forget backup strategy. Cyclic Backup establishes a self-running data protection system, providing a “set-and-forget” backup strategy.
  • Please see more features, usage scenarios and detailed product information at System Backup 2010 website

If you are x64 OS system user, follow the link here

Technical Support:
During the Giveaway period Paragon Software provides technical support at http://twitter.com/paragonsoftware. Please, post your questions if you have any troubles while downloading, registering and using the software. Paragon Software’s support team will reply you as soon as possible.

System Requirements:

CPU: 300 MHz or higher; RAM: 128 MB; Disk space: 40 Mb; Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher

Publisher:

Paragon Software

Homepage:

http://www.paragon-software.com/home/systembackup/

File Size:

140 MB

Price:

$29.95

Comments on Paragon System Backup 2010 Special Edition (English Version)

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Please add a comment explaining the reason behind your vote.
#67

#67 and #69 When the snapshot wizard begins there is a hyperlink to select what exactly you want to backup (partition. file, drive etc) you will find that everything that is spinning (in my case 2 500gb drives) has been selected by default and will account for the large space needed to perform a backup ... it probably should have had nothing selected by default. In any case it seems to be assuming that you are backing to an external drive ... but once you make the source and output location selections it will get the numbers right. I started with the dialog that popped up on my next reboot .. and once I was rejected for not having enough space I went and restarted the program from the icon/.exe file and wrangled my way into the selection area.
I'm not exactly sure what this program does but it apparently copies and compresses everything into some sort of image for a full "system" restore sort of like a restore point on steroids ?? but not the same as an image like a clone for burning or for reimaging a hard drive. But I may be wrong ... I backed up up my active partition ...perhaps if I did the whole drive it could be used to reimage a drive.

Reply   |   Comment by Frank  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#66

Well, I managed to get this installed on all four PCs before the time ran out...

Now... where can we get 1TB USB drives to hold the backup data on a "giveaway of the day"? ;))

Reply   |   Comment by JimC  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)
#65

I tried to install it on both XP x86 and Win7 x64. On XP, it did install, but refused to back up to a network drive on another machine. It kept telling me that there isn't enough space, when there is 50 times the space it needs, if not more.
On the Win7 x64 machine, it would not even install! It tries to install the supposed x64 version into the x86 Program Files folder for some stupid reason, and after it went through its install process, there was nothing there! It was as if I never installed anything at all! I tried it twice and nothing!
This program is complete rubbish, IMO!!!

Reply   |   Comment by SloppyGoat  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#64

Here's comparison table that explains the difference between Drive Backup, Backup & Recovery and System Backup:
http://www.paragon-software.com/home/db-professional/comparison.html

Reply   |   Comment by kiwi  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+5)
#63

I tried to install it on both XP x86 and Win7 x64, and neither worked. The one on XP launched, but will not allow me to back up to a network drive on another machine on my LAN. It insists that there is not enough space, when there is tons of space on that drive! On the Win7 machine, it went through the install procedure, but when I checked for the program, it's nowhere to be found! I tried it a few times, and it's as if I never even installed it. This is garbage, IMO.

Reply   |   Comment by SloppyGoat  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-1)
#62

@45 and others who are using 64 bit Windows.
You need to get the zipped [Setup+Readme] download from the special link at the top of this page...the link after the exact phrase "If you are x64 OS system user, follow the link"

Reply   |   Comment by reg2k  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+3)
#61

about ashrafs reviews:
if you dont like his reviews just dont read them or even better do your own review.
it is just a review the way he see's it, it isnt perfect, and may not always be accurate.
he never says that the software is bad or good, and what he lists as bad isnt really bad to everyone.same for the good.
and as for the voting, who cares about that? it doesnt mean anything.
I read ashraf, then all the comments, then make up my own mind about each giveaway.

Reply   |   Comment by john connor  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+8)
#60

I was having the same problem getting the product key/serial number. I've done this with Paragon products in the past with no problems.

I temporarily disabled AdBlock Plus (even though there were no ads currently being blocked on that page) and the registration worked correctly. Maybe a coincidence, maybe not.

Reply   |   Comment by karen1  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-1)
#59

I should have added to my comment to #19 about how to create the default Recovery CD, that I went to the Paragon site, and did as it said in the FAQ: Go to the My Downloads section of My Account. But it shows nothing to download there. So I try to register the product, even though it says that's only necessary for boxed products, and it naturally says that product is already registered.

Without a recovery CD, well, I guess it serves some of its purposes until you have a hard drive crash.

Reply   |   Comment by Joe T.  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)
#58

#19 kiwi,
"Special Edition doesn’t have WinPE CD, only deafult Recovery CD based on Linux/DOS"

How does one find out how to create the "default Recovery CD based on Linux/DOS?"

Reply   |   Comment by Joe T.  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#57

Not installing?? No button to access to get code sent to me.

Reply   |   Comment by Kloppy  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#56

Several months ago, there were several "anti-Ashraf"-posts here, (which were "censored" by the Moderators, since most people never got to see them), and they all were saying the same thing, which was simply that he seems to get the software downloaded, installed, registered, "FULLY tested", and then writes his "review", (I'd call it a short "report" on "first-glance-appearances", but that's just me), and all that only takes him from 1 to 3 minutes, (which isn't technically possible, no matter HOW fast his connection is);

The only other thing that was pointed out, (and also "censored" so it never got seen by anyone who wasn't on the same LAN as the posters were), was that in 36 out of 36 days, his "reviews" had at least 5 errors in every one, but he never posted his corrections here, only on his own site, (and even the "corrections" were wrong!)

It's long been obvious that he's trying way too hard; (I'd originally thought it was in order to get into that "first-posted"-slot, since that would explain the errors in his reports, based on his own "corrections" that appeared only on his site later that morning).
(Then again, he's already got that slot pretty-much "guaranteed", and I'll let it go at that).

I still think he's TRYING very hard, and that's almost always a very commendable thing;

The thing that everyone needs to remember, especially the Users, as well as Ashraf himself, and the Moderators, is that the guy DOES make a LOT of mistakes, yet since the people who aren't "Computer-Techs" on this site, and are "just" average users, tend to treat his reports as a sort of "Gospel", and they don't download a lot of very good software, because of some mistakes in a post written by someone who may not have taken the couple of hours it takes to fully check out a new piece of s/w;

Like a couple of days ago, when I'd decided that, (for my own reasons, which had nothing to do with anything posted by anyone here), I wasn't going to download the "Animated Wallpaper Maker", and I posted an alternate way to make wallpapers & screensavers, etc., for those users who didn't know how and who'd reported that they'd had problems with the program offered;

But a short time later, I got a call from a friend who HAD downloaded the program offered, and was having problems figuring out how to get it to DO what it was apparently supposed to, so I downloaded it too, and after I spent about 3 HOURS "playing" with it, I'd found that it was simply the lack of any "up-front", "how to get started" instructions, which made most people feel that it didn't really let the user "do" much of anything that was promised, and was therefore a waste of time in their opinion,

...But once I'd learned what I did, I DID come back here to post what I'd found,

...Which was a glowing report of the s/w, and how to get it to do some of the things I'd managed to make it do, (with my friend's help, of course),

...And so the "sixty-second report" was again proved "worse than useless", altho it seems that "The Powers That Be" here haven't "picked up on that", since so many users still feel that Ashraf is "golden", deespite the errors and even when he offers "free alternatives" and then there are a dozen or more posts that point out those "alternatives" aren't what they appear to be, or aren't free at all, etc., over and over and over.

When "the stuff hits the fan", is when an old friend gets a call, and is asked to arrange to offer some of their well-written software, (and have them read the details in the Developer's Agreement-part of the sites' "devil in the details" arrangements),
And after they've done that, they compare what they get from this site, with what they pull up in articles from well-respected PC-Mags, to their previous employers, (one individual used to write Operating Systems for Lucent Technologies, and wrote "other stuff" "for fun"), to compare with what they've been told by this or other sites, about the site's users' feelings about the software...

Most often, they feel like yelling "foul", (one DID, and the "legal fallout" is STILL "falling"),
...due to obvious discrepancies they found, and when they look at what is said on the site, (logging in as a "user"), they immediately see "where things went wrong" with what they already knew, & the professional reviewers (and employers, etc.), had already brought up as "real" issues vs. "perceived"-issues from a "giveaway-site" report, vs. what the site's users had actually said, and WHY they'd said it.

Don't forget that "a certain someone" also apparently has "more than casual" connections here, (they must, in order to get the s/w, and do everything with it & post a report, all in 60 seconds);

{Although lately, I noticed he's slowed down to 3 minutes, but that just may be a fluke};

I DO know that if he can change out 4 tires as fast as he apparently does everything needed to write a report on a piece of s/w, I can and will gladly call some NHRA-NASCAR crews, car-owners & drivers, and recommend him, since they'd all be happy to give him a shot as an intern,
...(if for no other reason than being able to watch him try to run 120-mph alongside the car while starting to loosen the wheel-lugs while it's coming to a stop in the pits, to get that "neat feat" done, lol!)

I'm NOT knocking the guy OR the site(s), I'm just trying, (one more time), to get things posted, which have routinely been "censored" before, since it seems that there have been others that have finally gotten their views posted here today, and didn't get their posts "sent to the bit-bucket";

It's more important for the "average user" to know what's going on, and for them to decide for themselves if something's worth it or not, in order to provide the Developers with the info they're looking for, than for one person to cook up a "review", (and depending on which way the average 5 mistakes per review go, ends up determining whether the Developer gets an honest input from an honest sample of average users or not),
...Which is what keeps the software coming in TO the site, so it can be made available for users OF the site to try, & give their OWN "reports" and concerns, etc., about, for the Developers to review and work on, so they can improve their products;

That's what the Developers are promised, yet they'll only GET that, if or when the users STOP using one or two people's opinions to make their own, which gives the Developers a completely "skewed" view of just how the user community at-large feels or thinks about their software;

If you know how to write code, come up with something, and present it to the folks that run this site, and see what you're promised you'll get, in return for "giving away" a day's worth of freebies of your work, and you'll start to see just how complicated this kind of thing REALLY is...

(If this gets posted, I may just have a heart-attack, since nothing like it ever has been before!)

Reply   |   Comment by Phoenix  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-1)
#55

I have Paragon Backup and Recovery™ 10 Compact Edition. How is this different? should i get this software instead?

Reply   |   Comment by Zeinoon Malaeb  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-1)
#54

This was already offered here 6 weeks ago. So how exactly does this 2010 Special Edition compare with that Paragon 2010 Backup Special edition. For that matter, how does this compare with the Professional Edition offered here last July? Thanks. (Also, 140 MB is a big deal for me to download.)

Reply   |   Comment by Bruno  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#53

REALLY BAD NEWS on this one.
1. On my Vista machine it found no drives with Space (I have 3 USBs with Hubdreds of GB FREE on each)
2. Install fine on XP, Found my one USB 1TB with space and I did a successful backup.

3, Not sure why but I rebooted my laptop (XP) and it will not boot.
All I get is a black screen with a blinking cursor in the top left and a . or period under it. MY system is now hosed and I do NOT have a bootable CD build to restore from the V10 backups.
The Paragon site implies there is an ISO folder in the installed directory but it is not present on my vista system
4. Downloaded the tull trial version with the hopes of building a restore cd.
Downloaded twice br_suite_trial.msi 142,383,616 and start the install but get an error that says the msi file can not be read...

Have posted a sev 1 support request since my laptop is now not usable

I have had this type of problem in the past and been forced to switch vendors, Last time was Acronis then I had an issue with Paragon and the USB devices which was somehow resolved. Now I have lost my laptop due to something.....
If I can build a cd to restore all will be OK.

HAS ANYONE tried any restore testing or has it all been backup?
Backup normally tests ok, but restore? How many try it?

Boblevy@storageman.com

Reply   |   Comment by Bob Levy  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+1)
#52

I have downloaded the zip file three times. Each time I got this message:
! C:\WINDOWS\Temp\ParagonSystemBackup_x32-3.zip: CRC failed in Setup.exe. The file is corrupt

Any suggestions?

Reply   |   Comment by ender342  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#51

@no46 and 52
there are a few people on here thatgive their commendations and reviews
and to be fair mike, fubar ,ashraf and others do this free on charge
and in their own time
i for one respect their comments and i am sure others do also
iy you have anything costructive i am sure we will listen but 46 if you have freedomof speech and the courage of yourconviction why havent you given your name as opposed to just annoyed

thanks to mike,ashraf,fubar and the rest for your comments
keep it up

peopleless informed as myself do need your comments

Reply   |   Comment by dean  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+4)
#50

#50 john: At the very least, Ashraf shows, step-by-step and with screenshots, how to use whatever software he's reviewing. I happen find that very helpful, as it saves me the time I'd need to download, install, and play around with the product.

And if I do decide to install, I have a preview of what to expect, along with some how-tos, since he's also quite detailed in his explanations. Some of the comments that follow his reviews are helpful as well (of course, some aren't).

If the criticisms toward Ashraf's reviews are constructive (key word), that's useful to all of us. Otherwise, it's just like those folks who do nothing but click 'no' on every single comment - that's not helpful at all, and I think folks here are quick to comment on the nasty criticisms. Ashraf no doubt spends a fair amount of time learning the product, and then writing his review, in a very short span, providing a (objective) service that one can use, or not.

As for the voting being manipulated -- lately that seems to happen to a lot of posts, and not just Ashraf's.

Reply   |   Comment by Suze  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+24)
#49

Mehhhh... I hope there are better ones ttmr.

I just use "Seagate Backup"... the free program that came with my 600GB Portable Hard Drive. :D

~Joji~

Reply   |   Comment by Joji  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-7)
#48

One more thing, I tried to install on both my 32 and 64 bit computers, neither one worked for me.

Reply   |   Comment by Tina Marie  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-2)
#47

I tried several times to install, I can't get to the serial number either. This is the first time I have had a problem with installing Giveaway of the Day software. This would have come in handy too.
Too bad :(

Reply   |   Comment by Tina Marie  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-2)
#46

Ashraf has a comparison review and table of several backup apps including several mentioned here, at http://dottech.org/featured/11628

Reply   |   Comment by Richard  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-2)
#45

@46 Other than his alternate software recommendation, what is crappy with Ashraf's review? I depend on his reviews a lot to decide if I want the software or not, so I'd like to know where you think he's off in his review. thanks.

Reply   |   Comment by Lynn Houston  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+2)
#44

=43 You, or anyone who can supply me with information on how to create a VIRTUAL MACHINE will most certainly have made my day as you suggested. Thanks to anyone who can help me with this informatiom.

Reply   |   Comment by Jack Holmes  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+2)
#43

@40 I agree with you except ... I will mention ashraf's poor reviews in a negative way. I find it appalling that someone writes crappy reviews and gets away with it. I will exercise my rights to freedom of speech and say that I do not like or agree with Ashraf's comments or reviews.

Reply   |   Comment by annoyed  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-11)
#42

I downloaded, tried to install, but couldn't, so went straight to the msi file and tried that way. Got a msg that what I was installing was hte 32 bit version and I have a 64bit system. How do I fix this?

Reply   |   Comment by Lynn Houston  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-10)
#41

#12: RE: boot from USB...

FWIW, if you're just going to create the Paragon boot stuff on USB rather than CD, recent Paragon's apps have that built-in -- just target USB device/drive & click OK. The only disadvantage AFAIK is using GRUB you can add other options to the same stick.

Far as making the bootable disk/device without installing a Paragon app [though I'm not sure why you'd want to?], after expanding with Universal Extractor most Paragon software will run without being installed by copying "qtp-mt334.dll" into the program folder where you see launcher.exe. Without the driver install it'll have limited function -- I run restore this way after booting to LiveXP -- I think the media creation app might work, & at any rate it would be relatively painless to give it a try. ;-)

* * *

#15:"My Q. is- can the 64 bit version of this ... can the 64 bit version be run from an external HD?"

Most all Paragon backup apps will work with *limited* function as a portable app -- i.e. you can use the restore feature without having the app &/or svcs/drivers etc installed, & it's unsupported. *IF* that's what you are asking? Like most any app, System Backup can be installed in Windows using an external drive as the location of the program's folder, if that's what you mean -- just browse to the external drive during setup rather than accepting the default destination.

"How do I use the backup file if my or her system crashs?? Backup will be on externals. "

With the backup capsules on an external drive, you'll want/need that drive plugged in & running for scheduled backup as well as when you need to perform a restore. When you turn on the PC/laptop you'll get/see an option to restore your backup, before you get your boot menu or Windows starts up. Very basically tell it to restore a backup & it will -- simple as that.

Now a potentially tricky part in your case is sharing 1 external drive between 2 systems. If you use Paragon Drive Backup you can manually backup either system with the drive attached, then unplug the drive & do the other system. Restoring C: drive with Drive Backup however you have to boot from CD/DVD/USB. System Backup OTOH is going to want to do it's automatic backup, so you keep your eye on it & when it's done, swap the external drive -- backup can also be slower because it's more in the background.

* * *


#25: "Does anyone else find it strange that a company would use Twitter, with a 140 character limit, as their avenue for tech support?"

I'd hazard a guess that if/as warranted you'd be referred to traditional email &/or forums, but this way you'd get a faster response. If you have a short question that can be answered very simply, would you rather get that quick reply, or wait until someone at Paragon went through however many lengthy emails & attached logs before they worked their way down the list to your emailed question?

Also twitter makes for fast & easy searches &/or scanning. I know I find it a big drag to read through all sorts of forum posts before I find a quick yes/no answer, & of course I have no access at all to emails others have sent/received.

* * *

#27: "I installed and registered, but NONE of my 3 USB Drives were detected (2TB, and 2 1TB) AND there was no technique to tell it to use the e:drive (600GB Free)"

You might want to check with Paragon to see if or how to get System Backup to recognize your E: drive. I *think* I had problems with the beta not seeing my 2nd internal drive, but *if* I remember correctly the beta just didn't scan that far -- it stopped at the 3rd partition on the 1st drive. But again, that's from memory that's a bit hazy, only concerns the beta [not today's GOTD], & may/may not be all that accurate. During setup, in my experience System Backup allows you to pick & choose among choices of partitions it detected.

RE: external USB drives, as mentioned in my earlier post, I had 1 USB hdd that System Backup wouldn't work with. The problem turned out to be the drive housing's electronics, as I had problems just copying 30GB or so to it -- the drive appeared to be working OK, until I tried large transfers. With another external drive [using a Thermaltake housing FWIW], everything works -- System Backup finds & uses it just fine. That said, PCs here are running AMD-based boards, & I've found USB varies a lot from one brand/model to another, & is generally what I consider a bit flaky. Brand name USB stuff that works on 1, often won't on another, so I'm not suggesting that you have cheap or junk external drives.

Reply   |   Comment by mike  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+17)
#40

A better option is to use a virtual machine for your whole hard drive. Take snapshots of the VM on regular occasions and if you become infected, simply restore your snapshot. In 2 minutes you can solve what software like this takes you hours to do.

Hopefully I have helped someone today. Thanks,
Boingo

Reply   |   Comment by Boingo  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+9)
#39

Any reason I should ditch my XP install of Paragon Drive Backup 9 Professional for this? I didn't think so. Thanks but no thanks.

Reply   |   Comment by computersexplore  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-4)
#38

Fubar, my good man, thanks for answering my previous question on hiding desktop icons, so the wall paper will not be 'moon-pocked'.

Vajra

Reply   |   Comment by drvajra  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#37

Whenever I try to get the Registration information sent to me, I enter my first & last names, email address and then when I select United States from the pull-down for country, I get a script error. Anyone else having this problem? Anyone know why I would be getting a script error? Thanks in advance for any assistance!

Reply   |   Comment by drkenb  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-5)
#36

This is the right moment to remind you and address again some issues on backup alltogether.

* The adavantage of incremental backups: it saves space and time
* The DISadvantage incremental backups: you must consider the daily backup chunks as a dependent row... Now, let´s assume 1 element in this row is broken - nevertheless what reason for (just 1 faulty bit could be enough!!!) What do you think will happen with ALL increments AFTER the faulty one?! Yes, you might not (and mostly ever will not!) be able to use the later backups to restore your system.
That´s at least unbearable on professional used systems.

* The DISadavantage of differential backups: it costs space and time
* The advantage differential backups: if yesterday´s backup is faulty or lost, you can at least use the backup of the day before or after (assuming, there´s no general issue with the choosenr media). Of couse at least the basis-backup must be tested to be safe and reliable.

Conclusion:
* VERY HIGH PRIORITY should be set on data_integrity_checks (ALLWAYS!)
* Don´t trust imaging and neither backup programs that don´t check data integrity or where its easy to forget to set this feature (it´s a pity: most programs don´t test!!! And with former Paragon products you had to activate this checking by yourself!!! that was really BAD!)
* Better loose same time but not your data
* Better stategy is to have 2 backups on 2 places!
* Better, and time saving is, to image a system only time by time (AND CHECKING IT!) and do daily backups on data basis (perhaps versioning backup...?!; don´t forget inegrity checks, too...!) AND to backup the registry daily (and keep ONE week´s registry backup for at least 2 weeks - you never know!)

But of course: everybody has different needs...
Take this: think a small moment about how much YOU were struck and what it would mean to YOU if your system and/or your data were lost.

Than decide (or look for consulting etc.)

Reply   |   Comment by ws  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+20)
#35

#10 (pipi) I don't know if your desire to use this in an educational environment is within the license rules, but on Easeus' home page (yesterday's giveaway) they have an ad for their free Todo backup system which I downloaded and looked at while waiting for my new extra hard disk to arrive and it may suit your needs. From reading about it and looking at the menu options it seems like it might be suitable.

Reply   |   Comment by DocSid  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+5)
#34

Paragon System Backup differs from the earlier versions of Drive Backup, by being much more automated. While with Drive Backup you can schedule backups (full & incremental), you still have to set everything up manually, & should you need to restore a backup, that's a manual operation too -> boot the system from CD/DVD/USB & run the restore app, showing it which backup to restore, where. [The exception with Drive Backup is when you have multiple versions of Windows installed (e.g. XP & Vista &/or 7), you can backup/restore partitions/drives for the other versions while running XP from your C: drive.] The recent GOTD from Paragon, Hard Disk Mgr 2009 SE, includes an earlier version of System Backup.

The GOTD setup file, like earlier offers from Paragon, is a WinRAR self-extractor [if you're not familiar with RAR, think different version of .zip]... You tell the self-extractor where to put the setup files, & then you can delete the original setup.exe -- you've now got the .msi install file to use whenever. Paragon's also very nice -- they'll set you up with an account (info's in registration e-mail), where you can access/download apps you've registered.

Paragon System Backup can be compared to the system restore functions I've seen on many laptops... with those you hit a key during booting, starting an app that restores the hard drive to the way it was. If you have a problem that warrants restoring a backup, you can boot directly into the Paragon backup restore program -- no fiddling with booting from CD/DVD/USB devices. You can still do a manual backup/restore if you wish, but you don't have to. In fact, using System Backup you don't have to do much of anything, as once set up, it just does its thing in a very unintrusive fashion -- auto backups take place in the background while you're still working, doing other things. [Note that if you're the hands-on sort, this could be the backup software you install on systems you're responsible for, but use Paragon's more traditional Drive Backup on your own rig.] System Backup will also setup & maintain a Backup Capsule -- this is similar to the hidden partitions used on/with those laptops I mentioned...

During installation/setup, System Backup will scan your drives & propose a location to create & store your backups. Afterward using Windows, you'll mostly just notice one of your drives is now a bit smaller, how much depends on how big you told System Backup to make it's dedicated storage area. It's not really necessary, but I set up a small partition on the main [C:] drive, & have System Backup store it's capsules there [that way it's easy to every so often backup an image of that partition to an external drive or DVDs]. It'll also work with external USB hard drives, but I had some problems using a leftover IDE drive in a *Very Cheap* [~$10] housing that otherwise seemed to work OK -- putting another leftover in a much better housing solved that problem. I don't expect many others to share that experience, but wanted to mention it just in case, because it was initially so frustrating when System Backup wouldn't/couldn't find that drive during setup.

System Backup 2010 SE is basically the full version without the option to download/install the WinPE bootable environment -- you still get the Linux-based one. On earlier Paragon GOTDs you can replace the ISO [CD/DVD image] used for the bootable disc, which is a handy way to put bootable discs on USB sticks -- now it uses an iso.re file rather than *.iso [don't know the difference yet].

Later versions of Windows (Vista, 7 etc) can store Shadow Copies of files. A free app, Shadow Explorer, lets you work with individual file copies, much like corp. IT can... System Backup lets you do basically the same thing, as you can browse through stored backups, file the file(s) needed, & restore them without changing anything else, without restoring a full backup, or anything like that. There's quite a few built-in tools for working with, managing stored backups, making System Backup ideal for systems you manage [or are called on to fix whenever they break].

Personally I'm *very* much more "Hands-On", preferring to use Paragon's more traditional Drive Backup software on my own rig. I'll frequently try software with a big impact on Windows in 7 (on a multi-boot setup), knowing that a cup of coffee later I can have that entire partition restored if I didn't like it. I also work with lots of large media files that are only on my drives till I finish the project -- they don't compress very well, & creating 500GB+ backups I'll only need a day or two is just not practical for me. Now with my wife's PC for example, Paragon System Backup is ideal... like many, many other geeks & semi-geeks, or even those of us with a very slight geek streak, I'm responsible if/when anything breaks, but an unwelcome intruder if I want to do maintenance beforehand. In that situation, which I'd guess isn't unique, System Backup's been ideal.

Reply   |   Comment by mike  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+32)
#33

#27

you must read while running the program.
it says it will show only those devices who have enough free space to create atleast 1 complete system restore point.

oh, and this is a great download. its worth 140MB when its free :)
thanks GOTD.
this one ran without a glitch.

Reply   |   Comment by PSK  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-3)
#32

Should I replace the GAOTD 98MB Paragon Drive Backup 9?
Should I use Macrium Reflect instead?
Thanks.

Reply   |   Comment by androidlove  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-4)
#31

I was part of the Beta testing on this product. I have been using the release version for over a month and have had zero problems. It is one of Paragons many great products.

I've got multiple drives, so I backup mine manually, not using the automatic feature, it worked flawlessly every time. It will back up the multiple drives automatically, but for the way I use my data, I back up each drive to a different external drive.

Great Software!

Reply   |   Comment by Jake_Speed  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+7)
#30

As Richard pointed out, the "free version of Macrium Reflect" has been my fav.since quite some time and has saved my skin many a times.The beauty of the product is 1)You can easily create a "rescue disk based on Linux( no fears there) and backing up to a external hard disk would be ideal. How to back up and "MORE IMPORTANTLY RESTORE" is available as a step by step manual in the Mac.Ref. blog site.I will provide the blog site url and please take a print out and that helps a lot when the need arises!
http://www.macrium.com/blog/2008/06/30/HowToRecoverYourPCUsingTheLinuxRescueCDPartII.aspx. Hope it helps!

Reply   |   Comment by DR.S.SREEDHAV  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+4)
#29

To all those who can't get into Ashraf's review site.

It appears that his server is overloaded with hits. Try again in a few hours. It's often easier to get in some hours after his review is published.

As the number of visitors to GOTD grows, so do the hits on Ashraf's site. Similar problems affect both sites at times.

Reply   |   Comment by Jess  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-6)
#28

System backup 2010 edition, I will never say no to a free system backup!

Ashraf sums this software up well however I will play about with the software if and when I get round to downloading it as I have not done so yet and then I will review it on my site ;-)

Reply   |   Comment by Al  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-13)
#27

I have been waiting hours for the key from Paragon.
My mail is open and messenger chimes on all incoming.
Still have window open waiting for key.

Reply   |   Comment by Scribe  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-7)
#26

I installed and registered, but NONE of my 3 USB Drives were detected (2TB, and 2 1TB) AND there was no technique to tell it to use the e:drive (600GB Free)
Sad.

Reply   |   Comment by Bob Levy  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+15)
#25

Ashraf it seems your site www.dottech.org is down. BTW www.downforeveryoneorjustme.com in fact says your site is down. So not just me but others too are facing the difficulty

Reply   |   Comment by Ramesh Kumar  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#24

Does anyone else find it strange that a company would use Twitter, with a 140 character limit, as their avenue for tech support?

Reply   |   Comment by JKEngineer  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+13)
#23

#23, actually the comparison for Time Machine IS valid for some uses. For instance, I *used* to use Acronis True Image (essentially this offering on steroids) as a rescue device to fix what (frequently) gets broken in the system registry (etc.). Now, I use Time Machine because it offers the same protection but fixes things almost instantly. I still have Acronis but I don't use it all the time.

As for THIS offering, I think the major drawback here is that it doesn't do incremental backups (I believe). If you've ever used an imaging product like this, that's a deal-breaker. (They have so many different products with similar names that I'm not sure of this omission, but I believe such is true).

Reply   |   Comment by red  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+2)
#22

In my book nothing is up to nero back it up. this offer is close but

Reply   |   Comment by cronic  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-10)
#21

#1, Ashraf, while your website is down, I can only refer to your comments here. Comparing Paragon System Backup 2010 and Comodo Time Machine is worse than comparing apples and oranges. They're very different products, with very different purposes, protection, functionality, and requirements. Paragon truly backs up, it's not designed or intended for continuous protection. Time Machine is like a very stripped-down version of GoBack, it provides near-continuous protection but doesn't back up, and it has all of the restrictions of GoBack. If you want both backup and near-continuous protection, there's Rebit SaveMe and SaveMe Express (both are currently on sale), Acronis True Image Home 2010 (also has an offer) with Acronis Nonstop Backup, and StorageCraft ShadowProtect. Rebit is automatic, few (if any) options, requires external drive, and protects user data much more than the OS. Acronis requires occasional manual intervention, and is highly configurable. ShadowProtect is capable of largely automatic operation, not as configurable as Acronis or quite as frequent (minimum 15 minute intervals vs. 5 minutes for Acronis), but is by far the most robust, reliable (can take cold snapshots), capable, restore-versatile solution, and the only one which supports all configurations, including RAID. I'm not going to say more about each option as there's plenty of documentation available on each vendor's website.

Regarding the comments the other day about showing the desktop background, doesn't anyone know anything about Windows? You can show the desktop via hotkey, right-clicking the Taskbar, or (on Vista) by clicking a button on the Taskbar. You can also right-click the desktop and turn off the desktop icons (not the same as Show Desktop). I always leave desktop icons turned off, Windows has horrible desktop refresh performance under the best of circumstances. You can display the Desktop Toolbar on the Taskbar (right-click), and if you put folders/subfolders on the desktop (while icons are displayed) you can sort the icons into them and the Desktop Toolbar will show cascading menus.

Reply   |   Comment by Fubar  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+49)
#20

#15 - if I understand what you mean, the 3 gigs refers to RAM, not hard drive space. That's plenty. If the problem is wanting to install this on a hard drive to copy it to her machine later, there is a good possibility that won't work. See #12 for a solution to that problem.

There are 2 other good, free alternatives that I have used:

* Macrium Reflect Free http://www.macrium.com/download.asp
* DriveImage XML http://runtime.org/driveimage-xml.htm

I prefer Macrium Reflect because it gets done in about 1/3 less time and compresses data better. Reflect also has a built-in scheduler, but you can easily automate DriveImage XML using Windows Task Scheduler.

Reply   |   Comment by Richard  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (+3)
#19

#15 3 G of RAM is more than enough to run this software. Put it on every machine.
Recovery software usually prompts you, or at least has the ability, to create a startup/revcovery disk. If it goes south, just plug in the external w/ the backup, toss the recovery disk in the boinked machine and let 'er rip. On your gk's new machine, check the BIOS to make sure the startup order is USB/FLOPPY>CD/DVD>HD/LOCAL DISK. No better feeling in the world than knowing the worst that could happen while you play "what if...?" w/ the registry or new software or hardware, that you're OS will be back in under an hour.

Reply   |   Comment by Alt Brown  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (0)
#18

But how does it compare with the previous giveaway of the Paragon Backup software??

Reply   |   Comment by angie  –  14 years ago  –  Did you find this comment useful? yes | no (-16)
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