Installation adds the program’s folder, Ashampoo & Ashampoo Backup folders in ProgramData, a new user account at C:\Users\_ashbackup_, Ashampoo & Ashampoo Backup folders in Users\ [UserName]\ AppData\ Local\, and older Microsoft C/C++ runtimes files, with 2767 new registry entries recorded in my Win7 32-bit VM.
Ashampoo Backup 2021 is, like many Ashampoo apps, designed to be easy to use, forgoing features that, even though extremely worthwhile, might require a small bit of learning &/or thought. Backup 2021, and the current Backup Pro 16, copy the raw data on a hard disk partition(s) to an archive that’s a VHD [Virtual Hard Disk] file that can be mounted & treated like a physical hard disk. Nowadays that’s nothing special. There are basically 3 ways to accomplish this: copy everything every time; Differential Images -- copy just the data in files that have changed since the last *complete* backup; and Incremental Images -- copy just the data in files that have changed since the last backup, whether that’s a complete image or another incremental image. Backup 2021 only allows for incremental image backups, while it’s the default in Backup Pro 16, but can be changed.
Incremental backup images *may* take less time to create, but mileage will vary depending on the number of files on the partition, and the CPU & hard disk speed – the extra time it takes to check every file to see if it’s changed might cause the backup to take longer than just copying everything when using fast SSDs for example. Incremental image archives take up less space, but you need every one of them to restore a backup. On the rare occasion when an archive file gets damaged somehow [it happens], you’re generally out of luck. You also need to create a complete image every once in a while, or you wind up with this huge chain of archives – Backup Pro 16 gives you that option, but as far as I can tell, Backup 2021 does not.
When it comes to creating a bootable USB stick to for example restore a backup after a disk fails or something like malware makes Windows unusable, both Backup 2001 & Backup Pro 16 contain a hidden GOTCHA… When Windows 10 & 11 install they create a hidden [~500MB] partition with the basic files Windows needs to run & repair itself. Most backup apps use those files to create their bootable USB sticks. These 2 Ashampoo apps do not, instead requiring the download & installation of the Windows ADK – the latest version takes up a bit over 2GB of disk space. Per their documentation, they’ll also create a partition on the USB stick if it’s larger than 32GB – an iffy thing to do, especially since it’s up to you to create another partition to make use of the remaining drive space.
Overall, the backup scheduling in the Ashampoo apps is the only thing they hold over Macrium Reflect Free – you must buy Macrium’s app to get that. However, Windows and other software files don’t change very often, so something like daily backups can be a bit absurd unless you’re backing up databases etc. Stuff that does change more often – daily or even every few minutes – can and should be replicated, usually to the cloud &/or external drives, as often as necessary. Do note, when you’re figuring out your own backup strategy, it’s best to have your backups stored offline, e.g., a USB drive that’s not plugged in. Otherwise, ransomware for example can and will look for & encrypt it too. If everything works right OneDrive can offer you some protection, and hopefully that’s enough for the stuff like docs you store there, but if it’s important enough, or if you’re sufficiently paranoid, store it elsewhere too. You might want to plug in an external drive & do a system backup [I recommend Macrium Reflect free or paid] once or twice a month, then have Windows sync folders with your stuff, e.g., docs, spreadsheets etc., to a USB stick when you insert it how ever many times a day, unplugging it afterward.