I got system backup 2010 in previous give away, was setting it up , and program said to restart to complete snapshot.
I clicked ok and my computer never came back on! just blinking cursor at top left .this software is dangerous, I would suggest not to use it.
I am on another computer now as my fav one was knocked out by paragon system backup 2010, and whether it is called 9.5 or 2010, dont use it.

#48
Check up the comparison table here:
http://www.paragon-software.com/home/db-express/comparison.html
(already mentioned in comment #26)

#50
it's some problem with Windows Installer. Recommend you to contact Paragon support

#53
registration link is in comment #6

#56
yes, GAOTD version are now numbered as -0.5 from current version
It was explained above by mike (see comment #24)

I was going to install this but I already had it from last time.
It doesnt put a icon anywhere so went to folder and sent to desktop.
I have all of the below programs installed from here, and no problems installing any of them. they all go in the paragon programs folder.

Paragon System Backup 2010
Paragon Backup and Recovery™ 10 Compact Edition
Paragon Drive Copy™ 9.5 Personal
Paragon Hard Disk Manager™ 2009 Special Edition
Paragon Virtualization Manager™ 9.5

#51 Angry@#6 gave you the address.

When I started to install this, my pc brought up the screen asking if I wanted to modify, repair, or uninstall v 2010. Evidently this is 2010 with a different name.

This is so confusing when one tries to determine which version is the newest best version and the versions are named so inconsistently differently!

have the product key and registration but no place to put it...help

One of the messiest downloads out of dozens I've done here - can't you just put a shortcut on the desktop to start the exe file?.

Registered and installed well. Ran for about a minute and then said "File allocation errors due to cross linked files. Run OS utilities to fix this" or something to that effect. Then it shuts down.

If anyone has any ideas about this, great, because I do not. If not, yet another Paragon product will be uninstalled from my computer. I want it to work and it looks like Paragon does offer great products, but no luck so far. I agree with the commenter above, I just don't think I'm smart enough for your products.

downloaded, followed instructions in read me file, got to the "get free serial" button, clicked on that, and the registration screen never came up. The wizard went immediately to another screen that said the wizard was interruped before it could be installed. Tried several times, same screen. So can't install because I can't get the reg screen to send for email product number, etc. 10 pm pacific time.

I am not recieving the Paragon System Backup 9.5 product key in my email.

Enjoy people!!

I personally have been a tester for Paragon Products.
And I must say (at least here) that this backup program is a kill among the competition!! ts absolutely amazing! :) Thanks GOTD and Paragon s/w for giving us such a good software here.

Win 7 64-bit. Downloaded ParagonSystemBackup_x64.zip and ran Setup.exe in it. Got the UAC screen and then WinRAR self-extracting archive screen. Clicked Install. And nothing happened. Finally thought to look for SB95_ea_x64.msi in C:\Program Files\..., and clicked on it. Got InstallShield Wizard, accepted EULA, came to Registration window. As per instructions, clicked on "Get Free Serial," and got: "InstallShield Wizard Completed / The wizard was interrupted before Paragon System Backup 9.5 could be completely installed. / Your system has not been modified. To complete installation at another time, please run setup again." Several tries, same result. Wha??

To expand on the earlier post about WinPe.

There are several types , the original is based on XP and requires an XP license to create it.

Later came Vista and WinPe 2.1

Now there is Win7 and WinPe 3.0

Both WinPe 2.1 and WinPe 3.0 are available free from MS for individuals to create their own boot media.

If you have a Vista /7 install disc ( or recovery disc ) , you already have it. It is in the BOOT.WIM in the sources folder on both of those.

If a commercial concern wishes to use WinPe in their products, they have to pay a license to MS .

That is why you don't get it with the free products.

The advantages of WinPe include much greater hardware support, the ability to load drivers, and a much better interface than the Linux boot discs that come with free products.

Hope it helps.

Hi All
On 18 March I installed Paragon Backup and Recovery Compact Edition from GoTD.
How is this different from that? Is it better, or shall I keep that one?
Reviews on that one seemed to rave more than this one’s.
Is there any benefit in having both?
Do I have to uninstall that one to install this one?
Why is it so complicated?
It looks as if they are competing with their own products. Why would they do that?
Many thanks for your help.
Kabez

Well, I guess I will give up on this program. It must be retarded because it couldn't find the Java Runtime. Well everything else I do that requires Java (and that's quite a lot) finds it just fine.

I am using Mozy backup. Do I still need a backup program like this?

@31 - Are you using the paid version of unlimited space on Mozy? If not then the free space they provide is only enough to backup select files.

"Needing" it is relative. How important is your backup and how much security do you want to have with your data? The more redundancy you have the better change you have to keep all your important info.
Also, depending on which version of Windows you're running, the built in back-up app is more than adequate.

@40 Hulu -- Thanks for that! Backing up to the network is not available when launching "System Backup" from the system tray via "Show Console...". That part of the product seems to be concerned mostly with creating and managing "snapshots", and perhaps snapshots are not compatible with network storage?

But backing up to network drives is available when you launch the "Backup Wizard":

(Start -> All Programs -> Paragon System Backup 9.5 -> Advanced -> Backup Wizard)

Also note that you have to shutdown "System Backup" via the system tray icon before you're able to launch "Backup Wizard".

I extract the installer file and proceed but I get "the wizard was interruped before Paragon could be installed". I disabled my antivirus and shut down msiexec.exe in the task manager but still nothing. I'm running out of time, what can I do?

This is confusing since no one seems to hit the main point. I have Vista home premium 64 bit. It crashes a lot. I want the capability of restoring my system after a crash without a lot of hassle. For example, if I install Vista SP2 there is a good chance that it will fail and I'll have to wipe the hard disc and reinstall. A backup would be great.
All this talk about WinPE, Barts, Linux, Virtual machines etc really confuses things. I know how system restore works and have used it a number of times. Backup is better, but now it seems as if it is "complicated".
So my question. If my system fails and I want to reinstall my most recent image, can I use this product to reinstall the system I had before from a boot disc with an option to click on restore and wait an hour and get going again, or will it be a lot of work with some pre boot Win PE, command line scripting, system repair tools and a few days of my life? Is this an answerable question?

@34 Omy,

There is no icon on the Desktop, if that is what you are looking for.
It is in the Start Program Menu, in the Notification Toolbar as well as seen on the Add/Remove Program.

The correct .exe that fires up the program is pelauncher.exe.

@ 33 AAA,

It can be save backup through Network Drive. The feature is right there on the same page, immediately below to the feature to save to Local Drive (which defaults to My Document folder).

Does Paragon backup handle foreign languages or only English? I had experience in the past with a backup program, I don't remember which, that did not backup Hebrew documents.

I have downloaded and installed the 64-bit package without any problem at all on WIN 7 Home Premium.

There may be some misconceptions from previous comments and from when you first install the software:

On first run the 'wizard' looks for suitable USB hard drives for the backup location. If you don't have one, it seems as if you can't use this software. However, if you click on the system tray icon and get intio the main program you can set a different backup location. In my case, I have to use a partition on my main drive... which is labelled drive 'E:'. You can also specify a network drive.

After that, click on the link "Select areas to back up" (or something like that... In my installation, I needed to deselect drive E:. The backup is now happening smoothly as I type this. No evidence that anything is happening in the background. Very nice!

Please keep in mind that my backup storage choice is solely mine. The backup storage should in fact be a different physical drive for the obvious reason that if the hard drive fails, you do not want to lose your backup.

Just one other note, when I rebooted after installation I got no option to boot into recovery mode. This may be due to the fact that no backup was made at the time.

And a final piece of data: My backup image will be approximately 121GB... total backup time looks to be less than 2 hours. That's perfectly acceptable to me, especially since I can still use my computer without restriction!

My final verdict: If I had four thumbs they would all be pointing WAY UP! Thanks to Paragon and GAOTD for this superb backup utility. Now I have no reason not to have a current backup on hand at all times.

#34- it's in C: Ya, strange place to put it, huh? :) Wish it had been put on desktop. :)
Anyone who has any other Paragon backup aps installed, it's a good idea to uninstall them before installing this. Unless you have the very latest ap they've made, which is Paragon Hardisk Manager 2010 Suite, OR if you have one that does partions & you need that, then this is the best backup system anyway. This does wonders. Even has a recovery wizard at bootup.
If you're worried that your whole hard-drive may someday die & leave you no way to use the backups, think about it. If a hard drive dies, you have to get another 1 anyway, in which case you can simply install a Paragon product like this one to recover your new drive from the backups of old drive. You don't even have to use this exact ap, any Paragon product that recovers a Paragon backup will work. Save this ap and the reg keys to your external backup drive and install later on new drive if you want.
BTW, you don't HAVE to have an external harddrive for backups if you don't have much on your system. Most of us do have is all. If you have room on your harddrive, backup there. If whole harddrive dies though.. that's a problem. You can even put the backup on a CD or DVD or a flash drive, depending on how much room you need. A lot of stuff on your PC will make it too hard to do that. The image Paragon will save is a bit smaller than what your PC shows that it has on it, but on mine, it still needs a huge amount of storage space for the backup.
* If you get a message that it can't install correctly, turn off your firewall/anti-virus. Online Armor kept mine from installing.

Can the backup software support the following scenario:

Disk A -> HDD on desktop computer (275GB)
Disk B -> External USB drive (500GB)
Disk C -> External USB drive (1TB)

Backup disks A and B using C as the backup disk?

Thanks
Andrew

In my PC Paragon System Backup installed doesn't suggested me to boot in Paragon too.
I have installed Linux Mint in different partition and can boot in Windows or Linux, but now there isn't option/possibility to boot and in Paragon System Backup..
Any idea, is that because of GRUB?!

using winzip on a vista 32 bit..it seems to instal ok ..goes to the giveaway site etc..then simply disappears after saying its installed..a search of the computer does not reveal the program.

It's a straight-forward, user-friendly program, as best as I can tell. The main drawback from my perspective is the inability to save backups to network drives. If it can backup over the network, please let me know how to set that up.

Is this the same as the Paragon Drive Backup 9.5 that was a giveaway a few weeks ago? Or is this different as it says System Backup? Anyone knows?

I am using Mozy backup. Do I still need a backup program like this?

Jim - Thanks for explaining what WinPE is for those of us who are not as technically current as many of the users here are.

Downloaded and unable to register even after following directions. The Registration from Paragon is no help. Furthermore, in attempting to uninstall, it is creating HAVOC with my system. Windows keeps closing, and it appears I cannot re-boot. Frankly this program appears to be a nightmare. The instructions are terrible. Thanks for the opportunity Paragon. It has taught me one thing...NEVER BUY A PARAGON PRODUCT. I'm just not smart enough to use your products.

I downloaded the 64 bit version and ran set up. it recovers the 32 bit version, which does not install. I am using Vista 64 bit

@#23 -- This appears to be the replacement of the now discontinued Drive Backup. To see a comparison of the products go to: http://www.paragon-software.com/home/systembackup/comparison.html

#20: "To the developer: If you could, please add a way to boot from the backup drive for verification purposes. That way, I’ll know that if I lose a hard drive, I can boot from my backup drive. My backup is larger than my main drive. Or at least provide a goov verification method. Thanks."

Paragon Backup apps already provide integrity checks of your archives. Beyond that, there is no way to boot from a compressed backup disk image, but you can come close by either copying the partition Windows is installed on to a virtual disk, or creating a virtual machine from your Windows install. You can also mirror your drives, clone a partition onto another drive you can swap out etc... The disadvantage is that it takes up more space -- about as much as the combined file sizes on your Windows drive -- but the plus is you've got a complete copy archived that will run more or less as is... You'll need win7 I think to boot to a virtual disk [there may be other ways I'm not familiar with], & do some research on setting it up as a boot choice when your PC/laptop starts. RE: a vm [virtual machine], you'll need some sort of OS running to run the vm host software, though I believe there are some experimental solutions that will let you boot directly into the vm host & then start the vm. While drives are becoming cheaper [I just saw a 1TB for $50 after MIR], you're still devoting resources entirely to a *what-if*.

That said, a *much* smaller backup image can be the better solution/strategy... IMHO it's better to put your energy & resources towards whatever it is you do, rather than what-if scenarios. True, you should be [fully] prepared for disaster, but there are only so many hours in a day, & if you spend too many resources on preparing for the worst, you won't have enough left to actually do anything productive. A backup image connected via (e)SATA does not take long to restore if/when you've booted into a win32 environ (e.g. LiveXP) -- in fact it takes less time than setting up & copying your partition to a virtual disk or machine.

#23: Please refer to http://www.paragon-software.com/home/db-express/comparison.html

A bit of a hassle to install. All Setup.exe does is extract the installer to a default folder. Then you have to navigate to the folder and find the 'msi' file and either double click it or right click and choose 'install.' To my experience, most other setup programs in the industry actually setup something. All this does is check the date for the GOTD and extract the actual file needed for setup.

The difference between Paragon's System Backup & their regular backup apps is that System Backup is designed to work in the background automatically -- you keep on working & most times aren't even aware it's running. System Backup also installs a Boot Loader -- when you boot your PC/laptop, you get a simple prompt for a few seconds saying press the hotkey if you want to start the restore process, so when/if Windows won't boot, you can restore the latest backup. If you're not sure if this is for you, Paragon's regular backup programs let you backup the 1st track on your main hard drive [the one you boot from]... it only takes a few moments & after removing System Backup I've used it to put things back the way they were. I've always preferred the regular Paragon Backup because I've got 3 partitions on my #1 drive, & System Backup backed up the disk rather than my choice of partitions -- however System Backup's been running flawlessly on the PC my wife uses for well over 6 months, & it's been an ideal solution... she doesn't like to bother with manual backups, I didn't always remember to do one when that PC was free, & she's had no complaints, even when System Backup does it's thing while she's playing her Shockwave games [& they're extremely CPU intensive]. Reading the info on Paragon's site for System Backup 2010 [linked at the top of the GOTD page], it looks like they've updated System Backup to include more fine tuning &/or filtering [like their regular backup apps], so you can backup just those parts of the drive you want to, which for me at least, with a lot of content/media files & multiple OSes would be a BIG improvement.

WinPE etc:..
Paragon recently re-thought their app version names, reducing the current version number by .5 to designate their GOTD offers for example. Today's 9.5 is therefor version 10, which is current, but without the disc image for their WinPE boot environ. Sometimes when Paragon has an offer on GOTD, not including their WinPE setup prompts a bit of discussion, & some misconceptions always crop up... WinPE was/is a Microsoft tool for the IT folks to work with & repair Windows installs, but restricted access (you or I couldn't get or use it) because of piracy concerns/licensing issues. BartPE is the original, independently developed WinPE clone, & it's still widely used though like WinPE it's pretty old [sort of phased out by now]. When it comes to WinPE's original purposes, Microsoft has moved on, with a variety of new tools & new approaches to Windows installation, but like the Vista & Win7 versions of Windows, they're much larger & not so well suited for use on removable media like *Small* USB sticks. There are a *lot* of alternatives, some experimental/some not, that put together a number of apps & tools, letting you create a bootable mini version of Windows that will fit on a small USB stick [I've got a LiveXP setup that requires ~500MB] & run mostly in memory to overcome the slowness of the USB 2 connection. Because of licensing issues, *You* supply any software that's not free, including the OS used -- obviously it won't do you as much good researching & trying to set up a bootable, mini-Windows stick that uses XP if you don't own a copy of XP -- so if interested research a project based on what you have & what you need... Good places to start are boot-land.net & winbuilder.net -- Winbuilder is an app that puts everything together for you, packages it, with several templates if you will so there's not a lot or work or learning involved. As far as integrating Paragon's apps, personally I normally don't bother -- after copying qtp-mt334.dll from Windows' system folder to the same program folder as Launcher.exe [the file you launch to start Paragon Backup], I've always found Paragon Backup will start, run, & restore fine... it shouldn't be difficult to get Paragon Backup integrated -- they provide the Paragon stuff you need for a BartPE setup on their site -- I've never had a reason to bother.

What is the difference between this and Paragon Backup & Recovery Free Edition (32 bit) 10.2 specifications on Cnet.

A big thing appears to be made of the lack of a "Win PE CD". The reason it is not included in giveaways is due to licensing issues with Microsoft.

If you have a Windows installation CD or DVD, you already have "Win PE", albiet preconfigured to do the installation task. It is what is running between booting that media and the first restart from the hard drive. (Win PE is an acronym for "Windows Pre-installation Environment")

The non-configured version, intended for deploying Microsoft's products in a corporate environment, is available through them. (No link because that part of Microsoft is *not* designed for high traffic)

# 15: Copy installation file to any safe place (e.g CD/DVD) to be able to re-install.
For restore you can use Paragon Recovery CD which could be burn directly from System backup or create bootable backup environment, which will ask for F6 key at startup to run repair.

# 18: No. Encrypted disks are not supported.

# 19: Make sure that you use correct installer. 64x is here http://files.giveawayoftheday.com/ParagonSystemBackup_x64.zip.
Then disable antivirus and try to run it again.

# 20: backup is not the same as copy. Backup is compressed file which physically can't be bootable.

To the developer: If you could, please add a way to boot from the backup drive for verification purposes. That way, I'll know that if I lose a hard drive, I can boot from my backup drive. My backup is larger than my main drive. Or at least provide a goov verification method. Thanks.

I run the setup .exe but nothing shows up on my laptop. I'm using Windows 7 64-bit. What should I do? Any help please?

Does anyone know if this product will image a PGP encrypted hard drive?

# 10 : Please contact Paragon Support from My account - Send New Support Request (https://www.paragon-software.com/my-account/) and they will help you.

# 12 : Yes. There is built-in Snapshots explorer and File Transfer Wizard as additional tool.

All of Paragon's programs seem great and have great reviews, but I can't use any of them. I'm running Server 2008 on my desktop at home and the install gives an error that it can't be installed on a server. I can certainly understand why, but it's still anoying!
Does anyone know of a workaround?
Thanks!

As I understand it, you can only install the GOTD within a specified time frame. So what would happen if, you have this program installed and were using it for backup and your hard drives dies. Yes, you have your backup but wouldn't you need the program to restore from the backup?

#4. Could you share your method of creating a WinPE CD for Paragon drive copy, or give the appropriate URL to look at.

#2 if you have SB2010 yesterday, you should try to restore your last backup--the one before you uninstalled. This is perfect test for what the software for. if you can't, it's not a backup, isn't it?

the same goes with this SB95.

Can you explore files in the Backup?

I don't know- maybe they made it so you can back up just part of the system, but the last giveaway didn't have any way to do so.

Oh, no bloody way.

I'm still trying to figure out how to get the last version of this given away removed from my system without making my WinXP unbootable.

As in not even getting to safe mode and 'last known good config' doesn't work either.

And if you don't have a unused drive with space for *everything* on your current system you can't use it at all.

I got PSB 2010 just after adding a 500 gig sata drive to my system, and I sure didn't have a second one to make a copy to. I still don't.