creating system images ... is EaseUS OK ?

[hydra3333]

Hello.

After a chat with ChatGPT Ai and Claude AI about creating system image backups, I bought a license for "EaseUS Todo Backup Home (Lifetime Upgrades) 2026". Silly me. I just discovered the company is based in China. Apparently it has a large user base and has good reviews.

So: is anyone here using this, is it safe, and do you think it is any good ?

[Subtitles]

If by System Image Backup you mean "cloning" then I suppose any application dedicated to this is good.
I don't use EaseUS I think they are too expensive last time I checked.
I used Macrium Reflect over the years and I can recommend it.
Backup is not the same as cloning. Check if what you bought can do cloning as well.

[hydra3333]

Thanks.

I mean do an occasional backup of the system disk (an image of it including the special windows partitions, eveything) so that it can be fully restored if something goes wrong.

Been there, done that quite a few times with backing up to a Windows System Image (the control panel thing) but M$ no longer support it and say go buy a 3rd party app. Way to go (not!) microsoft, removing really useful core system functionality and focus on hocus pocus instead like rounded edges on icons and mucking up the start menu.

Cloning would be a nice to have, for me, and I think EaseUS does it.

[ProWo]

Hello.

After a chat with ChatGPT Ai and Claude AI about creating system image backups, I bought a license for "EaseUS Todo Backup Home (Lifetime Upgrades) 2026". Silly me. I just discovered the company is based in China. Apparently it has a large user base and has good reviews.

So: is anyone here using this, is it safe, and do you think it is any good ?

I think it's okay.
Find out exactly how the restore works.
The backup is usually not a problem, but the way the restore is performed can cause problems.
EaseUS should ideally provide a DVD/USB stick medium that you can use to boot up and then perform the restore.
Remember to backup the whole disk with all partitions.

[Columbo]

Great to see you hydra3333. I'm going to +1 the recommendation for Macrium Reflect. I use it offline on my linux systems too. Saved me several times.

[ozymango]

Cloning would be a nice to have, for me, and I think EaseUS does it.

I'm pretty sure the full version you purchased does disc cloning (or system cloning) as well as a bunch of different backup options, so you should be covered for pretty much anything. I've used EaseUS in the past, not for a full disk image, but for backing up files and partitions, and it's worked fine for me. As for it being made in China, I buy stuff from China all the time and so far I'm still alive and unhacked.

But one thing about any backup/cloning program that I've learned after doing computer tech support for over thirty years -- always always ALWAYS test that you can do a full backup AND a full restore of whatever systems you have, before trusting that the backup actually works. I've had way too many experiences over the years when somebody (fortunately not me!) thought they had a good working backup of some system, and then went to restore it, and then they encountered problems, the kind that make your stomach turn upside down. And yeah it can be a hassle to have to put together yet another system to try to recover the first system as a test case, but believe me, in the long run, it's worth it to do it when it's easy, so when things hit the fan, you're good to go!

And not meaning to scare anybody about "lifetime service" guarantees from these kind of companies, but I can think of at least four programs I own that have a "perpetual" license -- that are now either out of business, or no longer support the software I have a "perpetual" license for. But they'll sell me a new program with a new "perpetual" license!

[hydra3333]

Thank you everyone. G'day Colombo.

I am still nervous about the thing I bought.

I reckon FWIW I'll ask the AIs more about Macrium Reflect, even with its annual subscription fee; it may notionally be produced by a Pommie company IIRC.

Being down under I may as well be spied on by the Poms rather than the Chinese and count my payment as a sunk cost and a learning ... and to not trust AIs.

Not a huge fan of "she'll be right mate", I've found that those trying to think things through and taking actions tend to be luckier on average. Oh well.

Cheers.

[cholla]

I have used Acronis True Image for a long time .
It has always been dependable.
It has a "free" version if you have a WD (Western Digital) hard drive.
I have & use the full version & it has more features than the free version.

BTW I had to look up "Pommie"

[ozymango]

I reckon FWIW I'll ask the AIs more about Macrium Reflect, even with its annual subscription fee; it may notionally be produced by a Pommie company IIRC.

You're worried about the Chinese doing mischief on your system but you trust AI to tell you the proper backup software for your needs?

No offense, good sir, but do you have much experience actually backing up and restoring computer systems? If not, frankly I think you'd be better off checking out the forums of computer system users to see some real-world experiences of backing up/restoring systems in production environments. I see you're willing to spend $$$ without even trying out any of these programs. Is it because you're concerned that something nefarious will be going on behind your back when you run some of this software? If that's your concern, then I very very much recommend that you do your own research and not trust AI to sort you out here. I tend to lean open-source software myself, you can actually view the code behind the software -- programs like "Rescuezilla" and "FreeFileSync" can probably do 100% of what you need to do, at no $$$ cost, and again it's open-source, you can actually see what's going on under the hood in these programs -- and you try it yourself, don't rely on AI to tell you what's gonna work for you!

I worked computer tech support for over thirty years, so I do realize that you're not gonna listen to me anyway and do whatever it is you feel like at any moment, but I like to at least make notes that I did offer the customer some options they might not have known of otherwise.

[Columbo]

I reckon FWIW I'll ask the AIs more about Macrium Reflect, even with its annual subscription fee; it may notionally be produced by a Pommie company IIRC.

I wasn't aware it had gone to a subscription model. I bought my version 8 outright some time ago. You can probably find a version 8 free edition floating around the web. Contact me by PM over in DG land and I can point you to something.

[thecoalman]

I am still nervous about the thing I bought.

Test it, worst time to test a backup is when you need it.

[ozymango]

Test it, worst time to test a backup is when you need it.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This, a million times over!

[hydra3333]

Cool ! I was lazy and got a couple of the AIs to research/compare products for me and then I compared their responses as well ... the thing they didn't mention I forgot to ask explicitly. Looks like geopolitical related risk in the modern world isn't their thing.

At one level, if something is a recognised brand with similar/same features as others and they have a pretty decent size user bases and reasonable trade rag and user reviews and "reputation" then the risk associated with it working was probably close to acceptable, and so I foolishly then based a choice on (cheaper) non-subscription model costs.

Shoulda/coulda tested it as well, had the means and motive Also shoulda/coulda asked here first as well, people always have interesting and useful perspectives and advice. Oh well.

Ozymango, thank you for your perspective; as we used to say at work (in what was once called IT) - all input gratefully accepted if not necessarily acted upon Translation: very happy indeed to receive advice and experience, it certainly influences evaluating options and decision making. You may have been chatting with my missus, managing in part to quote her almost word for word

Columbo, cheers for the kind thought. Although retired and close-ish to skint, I don't mind paying a little for an up to date version. PS I really value and rely on dg land gear every day !

cholla, I do have some WD blacks however the system disk is samsung ssd. Apology for the colloquialisms, its the gold standard nomenclature over here.

It appears seems to come down to Macrium Reflect and Acronis True Image (not yet having checked their provenance or compared them).

I'll leave it here then. Thanks again !

[ozymango]

It appears seems to come down to Macrium Reflect and Acronis True Image (not yet having checked their provenance or compared them).

I'll leave it here then. Thanks again !

Hey, Hydra -- I've used both Macrium and Acronis and found they work great, and really the most important thing about doing backups is actually doing the backup, whatever you end up choosing will probably be just fine, as long as you don't do what I do and get lazy and then my system crashes and then I look at my backups and go, "Uh ... I last updated the backup in ... July ... 2024. #$@#$!!!!!"

The other day I couldn't get my laptop to boot and I'm fussing with it and popping the battery in and out, and my wife says, "There's an unplugged cord over in the corner, does that go to your laptop?" #$@#$#@!!!!

[cholla]

Sorry for the AI quote but it had the information.

No, the Western Digital (WD) drive does not have to be the system drive to use the free
WD Acronis True Image. The software only requires at least one compatible WD drive (HDD, SSD, or NAS) to be connected to the system for installation and activation. It can be used for backup, cloning, or imaging, even if it is a secondary or external drive.

Good to learn a new word & I'm sure I use colloquialisms you might need to look up. For example: larrupin'

[thecoalman]

Sorry for the AI quote....

Good to learn a new word ..

Despite pecking away since 1983 starting with a c64 I never learned to type. I've gotten into the habit of just typing away and then fixing it with spellcheck. I never go through the spellcheck with AI and it probably thinks I'm a moron, no new fancy words for me. LOL

[ProJiJi]

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And not meaning to scare anybody about "lifetime service" guarantees from these kind of companies, but I can think of at least four programs I own that have a "perpetual" license -- that are now either out of business, or no longer support the software I have a "perpetual" license for. But they'll sell me a new program with a new "perpetual" license!

This is an excellent observation.

But you are obviously being so kind. I'd bet, over a beer, you could remember more than four.

[dessieclive]

I highly recommend it. Works well for both system back-ups as well as individual disk back-ups. Used it for a few years, and never ran into any major problems, overall a good fit for the job in my opinion.