Data loss has become so common that it’s ingrained in the way we live our lives. This should be apparent with the explosion in popularity of data backup software such as AOMEI Backupper. This is made much worse by the fact that it doesn’t take much for anyone to lose all their data. A strange system bug, a virus or even a malfunctioned hard drive is all it takes for a full crash and burn.
Things get even more complicated once cryptocurrencies get into the mix. Wannacry was one of the largest and most widespread use of ransomware to coarse people into paying a hefty premium in exchange for their data. A comprehensive backup program could provide you with the much-needed functionality to protect you from falling victim to such bad actors.
How well does AOMEI’s Backupper deal with these and more problems all around the board? Let’s find out.
Overview
Overall, AOMEI Backupper is a great free backup software to protect data and system on laptop and desktop. It combines an intuitive user interface and a rich set of features that make it easier for users to back up their data. One such feature is the ability to perform incremental and differential backup and restore. This allows you to restore your data as quickly as you need. Interruptions due to poor connectivity doesn’t mean you have to start the whole process again from scratch.
The general theme of the program follows in the same footsteps: an intuitive feature-set that surfaces as both user-friendly and powerful.
Key features
For the most part, Backupper does everything you’d expect from a backup-and-restore program. These include file backup and restore from and to the system, disk backup and restore, and selective restore from backup.
Features that the average user will appreciate and are free:
- Backup to Cloud: Supports backing up to different cloud providers including Google Drive, Dropbox, and Box.
- Scheduled Backups: Schedule backup process to happen daily, weekly, monthly or to custom criteria.
- Disk Backup / Restore: Allows you to backup and restore whole disks locally or to the cloud.
- Partition/volume backup and restore.
Slightly more advanced functionality that doesn’t suit the average user but more advanced professionals might find useful include:
- Backup to network share/NAS
- Email notifications
- Explore backup image
- View backup logs
- Create Windows PE & Linux bootable media.
In short, the free version of Backupper is more than enough for a regular user. The most important functionality they will benefit from are automated backups and full system archives.
The most outstanding part of the software is Shadow Copy. It also commonly goes by names like Volume Snapshot Service or VSS. It is a piece of technology that Microsoft recently started including in their OS so that system backup and restore processes are not interrupted by running applications. For instance, if you have a program installed to clear up the RAM for you by killing background processes, the software will automatically exclude your backup programs.
Additional Functionality
Backupper has a bit more going on for it in terms of features that are meant to attract professionals and people that want nothing less than their data safe. These are a set of features that most people might not find useful but in the right hands, can be an incredibly effective tool.
- System Clone: This allows you to copy your whole system – operating system, data and all – to a new hard drive or SSD without having to reinstall Windows.
- Universal Restore: A feature that lets you restore your whole system to a new hard drive, even if there are hardware dissimilarities.
- Command-line Control: The command line allows more fine-grained control of the backup-and-restore process. This includes looking at the logs in real-time.
- Real-time Sync: As soon as a file or folder changes on your computer, it is immediately pushed to your preferred cloud or local backup option.
- Encryption: If you need your backup files encrypted, you’ll have to pay for the premium version.
The premium version brings a lot more robust functionality to the app for a relatively affordable price tag. It may not be suited for everyone, but it does have some important features such as encryption behind a paywall. Other features that would also require you to pay for the software include backing up or restoring a dynamic disk and backing up your files to a CD or DVD.
Pros
The benefits that this program brings to the table can be simplified down to the following points:
- The free version is feature-rich. It has enough features to make it usable even without a subscription.
- Many backup options including local and cloud backups.
- Incremental backups mean your data is always safe
- The professional version makes this application complete. It brings on board features that advanced users will appreciate.
- A lot of the processes can be automated.
- The program is well documented. If you get lost along the way, it doesn’t take much effort to find your way again.
Cons
There are not many downsides of this free backup software program other than the price tag.
- A lot of crucial features are behind a price tag. But these features are for professionals and business users.
- It does not support backup via FTP.
Verdict
Overall, AOMEI Backupper is a very nifty piece of free backup software. The interface is intuitive and easy to work on, even for beginners that know nothing about computers. However, it also comes with more advanced functionality such as command line support. This combination makes it incredibly useful and formidable, even in the hands of a beginner.
Additionally, the rich feature-set means you don’t have to download any additional software to synchronize files or folders. Since it supports backing up to multiple cloud providers, you can always be sure that the files you have on your Google Drive are the same as those on your Dropbox.
The Verdict
AOMEI Backupper is incredibly easy to use and brings very useful features to the table. The free plan is robust enough for most people to enjoy without noticing any missing features.
