We need backup software for our PCs because storage isn’t foolproof, and won’t last forever. If your data isn’t backed up, when the inevitable accident or failure occurs, it’s gone.

1. Best Free Windows Repair Software
2. Best Free Windows Software 2017 Windows 10
3. Best Free Windows Software 2017 Download

It would be nice if Microsoft itself provided Windows users with something like Apple’s Time Machine: an effective, set-it-and-forget-it, total system recovery and backup solution that requires little interaction or thought on the part of the user.

Instead, the company delivers a mishmash of restore points, recovery discs, file backup, and even the un-retired System Backup (Windows 7), which was probably originally put out to pasture for its propensity to choke on dissimilar hardware. Online backup services are another option, but desktop clients tend to offer far more flexibility.

Best Photo Organizing Software For Windows 10, 8, 7. Who thought organizing your pictures can be fun. With this list of the best free photo organizer software for Windows 10,8, 7, you get the best way to organize your digital photos. Pick any picture organizing software and start managing your images smartly. We have compiled a list of top-rated, best reviewed free antivirus software for your Windows PC. We've compared them to ensure best computing experience. Solutions like Malwarebytes, Bitdefender.

Plenty of vendors have stepped in with alternatives, and while none are quite as slick or transparent as Time Machine, some come darn close—and many are free. Read on for our top picks.

Updated September 3, 2019 with our review of Acronis True Image 2020 ($50 for Standard version), which replaces the 2019 version as our top pick for best overall backup software. This year’s improvements go quite a ways toward making the program easier to use. However, if you own a recent perpetual license version, the upgrade is not a must-have. Read our full review.

We also reviewed Backup4All Professional 8 ($50 from Softland), which sports a new, modern interface and has built on the already broad range of destinations, including optical disc, with support for online storage services. Read our full review.

Best overall backup software

True Image is one of the very best for good reason. It's capable and flexible, and rock-solid reliable.

Acronis claims over 100 enhancements to True Image 2020, which starts at $50 for the Standard version. Many are what I’d describe as tweaks and fixes. The only major “adds” are system tray notifications and dual protection (local and cloud with the same job), though the list also includes better malware detection, friendlier sign-up screens, and more. You need to be prepared for its hefty footprint (a 600MB download), but if you have the resources, it's worth it. Read our full review.

Best free backup software

With faster backups and a glitch-free interface, this free imaging and backup program would've garnered another half-star. Still, with real-time syncing and all the features most users need, it came darn close.

Best Free Windows Repair Software

Among the free programs we tested, Backupper Standard wins primarily because it has the most features, including imaging, file backup, disk cloning, and plain file syncing, plus multiple scheduling options (see our full review). Sure, its bitmapped interface may be retro, but the layout and workflow are intuitive. And though it’s on the slower side for backing up sets of files, it’s the fastest software we’ve tested so far for backing up full disks and partitions. Its CPU usage during backup is also commendably light.

What to look for in backup software

As with most things—don’t over-buy. Features you don’t need add complexity and may slow down your system. Additionally, if you intend to back up to a newly purchased external hard drive, check out the software that ships with it. Seagate, WD, and others provide backup utilities that are adequate for the average user.

File backup: If you want to back up only your data (operating systems and programs can be reinstalled, though it’s mildly time- and effort-consuming), a program that backs up just the files you select is a major time-saver. Some programs automatically select the appropriate files if you use the Windows library folders (Documents, Photos, Videos, etc.).

Image backup/Imaging: Images are byte-for-byte snapshots of your entire hard drive (normally without the empty sectors) or partition, and can be used to restore both the operating system and data. Imaging is the most convenient to restore in case of a system crash, and also ensures you don’t miss anything important.

Boot media: Should your system crash completely, you need an alternate way to boot and run the recovery software. Any backup program should be able to create a bootable optical disc or USB thumb drive. Some will also create a restore partition on your hard drive, which can be used instead if the hard drive is still operational.

Scheduling: If you’re going to back up effectively, you need to do it on a regular basis. Any backup program worth its salt allows you to schedule backups.

Versioning: If you’re overwriting previous files, that’s not backup, it’s one-way syncing or mirroring. Any backup program you use should allow you to retain several previous backups, or with file backup, previous versions of the file. The better software will retain and cull older backups according to criteria you establish.

Optical support: Every backup program supports hard drives, but as obsolescent as they may seem, DVDs and Blu-Ray discs are great archive media. If you’re worried about optical media’s reliability, M-Disc claims its discs are reliable for a thousand years, claims that are backed up by Department of Defense testing.

Best Free Windows Software 2017 Windows 10

Online support: An offsite copy of your data is a hedge against physical disasters such as flood, fire, and power surges. Online storage services are a great way to maintain an offsite copy of your data. Backup to Dropbox and the like is a nice feature to have.

FTP and SMB/AFP: Backing up to other computers or NAS boxes on your network or in remote locations (say, your parent’s house) is another way of physically safeguarding your data with an offsite, or at least physically discrete copy. FTP can be used for offsite, while SMB (Windows and most OS’s) and AFP (Apple) are good for other PCs or NAS on your local network.

Real time: Real-time backup means that files are backed up whenever they change, usually upon creation or save. It’s also called mirroring and is handy for keeping an immediately available copy of rapidly changing data sets. For less volatile data sets, the payoff doesn’t compensate for the drain on system resources. Instead, scheduling should be used.

Continuous backup: In this case, ‘continuous’ simply means backing up on a tight schedule, generally every 5 to 15 minutes, instead of every day or weekly. Use continuous backup for rapidly changing data sets where transfer rates are too slow, or computing power is too precious for real-time backup.

Performance: Most backups proceed in the background or during dead time, so performance isn’t a huge issue in the consumer space. However, if you’re backing up multiple machines or to multiple destinations, or dealing with very large data sets, speed is a consideration.

How we test

We run each program through the various types of backups it’s capable of. This is largely to test reliability and hardware compatibility, but we time two: an approximately 115GB system image (two partitions), and a roughly 50GB image created from a set of smaller files and folders. We then mount the images and test their integrity via the program’s restore functions. We also test the USB boot drives created by the programs.

All of our reviews

Best Free Windows Software 2017 Download

If you’d like to learn more about our top picks as well as other options, you can find links below to all of our backup software reviews. We’ll keep evaluating new programs and re-evaluating existing software on a regular basis, so be sure to check back for our current impressions.