I wanted to love this full-featured PC backup app. Then the bugs hit

Price When Reviewed

$89

Best Prices Today: Novosoft Handy Backup 8.5 Pro

Handy Backup Pro is clear, environment friendly, and straightforward to make use of — as soon as you work it out. In its skilled model it’s additionally one of the succesful backup software program suites I’m conscious of. I used to be impressed, and would’ve remained so if it weren’t for a number of non-fatal bumps within the street.

Read on to be taught extra, after which see our roundup of the best Windows backup software for comparability.

What are Handy Backup’s options?

Basically, Handy Backup is a straightforward-looking utility that may carry out file backup, file sync, in addition to disk imaging. That places it within the higher tier in terms of capabilities.

Most of the choices you discover with different packages are current: restore, compression, encryption (256-bit AES is max), scheduling as granular as an hour, earlier than and after instructions which may be executed and even run on system insertion.

Note that once I stated Handy Backup helps on-line storage, I imply each as supply and vacation spot. Many backup packages solely help the latter. Indeed, I used to be capable of sync a folder from Dropbox to OneDrive with ease.

Other supported companies embrace Amazon S3, S3 compatibles, Google Drive (native solely), OneDrive for Business, Dropbox for Business, Yandex Disk, Mail.ru Hotbox and Icebox, VK Cloud, Backblaze, and Box. 4Shared is supported, however for some motive is below the “Other” heading. Handy Backup additionally helps community places, WebDAV, and FTP/FTPS/SFTP.

I stated Handy Backup is simple to make use of, but it surely’s not intuitive in each facet. Each job in Handy backup is dealt with by a plugin. Fine, but it surely threw me off a hair, because it places the imaging features (disk/system restoration) below the supply picks, once they’re usually handled as a technique.

In different phrases, as an alternative of choosing an imaging job, you choose Disk Clone from the supply menu, then both disk picture or system restoration. You’re then offered with an inventory of native disks and partitions. Make certain you solely choose what you need, as a result of by default this system will make photos of the drive AND partitions for those who merely choose the drive.

The kicker right here is that you need to run this system as Administrator for this perform to work. There’s really a button to reboot in admin mode, however you’re higher off setting this in file properties/compatibility for HandyBackup8.exe. Why Novosoft doesn’t set this property for you in lieu of the button I don’t know.

Handy Backup does provide a catastrophe restoration disk, nonetheless — the Create Recovery Drive command within the File Menu merely directs you to directions on the corporate’s web site to obtain the .iso. At this level you should utilize Rufus or one other boot disc creator. Novosoft and I each advocate Rufus.

How a lot does Handy Backup value?

Once upon a time there was a free model of Handy Backup. No extra. But there’s a 30-day trial of this system accessible. Beyond that, the usual model is $39, the skilled model (which provides the imaging features) reviewed right here is $89, the small enterprise model that backs up numerous enterprise software program and databases is $249, and there’s a server model for $487 that provides Linux and distant performance. See the the complete feature chart to check choices.

In phrases of worth, Handy Backup is dealing with a variety of competitors within the type of R-Drive Image, Acronis True Image, Easeus ToDo Backup, and others accessible at related or lower cost factors.

How does Handy Backup carry out?

With recordsdata, Handy Backup was very fast. Imaging? Err… I noticed one error proper off the bat, with this system claiming it was about to repeat three recordsdata of 1.82TB complete measurement. In actuality, it was three recordsdata totaling about 10GB on a disk that was solely 1TB in measurement, which this system subsequently observed.

That stated, the operation solely took about three minutes, as quick as something I’ve tried. However, this was solely after I found that, by default, the choice of a drive creates photos of the drive, and the separate partitions, which for some motive totaled effectively over 80GB, took 34 minutes. Be cautious to deselect redundant entries once you use this plugin.

While you possibly can create photos utilizing Clone Disk for system restoration, the devoted System Recovery plugin (present beneath), was non-functional. Novosoft was seemingly conscious of this and really helpful utilizing Clone Disk. My recommendation to Novosoft? If one thing is thought to not work — don’t embrace it.

I additionally discovered this system frustratingly sluggish to reply once I needed to kill operations. While not placing escape checks in a loop can velocity operations, it may additionally end in a variety of time wasted performing operations that the person needs to cancel. I perceive this logic throughout the delicate restore operation, the place it should full or danger knowledge loss, however not throughout backups the place cancelling gained’t harm something.

On that observe, this system might ship a bit extra info comparable to, “You will not be able to access the drive being restored from an image until the process is complete.” Instead, it expects you to grasp that. Fair sufficient, however there are customers on the market who gained’t.

The solely bug that actually irked me was Handy Backup being denied entry to Google Drive, regardless of my profitable log-on. Other companies have been effective, however that’s a really, quite common on-line storage repository. You should set up Google Drive and again up the native copy.

Should you purchase Handy Backup?

I fairly like Handy Backup with its myriad capabilities and top-notch efficiency. I even grew to take pleasure in its foibles — as soon as I sussed them out. Its bugs I think about minor inconveniences, however I’ve dinged different packages for much less, so… I nonetheless suppose it’s value a looksee as you would possibly mesh with its idiosyncrasies as I did.