I have been using Macrium Reflect in some form for decades, the same period as the top-rated R Drive Image. It is by far the most stable program I have ever used for Windows backups, which means it is reliable. I also find the interface to be a bit more attractive than the competition.
The only downside has always been the price, although there is a free version with limited features. More on that in a moment.
Features of Macrium Reflect Home Edition
Macrium Reflect Home Edition is an imaging program. That is, it creates a container file that contains all the sectors of the drive or partition that contain information. This includes the operating system and applications. If you want a perfect copy of the drive/partition, you can also copy the empty sectors.
It also creates containers of the same type, but uses only the files and folders selected by the user.
Reflect creates full (full), incremental (all sectors changed since the last full or incremental backup) or differential (all sectors changed since the initial full backup) images. You can also define how many versions are kept and when older files are deleted.
Reflect does not provide the nearly universal VHD as a backup container option. However, it does include a vBoot option that creates a VirtualBox virtual machine from a Macrium backup and includes the VirtualBox runtime.
Alternatively, if you have Reflect installed and double-click a Reflect image (.mrimg) file, a dialog box will appear allowing you to select a drive letter for the image to mount in Windows.
It would take quite some time to go through all of Reflect’s options – granular scheduling, network share definitions (username/password), very granular retention rules, NTFS reparse rule behavior, passwords, compression settings, notifications, etc. – but the variety is vast.
There are also some unique options for adding backups to existing backups, automation scripts, and a background service that locks backup images. The program also supports optical discs.
Of course, there is also boot media, in this case Windows PE/RE. The lack of a Linux option is one of the downsides of Reflect.
Price of Macrium Reflect Home
Reflect Home costs $80 for a perpetual license, or $40 per year, with free minor upgrades and one year of support. I mentioned earlier that it is expensive. It is much more expensive than the one-time purchase cost of R Drive Image, currently the most recommended image backup tool.
However, unlike the R Drive Image, which is only available for a fee, the Macrium Reflect is available as a free version with limited features as mentioned above, but it will be discontinued by Macrium in 2023 and is not available on the company website.
Instead, you can search for “Macrium Reflect Free” and find it on download aggregators like TechSpot or Filehorse. Macrium offers a 30-day free trial so you can try out the Home Edition and other versions. Definitely give it a try.
Performance of Macrium Reflect 8 Home Edition
As I said above, this program is very stable. I used this program instead of the R drive image for a while, and have been using the two together for much longer. You can never be too careful when working on company or client systems.
When tested for review, Reflect impressed with its speed, stability, and flawlessness, which was a breath of fresh air, especially after the last few reviews. Creating and operating the boot disk was as smooth and trouble-free as the main app, which is a weak point for many backup programs.
The interface is excellent, if not industry-leading. It is logical, attractive, and very informative, and many users prefer it over the R drive.
Should I buy Macrium Reflect Home?
Using the word “home” in the product name is a disservice to a program this fast, reliable, and feature-rich. By any standards other than enterprise, the Macrium Reflect is definitely “pro” grade. While some may argue the price, it’s up to the user to decide. You’ll definitely be satisfied with the money you’ve invested.
editor@itworld.co.kr
Source: www.itworld.co.kr
