I have been using the free version of Macrium Reflect for the past six years and I must mention that it’s one of the best, if not the best, free tools available to create system image backup. And, now the good news is that Macrium Reflect free 6.0 has just been released and it supports the latest Windows 10 OS as well.
Macrium Reflect free for Windows
In case you do not know what Macrium Reflect software is, it’s a free software to clone your hard disk and create disk images. The free version of Macrium Reflect offers disk imaging, disk cloning, access images in Windows Explorer, and scheduled backups features.
The version 6 sports an improved user interface. The main screen of Macrium Reflect shows an overview of all partitions on your PC. Select a drive to backup and choose the backup type to start the backup process. The backup images can be stored on local or network drives, external hard drives, or CD/DVDs.
Key features of Macrium Reflect Free
# Simple and easy-to-use interface
# Backup disk images
# Clone disk images
# Mount or open disk images in Windows Explorer
# Convert backup images to VHD files
# Create recovery media to boot and restore backup images
Once you have the image backup of your drive(s), create the recovery media using Create Bootable Rescue Media option. The backup images can then be restored with the help of recovery media, even if your PC is not bootable.
Another fantastic feature of this free software is it lets you open (mount) an backup image in Windows Explorer to restore individual files. The ImgToVHD tool present in Macrium Reflect allows you convert Macrium Reflect backup images into VHDs. The VHDs can be used with a compatible virtual machine software such as Microsoft Virtual PC.
Overall, an impressive disk image backup software for XP, Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 and the latest Windows 10. You might also want to know how to add Macrium Reflect recovery media entry to Windows Boot Manager so that you can boot into the Macrium recovery environment without using a CD or USB.
Michael Harding says
Help, please.
I’ve just attempted to install vs 5.0 * – as an update to vs 4.2 – on my Vista Business PC of which I’m the sole owner. However, I seem to have run foul of a user ‘permission’ requirement and now my original 4.2 installed has vanished.
Where do I go from here?
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WebHybrid says
I’ve been using Macrium Reflect Free for several years – currently, version 4.2.2055. It’s been very good for my needs. Since version 5 appeared I’ve been trying to see some reassurance that it would be able to restore the drive from a previously created (with v. 4.2.2055) backup image. If the manufacturer’s website or forum states that it’s compatible, I haven’t found that.
I do understand that the answer is likely to be yes, it would. But for a backup, likely isn’t good enough of course.
Anyone know for sure?
geoffrey kamau says
i have been hearing of window 8 i want to give it a try