I followed the advice on this post and installed Macrium Home trial. It seems really good. The back up options seem a little daunting. I opted for the Grandfather-father-son back up option.

If I happen to accidentally delete a file can I select and restore that file out of the image backup (presumably after it has been mounted as a virtual drive) or do I have to restore the whole drive?

 

That is what I posted above, I believe that only the paid version lets you access folders and files, the free version , you have to load the entire drive. That is why I have the paid version. Believe me, it is well worth it. 

I'm a tech guy and do the following with excellent results. I hope it helps.

 

1. Best free - Macrium

2. 2nd Best free - Veeam Endpoint 1.5

3. Most reliable cloning tool I've used is Acronis 2014 Premium recovery disc.

 

Some comments:

Acronis is off my list since 2014. These products are critical and need to be refined and made absolutely stable and work every time. Acronis IMO is no longer trust worthy for imaging.

 

I have recommend Veeam as for many users it is easier to use and easier to restore via its well thought out interface. I use Macrium set to backup daily to a folder on my external drive and Veeam set to run on demand to the same drive. Both coexist without issues and as they both backup to their own folder you can use the same external drive for backup.

 

I also use Syncback Pro from 2Brightsparks to keep a duplicate copy of all my Steam and P3D files. I have 28 separate profiles I run as required. They are set to do everything from syncing my user profile backed up to a spare drive to syncing my repair tools from my data drives to my USB sticks I take on the road. A very useful tool.

 

Finally I use Dropbox Pro to store all my can't loose stuff offsite and to be able to access them from various devices. This includes my photo and music library.

 

I've seen several examples of Ransomeware lately. They can an will encrypt data on external drives if you get infected. If possible, consider disconnecting your external backup drives when not in use. Australians have had their fair share of fake Australian Federal Police and Post Office emails with the latest being fake Gas bills catching people out in recent months.

 

A free tip.

 

I wanted to consolidate the many manuals and tips sheets that accumulate so I could view them whenever I wanted on my iPad.

A Dropbox folder (free account will suffice)

Goodreader for the iPad - So many options it can be daunting but its so worth it.

 

Sort a copy of your manuals into folders by Developer/Aircraft or however you choose and drop them into a folder in Dropbox called Flightsim Manuals or whatever.

In GoodReader create the same folder and then connect via WiFi to your Dropbox folder on your computer. Setup a Sync with this folder. Once completed when you need to update GoodReader hit the sync button.

Of course I've simplified the steps but with a little effort I found it to be worth the time.

 

Cheers,

Free version doesn't have file and folder backup.  http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx

You can mount back up images in free version. Then browse and copy files. So you can!

That is what I posted above, I believe that only the paid version lets you access folders and files, the free version , you have to load the entire drive. That is why I have the paid version. Believe me, it is well worth it. 

You can mount a backup image from within FREE Macrrium and browse it. You can also copy and move files within the saved image.