{"id":126741,"date":"2022-12-01T00:06:13","date_gmt":"2022-12-01T05:06:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/?p=126741"},"modified":"2022-12-02T23:11:30","modified_gmt":"2022-12-03T04:11:30","slug":"macrium-reflect-free-version-to-be-retired","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/macrium-reflect-free-version-to-be-retired\/","title":{"rendered":"Macrium Reflect Free Version To Be Retired"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"daves-1992980813\" class=\"daves-single-post-before-content\" style=\"margin-bottom: 25px;\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-7205184075006101\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7205184075006101\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"2700504761\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"false\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div><p>Macrium Reflect is popular imaging\/backup software that has been available in free and commercial editions. However, the parent company, Paramount Software, has recently announced that the Macrium Reflect Free version will be retired as of 1st January 2024. The current free version (v8) is the last version to receive any new feature, compatibility, or bug fix updates which will cease with the release of Macrium Reflect version 9. Security fixes, however, will be extended for a further 12 months following the version 9 release.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Read Paramount Software&#8217;s official announcement in full: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.macrium.com\/product-support-policy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Macrium Reflect Free Product &#8211; End Of Life (EOL)<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It&#8217;s quite likely that the current free version will continue to work without issues for years to come. However, it&#8217;s also possible that, with the frequency of Windows updates, this free version could eventually run into compatibility issues.<\/p>\n<p>The problem with this type of situation is that each imaging program uses its own proprietary format for saving backups and only the original software has the ability to restore those backups. So, if the current Macrium Reflect Free version does run into compatibility issues down the track, any saved backups would be useless. Admittedly the risk could be slight but, when it comes to image backups, any level of risk, no matter how slight, is unacceptable.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>You also might like: <a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/how-to-create-full-system-images-with-aomei-backupper\/\">How To Create Full System Images with Aomei Backupper<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Macrium Reflect Free Alternatives<\/h2>\n<p>I&#8217;ve always said that one of the main requirements for imaging\/backup software is reliability and, if I were a Macrium Reflect Free user, I would be looking at viable alternatives right now. Here then are several free alternatives well worth checking out:<\/p><div id=\"daves-2612116193\" class=\"daves-single-post-in-content\" style=\"margin-bottom: 25px;\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-7205184075006101\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7205184075006101\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"2700504761\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"false\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aomeitech.com\/ab\/standard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#1 Aomei Backupper Standard<\/a><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.aomeitech.com\/ab\/standard.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Aomei Backupper Standard<\/a> is full-featured free imaging\/backup software and is my number one recommendation. <a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/aomei-backupper-free-imaging-test-review\/\">Aomei Backupper Standard<\/a> includes all essential features, is very easy to use, and has a proven track record for reliability.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Aomei-Backupper-Main-Window.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-126745\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Aomei-Backupper-Main-Window-640x427.jpg\" alt=\"Aomei Backupper Main Window\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Aomei-Backupper-Main-Window-640x427.jpg 640w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Aomei-Backupper-Main-Window-350x234.jpg 350w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Aomei-Backupper-Main-Window-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Aomei-Backupper-Main-Window-768x513.jpg 768w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Aomei-Backupper-Main-Window.jpg 1010w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Main Features:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Backup<\/strong>: File Backup, System Backup, Disk Backup, Partition Backup, Incremental Backup, Sector-by-Sector Backup, Scheduled Backups<\/li>\n<li><strong>Backup To<\/strong>: Local Disk, External Disk, Flash Drive, Network\/NAS, Cloud Drive<\/li>\n<li><strong>Restore<\/strong>: File Restore, System Restore, Disk Restore, Partition Restore<\/li>\n<li><strong>Verify Backup Integrity<\/strong>: Ensures successful restoration<\/li>\n<li><strong>Clone<\/strong>: Disk Clone (partial), Partition Clone, Sector-by-Sector Clone, SSD alignment<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bootable Media<\/strong>: Linux or WinPE based<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em><strong>NOTE<\/strong>: No differential backup support which is only available in the Pro version<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.easyuefi.com\/backup-software\/backup-suite-free.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#2 Hasleo Backup Suite Free<\/a><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.easyuefi.com\/backup-software\/backup-suite-free.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hasleo Backup Suite<\/a> is full-featured imaging\/backup freeware; there is no Pro (commercial) version available so it&#8217;s truly full-featured with no limitations.<\/p><div id=\"daves-879148359\" class=\"daves-single-post-in-content-2\" style=\"margin-bottom: 25px;\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-7205184075006101\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7205184075006101\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"2700504761\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"false\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Hasleo-Backup-Suite-Free-Main-Window.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-126744\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Hasleo-Backup-Suite-Free-Main-Window-640x421.png\" alt=\"Hasleo Backup Suite Free Main Window\" width=\"640\" height=\"421\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Hasleo-Backup-Suite-Free-Main-Window-640x421.png 640w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Hasleo-Backup-Suite-Free-Main-Window-350x230.png 350w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Hasleo-Backup-Suite-Free-Main-Window-150x99.png 150w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Hasleo-Backup-Suite-Free-Main-Window-768x506.png 768w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/Hasleo-Backup-Suite-Free-Main-Window.png 790w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Main Features<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Backup<\/strong>: File Backup, System Backup, Disk Backup, Partition Backup, Incremental &amp; Differential Backup, Scheduled Backups<\/li>\n<li><strong>Restore<\/strong>: File Restore, System Restore, Disk Restore, Partition Restore<\/li>\n<li><strong>Verify Backup Integrity<\/strong>: Ensures successful restoration<\/li>\n<li><strong>Clone<\/strong>: System Clone, Disk Clone, Partition Clone<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bootable Media<\/strong>: WinPE Based<\/li>\n<li><strong>Disk Conversion<\/strong>: MBR to GPT \/ GPT to MBR<\/li>\n<li><strong>Universal Restore<\/strong>: Restore to differing hardware<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em><strong>NOTE<\/strong>: No mention of backup save location options but I think it&#8217;s safe to assume that, at the very least, the usual &#8211; Local Disk, External Disk, and Flash Drive &#8211; would all be supported.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.easeus.com\/backup-software\/tb-free.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">#3 EaseUS Todo Backup Free<\/a><\/h3>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.easeus.com\/backup-software\/tb-free.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">EaseUS Todo Backup<\/a> enjoys a good reputation but the free version is quite limited in terms of features &#8211; certainly the most limited of the three.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/EaseUS-Todo-Backup-Main-Window.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-126746\" title=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/EaseUS-Todo-Backup-Main-Window-640x410.jpg\" alt=\"EaseUS Todo Backup Main Window\" width=\"640\" height=\"410\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/EaseUS-Todo-Backup-Main-Window-640x410.jpg 640w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/EaseUS-Todo-Backup-Main-Window-350x224.jpg 350w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/EaseUS-Todo-Backup-Main-Window-150x96.jpg 150w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/EaseUS-Todo-Backup-Main-Window-768x491.jpg 768w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/EaseUS-Todo-Backup-Main-Window.jpg 1061w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Main Features<\/strong>:<\/p><div id=\"daves-3135611276\" class=\"daves-single-post-in-content-3\" style=\"margin-bottom: 25px;\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-7205184075006101\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7205184075006101\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"2700504761\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"false\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Backup<\/strong>: File Backup, System Backup, Disk Backup, Partition Backup, Incremental &amp; Differential Backup, Scheduled Backups<\/li>\n<li><strong>Backup To<\/strong>: External drive, Flash Drive, Cloud Drive, Network Drive<\/li>\n<li><strong>Restore<\/strong>: File Restore, System Restore, Disk Restore, Partition Restore<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bootable Media<\/strong>: WinPE Based<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"padding-left: 40px;\"><em><strong>NOTE<\/strong>: It does not support any cloning features. No mention of backup integrity verification but I&#8217;d be surprised if this feature were not supported. Perhaps one of our readers can confirm?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s never a good thing when popular free software is retired, and especially when it&#8217;s something as critical as free imaging\/backup software. Fortunately, there are several very good viable alternatives available.<\/p>\n<p><strong>UPDATE<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<p>Following a comment from a reader I have downloaded and installed Hasleo Backup Suite Free in a sandbox and can confirm that it definitely includes an image integrity check feature &#8211; under its &#8220;Tools&#8221; section:<\/p><div id=\"daves-846512631\" class=\"daves-single-post-in-content-4\" style=\"margin-bottom: 25px;\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-7205184075006101\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7205184075006101\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"2700504761\" \ndata-ad-format=\"auto\" data-full-width-responsive=\"false\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Hasleo-Tools-Check-Image.png\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-126881\" src=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Hasleo-Tools-Check-Image-640x417.png\" alt=\"Hasleo Tools Check Image\" width=\"640\" height=\"417\" srcset=\"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Hasleo-Tools-Check-Image-640x417.png 640w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Hasleo-Tools-Check-Image-350x228.png 350w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Hasleo-Tools-Check-Image-150x98.png 150w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Hasleo-Tools-Check-Image-768x501.png 768w, https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/Hasleo-Tools-Check-Image.png 787w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&#8212;<\/p>\n<div id=\"daves-1046697693\" class=\"daves-after-content\"><script async src=\"\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-7205184075006101\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display:block;\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-7205184075006101\" \ndata-ad-slot=\"3225321574\" \ndata-ad-format=\"autorelaxed\" data-full-width-responsive=\"false\"><\/ins>\n<script> \n(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); \n<\/script>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Macrium Reflect is popular imaging\/backup software that has been available in free and commercial editions. However, the parent company, Paramount Software, has recently announced that the Macrium Reflect Free version will be retired as of 1st January 2024. The current free version (v8) is the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126748,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"default","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"default","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,62],"tags":[9259,183,977,11370],"class_list":["post-126741","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-freeware","category-news","tag-alternatives","tag-free","tag-macrium-reflect","tag-recommendations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126741","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=126741"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126741\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/126748"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=126741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=126741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/davescomputertips.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=126741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}