Incremental disk image backups with auto-pruning, encryption, and more #
Veeam Endpoint Backup was recently upgraded and renamed to Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows. The freeware edition is even more powerful than before; here are just some of the features:
Backup
- Full (disk), volume, and file level backups
- For full and volume backups, only blocks changed since the last backup are copied
- Email notifications
- Backup file encryption
- BitLocker support
- Backup to multiple targets / rotated drives*
- Flexible scheduling by day/time or trigger (when a backup drive is connected, a user logs off, etc.)
- Automatic pruning of old backups (keep backups for the past x days when the computer was running)
- Automatic ejecting of USB storage targets post backup to protect against malware
Restore
- Bare metal, volume, and file restore options
- Restore to dissimilar hardware or smaller/larger disks
- Restore computer disks as VMDK, VHD or VHDX files.
- Instant Recovery to Microsoft Hyper-V VM
Recovery Media
- Collect drivers from source OS
- Quick and easy WinPE-based boot/recovery disc builder (does not require downloading Windows Automated Installation Kit (aka WAIK or AIK))
- Built-in recovery tools include: Reset Password (resets the hidden-by-default Administrator account password (Administrator will appear at the login screen on reboot)), Startup Repair (fixes problems that are preventing Windows from starting), Memory Diagnostic (runs Microsoft's Windows Memory Diagnostic), and Command Prompt (cmd.exe).
More
- Support for Windows 7 through 2016 (yes, Server editions are supported!)
- Tons of great documentation:
and a very active support forum.
Notes
- * To setup multiple targets / rotated drives:
- Assign static, unique letters to each drive that will be used (This isn't in the documentation, and may not be required, but I had trouble restoring files when testing two rotated drives which were dynamically assigned the same letter.)
- If you have already setup a backup routine to the first target, skip to step 3. Otherwise, head to Start > Veeam > Tools > Configure Backup and configure and run a backup job to the first target normally.
- Disconnect the first target drive and connect the second target drive
- Start > Veeam > Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows > Settings > Manage registered storage devices > click "Register" to the right of the second target drive
- Run the backup routine normally
- Alternatively, you can manually backup to another location by right clicking the Veeam Agent for Microsoft Windows icon in the system tray then clicking Backup > Backup to another location...
- The keyboard and mouse may hang on the green Veeam Recovery Media screen for a minute or two - just hang tight.
- If after a bare metal restore the PC fails to boot, reboot from the recovery media, click Tools > Load Driver and uncheck "Inject these drivers into operating system while performing bare metal recovery" before reperforming the bare metal restore.
- See also Paul Braren's comprehensive Superguide: Veeam Endpoint Backup FREE
/windows | May 31, 2017
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