It seems to me that Backup and Restore programs like Macrium or EaseUS are so crammed full of features and rarely needed options that the user interface becomes so dauntingly over-complicated that a casual user such as myself literally cannot use them.

My only requirements for a backup system are to let me choose what to back up, when I want it done, and where the backed up files are to be stored.

Does anybody make a simple backup system that I can just set up and forget with a user-friendly UI that might look something like this?
Or am I asking too much?

tanstaafl.

I'm sure we've discussed this before... What other backup systems have you used before besides Macrium and Easeus? For example, have you used Windows Backup? I don't know if it's any good, I haven't been using it.

What I'm using:

MacOS: Using the built in Time Machine backup, backing up to an external SSD and also to a shared volume on our home NAS. This runs continuously in the background and keeps things pretty well up-to-date all the time without me having to think about it.

Windows: I'm using the Beyond Compare diffing tool to perform occasional syncs of my data and project folders to an External SSD. I don't use the Windows machine very much these days, so I'm not running any serious backup utilities. I just make sure to have extra copies of those files.

Both systems: I use the Beyond Compare diffing tool to keep my data and project folders up-to-date between the two systems.

Tony, I've been using Macrium for a few years now, and the only time I have an issue is when I disconnect the backup disk and forget to plug it in. I usually leave it plugged in. I am running Windows 10 With OpenShell and when I do need to recover a file or folder it does so perfectly. When I cause the backup to blow up, I just start it manually and it completes fine. I run a full backup every month and differential every day. I've never had to do a full restore, but I have hit a restore point a couple of times and worked perfectly.
I have several old Apple Mac laptops that I am trying to source an affordable power adapter so I can see if they are worth keeping or if I should junk them. I am planing on ditching MicroSuck and go either Apple or straight Linux. Any opinions welcome.

Apple has announced that 2027 will be the last year for MacOS updates for Intel CPU Macs. The 2026 release this September will only support a handful of recent model Intel Macs.

Older Macs will be stuck on whatever the last MacOS version was for that model or perhaps can use third party software ‘kits’ to force install a more recent MacOS version.

the sun sets on the Intel Mac era

Apple notebooks can run Linux reasonably well, so lots of software life left in them yet!

Mark, Since you are the Linux guru and I know almost nothing about Linux, can you recommend a good 'flavor' to start with, and a good learning source (besides youtube or google)?

As soon as I get a list of the Mac devices I obtained from helping cleaning out a deceased relative's hoard, I'll post them in hopes of finding a source for power adapters to see if they even work.
Thanks for the Linux idea for them!

I personally run Kubuntu here. I find it amazing out of the box, and more intuitive for me personally, than straight Ubuntu. Kubuntu is the "KDE" (K Desktop Environment, now called Plasma) flavour of Ubuntu.

The 24.04 version is the 10-year long-term support (LTS) release. The next one of those will be 26.04. The numbers are simply the year (24 == 2024) and month (.04 == April) of initial release.

Cheers

Absolute best simple backup software I've ever used is Karens Replicator

Really simple, logical layout.

Re Linux last time we used it was on CentOS up to the early 2000s, recently repurposed some HP Thin Terminals as Linux PCs using Mint, I like it.

Quote=Tahir Absolute best simple backup software I've ever used is Karens Replicator

I have been using Karen's Replicator for more than 30 years, it does pretty much what I need, with two exceptions:
1) I cannot back up my system drive ("File in Use" conflicts)
2) Once a file is edited and then backed up, there is no going back to the original.

As you pointed out, the UI is simple, logically laid out, except that the "Global Exclusions" are a nightmare to get working.

If this is useful to you, Joe Winett <joe@karenware.com> was still giving tech support and upgrades to Karen's Replicator the last time I talked with him in January, 2018, but I don't know if he is still doing so. Google says the email address is still active.

I'll continue my struggle with EaseUS, I've given up on Macrium's insane setup procedure, and will continue backing up my D:\, E:\, F:\, G:\, H:\, and my off-premises drives with the Replicator.

I am pretty well versed with the Replicator (I'll bet you and I are the only two people on this bbs who are) but I can't deal with 500-600 errors in the backup log each time I try to back up my C:\ drive.

tanstaafl.