Backup and recovery for a personal Windows computer
Macrium Reflect X Home provides disk imaging, file backup and recovery tools for personal use. Preserve a recovery point before a failed update, accidental deletion or drive problem disrupts your work.
Choose what you need to restore before setting up a plan. Important documents may call for frequent file backups, while returning a computer to a working state calls for an image of the relevant system partitions.
Protect selected files or image your disks
File and folder backups cover selected personal data. Disk images preserve the selected partitions for broader recovery. Full, differential and incremental backups let you balance recovery history with the amount of data stored.
Keep the files belonging to a backup set together. Incremental recovery depends on the preceding chain, so removing an intermediate file manually can make later recovery points unusable. Use the application to manage retention.
Schedule backups and keep useful history
Schedules and retention settings help maintain a sequence of recovery points. Choose a destination separate from the source drive so that a single drive failure does not remove both the working files and their backup.
Check completed jobs rather than relying only on the schedule. An external drive that was disconnected or a destination that filled up can leave a gap in your history. Repeat a small restore test when changing your backup plan.
Recover individual documents or a complete system
Browse suitable backup images to retrieve individual files, or restore an image when the selected disks need rebuilding. Rescue media provides a recovery environment when Windows cannot start normally.
Prepare rescue media before an emergency. Confirm that it can see the backup location and the intended recovery disk, and keep any encryption credentials somewhere accessible without the affected computer.
Clone a drive for a storage migration
Cloning copies a source drive to a target drive for a migration. It has a different role from keeping dated backup images that allow you to recover an earlier state.
Check the destination carefully because cloning can overwrite its contents. Keep an independent backup, verify that the replacement drive starts and open important documents before reusing the original drive.
Reflect X scope and existing licenses
This page describes the current Reflect X Home generation. Its newer capabilities include resumable imaging, while Macrium Image Guardian helps protect supported backup files from unauthorized changes. The capabilities available to an existing installation depend on its version and license.
Do not assume that an older perpetual license includes every feature of the current release. Check the installed version before planning a workflow around newer tools. Backup protection also does not replace an independent copy or a tested recovery process.
Turn backup into a recovery routine
Name plans according to the data and destination they cover. Keep a brief record of where backups are stored, how to start recovery and which credentials are needed. Review the plan after replacing a drive or moving important folders.
For planning advice, see how to back up files and the disk imaging guide. Start with a successful backup and a verified restore rather than treating installation alone as a finished protection plan.