I’ve used CB for several years and currently use CB 10.5
I come here fairly regularly to pick up tips and tricks.
One thing that I notice is the amount of users who update or upgrade to the latest version only to find it freezes, crashes or just doesn’t behave as it should on their system. They post their issue here, but can’t find a solution to their problem. They then have to go through the frustrating and time consuming process of locating, installing and attempting to get the older version back up and running again.
Surely, the solution to all this is to use one of the Disk Image apps available. I use one and it has saved my skin more times than I can remember. Whenever I find that I, or the program has messed things up, in less than 30 mins, I can replace my c: drive with a previously created image file.
You can schedule your backups according to your needs.
Just thought I’d throw it out there.
Indeed. Even backing up the installer gives the option to go back to a previous version.
In my view, automatically creating daily disk images is a basic part of good backup practice.
I think a lot of users do use a bkup program, you only hear about problems from people who don’t.
I’ve used Terabyte’s program for yrs, couldn’t imagine not using it, especially when using Window 10, you never know what it is going to screw up next.
It’s a mystery. Seems there’s a bunch of users who never thought to read the manual or search the internet either. “I just got Cubase. Tell me how it works?” 
Which Windows Disk Image software do you recommend?
@Phillipus , I just used AOMEI to:
- Create an image of my OS drive - placed on a separate portable large SSD attached to the computer
- Create an image of my Audio drive- placed on the same portable SSD
- Set up incremental imaging tasks to update my Audio drive when i work on a project
- Create a bootable file and placed it on a thumb drive USB so if the computer dies and cannot be booted i can onset that and boot up
AOMEI was recommended by someone who has built and sold music computers for years.
I use Acronis True Image.
Before I say anything else, I should state that I’m not running a professional, commercial studio. I would hope that a professional producer/engineer would have their own “fail-safe” backup procedure in place.
The way I have my modest system setup, is to use my C: drive exclusively for running Win 10, programmes and plugins
All data, including CB project files goes on a separate D: drive
As I only do any serious work with CB once or twice a week, I find a weekly clone of my C: drive, using Acronis TI, and backup of my D: drive to an external drive works for me.
These Acronis backups can be scheduled, so, providing you have your external drive connected, you can forget about it. I tend to only keep 4 weeks worth (4 images), deleting older images as I go.
I can recommend Macrium Reflect. Its by far the most efficient for the price and it has perpetual licenses, no subscription scam.
I use Aomei Backup for my Win & app disk to clone it. Solid & simple. There is even a free version.
For my data I use Bareos: High professional and challenging. But this is rather a finger exercise for an old IT geek.
Backup is like the most important user function.
My way is to do daily disc images using the Built-in Windows feature, plus Windows File History (customized to backup User Settings Data Folders) and for offline, I use a service called Sync.com – their backup service app on Windows does not interrupt any other file functions.
I’d just finished today’s image backup when I saw this topic 
I’ve been using Terabyte Unlimited products for years, rock solid, also does Linux and multi-boot management.
(As an aside, isn’t it astonishing the number of computers that have “failed” since Steinberg Licensing was introduced. 
. It’s almost as if the only thing holding these machines together was the dongle!)
I’ve also been using TeraByte Unlimited for years, ever since Partition Magic was discontinued.
Can’t say enough good things about it.
Can these Drive Image apps do incremental changes to an image? Like Mac’s Time Machine.
Being a Windows man I don’t know how Mac’s Time Machine works, but Acronis TI will do incremental backups. I personally do “Full” backups… it’s just my preference.
AOMEI can do incremental and decremental image changes to the full back up.
2BrightSparks Syncback software which I have used in the past and been very happy with also does incremental backups.
I am using the free version of AOMEI (will learn soon what I need that I need to pay for, I suppose), and I also used Syncback Free.
I use AOMEI for file synchronization. I used the disk image function thinking it would save me in an emergency, but it ended up screwing me. It just didn’t work, and I had to rebuild my system all over again. Technology is great until it isn’t.
ymmv.
That is my nightmare, @MFalcore . If you know of a way to “test” it ahead of time before it’s needed, would you please reply here? I made an OS Bootable Media - how do I test it? - Steinberg Lounge - Steinberg Forums
PC or Mac?
It was a nightmare, lol. False sense of security. I don’t know of a way to test it. I reached out to tech support when it happened but they weren’t very helpful. But they might know how to test it. I’d recommend contacting support. Obviously, it has worked fine for other people, so it could be user error on my part. But it’s supposed to be a straight forward process, right?
I’m on Windows.
Terabyte Unlimited can optionally do incremental (“changes only”) backups. I don’t know Mac Time Machine so I can’t compare. I prefer to do full backups because (a) backup storage is cheap (b) I can automate it, so time is no longer an issue and (c) it’s easier to a full restore than one from incremental backups.
Note that, unless you also practice doing a restore, you don’t really know whether you have a backup or not.
word.