Macrium Reflect — full images when you need everything back exactly as it was
Macrium Reflect is a Windows backup tool that leans heavily into disk imaging and cloning. It’s the one you pull out when you want the whole system — OS, apps, settings, files — frozen in time so it can be put back exactly the same later. The free edition is enough for a lot of cases, though paid tiers add more backup types and automation.
It can image an entire drive, just one partition, or pick specific files and folders. Jobs can go to a local disk, an external USB, a NAS, or a network share. The backup files use Macrium’s `.mrimg` format, which means you’ll need Macrium or its rescue media to restore them — good reason to make that rescue media right away, not “sometime later.”
Capabilities
| Feature | Description |
| Windows Support | Runs on Windows 7 through 11; server support in paid versions |
| Backup Scope | Full disk/partition images, file/folder backups |
| Destinations | Local, NAS, SMB share, external USB drives |
| Scheduling | Set it for daily, weekly, monthly, or run on demand |
| Incremental/Differential | Paid feature; free version is full backups only |
| Cloning | Copy a disk or partition directly to new hardware |
| Compression | Adjustable to balance speed vs. space |
| Rescue Media | Bootable USB/CD for restores, including bare-metal recovery |
Deployment Notes
The free version is solid, but if you need incrementals or differential backups, you’ll have to upgrade. Always create the rescue media right after installing — it’s your lifeline if the system won’t boot. Large images can take a while, especially over a network, so schedule them during downtime. The `.mrimg` format is proprietary, but Macrium includes a tool to mount images as virtual drives for quick file access.
Quick Start (Windows)
1. Install Macrium Reflect from the official site.
2. Create rescue media before doing anything else.
3. Pick the disks, partitions, or folders you want to back up.
4. Choose where to store the image.
5. Set schedule if needed.
6. Run the job and verify the image.
Where it’s handy
– Full system snapshots before risky OS updates or migrations.
– Cloning a user’s HDD to a new SSD.
– Disaster recovery when hardware fails.
– Regular workstation images for quick restore.
– Any situation where a “put it all back exactly” restore is better than file-by-file recovery.