Macrium Reflect a very popular disk imaging and disk cloning software. The first version, i.e. Macrium Reflect 5.0 was released back in 2011. After that, the versions are released since 2023 with the Reflect 8.1. The current latest version is called the Macrium Reflect X, which was released on 9th October 2024. The company keeps changing the features and their availability for free, but the cloning and imaging features are free from the beginning and this is what this program is widely famous for.
Some of the key features of Macrium Reflect X are full disk cloning/imaging, differential/incremental backup, direct disk cloning, auto partition resizing, WinPe/WinRE-based rescue media, RDR (Rapid-Delta Restore), UEFI boot repair tool, bare metal restore, MIG, encryption, and a lot more. We are going to review all these main features in this article.
Some important features are like MIG, incremental and differential backups, and Rapid Delta Restore, are behind the paywall. The interface can be a little complex for some users, but with a little hands-on experience, anybody can learn to use all its features. Backup scheduling is one of the key things that people find complex compared to Acronis True Image and other competitors. There are many great reasons to purchase this software, while most one-time users would be fine using the 30-day trial period.
We are going to talk about the great things but also what you don’t get with this software. This isn’t just a review but a walkaround on how you can use the features and where they are most helpful. So, let’s get started.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| The free version lacks some advanced features. | It can be complex for beginners. |
| Fast disk cloning and imaging. | Incremental backups require the paid version. |
| Supports full, incremental, and differential backups. | Differential backups consume more space over time. |
| Provides a robust WinPE-based recovery environment. | Can be complex for beginners. |
| Allows restoring images to different hardware (ReDeploy). | No built-in cloud backup integration. |
| Offers encrypted backups for security. |
Disk Imaging and Disk Cloning
The most plausible features of Macrium Reflect are disk imaging and disk cloning. The difference is really simple. In disk imaging, an image (generally compressed) of the entire system or the desired partitions/folders is created, then extracted to restore. Cloning makes a 1-to-1 copy of the selected drive or its partitions/folders as they are. Because disk image is compressed and smaller in size, it is generally used for backups and transfers. However, cloning takes all the space that is there. Now, let’s see what Macrium Reflect has to offer for both of these.
In the main menu, you see your connected drives, with the OS drive listed at the top. The system will give you the option to clone and image for the primary OS drive, which everybody normally does. However, you can clone or image other drives as well. Let’s first talk about Disk imaging specifically.
Disk Cloning in Macrium Reflect X
To clone the disk, you just click the option given on the main menu, i.e., Clone this disk.
A new page will open where you have to select the destination drive. It could be an external drive or the internal SSD/HDD connected to your computer. It should be recognized by the system. If you want, you can change the source disk as well.
In the Advanced Options section, the default clone option is the Intelligent Sector copy. This makes sure that only the sectors that have data or are in use are cloned. There are options to verify the file system and Rapid Delta Clone, which copy only the difference between the source and target drive if the target drive already has some data. You can also enable SSD TRIM, which flags the unused blocks to enhance SSD performance.
Another option is the Forensic Sector copy, which copies everything from the source to the estination drive whether the sectors are in use or not. It takes more time for cloning compare to intelligent copy option. It is good to keep these settings as they are. If you want, there is an option to set up an email to get a notification once the cloning process is done.
Once you have selected the destination disk, you can copy the partition, erase the disk before creating partitions or delete the specific partitions. For most people, it is good to first delete the partition and then copy the partitions exactly like the source disk.
Cloning Schedule
If this is your one-time clone to move your operating system from one drive to another, this feature is of no use to you. However, for some people, keeping two systems in sync can be important,t and for that, they can schedule regular clonin,g keeping in mind that both the drives should be connected to the computer at those times.
As you continue, you also see the option to save this clone as a backup definition file.
The speed of cloning
Just for this test, I am cloning my 131GB OS drive (NVMe Gen 4.0) to a 5,200 RPM hard drive. It took around 1 hour and 32 minutes for this clone to complete. However, the same clone to a Gen 3.0 NVMe took around 25 minutes. So, the speed will depend heavily on the performance of your source and destination drives.
I have used this program for cloning dozens of systems over the years. And I can say that this is one of the fastest programs for cloning any kind of system. The failure rates are low, and the process is really simple to follow,w as we discussed above. Now, let’s talk a little about Disk Imaging.
Disk Imaging in Macrium Reflect X
For disk imaging, you select the the Image this Disk option instead of the cloning option. Other options are not the same, so let’s discuss them.
On the next page, you get to choose the folder where this image will be saved (now we will get a single file for everything in a compressed format). You can change the file name, while the file format will remain the same .mrimgx. The standard .iso, .img, .vhd, .dd. or .raw won’t be created.
The .mrimg is Macrium Reflect’s proprietary disk image format, which can only be extracted by this software. However, with the paid version of Reflect, you can convert a .mrimg image file to a VHD or VHDX file. Macrium Reflect creates a sector-by-sector backup, so some forensic tools like FTK imager or OSFMount are heard of extracting those images. However, it is always good to use this program only. Also, once the trial version (30 days) expires, your ability to restore this image file is gone, and you’ll have to get the paid plan.
If you click Advanced options in the imaging menu, you get to see some interesting options to choose and change, like the compression level, file size, password, file verification, etc.
Setup Backup Schedule
Unlike Disk cloning, disk imaging has a wide set of options to choose for backup plans. This is because imaging is mainly utilized for backups. Most people go for the Son-Father-Grandfather (SFG) backup strategy which is a structured backup rotation scheme used for data protection. It involves keeping multiple backup copies at different intervals (daily, weekly, and monthly) to balance storage efficiency and recovery reliability. The options to select differential, incremental, intra-day backup set, and other backup templates are available in this section. If it is a one time clone, you can choose the first (None) option.
Imaging Speed
Again, from a Gen 4.0 NVMe (as a source drive) to a 5200 RPM HDD (as a destination drive), the imaging process took just around 25 minutes. The total size of the image file was around 80GB. On a Gen 3.0 destination drive, it took just five minutes for the whole process to complete.
Backup and Restoration
You can consider Backup and Imaging as the same in Reflect X because both create the same image file with the same schedule options. However, in backups, you get some extra options to back up only the selected disks or create separate backup files and folders. You can choose the run the purge before backups. For regular backups, people generally use incremental backups on regular schedules. I personally like the GFS scheme as well.
For restoration, you just go to the restore menu and choose the option Browse for an Image or Backup file to Restore. The program will automatically locate the file if it is present in any of your connected drives. You can choose the explore the image if you have stored it in some separate or hidden location.
Specific files and folders can be backed up in different storage locations, both on internal drives or external drives.
Once you select the image file, you will see multiple options to browse this file, verify it, or directly restore it. For restoration, you’ll again be asked to choose the destination file. Another option is viBoot, which allows you to boot a Macrium Reflect backup image as a virtual machine (VM) using Microsoft Hyper-V or Oracle VirtualBox.
Macrium Reflect Rescue Media
If your system goes into a complete failure, the Macrium Reflect Rescue Media can help you recover it. The condition is that you must have this media created when the system is working fine. If your system goes down and even everything is gone, with this rescue media and your backup image, you can either troubleshoot the system or get a complete recovery if you have an existing backup image file. It’s a little long process, so I have created a video for you. I do not generally make videos, but this one is the first long video on the Stored Bits YouTube channel.
Macrium Image Guardian
This is an inbuilt tool with Macrium Reflect X, which you have to install when installing the main program. It basically does the job of protecting your image files. Look at the image below. I just tried renaming the image file in my system, and the Image Guardian popup came and stopped me from doing that. It is a great tool for those who don’t want to give any unauthorized access to their image files. In the settings, you can choose to get emails when any unwanted happens to your image files.
Is Pricing Fair?
By the time I am writing this article, the Macrium Reflect Home is available for $44.99 / year for one computer, which translates to around $3.75 per month. The extra features with the paid plan are all the features that you’ll miss after the 30-day trial, like backup, restore, cloning, etc. I think the pricing of this tool is fair, considering the vast features and different backup options. Most backup programs are on the subscription-based model but with some added features like
The issues with Macrium Reflect
I am completely fine with Macrium converting its free product to a 30-day trial product. One-time users are good enough with that. However, they miss one big feature, which is the cloud backup and sync option that we get with its closest competitor, Acronis True Image (Advanced Plan). It doesn’t support Mac and Linux operating systems. To create rescue media inside the program, you need a drive in the MBR file system, which could be tough for some people through the command line. However, using the ISO image can be more complex for some people.
Although the program is rich with features but some features like backup scheduling and restoration can be complex for first-time users. The learning curve is steep for backup and rescue features, but for cloning and imaging, it is really easy to use.
Conclusion
Being a regular user of the Macrium Reflect program, I can confidently say there are no issues with the data security, performance, reliability, and compatibility. If you are thinking of purchasing this software for backups, imaging, or anything else that it has to offer, I confirm it won’t disappoint you. Although I have covered all the pros and cons, the comment section is always open for your feedback.