Disk image backups — Windows built-in Backup-and-Restore

decision Thu Jun 25 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) decisionopsbackupdisk-imagewindowsmacriumrestic

Disk image backups — Windows built-in

Decision

Full-disk image backups switch from Macrium Reflect Free (discontinued January 2024) to the Windows built-in Backup-and-Restore tool — the legacy Windows 7 utility that still ships in Windows 11. File-level backups continue under the existing decision (Restic to Backblaze B2, weekly schedule).

Why

• Macrium Reflect Free is gone — the free SKU was retired in Jan 2024; only paid Home / Workstation editions remain. Free-tier-only posture forbids the paid SKU.
• Windows built-in is free, signed, and shipped with the OS — no third-party install, no Defender ASR concerns.
• Same use case — bootable image of the OS drive for bare-metal restore. Good enough for the one-laptop dev environment.
• Restic stays for files — incremental, deduplicated, encrypted, cross-platform; the right tool for daily working data.
• No subscription cost added — both rails fit no-card-on-file rule.
• One alternative considered (Veeam Agent Free) but the Windows built-in tool is simpler to schedule and doesn't need a separate vendor account.

Implications

• Update the weekly backup runbook to invoke Windows Backup-and-Restore (sdclt.exe or Control Panel ? Backup and Restore) instead of Macrium Reflect.
• The image target stays an external drive; B2 remains the file-level remote.
• Restore drill cadence (quarterly) continues; the drill now exercises the Windows recovery environment instead of Macrium's Rescue Media.
• Per-file daily backup script (Restic to B2) is unchanged.
• If Windows ever drops the legacy Backup-and-Restore tool, the fallback list (alternative-free-backup-channels.md) covers next options.