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6 February 2024  Ashley S. Miller  Specialist of Customer Service Dept.
 

Summary
Learn about the importance of regular data backups and the difference between differential and incremental backups. Discover useful software for differential backups.



Table of contents

table iconI. What is differential backup, and what is the difference between it and incremental backup and full backup?
table iconII. What are the convenient and practical differential backup software?
differential backup

I. What is differential backup, and what is the difference between it and incremental backup and full backup?

A differential backup only backs up selected files and folders that have changed since the last full backup. It does not clear the archive attribute, which marks file changes and helps determine which files need to be backed up.
Incremental backup is the backup of data that has changed since the last backup. Only selected files and folders with marks are backed up, and the marks are cleared after the backup, clearing the archive attribute.
A differential backup is the first full backup followed by backing up only the changed files. Incremental backup involves backing up the changed files since the last backup. Full backup includes backing up all selected data every time.
After understanding the three data backup methods, we strongly recommend practical software with differential backup functions.

II. What are the convenient and practical differential backup software?

1. Renee Becca

Renee Becca is a tool for system/hard disk data backup and restoration. It backs up and restores important data like programs, system configuration, emails, photos, videos, documents, and bookmarks. It uses incremental/differential backup technology to save time and disk space. It supports system backup, partition backup, hard disk backup, file backup, and disk cloning.
Renee Becca - Reliable Data Backup & Restore Software

Quick Backup files at up to 3,000MB/min.

Fullfill different backup needs Supports system backup, disk / partition backup, file backup and disk clone.

Intelligent Automatically analyze the differences between source and backup data.

Convenient Support VSS, allowing to freely view webpages when backing up system.

Highly compatible Supports various files and storage devices.

Quick Backup files at up to 3,000MB/min.

Fullfill different backup needs Backup for disk, partition and system. Save disk space by backing up incremental /differential data.

Highly compatible Supports various files and storage devices.

Free TrialFree Trial 2000 users have downloaded and enjoy Renee Becca!
How to backup data with Renee Becca?
Step 1: Download, install, and run Renee Becca on the computer. Select the (File Backup) option in the main interface.
file backup becca
Step 2: Select all the files that need to be backed up in (Source), and select the hard disk partition to store the backup in (Destination).
how to back up files in renee becca
If you want to perform differential backup, you can set a daily/weekly/monthly automatic backup plan in (Scheduler) and click (OK) to enable the automatic backup.
file backup schedule on Renee Becca
In (Backup Scheme)-(Scheme Type), choose a suitable backup scheme mode based on your needs. Select (Differential Mode) and configure detailed settings accordingly.
backup mode of file backup on Renee Becca
Renee Becca offers 5 backup plans:
Version chain mode: Only the latest 5 versions are kept, and useless old versions are automatically deleted after the backup is complete.
Single version mode: Only the most recent version is kept, and the previous version is automatically deleted after the backup is complete.
Full mode: Create a full backup.
Incremental mode: After the initial full backup, only incremental backups are created.
Differential mode: After the initial full backup, only differential backups are created.
Step 3: Click the (Backup) button to execute the backup file command based on your settings. Monitor the progress of backup tasks on the taskbar. Use the (Recovery) button to restore files to the specified hard disk when needed.
restore file backup
Step 4: After that, select the location where the files are to be restored, and click the (Recovery) button.
recover the data from the backup file
advantage:
  • The software interface is simple and clear, easy to understand and operate.
  • A variety of backup and restore functions are available for free choice.
  • The system can be directly migrated to a new hard drive, retaining the original system data.
  • Daily/weekly/monthly automatic backup plans can be made.
  • Support multiple backup modes such as differential backup and incremental backup.
  • Supports hard disk/partition cloning.

shortcoming:Only Windows system is supported.

2. Cobian Backup 11 Gravity

Cobian Backup 11 Gravity is a Windows 10 backup software that offers incremental, differential, and full backup options, as well as automatic backup synchronization. It supports local, network, and FTP disk backups. Additionally, the software provides compression and encryption features to enhance backup file safety and save memory space.
Cobian Backup 11 Gravity
advantage:
  • The interface is simple and easy to operate.
  • The software occupies less memory space.

shortcoming:The software has not received any maintenance updates since 2012.

3. Genie Timeline Manager Pro.9.0

Genie Timeline Manager Pro.9.0 is an easy-to-use and powerful differential backup software for Windows 10. It automatically backs up data, including Outlook emails, favorites, contacts, fonts, music files, videos, pictures, documents, and folders. You can also specify other files to back up. The software offers full backup, incremental backup, and differential backup modes for user convenience.
Genie Timeline Manager Pro
advantage:The interface is simple.

shortcoming:The functions are too fragmented and the utilization threshold is too high for inexperienced users.