Best Windows backup software for PCs and laptops

The useful part

By now, the importance of backing up your Windows PC or laptop goes without saying. It only takes a moment to consider how much of your data is at potential risk of a drive failure, natural disaster, or a bad actor, if you don't have a solid backup plan in place. The best Windows backup software includes file backup, sure, but also disk imaging and full image restore, as well as disaster recovery.

How it works

• Our picks for best Windows backup software are selected with all the must-haves of data backup and recovery in mind, so in the tragic event that your primary local data repository is compromised, you're...
• Some of these work well (Restore Points, File History), others don't (System Repair Disc, Recovery Drive).
• None are suitable for quick and easy disaster recovery — even the online backup that is available when you use Windows with a Microsoft cloud account.
• Thankfully, there are a number of highly capable and far more reliable third-party backup options for Windows that cover the panoply of backup, restore, migration, and disaster recovery.
• Our reviewers have been testing PC hardware, software, and services for decades.