Tips To Speedup Your PC

Personal Computers / Laptops don’t have an endless life, with time, both software and hardware wear out. This leads to slower PC performance and overall bad experience. You may not be able to achieve same PC performance as when you bought it, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get a significant increase in performance. With some simple tweaks or may be some upgrades, you can easily get a boost in performance.

Furthermore, if you don’t maintain your PC properly, there might be tons of obsolete data, viruses or hardware issues that may be slowing down the system. All this can be easily fixed, if you just dedicate some time to your PC and follow our Tips.

Below you will find some simple tips and tricks that can be easily followed to get a significant increase in performance. Just follow all the tips that you can easily follow, and you will definitely see some positive results.

Here is How To Speed up Your PC /Laptop

1. Restart your PC

Before we start playing around with PC’s hardware or software, it is best to just give your PC a fresh start. While running, your PC goes through many processes, and some just keep working in the background even if you close the program. 

Restarting the PC is  a good way to get rid of the processes and have a fresh start. When your PC will boot, there will be no additional process until you start opening and closing applications. 

2. Cool it down

If your PC is running straight for past 3 days (that MMORPG farming is important, but not worth the damage), then the poor thing deserves a rest. PCs slow down when they heat up, just turn it completely off for 2-3 hours and start using again.

If your PC heats up quite quickly, make sure its fan is clean and use a cooling pad for your laptop (if required).

3. Adjust Computer’s Visuals for Best Performance

The default option for your Windows is set to use animations and attractive themes. You can set a basic theme and disable all fancy visuals effects to get a better performance. You can do so from the “Personalize” option of your Windows, which should be in the context menu when you right-click on the desktop.

You can either customize it manually or use AVG PC Tune Up to let the software select the optimum performance settings for you.

4. Use a Simple Desktop Background

If your PC is having a performance issue, then never use live wallpapers or screen savers. For all the visual effects, these wallpapers use your PC resources. Windows default background is quite light, just use that.

5. Disable Windows 10 Update Bandwidth Distribution (If you are on Windows 10)

By default Windows 10 uploads all the Windows 10 updates downloaded on your PC to other Windows 10 users, which uses your Bandwidth and PC resources leading to slower speed and browsing. Fortunately, you have the option to turn off this distribution.

To turn off  bandwidth distribution, click on “Settings” in the Start menu, and in there, click on “Update & Security”.

Now click on “Advanced options” in “Windows Update” option, and click on “Choose how updates are delivered” on the next page.

Here, just click on the blue slider button to turn off this feature.

6. Scan your PC for Malware and Viruses

If your PC contains Viruses, Malware, Spyware, and other such bad programs, then you may see a decrease in performance. They may work hidden in the background to damage or expose your data, and in the process they also use your PC’s valuable resources.

Use a good antivirus and anti-malware program to make sure your PC is clean. For this purpose, Avast Antivirus and Malwarebytes (anti-malware) are great tools.

7. Clean Registry

Windows keeps all the system and application changes in the registry, and with time some entries may obsolete and slow down Windows processes. Thankfully, there are many registry cleaning tools that will clean the registry for you.

The most simple and free to use tool for this will be Wise Registry Cleaner. It has one-click operation, and it is extremely light and powerful tool.

8. Defrag the Hard Drive

As you add data in your PC, the data gets scattered all over the hard drive and makes it hard for the system to search for files. You can defrag the hard drive to arrange data in a sequence so the system could easily find the specified file.

Windows comes with this feature built-in, just type “Disk Defragmenter” in the start menu search and you will find the tool. Run it on all your drives and you should see a slightly smooth performance. You can also try a Third-party defragmentation tool that may also offer some added features. For this purpose, you can use IObit’s Smart Defrag, which is a feature rich.

9. Disable Startup Programs

Startup programs can slow down your PC boot time and leave processes in the background that slow down your PC performance. To disable startup programs, press Windows+R and type in “msconfig” in “Run” dialog.

Now, navigate to the “Startup” tab and you will find all the programs that startup with your PC. Just uncheck all the programs you don’t want to start with the PC and click on “OK” to apply changes.

10. Clean up your Browser Data

While browsing, your browser stores all the temporary data in your PC that will not get automatically deleted. It will slow down your PC, your browsing and take unrequired space on your hard drive. You can use a dedicated tool to clean your PC and the browser to get some performance boost.

For this purpose, CCleaner is a renowned tool that will get the job done forfree. Just download the tool and scan your PC to find and delete all the unrequired data. Furthermore, if you are facing slow speed while browsing, then you should also delete all the unwanted add-ons and extensions.

11. Don’t use Google Chrome

Although, Google Chrome is one of the best browsers, but it is also very resource hungry. Your PC might not be able to handle Google Chrome, which leads to slower browsing. Fortunately, there are many light Google Chrome alternatives that are very resource friendly and offer the similar features as Chrome.

You can use browsers such as, Firefox, Opera or Safari (if you are a Mac user), instead of Chrome.   

12. Delete Duplicate Files

With time, your PC may build-up duplicate files like media files, documents or even system files due to copy/pasting between device or any other similar reasons. These files are useless to the PC, and just take up space and get in the way of system while find other data.

You can use a good third-party duplicate file deleter to view and get rid of all duplicate files. A good tool for this would be Duplicate Cleaner, which will let you filter and delete duplicate files. However, check each and every file you are about to delete as you may delete a duplicate system file that may be required by the system.

13. Use a PC Performance boosting Software

There are many PC performance booster tool available both free and paid that will optimize your PC for best performance. These tools don’t swing a magic wand to increase performance, they just get rid of all the junk and tweak your system settings for optimum performance. So don’t expect unrealistic results, if your PC is messed up you may get a huge performance boost and vice versa.

The best free tools for this purpose are IObit Advanced System Care Free andGlary Utilities. If you are looking for a paid tool with more features then you might like to try out iolo System Mechanic.

14. Get rid of Unrequired Programs/Softwares

There is a chance you or any other app might have installed different programs that you may never need. These programs take up precious space and also get in the way of system while it is searching for other data. There is no automatic process, you will have to manually check the programs you don’t need and delete them.

In Windows, just type “Uninstall Programs” in the Start menu search and select “Uninstall programs”. You will see all the programs installed in your PC, double-click on the program you want to uninstall.

Furthermore, make sure your “Recycle bin” is empty, as deleted programs still take space as long as they are in the “Recycle bin”.

15. Turn off background process

If there are any programs that are working in the background, such as cloud storage (Dropbox, Google Drive, One Drive, etc), updaters, uploaders and monitoring software, etc., turn them off. Background processes eat up your PC’s resources while you are working on an important task, so it is better to turn them off when you don’t need them.

16. Upgrade to Latest OS Version

Make sure you have the latest Version of the OS you are using. For example, if you are a Windows user, then make sure you Upgrade to Windows 10 (which is free, actually). New versions of OS are more stable and offer better security, features and performance.

Although, do check the system requirements for a particular OS before upgrading. If your PC can’t handle it, it may lead to decrease in performance.

17. Upgrade RAM

All of the running programs in your PC use PC’s RAM to run. So, the more programs you want to run, the more RAM you will need. You can increase the RAM by purchasing more RAM and adding it to your PC. However, if you don’t know which RAM to get and how to add it, then go to your near computer shop and let them handle it or get advice.

18. Use ReadyBoost

There is also a way to get more RAM using one of your USB flash drives. The free space in a USB flash drive (compatible one) can be turned into RAM for your PC using the “ReadyBoost” feature of USB drives.

Just insert a USB drive with some empty space (at least 256 MB), and go to its properties by right-clicking on it. If the USB is compatible, you will see a “ReadyBoost” tab in properties, navigate to it. Now, select the option “Use this device” and set how much RAM you want to use from the below slider. Your PC will immediately accept it and use all the specified space as PC RAM, leading to big boost in performance.

19. Use a Bigger hard drive or SSD

If you are low on storage space, then you might see some slow performance. either free up a lot of space by deleting data or buy bigger hard drive and move all the data to it. If you can afford to buy an SSD, then it is a far better option when it comes to speed.

SSDs use chips to store data, not physical parts. This is why they are very fast as compared to standard hard drives. But they are almost double the price of a hard drive, so make your decision accordingly.

20. Reinstall Windows

If you think your PC is just too much bloated and full of bad softwares, then you might like to get rid of everything and start over again. Reinstalling Windows will delete all the data inside it, so make sure you have backup of all your important data before reinstalling.

You can reinstall Windows from the “Backup and Restore” option of Windows. This will factory reset your Windows and make it same as it came when you bought it.

21. Remove Bloatware

Bloatware are built-in programs added by software companies when you buy the PC. They are there to reduce the cost of the machine you are buying by profiting from the software companies.  These softwares just startup with your PC and keep eating up resource in the background and also take up precious space.

However, you are not bound to have them installed in your PC to use Windows. Just uninstall all the bloatware programs using the standard uninstall process, if you don’t need them, of course.

If you will factory reset afterwards, all the bloatware will again get installed. So it is recommended that you create a custom image after deleting all the bloatware.

SEE ALSO: How To Optimize Internet Speed (15 Tips)

Conclusion

Most of the above mentioned methods are completely free to use and very effective. However, you are free to checkout paid alternatives as well to gain the best results. You should also know the limits of your PC while following the above tips. If your PC is not powerful enough, it may not be able to handle the tasks you want it to do.

You can checkout your PC specifications by pressing Windows+R keys and typing “Dxdiag” in the “Run” dialog. This will show all your PC hardware and software specifications, keep them in mind while trying to run multiple or resource hungry programs.

Note: Whether you are running Windows 10, 8.1, 8, 7 or XP, these tips will definitely help you to speed up your slow PC.

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Undocopy.Blogspot.Com: Top 15 Smartphones Launched in 2015: OnePlus, Sam...

Undocopy.Blogspot.Com: Top 15 Smartphones Launched in 2015: OnePlus, Sam...: August 2015 remained an eventful month for smartphone enthusiasts in the country, with several anticipated phones across all price s...

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Top 30 Most Interactive Tech Blogs

Overview.

Discover the findings of our report / analysis.

The object of this study was to examine contents of blogs chosen from Tech Blogs list - powered by Technorati.com (20th of October). We examined 5128 blog posts created from 14th to 20th October 2013. They were commented (on-site) 107241 times. On average, users created 21 comments per article. At the same time people shared those articles with their friends/followers/subscribers from Facebook and Twitter- 415 266 and 895 462 times respectively.

We created 14 categories to measure interactivity: average onsite comments per post, total onsite comments, total Facebook likes, total Facebook shares, total Facebook comments, average Facebook likes per post, average Facebook shares per post, average Facebook comments per post, average Facebook interactions (total) per post, total Twitter shares, average Twitter shares per post, total Twitter + Facebook interactions , average Twitter + FB interactions per post.

The blogs that appear most frequently in the top 5 for the mentioned categories are: Theverge.com (13 times), Gizmodo.com (12), Mashable.com (12) and Businessinsider.com (11). Mashable.com always takes either first or second place, whenever it shows up in one of categories.

In the analyzed period Mashable.com generated the highest number of interactions (more than blogs number 2 and 3 combined). Businessinsider.com was the most engaging blog on Facebook, where it generated nearly 120k FB comments. It would be more than all other chosen blogs altogether, if it wasn’t for Mashable.com, which generated more than 95k comments.

The Verge and Gizmodo lead the way in terms of number of regular/onsite comments with well over 20 000 total comments each.

BusinessInsider.com was the most active blog, generating almost as many posts as blogs number 2-5 combined.

Macrumors.com was the most onsite-engaging blog with an average of 149 comments per article .

Mashable and BusinessInsider generated the majority of Facebook Likes during our analysis. Both generated about 250k fb likes. It is especially impressive for Mashable which generated more Facebok likes than BusinessInsider while generating 3 times fewer posts.

When it comes to Facebook shares, Mashable.com is the victorious blog with nearly 150k shares. Mashable.com owes its victory in this category to its high number of average Facebook Shares per article (407 comments per post).

Twitter users mostly shared articles from Mashable.com and Gizmodo.com, which generated altogether over 450k shares. In comparison, all other blogs combined generated around 440k shares.

Full results.

View the full results for our Tech Blogs interactivity analysis.

Winners.

Winners of the Most Interactive Tech Blogs Awards.

Mashable.com Mashable is a leading source for news, information & resources for the Connected Generation. Mashable reports on the importance of digital innovation and how it empowers and inspires people around the world. Mashable's 22 million monthly unique visitors and 13 million social media followers have become one of the most engaged digital networks in the world. 852 149 total interactions 363 blog posts 2343 average social media interactions per post 340 757 total Twitter shares 147 696 total Facebook shares

TheVerge.com The Verge was founded in 2011 in partnership with Vox Media, and covers the intersection of technology, science, art, and culture. Its mission is to offer in-depth reporting and long-form feature stories, breaking news coverage, product information, and community content in a unified and cohesive manner. The site is powered by Vox Media's Chorus platform, a modern media stack built for web-native news in the 21st century. 203 304 total interactions 279 blog posts 21 841 total on-site comments 70 803 total Twitter shares 33 101 total Facebook shares

BusinessInsider.com Business Insider is a fast-growing business site with deep financial, media, tech, and other industry verticals. The flagship vertical, Silicon Alley Insider, launched on July 19, 2007, led by DoubleClick founders Dwight Merriman and Kevin  Ryan and former top-ranked Wall Street analyst Henry Blodget. 602 705 total interactions 1153 blog posts 20 992 total on-site comments 98 867 total Twitter shares 125 120 total Facebook shares

Macrumors.com MacRumors.com is a website focused on Apple news and rumors. MacRumors attracts a broad audience of both consumers and professionals interested in the latest technologies and products. The site also boasts an active community focused on purchasing decisions and technical aspects of the iPhone, iPod and Macintosh platforms. 27 161 total interactions 42 blog posts 6237 total on-site comments 7404 total Twitter shares 1822 total Facebook shares

About the analysis.

The object of this analysis was to examine contents of blogs chosen from Top Tech Blogs list (powered by Technorati.com / 20th of October). We examined 5128 blog posts created from 14th to 20th October 2013. They were commented (on-site) 107241 times. On average users created 21 comments per article. At the same time people shared those articles with their friends from Facebook and Twitter 415 266 and 895 462 times accordingly. 

We analysed 2 476 124 interactions related to Top 30 Tech Blogs (according to Technorati.com / 20th of October 2013). The analysis was created using data collected by Brand24 social media monitoring and analytics tool.                             

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Everything You Need to Know About Your Salary Slip

Every month, your finance department will send you a salary slip once the salary gets paid out.
For most people, the importance of salary slip is only when they apply for a loan or a new credit card. Otherwise, the confusing terms and figures seem like a puzzle you don’t want to solve.
But here’s why you might want to understand your salary slip better.

• Choose smartly from competing offers when you are looking to switch jobs
• Optimize tax liability by making full use of the deductions available
• Understand what percentage of your salary is forced savings (EPF, ESI etc.)

The income part of your salary slip

#1: Basic Salary
It’s the most important component of your salary and generally comprises 35-50 % of your total salary. Most of the other components are structured around it.

Tax Implications: 100% taxable
Adds to in-hand? Yes

# 2. House Rent Allowance:

It’s an allowance to pay your house rent. Normally, HRA is 40-50 % of the basic, based on your location (metro or non-metro).
Tax Implications: You get tax exemption based on whichever of the following is lower

• 40% of your basic pay
• Actual rent minus 10 % of basic
• HRA component specified on your salary slip

Adds to in-hand? Generally Yes

# 3. Conveyance Allowance:

It’s paid by the company towards cost of travel from home to work and back and is exempt from Income tax.

Tax Implications: Rs 1600 per month or the conveyance allowance component in your salary slip, whichever is lower, is exempted from tax.

Adds to in-hand? Yes, depending on how much you actually spend.

# 4. Leave Travel Allowance:

It’s given by employers to cover the cost of employee travel while on leave. It includes travel expenses of your immediate family members as well.

Tax Implications: Proof of journey required to avail deduction subject to certain limits. Any expenses incurred during the trip apart from travel does not count towards your LTA tax exemption. The exemption is also applicable only for 2 journeys undertaken in a block of 4 calendar years.

Adds to in-hand? No.

# 5. Medical Allowance:
It is given by employers to cover any medical expenses incurred during the period of employment. It is also generally a reimbursed expense and thus subject to providing proof of expense.

Tax Implications: The allowance is exempt up to 15,000 per annum subject to proof of expenses such as medical bills.

Adds to in-hand? Yes. If you fail to provide the proof, you still receive the amount, but will be fully taxed.

# 6.  Performance Bonus and Special Allowance:
It is given to reward or encourage employee performance and varies with performance or company guidelines.

Tax Implication: 100% Taxable

Adds to in-hand? Yes. It can be variable and therefore, difficult to assess as part of your in-hand.

Other Allowances: There are quite a few other kinds of allowances based on the industry or the company. Most such allowances are fully taxable. They might or might not add to your in-hand salary based on the conditions they are subject to.
Make sure you talk to the HR and get a clear understanding of the in-hand and tax implications of your salary components.

The deduction part of your salary slip

# 1. Provident Fund:
PF is typically 12% of your basic salary which is put into a government controlled body, Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation. Your contribution is typically matched by the company subject to certain maximum amount, defined as per the company policy.  You can also choose to opt out from the PF scheme.

How to lower this deduction? You can choose to opt out of the PF scheme. In case you opt out, make sure you invest it regularly in better investment options like equity mutual funds that gives you a higher return. If you are unsure of investing the money, it’s best to stay invested in PF.

# 2. Professional Tax:
This is payable only in the following states-Karnataka, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Tamilnadu, Gujarat, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Kerala, Meghalaya, Orissa, Tripura, Jharkhand, Bihar, and Madhya Pradesh. It normally amounts to just a few hundred rupees each month and is subject to your gross tax slab.
This amount is deducted from your taxable income.

How to lower this deduction? This deduction cannot be lowered.

# 3. Tax deductible at source:
This amount, which is decided based on your overall tax slab, is deducted on behalf of the income-tax department by your employer.

How to lower this deduction? You can reduce this burden by investing in tax savings instruments under Section 80 C or other sections under the IT act.

Things to keep in mind when comparing salary slips in offers:

# 1. Your basic salary is critical as most of your allowances will be based on that figure.
# 2. Look for special allowances and check whether they are performance or event based.

#3. Do not focus only on the in-hand salary. Look at the other benefits the company provides (health insurance, accident insurance, free food, bus transport, better career growth) which might outmatch a higher in-hand salary offer from some other company

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top-10-mobile-phones-released-in-august

India has become a hot target for mobile phone companies owing to growth potential and over a dozen devices were launched in August. Several handsets including OnePlus 2, Meizu M2 Note, Xiaomi Redmi 2 Prime, Galaxy A8 and Gionee Marathon M4 have hit the stores.
Devices like Samsung Galaxy Note 5, Asus Zenfone 2 Deluxe, Asus Zenfone Laser, Asus Zenfone Selfie, Sony Xperia C5 Ultra and Xperia M5 were also unveiled in August, but they haven't been released in the market till the time of filing this story.
Here are top 10 mobile phones released in India in the month of August:a

1) OnePlus 2

Current Price: Rs 22,999 for 16 GB, Rs 24,999 for 64 GB
Display: 5.5-inch full HD LCD screen with 920x1080 pixels (401 ppi pixel density)

Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 810 v2.1 series
Operating System: Android 5.1 Lollipop
Storage: 16 GB internal memory and 3 GB RAM, and 32 GB and 4 GB RAM (no microSD card slot)
Camera: 13 MP main camera, 5 MP front snapper
Battery: 3,300 mAh

2) Meizu M2 Note

Current Price: Rs 9,999
Display: 5.5-inch full HD IGZO capacitive touchscreen with 1080 x 1920 pixels (403 ppi pixel density)
Processor: Mediatek MT6753
Operating System: Flyme 4.5 based on Android 5.0 Lollipop
Storage: 16/32 GB internal memory, expandable up to 128 GB, 3 GB RAM
Camera: 13 MP rear camera, 5 MP front snapper
Battery: 3,100 mAh

3) Xiaomi Redmi 2 Prime

Current Price: Rs 6,999
Display: 4.7-inch HD IPS touchscreen with 1280 x 720p (312 ppi pixel density)
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 410
Operating System: Android with MIUI 6
Storage: 16 GB internal memory, expandable up to 32 GB, 2 GB RAM
Camera: 8 MP main camera, 2 MP front snapper
Battery: 2,200 mAh

4) Samsung Galaxy A8

Current Price: Rs 32,500
Display: 5.7-inch full HD Super AMOLED display with 1920x1080p (386 ppi pixels density)
Processor: Exynos 5430
Operating System: Android 5.1.1 Lollipop
Storage: 32GB internal memory, expandable up to 128 GB, 2 GB RAM
Camera: 16 MP rear camera, 5 MP front snapper
Battery: 3,050 mAh

5) Gionee Marathon M4

Current Price: Rs 15,000
Display: 5.0-inch HD super AMOLED display with 1280x720p (294 ppi Pixel density)
Processor: Cortex-A7
Operating System: Android 5.0 Lollipop with Amigo v3.0 UI
Storage: 16GB internal memory, expandable up to 32 GB, 2 GB RAM
Camera: 8 MP main camera, 5 MP front snapper
Battery: 5,000 mAh

6) Panasonic Eluga Icon

Current Price: Rs 10,999
Display: 5.5-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen with 720 x 1280 pixels (267 ppi pixel density)
Processor: MediaTek TRU
Operating System: Android 4.4 KitKat
Storage: 16 GB internal memory, expandable up to 32 GB, 2 GB RAM
Camera: 13 MP rear camera, 8 MP front camera
Battery: 3,500 mAh

7) BlackBerry Porsche Design P'9983 Graphite

Current Price: Rs 99,990
Display: 3.1-inch screen with 720x720p (330 ppi pixel density)
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 (MSM8960)
Operating System: BlackBerry 10 OS
Storage: 64 GB internal camera, expandable up to 128 GB, 2 GB RAM
Camera: 8 MP main camera, 2 MP front camera
Battery: 2,100mAh

8) Samsung Galaxy Grand Prime

Current Price: Rs 11,100
Display: 5-inch TFT capacitive touchscreen with 540 x 960 pixels (220 ppi pixel density)
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon 410
Operating System: Android 4.4.4 KitKat
Storage: 8 GB internal memory expandable up to 64 GB, 1 GB RAM
Camera: 8 MP main camera, 5 MP secondary snapper
Battery: 2,600 mAh

9) Lenovo A2010

Current Price: RS 4,990
Display: 4.5-inch FWVGA TFT capacitive touchscreen with 480 x 854 pixels (218 ppi pixel density)
Processor: MediaTek MT6735M
Operating System: Android 5.1 Lollipop
Storage: 8 GB internal memory, expandable up to 32 GB, 1 GB RAM
Camera: 5 MP main camera, 2 MP front snapper
Battery: 2,000 mAh

10) Lava Iris X1 Selfie

Current Price: Rs 6,777
Display: 4.5-inch touchscreen with 854x480 pixels
Processor: MediaTek MT6580
Operating System: Android 5.1 Lollipop
Storage: 8 GB internal memory, expandable up to 32 GB, 1 GB RAM
Camera: 8 MP main camera, 5 MP front camera

Battery: 2,000 mAh

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Best free backup software: 11 programs recommend

Protect your files from disaster, entirely free of charge, with these backup programs

From viruses and software bugs, to hardware failure or human error, there are many potential dangers waiting to trash your files.

And if the worst happens - you lose personal photos, your music library, important business documents - then that could be a real disaster. Which is why it's a very good idea to back up your PC on a regular basis.

This is never going to be fun, of course, but with the right software it'll be easier than you think. And you may not have to spend anything, either, because there are some great free backup and disk cloning tools around.

Whether you want to copy the contents of your Documents folder somewhere, clone one drive to another, or create a backup image of your entire system, we've found plenty of programs that can help.

So what's the best free backup and disk cloning software? Read on for our recommendations.

1. AOMEI Backupper

If you like your backup programs to be simple than AOMEI Backupper's straightforward interface will appeal immediately. Choose the drive or partition to back up, the destination drive, and a click later Backupper will be creating an image for you.

The program has plenty of power, though, if you need it. There are options to encrypt or compress your backups. You can create incremental or differential backups for extra speed. You're able to restore individual files and folders, or the entire image, and there are even disk and partition cloning tools.

What you can't do, unfortunately, is schedule backups - they must be run manually. But otherwise AOMEI Backupper is an excellent tool, packed with features yet also easy to use.

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2. EaseUS Todo Backup Free

Just like most free (for personal use) editions of commercial products, EaseUS Todo Backup Free has a few limitations - but the package still has more than enough features for most people.

The program can run both image and file-based backups, for instance, manually or on a schedule. You're able to run full or incremental backups.

An option to limit write speed reduces the impact backups have on your system performance. It's possible to individual files or folders, or an entire image via the program's recovery disc. And there are tools to clone and wipe drives, too.

On the negative side, you don't get encryption, there's no differential backup, and you only get a Linux-based disc (not Windows PE). But EaseUS Todo Backup Free still looks like a great program to us.

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3. Redo Backup and Recovery

Redo Backup and Recovery is an imaging backup tool with a difference. Instead of installing a program, you download a large (249MB) ISO file, and burn it to CD or USB key drive. Then just boot from it to launch a simple tool which can back up your drives, and restore them later (even if Windows won't start).

There's also an undelete tool, and even a web browser if you need to look for help on your PC problems.

The program isn't exactly convenient, then. You can't schedule backups, they all have to be run manually, and there are very few options.

But it's also easy to use and free for everyone, so if you only want to run backups occasionally - or want a system you can use on any PC, without installing software - then it might be worth a look.

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4. Cobian Backup

Cobian Backup is an excellent file backup tool with lots of features. You get full, differential and incremental backups, for instance; zip or 7zip compression; AES 256-bit encryption; include and exclude filters; a strong scheduler, backup to or from FTP servers, and the list goes on. Every aspect of the program is extremely configurable, too (there are more than 100 settings you can tweak).

PC or backup novices are likely to find this a little overwhelming. If you're more experienced, though, you'll love the amount of control Cobian Backup gives you over every aspect of the backup process.

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5. Macrium Reflect Free

One of the most popular free (for home use) disk imaging programs around, Macrium Reflect Free delivers a solid, if basic feature set via an easy-to-use interface.

The program doesn't have incremental or differential backups. And you don't get encryption or password protection. This does make creating a backup job very easy, though (choose the source drive, the destination, maybe set the compression level and you're done).

There's a capable scheduler; you can mount images in Windows Explorer, or restore them entirely with both Linux and Windows PE-based recovery discs. And overall Macrium Reflect Free is a great choice for anyone who wants a simple but reliable image backup tool.

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6. DriveImage XML

Free for personal use, DriveImage XML is a lightweight alternative to the more bulky imaging competition. Backup is as easy as choosing a source drive, a destination, and (optionally) setting your compression level.

Restoration is just as simple, and the only significant extra is an option to copy directly from one drive to another.

There are some complications elsewhere. Click "Task Scheduler", for instance, and you'll get instructions on how to manually set up Windows Task Scheduler to run your backups. But if you need just a basic drive imaging tool then give DriveImage XML a try.

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7. FBackup

FBackup is a capable file backup tool, free for both personal and commercial use. The interface is simple and straightforward, and there are a number of features you don't always see elsewhere.

Plug-ins allow you to back up individual programs with a click; there's support for include and exclude filters; and you can run "mirror" backups, which just copy everything without zipping it up (which makes restoring files very easy).

Compression isn't so good, though (it's the weak Zip2), and the scheduler is also more basic than you'll see elsewhere. But if your needs are simple (or you're tired of "free for personal use" tools) then FBackup should appeal.

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8. Backup Maker

At first the free-for-personal-use BackupMaker seems like any other file backup tool, with incremental or full backups available, scheduling, compression, encryption, include and exclude filters, and so on.

But interesting extras include support for online backups to FTP servers, and running backups automatically when a USB device is connected.

The program stores data in Zip files, too, making them very convenient to access. And Backup Maker comes in a tiny 6.5MB download, far more manageable than some of the bulky competition.

If you're a home user looking for capable file backup then Backup Maker could be ideal.

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9. Clonezilla

Just like Redo Backup and Recovery, Clonezilla isn't a program you install: it's a bootable environment which you can launch from a CD or USB flash drive.

And it's seriously powerful, to you're able to create an image of a drive; restore an image (to one drive, or many at the same time); or clone a drive (copy one drive to another), with plenty of low-level control over how this works.

While Redo Backup and Recovery focuses on ease of use, though, Clonezilla is more about providing advanced options, like "run unattended Clonezilla via PXE booting". It's not complicated - it's probably the best free disk cloning software around - but the program is aimed at experienced users, and backup beginners should look elsewhere.

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10. Paragon Backup & Recovery 2013 Free

Another free (for personal use) version of a commercial drive imaging product, Paragon Backup & Recovery 2013 Free is a good tool with some restrictions.

There's strong support for the basics: you can create image backups (full or differential), compress and encrypt them, use exclude filters to help define what's included, run backups on a schedule, then restore specific files and folders or the entire image.

Extras include the "capsule", a separate partition to help keep your backups safe. And a good set of basic partition tools is included, too.

Problems? You don't get incremental backup; you can't clone disks or partitions, and the interface occasionally feels a little complex. Still, Paragon Backup & Recovery 2013 Free is a quality tool, and well worth your attention.

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11. Duplicati

If you need online file backups then Duplicati is one of the most versatile tools around, with support for saving files to SkyDrive, Google Docs, FTP servers, Amazon S3, Rackspace Cloudfiles and WEBDAV-based storage.

The program can also save to local and network drives, though, and includes plenty of useful options (AES-256 encryption, password protection, a capable scheduler, full and incremental backups, regular expression support for the include/ exclude filters, even upload and download speed limits to reduce any impact on your system).

So whether you're saving files to the web, or locally, there's something for you here.

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