One of the best features of Macs is the utility called Time Machine, which actually creates a backup of the system and personal files so that, in case they are deleted or when there are problems, it is always possible to recover them. On Windows PCs, up to Windows 7, nothing like this existed, except for the standard backup and system restore function.
The Windows backup tool is used to create a system image that can be fully restored when needed.
However, it is not a Time Machine, that is, a tool to restore individual files if they have been deleted or modified in addition to the system settings .
System restore, on the other hand, is an old feature of Windows PCs, still very useful today, but which only serves to restore the state of the previous system by canceling any changes, but which does not bring back the files.
A bit to imitate Macs and above all to provide a more effective and usable backup tool, in Windows 8.1 and in Windows 10 there is the function called File History .
As already seen in another guide, you can then activate File History in Windows 10 and 8, to restore files deleted by mistake and also to recover previous versions of modified files.
File history requires, to function, an external disk that can also be a cloud space (if you go to map the Cloud folder as a disk partition).
Alternatively, if you want to have a backup system similar to that of the Mac Time Machine and with a few more options than the File History function, you can use a free external program.
There are two Time Machine alternatives for Windows PCs that are free and work well: Duplicates and RollBack Rx.
1) Duplicati is an open source backup program that works very well and is free on all levels.
The peculiarity of this tool is its ability to save backups of files on SSH / SFTP, WebDAV or FTP servers and also on Microsoft Onedrive or Google Drive.
The program also supports encryption to make backups impossible to restore without a password.
2) RollBack Rx, on the other hand, is a free program in its Home version, which saves the status of the PC every day so that you can possibly recover the deleted files or the configuration of the previous day.
It is, in fact, a program that replicates the function of system restore points, with the difference that it also makes it possible to restore deleted files from old versions.
Of course, it is also possible to use, for this purpose, one of the best automatic backup programs for Windows PCs, such as those of Aomei, Macrium or EaseUs.
