Hasleo Backup Suite Free stands out as one of the few highly powerful yet still completely free-to-use Windows backup utilities.
By facilitating both file-level and full disk and system image backups within a single free-to-use solution, Hasleo Backup Suite Free provides a powerful set of features to Windows users wanting to protect their important data. Furthermore, backup options usually reserved for premium backup titles, including encryption, compression, disk wiping utilities plus recovery media building tools are also included making Hasleo Backup Suite Free a tool to be taken seriously.
Whilst this is a clearly a very powerful offering in terms of its Windows backup capabilities, also included within Backup Suite Free is disk, partition and system cloning functionality. This makes Hasleo Backup Suite Free more than just a simple backup tool and becomes into a tool capable of also helping users migrate, securely wipe or clone their PCs for free.
Whilst this is a very promising piece of free backup software at first glance, it should be noted that Hasleo do also provide several premium software products for sale. Included in this range is the well-received Hasleo Disk Clone which I tested recently and found to be a powerful disk cloning tool for anyone seeking a dedicated disk coning solution.
Hasleo Backup Suite Free is a powerful yet free-to-use backup solution ideal for anyone seeking to back up a Windows PC with the minimal of fuss or cost. Despite being free-to-use, Backup Suite Free includes many great additional tools meaning it is defiantly worth testing out by anyone seeking a free (or simply easy to use) backup solution – vamos.
Key Features
New & Enhanced Features:
- Full Windows 11 support: Hasleo Backup Suite Free is fully compatible with the latest versions of Windows 11.
- Improved Backup & Restore Options: New editions now support more powerful backup and restore operations including full disk image backups.
- Enhanced Disk Image Backups: Support for compressing, encrypting, splitting, merging and deleting disk image backup files.
Already Proven Features:
- Powerful Disk Image Backups: Support for making full disk, partition and system image-based backups.
- Secure Data Encryption: Secure AES 256-bit encryption available across all backup types.
- Recovery Media Tools: Easily build and add third-party drivers to WinPE-based bootable recovery media.
- Virtual Drive Mounting: Easily mount disk image backup files as drives (with drive letters) within Windows.
- Good Scheduling Options: Good scheduling options ensure automatic backups can be made as required.
- Powerful Disk Cloning Functionality: A powerful suite of disk cloning tools is bundled into the software providing safe, effective and reliable disk cloning.
- Secure Drive Erasure: Dedicated tools provided for securely wiping hard disk drives
- No Built-in Cloud: No built-in support for third-party cloud storage is provided
Licensing & Pricing:
- 100% Free to Use: Hasleo Backup Suite Free is 100% free for both personal and commercial use.
Hasleo Backup Suite Usability
In this section I will be downloading, installing and making use of Hasleo Backup Suite Free whilst sharing my hands-on experience during the process. This begins with the downloading and installation of the tool before moving on to assess the various backup, disk imaging, disk cloning and data recovery capabilities via running a series of real-world tasks.
This process begins via the official Hasleo website where the completely free-to-use Backup Suite Free software can be downloaded.
Installing Hasleo Backup Suite Free
Installing the Backup Suite Free software begins at the official Hasleo website where it can be downloaded for both X86/64 and ARM PCs completely free of charge.
NB – ARM based Windows PCs are still relatively new, if you are unsure of what download you require then the X86/64 will most likely be the correct choice (if your processor is Intel or AMD then this will be the case).
Once downloaded and set running, the Hasleo installer makes easy the process of getting the application ready with just a few clicks required.
As can be seen above, once the installation is complete, one of the first things the application asks of users is to set the default storage location for backups to be saved. Whilst this is undoubtedly an important step (and is probably why Hasleo have this warning so early on), it does mean that the first thing we see when opening up Backup Suite Free after installation is a warning message which is, in my opinion at least, not an ideal start.
Actioning the request to set a default backup location involves selecting a storage location visible to the device (and, if necessary, creating a new folder for backups to be saved in). It is also possible to set various other backup settings here including the default data compression level, the delay when running scheduled backups after a PC restart and whether backups should prevent the PC shutting down amongst several other related options.
With this initial installation and configuration step complete, Hasleo Backup Suite Free is now ready to be used and an initial backup set created.
Making File Backups
File-level backups reman one of the quickest and most effective methods for easily getting any important data stored upon a PC safely backed-up to a target device. This is, in part at least, thanks to its ability to focus only on any required files and folders which need backing up (versus disk image backups which include everything) making for an efficient backup process overall.
The Backup tab found which is within the main desktop application is where we can find all available backup types including the file-level option as seen above. Upon starting a new file-level backup, the first task will be to manually select the required files and folders to be included via the file picking tool which then becomes available.
Whilst selecting all required files and folders is really easy thanks to this well-designed file-picking box, it is a little disappointing that no “shortcuts” are available (e.g. easily selecting all photos, videos or documents). With all required items selected, the “Backup options” button found towards the bottom of this page is where we can then configure any advanced options including compression and encryption.
Whilst configuring these backup options (of which there are plenty given this is a free-to-use tool), the “Space” tab is where we can specify the level of data compression applied plus the media splitting size if this is required (something very useful when working with fixed size media including CDs/DVDs). Also configurable on this tab is the “image retention policy” which defines how frequently the backup set will be run (scheduling), the backup methodology (e.g. full or incremental) as well as how long to keep historic visions.
As can be seen above, scheduling options are plentiful and help accommodate all of the usual automatic backup requirements expected from such software (e.g. running backups automatically every day, week and month). Also available are options for running backups at set intervals (e.g. every hour) as well as running backups upon system triggers including when USB flash drives are plugged in.
With the schedule set, we can also specify the backup retention policies form this same configuration page with options for setting different timeframes for each of the available backup methodologies available.
Moving on and the next tab allows for encryption to be applied to this new backup set if required. Hasleo Backup Suite Free supports adding strong AES 256-bit encryption which is great to see here given this is the de-facto standard when securely protecting data backups.
Other configuration tabs include those for automatically filtering the files included in the backup set (e.g. automatically excluding large files such as ISO files), support for automatically running scripts and commands before or after a set is run plus the ability to configure automatic email backup notifications (with Gmail and custom SMTP server options available). Also available in this configuration box is the Advanced tab which, amongst several other advanced options, allows for automatically verifying backup images upon completion.
Once running, backup progress can easily be monitored thanks to a useful progress screen which appears during runtime. This progress page can also be used to tune the backup operation priority on the fly, adjusting the power plan in use as well as specifying that verification be run or not after completion.
With the backup operation complete, a final status will be shown (detailing the job performance and, if applicable, any issues encountered) and the backup job status displayed upon the desktop applications homepage. We can also from this homepage initiate other actions relating to existing backup sets including setting a backup job running, restoring from existing backups and verifying backup image files amongst other options.
And with this, the process of configuring and running a file-level backup within Hasleo Backup Suite Free is complete. Overall, an effective experience so far and an impressive set of features (including support or full AES 256-bit encryption and unlimited historic file versioning) help to make this a serious free-to-use backup contender.
Making Disk-Image Backups
Having seen the file-level backup options available so far, in this section I will be configuring and running a disk image backup set. This begins in either the “System backup” mode (when making backups of an entire system with all disks included) or via the “Disk/Partition Backup” option when targeting individual disks.
Having opted to make an image backup of an individual disk, the next part of the process sees the data selection tool allowing users to select one or more disks and partitions to be included in the set.
As seen before when making the file-level backup set earlier on, advanced options for this image-based set can be reached via the “Backup Options” button. Once in this advanced backup options page we see many of the same options which were available earlier on including compression, encryption, file filters and even email notifications.
Since most of these options have already been covered in the previous section, I will be focusing on the “Advanced” section here as it is this section which contains several advanced options relevant to disk image-based backups. Options here include the ability to make use of sector-by-sector disk imaging and automatically checking and verifying disk images upon completion of a backup job.
Next, a schedule can also be set when making disk image backups including the ability to specify how long historic file versions are kept for each type of backup methodology (e.g. full disk image backups can be made every 30 days and retained for 1 year with incremental image backups made in-between and retained for 30 days). With all advanced options set, scheduling configured and historic versioning also defined, the backup set can be left for the schedule to pick up or the initial run triggered manually.
Once set running, the Hasleo desktop app will again show the progress of disk-image backups in the same way as file-level backup sets seen earlier on. This includes showing a summary page after the job has completed and a summary status on the application homepage showing the status after the latest run.
Restoring Data from Backups
Having seen both file-level and disk image backups in-use, in this section I will cover the methods available for recovering any backed-up data. This will include the three main methods of recovery including individual file recovery, full disk image recovery plus a look at the additional tools available for mounting disk image files as drives within Windows.
The first job in recovering data begins with the selection of the backup set to be recovered (see above). We do have the option of specifying a backup file (which might be useful when transferring backed-up data to a new PC) if this is required however, restoring from an existing backup set already configured within the software this makes for a more straightforward option.
As can be seen above, the file selection tool allows for easily specifying any files which are to be restored. We also have options available to restore these files to their original locations or a newly specified location as well as being able to make use of the historic version selection when older versions are required.
With these restore options set and the job itself running, the application will (again) show a summary page upon completion. Moving on to the restoration of disk image backups next and one of the first pages seen in the process allows for choosing the disk image restoration type required.
When restoring from a disk image backup set, we have options to restore the entire disk, individual partitions from within the disk or, if required, the ability to selectively restore individual files which reside within the disk image. We can also use this initial configuration page to select the specific version being used meaning older versions of a disk image (the state of a disk at an earlier point in time) can also be restored.
NB – Being able to recover an entire disk (or system) to an earlier point in time remains highly useful when mitigating issues including malware attacks which could render an entire system otherwise unusable.
In cases where an image of an entire disk or individual partition is to be recovered, we can during the next step in the process select the target device to be used (with the Advanced mode also allowing restoration on to contiguous disk space when available). With the target device selected, the next page in the process allows for the layout of the target disk to be specified.
As can be seen above, when performing a disk or partition recovery, the target disk layout can accommodate automatically expanding to fill any additional space available on the new target disk or, if required, set to maintain a specific size (meaning unallocated disk space will remain on the new target disk afterwards). Finally, 1M disk alignment can be specified (useful when migrating to SSD devices) as well as the ability to restore to the new disk as a GPT partition type if required.
Finally, both file-level and disk image files can be mounted as virtual drives within Windows (with drive letters assigned) which is ideal when performing more advanced recoveries or when needing to search for specific files via a windows interface. As can be seen above, this process begins via the “Tools” menu within the application where an image file or backup set can be selected and the drive letter then selected.
When mounting disk image or file-level backups as virtual drives within Hasleo Backup Suite, it is important to point out that we can still make use of historic file versioning (meaning older, point-in-time snapshots of a disk can be mounted) as well as being able to specify selected drive letters as required (or simply allowing the software to assign these letters automatically if preferred).
Additionally, and also worthy of mention when mounting backup sets as virtual drives, is that Hasleo provide a “Mount as Writable” option when doing so. Whilst being an unusual option in and of itself, this feature will ensure any modifications made to files within this virtual drive are saved and such changes retained until the virtual drive is again dismounted at a later stage (excluding drives mounted via file-level backups).
Once mounted, all virtual drives and their associated image files and drive letters can be seen by switching the drive mounting page to the “Unmount” viewing mode found towards the top right of the page.
Disk Cloning (Direct Disk Cloning)
Moving on and, something quite unusual to find within a free-to-use backup tool, a highly functional dedicated disk and partition cloning tool is also made available within Hasleo Backup Suite Free software. Cloning a disk, which differs from the recovery of a full disk image as seen earlier on given it copies all data to the target, can be started via the dedicated “Clone” page as seen below.
When cloning, we have the option to clone individual disks and partitions or an entire system via a dedicated mode which automatically encompasses all disks and partitions which make up an active system. In this instance I will be cloning an individual disk which involves selecting the disk to be cloned followed by the target disk to receive the image.
As can be seen above, we can again, as was the case when restoring a disk image, opt to use sector-by-sector cloning and format the target disk as a GPT (logical) disk should this be required. We can also opt to select the “Keep partition layout” which, when selected, will ensure disk partition layouts and ordering is maintained upon the new disk (with the cloned partitions otherwise expanded automatically when cloning to a larger disk).
Finally, as when recovering from a disk image backup set earlier on, the disk layout configuration page allows various configuration options to be specified. This includes manually adjusting disk partition sizes and specifying 1M disk alignment be specified as required (when cloning to SSD devices). With all options configured, the disk cloning process can begin.
Other Useful Tools
Alongside the core backup, restore and disk cloning tools found with the application, Hasleo Backup Suite also offers an impressive array of additional tools and features to accompany this core functionality.
Once key tool (already seen in-use earlier on) is that of the disk image mounting tool, a tool which allows for disk image backups to be mounted as virtual drives within the Windows operating system and their contents browsed allowing for more complex restore operations to take place. This sits well alongside other drive related tools including a dedicated secure drive wiping tool, a disk image file merging tool, tools for verifying disk image files plus repairing and rebuilding disk MBR tables.
As can be seen above, Hasleo Backup Suite Free also contains tools for building bootable rescue media with support for downloading and configuring the WinPE components handled by the tool itself (an otherwise tricky task for less technically focused PC users). The media builder also supports adding third-party hardware drivers making this a powerful tool for recovering otherwise unbootable hardware.
Hasleo Backup Suite Security
With the main operational parts of the application covered, I will in this section be covering the security features in more detail. This begins with a look at the built-in support for encryption when making both file-level and disk image backups.
As can be seen above, when making backups within the software, we have the option to turn on AES 256-bit encryption thus ensuring any backed-up data is automatically protected once stored. AES 256-bit encryption is widely considered the industry standard when securing PC backups and helps ensure that data remains safe and virtually impossible to access without the original password.
NB – This is zero-knowledge AES 256-bit encryption, which means if you forget the password then the backup (and the data saved within it) will become unrecoverable with even Hasleo themselves unable to help in recovering data or resetting the password.
Moving on and another really useful security related tool is that of the disk wiping tool. Whilst little detail is (sadly) provided on its mode of operation (e.g. what type of data overwriting standards it adheres to), I believe it safe to assume this will be operating to very high standards given how good the rest of this software is.
Software Support from Hasleo
Hasleo provide some helpful product documentation for Backup Suite Free which is available via the Hasleo online support portal. This includes tutorial style documentation on using the product itself as well as other articles covering related products and data backup related topics.
Additional technical support is available from Hasleo via email-based contact addresses available from the Hasleo support portal itself.
Hasleo Backup Suite Free Pricing
Hasleo backup Suite Free is (as expected) 100% free to use for both personal and business use and can be downloaded directly from the official Hasleo webpage.
Hasleo Backup Suite Free FAQs
Hasleo Backup Suite Free is a fully-featured Windows PC backup software. It is a tool capable of making both file-level and disk image backups and includes many additional features including disk cloning, AES 256-bit encryption plus the ability to mount disk image backups as virtual drives within Windows.
Yes, Hasleo Backup Suite Free is 100% free for all.
Yes, Hasleo Backup Suite Free is fully compatible with the latest versions of Windows including the latest versions of Windows 10 and Windows 11.
Yes, Hasleo Backup Suite Free supports the direct cloning of hard disks and partitions within the desktop application itself. Additional cloning features include support for converting MBR to GPT disks, automatic partition resizing, 1M partition alignment (for effective SSD cloning) plus the ability to edit and rearrange disk partitions.
Yes, Backup Suite Free supports the application of strong AES 256-bit encryption when making both file-level and full disk / partition image backups.
Yes, Hasleo Backup Suite Free allows the mounting of both file-level and disk image backups as virtual drives within Windows. Whilst the only supported format is a propriety one (meaning VHD and VHDx files are not used), this mounting process does support both reading and writing to the virtual drive (writing which will be lost upon dismounting the virtual drive).
Hasleo Backup Suite Free Alternatives
In this section of my review, I will be looking at some good alternatives to Backup Suite Free from Hasleo. This will be focused on free-to-use backup tools which provide a strong set of backup related features including file and disk image level backups plus secure data encryption and compression amongst various other factors.
Remember, any ratings, reviews and opinions given below reflect my own opinions and these should be treated only as a guide. When purchasing any form of data backup software, always be sure to check the details of the offering out for yourself and try and to make use of any free trials, whenever possible, to help ensure the solution is correct before committing to a purchase.
1) EaseUS ToDo Backup Free
ToDo Backup Free is a leading Windows backup solution form software development expert, EaseUS. It is a backup tool which, in much the same way as Hasleo Backup Suite Free, supports making both file-level and full disk image backups whilst also providing an impressive number of advanced features given this is also a free-to-use backup solution.
Whilst a premium edition of ToDo Backup does exist (this is ToDo Backup Home), EaseUS have managed to compromise very well between the two and retain a good amount of backup functionality in this free version. This includes the free edition supporting both file-level and disk image backups, full, incremental and differential methodologies, built-in support for cloud backup services (including pCloud and Dropbox), password protected backups plus use of the EaseUS recovery media building tool.
Despite a slightly limited toolset compared to the premium edition, the backing-up of important data within ToDo Backup Free remains simple and straight forward. Furthermore, with tools including full disk and partition imaging, unlimited historic file versioning and secure AES 256-bit encryption helps to ensure that this free tool remains a serious contender for anyone seeking a solid free-to-use backup solution.
Upgrading to EaseUS ToDo Backup Home brings additional tools and functionality including more advanced backup scheduling, direct disk and partition cloning, use of the AI Smart Backup tools, use of the EaseUS Secure Zone for more secure storing of backups plus the universal restore functionality for assistance when recovering to new or otherwise dissimilar hardware.
- Disk Image backups
- Secure cloud backups
- AES 256-bit encryption
- Disk cloning tools
- Dissimilar HW support
- From $39.95 / year
- Or a one-off $59.95
- 30-Day free trial
ToDo Backup Free is 100% free-to-use with the premium edition (ToDo Backup Home) being priced from just $39.95 per year or a one-off $79.95 with free lifetime upgrades included. More information on all editions of ToDo Backup can be found via the official EaseUS website.
2) Ashampoo Backup Free
Another excellent free backup solution for Windows PCs and a great alternative to Hasleo Backup Suite Free comes in the form of Backup Free from software experts, Ashampoo.
Supporting many of the same core features as are found in Ashampoo’s premium backup solution (Ashampoo Backup Pro), Ashampoo Backup Free provides a solid set of file-level and full disk imaging backup tools. This means, just like Hasleo Backup Suite Free, Ashampoo Backup Free supports the making of full disk image backups which often prove one of the most effective backup types for ensuring everything stored upon a PC (including data and installed applications) is backed-up.
File-level backups are also supported as are several other key features which are great to see included within free backup software. Notable inclusions within Ashampoo Backup Free include automatic backup scheduling, customisable backup methodologies, historic file versioning, the ability to mount disk images as drives within Windows (with a Windows drive letter) plus use of the built-in recovery media building tools.
Whilst Ashampoo Backup Free does form an effective free-to-use solution overall, some advanced features are reserved for the premium edition of this tool. Premium features include AES 256-bit backup encryption, advanced scheduling options, built-in cloud integration with well-known providers (including pCloud, Google Drive and Dropbox) plus use of the pre-made backup templates which make configuring commonly used backups types both quick and easy.
- Easy to use software
- Incremental backups
- Multiple backup sets
- Disk image backups
- Scheduling support
- 100% free to use
- Upgrade from $18 / year
- Limmited cloud options
Backup Free is 100% free-to-use with the premium Backup Pro line starting from just $16 per year for a 3x PC licence (with free upgrades to the latest version with an active subscription) or via a one-off $60 for a perpetual licence. More information on both Backup Free and the Backup Pro line can be found via the official Ashampoo website.
3) MiniTool ShadowMaker Free
As a powerful yet easy to use backup solution, ShadowMaker Free is a highly-rated and free-to-use backup tool for Windows PCs from software developers, MiniTool.
Supporting the latest versions of Windows 11 and with key features including file, partition and disk image-based backups via full, incremental, and differential methodologies, ShadowMaker Free makes for a great alternative to Hasleo Backup Suite Free. Also provided within the software are many supplementary tools and features including support for automatic scheduling, compression, automatic file and folder synchronisation plus the ability to build WinPE-based bootable media from within the application.
While ShadowMaker Free is a very capable PC backup solution with support for multiple backup methods, MiniTool also offer ShadowMaker Pro which enhances this core offering with features including secure encryption, advanced scheduling (e.g., backup on USB devices being plugged-in), dedicated disk cloning tools plus advanced functionality within the MiniTool WinPE recovery environment.
- Easy-to-use software
- Disk Image backups
- Disk cloning tools
- Dissimilar HW support
- WinPE Recovery media
- Pro from $3 / month
- Or a one-off $79
- Pro free trial available
ShadowMaker Free is 100% free for personal (non-commercial) use with the premium ShadowMaker Pro edition available from just $79 for a perpetual license. More information on all editions of ShadowMaker can be found via the official MiniTool website.
Hasleo Backup Suite Free Review Summary
Hasleo Backup Suite Free is an impressive Windows backup solution, especially so given that this software is 100% free-to-use.
The core backup functionality covers both file and full disk image backups with additional features including scheduling, secure AES 256-bit encryption and virtual disk drive mounting combine to help make this a good all-round backup tool. Other useful additions including secure disk wiping tools, direct disk cloning, MBR rebuilding tools plus a recovery media building utility which all help to make this software feel on the same level as many of the premium (non-free) backup tools also available.
Whilst cloud integration is one of the most notable features missing (a feature which is available in competing free tools such as EaseUS ToDo Backup Free), this remains a great choice for anyone primarily seeking a backup solution for non-cloud (locally available) storage (e.g. when backing up to external hard drives and NAS devices).
Overall, Hasleo Backup Suite Free is a powerful free backup utility which provides a good set of core file-level and disk image-based backup tools alongside many great additional features – great work Hasleo.
