Any better backup program suggestions?

Please, I'm in the same situation.

Acronis has become a toy for children and I really don't trust the backups created with it at all, besides being terribly slow and unnecessarily resource-consuming.

I'm very sorry, but that's the way it is.

I know that many have the same opinion. 

Any advice on serious backup software?

It probably won't stay here long – why allow ads for the competition? –  but EaseUS is worth seeking out if you just want a standard backup regime.

Thank you very much, Michael. 

I'll take your advice. I'm really worried about my backups and Acronis is only causing problems of all kinds.

There are many different backup applications around but not all are created equally and you will need to try out each one to find what best suits your particular circumstances and needs.

Over the years I have used Norton Ghost, Easeus ToDo, Macrium Reflect (Free), Paragon Backup & Recovery as well as using Acronis True Image.

I still use Macrium Reflect Free on occasion and find it to be fine but with serious limitations, as expected for a free product, i.e. no incremental backups etc.

My own preference remains to use ATI but that is not to say this has been without problems at times.  I have been fortunate that the problems I have found have been resolved either with help from others in these forums, or by a new build or product version being provided by Acronis.

If you are seeing serious problems in using ATI and have either the 2017 or 2018 version, then I would recommend opening a Support Case with Acronis for the problem(s) and letting them investigate the cause with you.

I understand that the new interface design in ATI since around the 2015 version is very much like 'Marmite' to some users (You either love it or you hate it!), but it is still able to do everything that those earlier versions could do, and also do a lot more.  I do not consider the changes that have been introduced as being 'bloatware' as these are still focused on protecting my computer and associated devices.  I have stopped using some applications from other companies due to a constant attempt to install bloatware that is totally unrelated to the product purpose!

Ditto Steve's comments. 

I have stopped using some applications from other companies due to a constant attempt to install bloatware that is totally unrelated to the product purpose!

The problem is that one person's useful add on is another person's bloatware.

To my mind the ability to backup Android devices is a neat extra in ATI. From messages here, some people think it is the devil's plaything.

We have had earlier discussions about allowing users to decide if they want to add these extras when they install ATI. The eminently sensible response is that this makes the installation more complicated, especially for inexperienced users.

So what we see is what some would describe as a rush to dumb down and to do things that upset the handful of experienced users who want fine-grain control over their software. That control made sense in the days when PCs strained to cope the burden that this "junk" imposed on them. You must have a pretty old PC if that is still an issue. This means that there is little that will really appease these purists. So Acronis is on to a hiding to nothing.

My only gripe with Acronis's current model us that it is moving away from providing backup software and into selling a front end to its own cloud service. EaseUS, on the other hand, lets me back up to alternative clouds, including OneDrive, DropBox and GoogleDrive.

Michael, you could backup with ATI to your alternative clouds if you want, but not doing so directly without first writing to your local 'cloud' folder location, then having that location mirror the content to the cloud servers.

If you have FTP access to an alternative Cloud service, then you could backup via FTP directly.

Acronis provide their Cloud backup service as a part of their business model income stream, so it is not too surprising that they do not offer their competitors cloud services too.

Something to keep in mind also is the fact that the add on features of Acronis share resources and services of the application.  Not installing a feature might break other parts of the application with the same dependencies.   That is cause for a more complicated installer routine.  The more complicated it becomes the higher the monetary cost, those costs have to be passed on to the end user.

To stay at a competitive price point such costs must be held to a decided level.  Obviously that level is where the product is at currently.  I say obviously as the idea of installing only features that a user chooses has been long requested however, the cost of doing so is prohibitive.

I have seen those hoops explained here before. They just prove the point. Acronis is a pain with clouds other than its own.

I have use a couple of alternatives to to ATI. Both have native support for other clouds.

My only gripe with Acronis's current model us that it is moving away from providing backup software and into selling a front end to its own cloud service. EaseUS, on the other hand, lets me back up to alternative clouds, including OneDrive, DropBox and GoogleDrive.

Michael,i agree on the limited cloud options in True Image and discovered CloudBacko Lite that allows me to take backups directly to OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive, etc, etc. The upload speed CloudBacko Lite provides is unmatched and leaves Acronis Cloud behind in the dust. With CloudBacko Lite i could really see the advantage of a Office 365 subscription that includes 1TB OneDrive storage for 1 user and 5TB for the 5 user subscription.

CloudBacko Lite does not just place the files in the local OneDrive folder in the same way many other backup application does, it uploads the files directly. :)

I really want to see more cloud options in True Image and have already filed a feature request. And of course that the upload speeds to Acronis Cloud gets better. :)

That sounds good. Never heard of CloudBacko.