Paid vs. free feature question

[jrbeddow]

I'm a fairly recent new convert to Hasleo Backup, coming from many, many years of Macrium (Free, 8.x) use. Not surprisingly, my conversion was prompted due to the recent issues with Macrium program stemming from the April Windows Update debacle.  Over the years I have tested many of the other imaging/backup programs, including some little known ones like the one offered by O&O Software, DiskImage Premium, from the same company that makes O&O Shut-Up 10.

So far, I've been really pleased with the performance and capabilities in Hasleo backup, but I have a question: does the paid version offer a somewhat smoother upgrade process when a new version is released (when compared to the free version)?  I ask because I recently completed the upgrade (free version) from 5.8.2.2 to 5.9.2.0: the "upgrade" prompted the removal of the original version, which apparently removed the boot menu option as well, as that had to be reinstalled after the new version was in place.

This is not hard for me personally, but it might be for those that I tend to help and recommend programs to (friends, relatives, etc...).  It would be a selling point if this were handled in a smoother fashion.  Just a thought, as it might influence the decision of whether to use the free vs. paid version for those I help out.

[admin]

@jrbeddow,

Thank you very much for choosing Hasleo Backup Suite, and for taking the time to provide us with such detailed feedback and suggestions. We especially appreciate the professional insights from a long-time user of other backup software who has recently switched to our product, this is invaluable for our continuous improvement.

Regarding your question about whether the paid version differs from the free version in the upgrade process, let me clarify:
Currently, both the free and paid versions follow exactly the same procedure. Both require uninstalling the old version through the standard uninstaller and then installing the new version. This design is not based on version differentiation but on core technical and product stability considerations.

Removing the boot entry (the "boot menu option" you mentioned) during uninstallation is primarily intended to force users to recreate the rescue disk after installing the new version. This ensures that users can benefit from all the feature improvements and critical bug fixes in the latest version, and avoids potential compatibility issues that might arise from using an outdated rescue environment.

At the same time, we take your suggestion about "optimizing the experience for less technically inclined users" very seriously. For example, we could implement a one-click automatic rebuild of the boot entry in a future release to provide a more user-friendly option for those who are not familiar with technical procedures. If you have better ideas or alternative approaches to address this, you are welcome to share them, and we also welcome input from other forum users who see this discussion.

Thank you again for your recognition and support of Hasleo Backup Suite. If you have any further questions or suggestions during your use, please feel free to reply to this thread or contact us through our official support channels. We wish you a pleasant day!

Best regards.

[jrbeddow]

Thank you very much for your detailed response, and for taking my suggestion seriously. I do fully understand the technical reasons behind the current implementation, and while I very much hesitate to suggest excessive "dumbing down" of the interface, perhaps options could eventually be explored to enable an "easy mode" vs. "expert mode" in the program.

On another note, many (if not most), computer users are now quite spoiled by automatic software updates (Chrome, Firefox, Office 365, as well as virtually everything on a mobile phone), and while this might not be optimum for this type of program (backup/imaging), I do hope that it will at least present an update reminder notification periodically without opening the program, as I suspect that many users will treat this program as a one-time "set and forget" utility. The one-click automatic rebuild of the boot loader is an excellent suggestion for the direction I am suggesting, perhaps integrated at the end of the re-installation process.

I know that "global options/defaults" are another area that is being explored for further development, and I would very much welcome that, particularly for things like the email notifications: the current implementation of having to set this up for each type of backup job is tedious at best.

Many thanks for your consideration.

[al3x]

I'm a fairly recent new convert to Hasleo Backup, coming from many, many years of Macrium (Free, 8.x) use. Not surprisingly, my conversion was prompted due to the recent issues with Macrium program stemming from the April Windows Update debacle.  Over the years I have tested many of the other imaging/backup programs, including some little known ones like the one offered by O&O Software, DiskImage Premium, from the same company that makes O&O Shut-Up 10.

Hi and welcome to the Hasleo forum!

I'm glad you found your way to the forum.
Good to see so many new faces around here

If you have better ideas or alternative approaches to address this, you are welcome to share them, and we also welcome input from other forum users who see this discussion.

Regarding the update process:
Maybe you could implement the /silent switch that Inno Setup provides when updating?

That would uninstall the old version and then reinstall the new version without having to click through all the uninstall/reinstall dialogs.

One downside of that switch: It won't open the website after update is finished. But is that really a problem?
Would still be something that helps automating the process a bit.

[Bespoken]

Removing the boot entry (the "boot menu option" you mentioned) during uninstallation is primarily intended to force users to recreate the rescue disk after installing the new version. This ensures that users can benefit from all the feature improvements and critical bug fixes in the latest version, and avoids potential compatibility issues that might arise from using an outdated rescue environment.

Removing the boot entry is a bit heavy-handed, and a strongly wording message to do a rebuild. But this force has no impact on the ED, so maybe the warning should also be to create a new ED.

The rebuild processed would be made easier if there was an option on the build menu for "Use previous build settings". This would have been stored from a previous build. An alternative, that I have suggested in the Future Requests" thread, is a batch file of all the drivers to be added. My current laptop seems to need about seven additional drivers and the process for entering these is time consuming.

[garioch7]

@Bespoken,

I don't encounter your issues with additional drivers to be added, since HBS seems to handle my needs on both of my computers with its "Automatic Driver Injection."  Nonetheless, in your case, I can see where the option to use a previous build that would include the drivers you meticulously added, would make life much simpler.

If you are encountering that issue, then others probably are too!

There is, of course, the issue that the way HBS currently works, you don't get the full ED creation options after having created your first ED in that installed version.  You must delete files, or reinstall/upgrade to get the full menu of ED creation options back.

I do think that your suggestion merits review by the Hasleo Team as to whether this could be accomplished more efficiently, and with less user interaction.

Have a great day.

Regards,
Phil