Dashboard

Here you will find a status overview of past backup operations, if available. Click on the three tiles on the right to navigate to the respective program areas.

Backup plans

This section lists existing plans along with their status. Click on a list entry to display the detailed view for the selected plan.

Click the magnifier icon to instantly access the backed up data.

To toggle the detailed view more quickly, you can click on a list entry again instead of clicking the "X".

Details view

1: Immediately performs a backup with the affected plan.
2: Switch to the explorer view, which allows you to view and individually restore the backed-up data.
3: Execute a Restore for the affected backup.
4: Allows you to adjust the Plan Settings.
5: Here you can modify the storage location for the plan or delete the plan.
6: Click on an entry to display the affected backup log. Click the "X" to delete the affected log.

Import backup plan

Here, you can import existing plans stored locally or in the cloud into the program. For locally stored plans, first select the relevant directory, and then choose the desired plan. For cloud-based plans, you may need to log in with your credentials depending on the type. The login is done via your standard web browser, except for WebDAV.

Afterward, you will reach the plan settings.

Create backup plan: files

1. Select data: files

You can combine smart and manual settings into a single plan.

Smart

Depending on type/program, Ashampoo Backup Pro 27 will select the affected files/folders for you.

Manually

Use the buttons below to add the desired folders/files. For folders, you can also enter name patterns to include only specific files, such as DOCX files. Hover over the info icon for more details.

Exclusions

Here, you can exclude folders/files from the backup. For folders, you can also enter name patterns to exclude specific file types, like DOCX files. Hover over the info icon for more details.

1. Select data: drives

Select the drives you wish to back up.

2. Select storage location

You can save your plans both locally and in the cloud. For cloud backups, your respective access credentials are required. The login is done through your standard internet browser, except for WebDAV.

3. Backup settings

Here, you can set whether the data should be compressed/encrypted and determine the storage format.

Storage format: More accessible	Storage format: More efficient
- Files accessible through Windows Explorer	- Files only accessible through this program
- Requires more storage space	- Requires less storage space
- Ignores extended file attributes	- Includes extended file attributes (permissions, symlinks, etc.)

Plan settings

1: Enter the desired name for a new plan or rename existing plans here.
2: Shows the status of data compression. Grayed out means the data is not compressed.
3: Shows the status of password protection. Grayed out means the data is not password-protected.
4: Use the gear or arrow icon to display the respective options for the settings.
5: Displays the delete options for the plan.

You can now find the option to create a backup from an external storage device as soon as it is connected under "Autostart." There, you can also decide whether data should be backed up immediately after any changes (Realtime Backup).

You can now find the option to shut down your PC after completing a backup under "After Backup."

Password protection is only active when you try to access the data through Windows Explorer. You can always use the built-in file browser to access the data without having to input your password.

Backup and Shutdown

This section allows you to instantly run one or more backup plans and have your PC shut down after completion.

Restore backup

Files

Click a folder name to open it.

1: Returns to the previous folder.
2: Selects the entry for recovery.
3: Restores the affected file/folder.
4: Restores all files/folders irrespective of the current selection.

Click "Next" to restore the selected entries.

Partitions

Drag the partitions to restore from "Backup Content" onto the existing partitions. The existing partitions will be overwritten with the backed up data during data recovery.

Click "Open Disk Management" to launch the Windows Disk Management utility.

Disks

Drag the drives to restore from "Backup Content" onto the existing disks. The existing disks will be overwritten ti the backed up data during data recovery.

Click "Open Disk Management" to launch the Windows Disk Management utility.

Create rescue system

The rescue system allows you to create a bootable USB stick or disc with which you can start your computer. This is useful e.g. when your Windows doesn't boot properly any more or in the event of serious malware infections. Although the rescue medium will be tailored to the needs of your system, it should work with most other computers.

If you use a flash drive that is bigger than 32 GB, the program will shrink the primary partition down to 32 GB. The drive will then appear as a 32 GB drive in your Windows environment.

1. Select medium type

First, you need to specify whether you'd like to create a bootable USB stick or a CD/DVD along with the affected drive.

If your system requires special drivers you can use "Driver Import Settings" to include them with the rescue system. Ordinarily, this is not needed.

2. Create rescue medium

The program will then begin creating the rescue medium with the help of the Windows Assessment Deployment Kit (ADK) which will automatically be downloaded and installed in case it's not already installed on your machine.

Existing but outdated components may cause errors during creation. In these instances, remove "Windows Assessement and Deployment Kit" and "Windows Assessement and Deployment Kit Windows Preinstallation Environment Add-Ons" via Windows Settings Apps Installed Apps and try again.

For the installation of the ADK, you may keep the pre-selected settings. Once the ADK is installed, creation of the rescue medium will continue. If you already have the ADK, the program will simply skip this step.

If your Internet connection is slow, you may also download the ADK manually on another machine with a faster connection. You will find the setup here:

https://developer.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/hardware/windows-assessment-deployment-kit

3. Using the rescue system

Simply boot the affected machine with the medium you created. The user interface and procedure is highly similar to the one described under "Restore backup". Aside from the rescue medium, you will also need a previous backup created with this program that will be used to restore your system to that previous state. This will ideally be a full drive or partition backup.

Check disks

You can check the health status of your drives and find/repair errors here.