Genie Timeline Home is a file backup app, vs. disk/partition image backup software, which basically clone the disk/partition to an archive that’s normally a VHD [Virtual Hard Disk] that can be mounted, giving you a copy of the original drive/partition in File Explorer that you can browse, copying any files that you wish. File backups are usually a little faster overall when you want to restore one or a few files from backup, while image backup software is generally faster creating & restoring an entire disk or partition – you can backup or restore a single partition, multiple partitions, or every partition on the drive. Note: at least one copy of either type of backup should ideally be stored offline, e.g., using an external drive that can be unplugged, because ransomware will seek out and encrypt your backups along with everything else.
Windows itself has 2 ways to backup your data files… File History backs up selected data files to another drive and synchronizes when you plug in the designated USB drive/stick. It is, however, a feature that might go away as Microsoft has removed it from Settings in Win11 – you now access it through Control Panel. pureinfotech[.]com/create-file-backup-file-history-windows-11/
The other way to backup your files is to use OneDrive, which is what Microsoft prefers. While OneDrive syncs continuously [you set the sync interval in Genie Timeline, like most backup apps], it’s set to just backup a handful of folders that Microsoft has chosen – you need to create a link to each additional folder you want to backup. tenforums[.]com/tutorials/92892-sync-any-folder-onedrive-windows-10-a.html
Genie Timeline Home itself is generally easy to use, but there’s not much in the way of documentation on the zoolz site – the help site you get to from the app is here: gtlwiki.genie9[.]com/index.php/select-data/?linkid=265&SrcID=606&lang= . And you can find a review here: pcworld[.]com/article/819876/genie-timeline-10-home-windows-backup-review.html . That review talked about problems with the bootable disaster recovery media – that was their only con. A Linux [rather than the usual WinPE] bootable ISO is included in the program’s folder – if the app’s built-in USB stick creation doesn’t work for you, you can try the free Rufus with that ISO. The ISO worked with a Win11 VirtualBox VM, but not in another Win11 VM that had the latest boot security measures turned on. That means that in probably a bit over a year from now, when Microsoft turns on that security for everyone, you’ll likely either need another ISO or need to modify/repair any Genie Timeline USB sticks you created.
In the comments, Bobby talked about using partitioning software to copy or clone a laptop’s hard disks to an external drive. If the cloned target was a VHD rather than the entire external hard disk, that would be basically what an image backup app does – it’s just more efficient using a VHD without storing the free space, plus backup software usually has verification available to make sure it worked. Whether the cloned drive was bootable or not is uncertain – just have to try it since there are too many variables to predict 100%. Booting from a backup image instead can be possible, but it takes work, e.g., if the backup archive can be a Windows .vhd file, the BCD [boot mgr.] can be edited to boot from it like it was a hard disk/SSD, &/or Macrium Reflect has an optional feature to boot the backup archives it creates. Most backup software can work on a schedule, and quite a few apps let you create backup jobs, so one set of files/folders would be backed up at time A, and another at time B. You can also often set priorities, so the backup will run as a background process while you’re working on whatever.
Monitoring installation in a Win11 VM recorded 1495 files added, including Microsoft C/C++ runtimes, with 728 registry entries added. Besides the program’s folder, a folder’s added to the desktop & another is created in Users\ [UserName]\ AppData\ Roaming\. Genie Timeline doesn’t add itself to one of the registry run keys, the Start Menu’s Startup folders, or as a scheduled task, but adds a service that starts automatically with Windows.
A final note, Genie Timeline doesn’t seem to be owned by Zoolz [which *might* be a good thing], and is sold by different companies.