Installing Genie Backup Manager AI
Pick the right setup, get past the first-download notice, and know what Setup puts on your PC.
On this page
Genie Backup Manager AI (GBM AI) installs in about a minute. It is one Windows program with a background agent that does the work, so scheduled backups run whether or not the window is open.
Before you start#
- Windows 10 version 1809 or later, or Windows 11, on an x64 or ARM64 PC.
- An account that can approve an administrator prompt. Setup needs it once.
- An internet connection if Microsoft Edge WebView2 is missing. Setup downloads and installs it when needed; most PCs already have it.
You do not need a backup drive yet. You choose one when you create your first job.
Step 1: Download the right setup#
- Open the download page.
- Take x64 unless your PC has an ARM processor (Snapdragon and other Windows on ARM laptops take ARM64). To check, open Windows Settings ▸ System ▸ About and read System type.
- Save the file. It is named
GBM-AI-Setup-<version>-<x64 or ARM64>-<setup>.exe, for exampleGBM-AI-Setup-10.0.56-x64-Pro-Trial.exe.
The page offers three setups of the same program:
| Setup | What it starts |
|---|---|
| Pro Trial (the default) | a 15-day trial of Pro: every Pro feature, no account, no card |
| Home Trial | a 15-day trial of Home |
| Free | no trial: Free from the first day, nothing counting down |
Note
The first setup you install on a PC decides its trial. Installing another setup later does not start a new trial.
See The 15-day trial for how the trial works.
Step 2: Run Setup#
- Double-click the file you downloaded.
- If Windows shows Windows protected your PC, click More info and check that the publisher is Genie9 LTD. Then click Run anyway. This notice appears for newly released installers; see Windows SmartScreen on a new download.
- Approve the administrator prompt.
- On Select Destination Location, keep the default,
C:\Program Files\Genie9\GBM AI, unless you have a reason to change it. - On Select Additional Tasks, tick Create a desktop shortcut if you want one.
- Leave Run scheduled backups even when nobody is signed in unticked unless you already know you need it. It installs the Windows service, a Pro feature, and you can switch it on later under Settings ▸ Schedule & power.
- Click Install. Leave Open Genie Backup Manager AI ticked and click Finish.
Setup closes GBM AI, its icon and the background agent before it installs. A backup that is running at that moment stops and is marked Interrupted; run it again afterwards.
What was installed#
| Part | What it does |
|---|---|
| GBM AI (the window) | where you create jobs, restore files, search your backups and change settings |
| The background agent | runs the jobs on their schedules, with the window closed |
| The notification-area icon | starts when anyone signs in to Windows, starts the agent, shows a backup's progress, and offers Back up now, Pause scheduled backups and Restore files… |
Nothing is installed as a Windows service unless you ticked that task. Backups run under your own account while you are signed in. To run them with nobody signed in, see Running backups with nobody signed in.
Where things live#
| What | Where |
|---|---|
| The program | C:\Program Files\Genie9\GBM AI, or the folder you chose |
| Jobs, run history, settings, the file index | %APPDATA%\GBM AI |
| Logs | %APPDATA%\GBM AI\logs |
| The same, in service mode | %ProgramData%\GBM AI |
Your backups are only where you point each job. GBM AI keeps no copy of them anywhere else.
Everyday use and administrator rights#
GBM AI runs without administrator rights. The one feature that needs them is open-file support, which reads files other programs hold open (an Outlook mailbox, an open spreadsheet). Without those rights such files are skipped and listed in the run report. See Needs administrator.
Uninstalling#
- Open Windows Settings ▸ Apps ▸ Installed apps.
- Find Genie Backup Manager AI, click ⋯ and choose Uninstall.
- Setup stops the service (if you use it), the window, the icon and the agent, and removes the program.
- It then asks Also remove your settings and backup jobs? No is the default: a later reinstall finds every job and setting. Yes deletes them, but keeps the licence and the trial, so a reinstall on this PC does not use another seat or start a new trial.
The uninstaller never deletes your backup files on their destinations.
Next steps#
The app opens on the welcome screen, which measures your folders and offers four starting points. See The welcome screen. From there, Your first backup takes about ten minutes.
Troubleshooting#
"This program can only be installed on versions of Windows designed for the following processor architectures"#
You downloaded the setup for the other kind of PC. Go back to the download page and take the other one: ARM64 if you ran x64, x64 if you ran ARM64.
Setup says Windows is too old#
GBM AI needs Windows 10 version 1809 or later. Update Windows, then run Setup again.
Installing over an older version#
Run the new setup. It replaces the program and keeps every job, setting, licence and backup.