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Cloning or imaging?


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Hello All

I think it's about time I learnt about cloning and imaging.

There will probably many questions, so I will start with these ones.

I am not sure which option I should go for Clone or image or both.

I will be buying a new SSD to clone/image too.

Should the new clone/image be the only thing on the new SSD?

I have just spent an hour or so trying to find info on the net about whole process of cloning/imaging.

Happily there is plenty out there, but invariably it seems start simply enough, but gets increasingly difficult to take in until glazed eye syndrome takes over.

So there are my first questions.

 

Cheers Andy

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The best way to do any of this is to use software designed to seamlessly do the job. MACRIUM REFLECT 7 (Free for home use, 5.3 mb) is the best free clone/backup software out there. It requires you provide an EMail and they will send a link that you copy/paste to address line in web browser. They have a forum and FAQ to learn how to use it. Not difficult. People go to YTube and want SPECIFIC answers and only find general 'expert' advice (ie: opinions) and REALLY only want view count. Look for videos on 'How to Use Macrum' (did not check). I think you will like that it will do clone or image with not much difficulty. I am 81 yrs old and I too have to learn 'something new' almost every day. Ha.

Chuck B

Napamule

i7 2600K @ 3.4 Ghz (Turbo-Boost to 3.877 Ghz), Asus P8H67 Pro, Super Talent 8 Gb DDR3/1333 Dual Channel, XFX Radeon R7-360B 2Gb DDR5, Corsair 650 W PSU, Dell 23 in (2048x1152), Windows7 Pro 64 bit, MS Sidewinder Precision 2 Joy, Logitech K-360 wireless KB & Mouse, Targus PAUK10U USB Keypad for Throttle (F1 to F4)/Spoiler/Tailhook/Wing Fold/Pitch Trim/Parking Brake/Snap to 2D Panel/View Change. Installed on 250 Gb (D:). FS9 and FSX Acceleration (locked at 30 FPS).
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The best way to do any of this is to use software designed to seamlessly do the job. MACRIUM REFLECT 7 (Free for home use, 5.3 mb) is the best free clone/backup software out there. It requires you provide an EMail and they will send a link that you copy/paste to address line in web browser. They have a forum and FAQ to learn how to use it. Not difficult. People go to YTube and want SPECIFIC answers and only find general 'expert' advice (ie: opinions) and REALLY only want view count. Look for videos on 'How to Use Macrum' (did not check). I think you will like that it will do clone or image with not much difficulty. I am 81 yrs old and I too have to learn 'something new' almost every day. Ha.

Chuck B

Napamule

 

Thank you Chuck.

I will try your suggestions,but just to clarify a point,if I buy a new ssd , should any clone or image I create be the only thing on that SSD?

 

Cheers Andy

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Andy - I use a Western Digital "My Book" 4TB in size, external HD for all my full image backups (twice monthly) with Acronis True Image WD Edition software to make the full image backups!

 

Software was free and the Western Digital external drive did not break the bank. 4TB is a lot of storage, so you could cut back on size to save money on the drive................

 

Good luck, your efforts in getting this set up for your image backups will be well worth the time and effort, and peace of mind alone, knowing you have that to fall back on in the event of computer crash, OR in my case making mistakes with your fat fingers and then needing something to fix it. Also, going back to retrieve an aircraft download that you once had! Do the research, plenty systems and hardware out there! You just need to find one that you can work with!

 

Oh, and your question to Chuck above, I want to protect my flight sim files, but, by doing full image backups, I have my entire computer backed up every 15th and 30th of the month!

 

Rick :cool:

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I guess I didn't ask what you are trying to achieve................... I utilize my setup for storage and protection in the event of ........................... No need for me to boot from it, but, maybe you had something else in mind! Sorry, I should have asked first before telling you about my system.

 

Rick :cool:

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I guess I didn't ask what you are trying to achieve................... I utilize my setup for storage and protection in the event of ........................... No need for me to boot from it, but, maybe you had something else in mind! Sorry, I should have asked first before telling you about my system.

 

Rick :cool:

 

Hello Rick

I am beginning to confuse myself as to what I am actually trying to achieve.:)

I believet that cloning is best way to protect yourself against catastrophic disk failure.

I also believe it means that you can bypass the long winded process of installing Windows again if the above should happen.

And I think? you can use a clone to set up multiple PCs as well;but I have heard that if your clone is stored on a USB connected SSD then you can't boot up your pc from that disk if you should need to.

 

Cheers

Confused of UK

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My Acronis software has you create a boot disk with the recovery software that will get your files back onto to your new disk drive or whatever you are having to replace.

 

Sorry, I don't mean to confuse you anymore than you are! But, you are asking valid questions which is a good thing! Once you get whatever software you chose to use, set up, you will ask yourself, why did I make so much out of this? The time my HD acted up, not fail, my recovery disk did not work, so I just

created a disk that I could use in a new disk drive to recreate the Acronis which would then allow me to manually recover my files using the Acronis program!

 

Good luck, you will figure it out I am sure!

 

Rick :cool:

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Hello Rick

I am beginning to confuse myself as to what I am actually trying to achieve.:)

I believet that cloning is best way to protect yourself against catastrophic disk failure.

I also believe it means that you can bypass the long winded process of installing Windows again if the above should happen.

And I think? you can use a clone to set up multiple PCs as well;but I have heard that if your clone is stored on a USB connected SSD then you can't boot up your pc from that disk if you should need to.

 

Cheers

Confused of UK

 

Both Cloning and Imaging can help protect against disk failure. Cloning is also useful when changing a drive, say from a smaller to larger model (I did this recently with an NVMe SSD), by copying the old directly to the new. Imaging can do the same thing, but you would have to create the image file first on a third drive, then restore the image file to the new drive.

 

For just backing up, imaging is probably the better option. Most imaging programs also allow you to create versions or snapshots that can also let you restore to a point in time as well, depending on how much space there is on the backup drive. They also often allow you to compress the image files to save space.

 

With cloning, you can't use the backup drive for anything else, otherwise it is no longer a clone of the source drive. Imaging creates image files that you can store on a separate drive alongside other files and data. The main limitation with imaging is space on the backup drive.

 

There are plenty of options out there for cloning and imaging (many support both options). Macrium Reflect is a popular one due to the free option. Acronis TrueImage is another common one (Seagate and Western Digital sometimes bundle it, or offer a free download, with their drives). I've been using O&O Software DiskImage lately. Windows actually includes a tool to create images as well, though it is buried and doesn't offer as many options.

 

https://www.windowscentral.com/how-make-full-backup-windows-10

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