The data is copied directly to the target location and can be used and edited immediately.Ī cloned system drive that contains the operating system can be mounted as a new drive and immediately booted.Ī clone needs more space because the partitions are immediately created on the target disk. A cloned disk or drive contains all the partitions from the source disk or drive. This means you get an immediate copy including the hard disk structure, i.e. When duplicating or cloning a drive a copy of the drive or partition is created directly to the target location. In order to restore the system or data to a previous state or to access files and documents, the backup software is required. The backup file can be compressed and so uses less space. Providing the target disk is big enough, numerous backups can be saved simultaneously. This file can also be protected or “encrypted” with a password.Įasy management as only one file contains the entire backup. When carrying out a full backup of the system hard drive the entire operating system as well as all installed programs and settings are also saved. By doing so, all data is saved into one single file. When backing up a hard drive the entire content of the selected drive or partition are backed up into a file (also known as an Image) on to the target location.