AOMEI Backupper Help Guides

The differences of backup/clone ways

AOMEI Backupper offers multiple features for data protection, including backup, clone, and sync. This article will introduce the differences between System Backup and Disk Backup, System Clone and Disk Clone, Disk Backup and Disk Clone, System Backup and System Clone, and File Backup and File Sync. In addition, the basic usage scenarios of each feature will be introduced so that users can choose the appropriate feature to use according to their own situation.

The Differences of Different Backup Ways

System Backup vs Disk Backup 

System Backup and Disk Backup have some differences in terms of the backup scope and purpose:

1. Backup Scope:    

System Backup: System backup refers to backing up the entire operating system along with its related settings, configurations, and installed applications. It includes the operating system, system drivers, registry settings, and installed applications. This kind of backup allows for a quick recovery of the entire operating system in case of system failure or crash.    

Disk Backup: Disk backup involves backing up the entire disk, including all partitions and data. It not only includes the operating system and applications but also encompasses the user's personal data, files, and folders. Disk backup can be used to fully restore the entire disk, whether it's for system failure or data loss.

For example, the system disk includes a "system" partition, C: drive ("boot" partition), D: drive, E: drive. System Backup will detect the "system" partition, C: drive to back up. Disk Backup will back up all partitions on the disk.

If your system disk only has system partitions, no data partitions, you can use system backup or disk backup. 

2. Backup Purpose:    

System Backup: The primary purpose of system backup is to ensure a quick recovery of the entire operating system and related settings in case of system failure, hardware damage, or virus infection, enabling the computer to return to normal operation.    

Disk Backup: Disk backup aims to comprehensively protect all data on the entire disk, including the system, applications, and user data. It is a comprehensive backup method used to fully recover all contents on the disk.

3. Restoration Process:    

System Backup: In the system backup, the restoration process involves restoring the entire operating system and its related components from the backup image. This process will overwrite all data on the destination, so it is essential to have data backup before performing the restoration when there are other important data on the destination.    

Disk Backup: The restoration process of disk backup involves restoring the entire disk image to the target disk, which will overwrite all data on the target disk. Therefore, it is necessary to back up important data on the target disk before executing the restoration operation when there are other important data.

In conclusion, system backup and disk backup are both important means of data protection, but the choice of backup method should be based on the purpose and requirements of the backup.  If you want to back up your computer's system partitions only, you can use System Backup, and if you want to back up your entire computer, you should use Disk Backup.

In addition, there is also a Partition Backup feature. It is recommended to back up a single data partition. Disk Backup is also used to back up individual data disk (only including data partitions).

System Clone vs Disk Clone

System Clone and Disk Clone are two common data migration methods that have some differences in terms of migration scope and purpose. Here are the main differences between them:

1. Migration Scope:    

System Cloning: System cloning refers to migrating only the operating system along with its related settings, configurations, and installed applications, excluding other data partitions. This migration method is mainly used to clone the operating system from one hard disk to another, typically for system upgrades or disk replacement.    

Disk Cloning: Disk cloning involves cloning the entire contents of a disk, including the operating system, applications, user data, and partitions, to another disk. This migration method is used to fully replicate a hard disk to another disk, often for backup, disk upgrades, or data migration purposes.

For example, the system disk includes a "system" partition, C: drive ("boot" partition), D: drive, and E: drive. System Clone will detect the "system" partition, C: drive to clone. Disk Clone will clone all partitions on the disk.

If your system disk only has system partitions, no data partitions, you can use the system clone or disk clone. 

2. Migration Purpose:    

System Cloning: The main purpose of system cloning is to migrate the operating system along with its settings and applications to establish an identical operating environment on a new hard disk.    

Disk Cloning: The purpose of disk cloning is to copy the entire hard disk, including the operating system, applications, and user data, to achieve a complete replication or migration of the entire disk.

3. Target Disk Status:    

System cloning requires selecting a partition or unallocated space on the destination disk as the cloning destination, so this space needs to be greater than the amount of data in the system partition. The system clone will overwrite the selected destination location.

Disk cloning will directly overwrite the entire destination disk, so the capacity of the destination disk needs to be greater than the used space of the source disk. Additionally, please ensure that there is no other important data on the destination disk before cloning the disk.

In conclusion, system cloning and disk cloning are both essential means of data migration, but the choice of migration method should be based on the purpose and requirements of the migration.

In addition, there is also a Partition Clone feature. It is recommended to clone a single data partition. Disk Clone is also used to clone individual data disks (only including data partitions).

Disk Backup vs Disk Clone 

Disk backup and Disk Clone are two common methods for data protection and migration, and they have some differences in their purpose and implementation process. 

1. Purpose:   

Disk Backup: Disk backup involves backing up the entire content of a disk, including the operating system, applications, user data, etc., into a backup file, typically a compressed image file. The main purpose of disk backup is data protection and recovery, allowing for data and system restoration in case of data loss, system failure, or hardware issues. It also supports scheduled backups to automatically backup your data regularly to ensure the latest data status.

Disk Clone: Disk clone is the process of creating an exact copy of an entire disk onto another target disk, making the target disk a complete replica of the source disk. The primary purpose of disk cloning is seamless disk migration, replicating all content and structure from the source disk to the target disk. Clone is not a schedule feature, so you need to manually run the full clone every time.

2. Implementation Process:   

Disk Backup: In disk backup, backup software compresses the content of the disk into a backup file. The backup file can be stored on other storage media, such as an external hard drive, network storage device, or cloud storage.    

Disk Cloning: In disk cloning, the entire content of the source disk, including data and partition structures, is directly copied to the target disk. This means the target disk must have enough space to accommodate all data from the source disk.

When you restore the disk backup to the target disk, it achieves the same result as the clone.

3. Use Cases:   

Disk Backup: Disk backup is typically used for regular data and system backups, allowing for data restoration or system recovery when needed. It is a common method for data protection, safeguarding data against accidental deletion, virus attacks, or hardware failures.    

Disk Cloning: Disk cloning is mainly employed for disk upgrades, replacements, or migrations. When users need to seamlessly migrate all content from an existing disk to a new disk or a larger capacity disk, disk cloning is an effective method.

In conclusion, disk backup and disk cloning are two different approaches to data management, and the choice of method depends on your specific needs, whether it's data and system protection or disk migration.  If you want to make a backup of your computer's data in case of future system crashes or data loss, it is recommended to use a disk backup. 

If you want to clone the system on one computer to a new disk, you can boot up that computer and then clone its system disk to another disk by means of disk cloning. Then, install this cloned disk inside the same computer and set it as the first boot device, and then the computer can boot from the cloned disk.

If you want to migrate the system, applications and data to another computer, it is recommended to use the backup and restore feature. You can create disk backup on the old computer, and then copy the backup image file to the new computer to do a universal restore.

System Backup vs System Clone

The (Purpose/Implementation Process/ Use Cases) comparison between System Backup ane System Clone is similar to Disk Backup vs Disk Clone.

File Backup vs File Sync

System/Partition Disk Backup or Clone are sector-level operations. They read sectors to back up or clone. When you only want to back up/copy part files/folders, it is recommended to use File Backup or File Sync features.

File backup and File Sync are two different methods of files/folders management, and they have some differences in their purposes, processes, and outcomes. Here are the main differences between them:

1. Purpose:   

File Backup: The main purpose of file backup is to create backup copies of files so that data can be restored in case of file damage, loss, or accidental deletion. Backups are typically performed on a regular basis to ensure data safety and reliability.

File Sync: The primary purpose of file sync is to achieve schedule/real-time synchronization of file content between different devices or locations. Sync ensures that files on multiple devices remain consistent, and when a file is changed on one device, it is also updated on other devices accordingly.

2. Process:   

File Backup: In file backup, it will back up files/folders to compressed image files and store them on backup media such as external hard drives, network storage devices, or cloud storage. You can restore files/folders from the backup image file at any time. The frequency of backups can be set according to requirements, such as daily, weekly, or other periodic backups.

File Sync: File sync will compare files in the source folder with files in the target folder, and then synchronize the differences between them. Sync is typically done in real-time or near-real-time to ensure that all devices have the latest files. And, there are multiple sync ways to meet different needs.

3. Outcome:   

File Backup: File backup generates independent backup copies for data restoration. Backup files are often compressed and archived to save storage space. It will create a backup version when the backup is performed every time, so you can restore files/folders to an old or latest status.

File Sync: File sync keeps files on multiple devices in sync, so when a file is changed on one device, it is updated on other devices accordingly. Sync does not save the history versions of files.; instead, it ensures that all devices have consistent file content.

In conclusion, file backup is used for data protection and restoration, while file sync is used to maintain real-time synchronization of file content across multiple devices. The choice of method depends on your specific needs, whether it's for data protection or achieving file sync. In some cases, synchronizing data to another location for storage is also a form of data backup.

If you want to update the data to be stored in another location without creating an image file, it is recommended to use the file sync feature.