Backup computer copy disk software

Having a disk image backed up that you can recover allows you to return to normal operations much faster and makes sure that your data is protected from being lost. Hard drive cloning software is invaluable because it gives you the tools to backup your operating system and files.

Now that more companies are looking for recovery solutions disk cloning software has grown in popularity, meaning there is a range of tools on the market. A cloned drive is an exact copy of all contents down to and including the operating system.

However, it does not go down to the BIOS, which is where the factors that make a disk bootable are managed. Some disk cloning systems offer the ability to reflect the BIOS settings of a drive in its new location after cloning. In which case, that software will make the cloned drive bootable if the original was. There is no built-in cloning software in Windows However, there are many third-party cloning software packages that you can install on top of the operating system.

Cloning a hard drive is the best option for a one-time move of contents. Imaging is more commonly used for backups or frequently updated replications. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Comparitech uses cookies. More info. Menu Close. We are reader supported and may receive a commission when you make purchases using the links on our site.

We show you the best disk cloning software for backing up computers. Tim Keary Network administration expert. Backups are tested against malware and you can restore from the cloud. This is a SaaS system. EaseUS Todo Backup Free hard drive cloning software for Windows that supports full, incremental, and differential backups. Iperius Backup Disk image backup software for Windows 10 that supports automatic cloud backups.

Clonezilla Open-source disk imaging software for Linux with encryption. Paragon Drive Copy Professional Disk cloning software that can be used to create backups and partitions. We reviewed the market for disk cloning systems and analyzed tools based on the following criteria: A choice of storage location for images Options for platforms between on-premises and cloud-based systems An image library management system The ability to install a disk image remotely and in bulk Low impact on server processors A free trial or a demo account that enables a no-risk assessment Value for money that is created by a reasonable price for the services that are provided With these selection criteria in mind, we looked for reliable disk imaging systems that will provide a way to backup, standardize and onboard device disks.

Pros: Remains very easy to use without sacrificing advanced features Available for Windows and Mac, a great cross-platform solution Supports both local and remote backup solutions Can backup mobile devices via iOS and Android app Creating a backup schedule takes just a few minutes Great option for both home users and established businesses. Cons: Advanced features may take time to fully learn and utilize. Cons: Backup storage space is fixed by the choice of plan. Cons: Only available for Windows, no cross-platform support Interface can feel clunky at times Might not be the best option for enterprise-level replication.

Pros: Can rapidly compress machine data into image files for easy access or reinstallation Supports live imaging, allowing it to backup during working hours Can backup virtual disk drives in Hyper-V. To manually copy your files to a network location or to removable media on a computer that is running Windows 7, Windows Vista, Windows XP, or Windows Server , follow these steps:. Open the Users folder, and then open the user folder that contains the files that you want to back up.

To determine the size of all the files in the user folder, select all the folders, right-click those selected folders, and then click Properties. The saved files can be copied to any computer. However, you must have corresponding applications installed on that computer to open those individual files. Not all applications save their files to the user folder. You should make sure that you check other applications and the file system location where the applications save files by default, and then copy those files to the network location or to the removable media.

The next easiest method is to use the Easy Transfer feature in Windows to transfer data to a different computer. This section discusses the following scenarios in which you can use the Easy Transfer feature to back up data to a different computer:.

The Windows Easy Transfer feature lets you to back up user account files and settings. Then you can restore those files and settings to a new computer. To start Windows Easy Transfer, follow these steps:. If you want to move your data from a Windows 7-based computer to a Windows Vista-based computer, use the Windows Vista version of Windows Easy Transfer.

To do this, follow these steps:. Open the support folder, and then open the migwiz folder. Then you can restore those files and settings to the new computer. Click Next. Temporarily reboot to any system backup or quickly boot and test a system image backup in a VM for peace-of-mind at any time. Quickly clone and replace your PC's system drive with a new larger drive for increased capacity or faster SSD for improved performance.

Automatically resizes and aligns partitions during the cloning process to ensure full use of larger disks and optimal performance of solid state and advanced format devices. PC Magazine 4. Used under license. Rapid Recovery Replace a failed system drive with a Casper Bootable Backup for immediate recovery or boot and run from a Casper Restore-Point Backup to use your PC while performing a full system restore.

Verifiable Recovery Quickly test-boot system backups to ensure viability for peace-of-mind at any time. MiniTool Partition Wizard is a free partition manager for Windows that you can use to copy and partition disk images.

With MiniTool Partition Wizard you can create, copy, delete, format, move, resize, wipe, merge, and split partitions.

You can also view disk and partition properties like device name and total size to see how efficiently resources are utilized. Alternatively, you can use the space analyzer to monitor disk space usage.

If you require more depth of features then you can upgrade to one of the paid versions. It also enables you to scan a hard drive to identify and recover files lost to a security breach or power outage. The Pro version also comes with a bootable media builder so you can create a bootable CD or flash drive to fix boot issues.

MiniTool Partition Wizard is worth taking a look at for enterprises and home users alike. It is only available on Windows. You can download and try the freeware version. EaseUS Todo Backup is a free disk imaging solution for Windows that can clone full disks or partitions. Restoring data can be done in a matter of seconds without the need to reinstall. EaseUS Todo Backup is a good solution for individuals looking for a low-cost disk imaging tool.

You can download the freeware version. Iperius Backup is a backup software that can copy drive images. With Iperius Backup you can create a copy of complete disk images.

The platform is also compatible with ESXi and Hyper-V so you can conduct incremental and differential backups for each system. When backing up your data you can choose to automatically send your backups to a cloud service like Google Drive, OneDrive, Amazon S3, Azure Storage, Dropbox, and more. If you have Iperius Console then you can measure the backup status of systems through the Iperius console. The Iperius console is available through the desktop application or via a web portal, and allows you to monitor the results of backups and set backup schedules remotely.

Iperius Backup is great for organizations that require a user-friendly disk imaging solution with centralized management capabilities. It is only available for Windows. You can download the free trial. Clonezilla is a disk imaging software that allows you to back up systems and restore systems.

With Clonezilla, you can conduct bare-metal recovery to restore entire systems and partitions promptly. Clonezilla Live covers backup and restore for a single machine , and Clonezilla Lite server or Clonezilla SE can clone over 40 computers at once.

Custom boot parameters allow you to tweak the imaging process to your requirements. You can also use another free tool called drbl-winroll to automatically change the hostname, group, and SID of cloned Windows machines. Clonezilla is recommended for enterprises looking for a free and open-source disk imaging solution. It is available on Linux. You can download the software for free. Paragon Hard Disk Manager is recovery software that can back up devices with incremental and differential backups.

With the server version, you can also back up Hyper-V machines. A partition manager allows you to create, move, merge, split, and convert partitions to provide more efficient storage usage. You can regularly update backups automatically on a daily, weekly, or monthly schedule. Use AES encryption to protect the backups you create to ensure private information stays protected.

When starting up a new system you can copy disk images without rebooting.