Disk cloning is the process of copying the entire contents of a hard drive or partition, including the file structure and system files, for the purpose of moving or restoring data. Cloned drives are often written to a single image file that represents the entire drive. Disk cloning can be used for many purposes, including transferring data to a larger hard drive or recovering an unstable system with a clean disk image. Organizations can use disk cloning to distribute a standardized set of applications and data across many different computers. However, creating exact duplicates of a hard drive can have disadvantages, such as copying the computer’s unique security identifier (SID) and drivers for a particular set of hardware.
Disk cloning, also known as disk imaging, is the practice of copying the entire contents of a hard drive or partition, including the file structure and system files, for the purpose of moving or restoring data from the unit. Cloned drives are often written to a single image file that represents the entire drive. Such a disk image can be used for many purposes, including transferring data to a larger hard drive or recovering an unstable system with a clean disk image. Libraries, schools, and cybercafes often restore their computers with cloned disk images to easily manage and protect large numbers of machines. Practice can create some problems, but many programs provide features to compensate for this.
When operating systems and backup software copy the contents of a disk from one location to another, they often ignore some files, alter the data in some way, or don’t preserve all of the file attributes on the disk. In many cases, this is actually beneficial to the user. For example, when backing up a folder to an external hard drive, the date and time of a file’s last modification may reflect the time of the last backup rather than the modification of the original file. When you need to make an exact copy of a disk, many users turn to disk cloning software.
Disk cloning software creates a bit-level copy of a disk, meaning every last bit of data is preserved. The data can be written to a second disk or saved as an image file. The image file can be used to transfer data to one or more new hard drives or reapplied to the original drive. An unstable system, for example, can be brought back to a point where it was still functional using a cloned disk image.
Organizations with a large number of computers can use disk cloning to distribute a standardized set of applications and data across many different computers. They could also use the technique to apply security updates and patches to all of their computers at once. In libraries, schools and cybercafes, for example, computers are often reset regularly from a cloned disk image to remove any viruses or other unwanted software users may have downloaded. Disk cloning can also be used in conjunction with disk wiping, the practice of securely erasing a disk, to remove all personal data and return your machine to a clean slate.
Creating exact duplicates of a hard drive can have disadvantages. Computers running Microsoft® Windows® are assigned a unique security identifier (SID) when the operating system is first installed. Cloning a disk will copy the computer’s unique SID; if this cloned image is used on multiple computers on a network, security may be compromised. Drivers for the particular set of hardware are also copied when a disk is cloned, which can cause problems when the target system has a different configuration. Some disk cloning applications provide features to overcome these problems, so prospective customers should be sure to evaluate their needs before making a purchase.
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