This article will give and show another approach to data and file backup called hard drive image backup. Image-based backup is essentially different from the files-based method and offers higher speed and accuracy of making backups. However, it may also have its own disadvantages which will be discussed below.

Disk Image or Image backup is famous to those big companies who want to get a loop of backing up their entire hard drive. It is because it is one of the most convenient ways to have the whole data backup in making a mirror copy for the entire hard drive. And we are talking of large amount of files to be stored.

Probably the most key advantage of hard drive imaging is the capability to back up the entire operating system. This is very vital in the protection against complete hard drive failure, because simply recovering a file backup entails that the operating system is functioning correctly which should be set up from scratch. An image backup restoration allows the system to be in a working state in a span of minutes.

We all know that disk imaging makes a backup copy of the entire hard drive that means the whole operating system itself. That is why many find it more convenient of their computer system adopting the same method to keep their files having a backup. It is known that simply copying a program from one computer to another will make it working. You have to reinstall the software from scratch to make it functional. In the disk imaging method, it can assure you that the operating system will also work in the mirror copy of the hard drive.

Advantages of Image Backup

Hard disk cloning stays in the principle of all hard drive cloning software. By making a copy or an image backup of one hard disk and restoring it to another device, it is assured that you get the same similar contents on the first drive. The same concept can also be applied in multiple identical computers set up. It is very useful for those computer technicians who are specializing in testing different hardware.

Disadvantages of Image Backup

It will be hard to check and determine the specific files and folders of a certain hard drive as the there is no way to find out which sectors are important to the user and which are just a waste. Unlike from the usual file-based backup method, it may not be an option for those who only want specific files to backup. It is because you have to backup the entire hard disk and there is no way to select files to be included or not included in the drive image.