Cloning and copying a drive are two different methods of replicating the contents of a hard drive. Cloning makes an exact sector-by-sector copy of the entire drive, including the OS, applications, settings and files. Copying involves manually selecting files and folders to duplicate onto another drive. Understanding the key differences is crucial for deciding which process best suits your needs for drive replication and backup.
Cloning creates an identical clone that can directly replace the original drive, while copying allows more selectivity over what gets duplicated. Cloning tends to be faster but requires enough storage capacity on the destination drive. Copying gives more flexibility but can be tedious. Weighing the pros and cons will ensure you choose the optimal technique.
Definition of Cloning
Cloning a drive refers to making an exact, bootable copy of a source hard disk drive or solid state drive. The cloned drive is an identical replica that contains all the data, partitions, and file systems of the original drive [1]. Cloning copies everything sector-by-sector from one drive to another, resulting in two drives with the same bytes in the same locations [2]. The cloned drive can be swapped with the original drive and the system will boot and operate exactly as it did before.
Cloning makes an exact clone that is bootable, while copying only duplicates files and folders but does not make the copy bootable. Cloning replicates the full structure, partitions, operating system, programs, and data to create an identical clone.
Definition of Copying
Copying a drive refers to making copies of specific files and folders from one drive to another, without necessarily making an exact, bootable duplicate of the entire drive. When you copy files or folders from one drive to another, you are selecting individual pieces of data to transfer over rather than cloning the entire drive structure and contents.
Copying allows you to transfer only the specific files or folders you need to another location. For example, you may want to copy your documents folder to an external hard drive for backup purposes, without copying the entire system drive. Copying does not replicate the full structure, boot sectors, partition layouts, etc. It simply transfers the user files and folders that are selected.
A key difference between cloning and copying is that cloning aims to make an exact, bootable replica of the source drive, while copying just transfers selected files. Copying only reproduces the user data, not the operating system files or drive structure needed to boot the OS. The result of copying files is not a bootable duplicate, just copies of specific files and folders.
Process for Cloning
Cloning a hard drive involves making a sector-by-sector copy from one drive to another. This means that everything on the original drive, including the operating system, applications, settings, and files, will be identically replicated onto the new drive [1]. Some key steps in the cloning process include:
1. Connect both the original hard drive and the new destination drive to the computer. This can be done by installing the new drive in the computer or using an external enclosure.
2. Download and install cloning software such as MiniTool Partition Wizard, Macrium Reflect, Clonezilla, or EaseUS Todo Backup [2]. Some of these have free versions available.
3. Run the cloning software and select the source drive (original) and destination drive (new). The destination drive must be equal to or larger than the source drive.
4. The cloning process will now copy all of the contents from the old drive over to the new drive sector-by-sector. This process may take several hours depending on the drive size.
5. Once completed, the destination drive should be an exact clone of the source and you can swap it into the computer.
Process for Copying
Copying a drive involves manually selecting and moving files or folders from one drive to another. It does not copy the entire contents and structure of a drive. To copy files or folders, you simply browse to the location you want to copy from, select the files/folders, and copy them. Then you browse to the destination drive and paste the files/folders into the desired location.
The key advantage of copying compared to cloning is that you do not need to have enough blank space on the destination drive to hold the entire contents of the source drive. You can selectively choose the files or folders you wish to copy over. This allows you to copy only the most important files if the destination drive has limited space.
Copying also does not require any special software. The copy and paste functions are built into operating systems like Windows and macOS. So no additional tools are needed to manually copy files and folders between drives.
Advantages of Cloning
Some of the key advantages of cloning a drive include:
Faster recovery: With a cloned drive, you can quickly restore your entire system back to the exact state it was in when you created the clone. This allows for much faster recovery time compared to reinstalling the operating system and programs from scratch (https://www.oo-software.com/en/disks-and-drives-to-backup-or-clone-the-pros-cons-and-differences).
Easy restore to exact state: Cloning creates an identical copy of the source drive, including the operating system, installed programs, settings, and files. This makes restoring to the exact same state as the original drive quick and easy (https://www.msp360.com/resources/blog/cloning-vs-image-backup-when-you-need-what/).
Boots like source drive: A cloned drive containing the operating system will boot up just like the original drive. There is no need to reconfigure settings since everything is replicated from the source (https://www.easeus.com/backup-utility/what-is-disk-cloning-and-why-is-it-necessary.html).
Disadvantages of Cloning
One disadvantage of cloning is that it requires enough space on the destination drive to contain the entire contents of the source drive. Cloning copies all partitions and data from the source drive, not just the files you may want to selectively transfer. This means the destination drive needs to have at least as much storage capacity as the drive being cloned, even if the data on the source drive does not fill it completely. If the destination is too small, the cloning process will fail.
Another downside is that cloning duplicates all contents of the source drive to the destination, regardless of whether all that data is needed or not. If you only need to migrate your operating system and programs but not other files like videos or music, cloning will copy those unnecessary files anyway. This can be inefficient if you’re trying to save space on the destination drive. An alternative like selecting files/folders to copy could be better for selective transfers.
According to OO-Software, “A clone needs more space because the partitions are immediately created on the target disk. For that reason it is not possible to compress or encrypt the cloned data.” So cloning lacks the space-saving and security features you may get with file copying or imaging approaches.
Advantages of Copying
One of the major advantages of copying a drive versus cloning is flexibility. With copying, you can choose to only move over certain files and folders you want from the source drive to the destination. This allows you to be selective and avoid transferring unnecessary data. You don’t have to do an entire 1:1 copy like with cloning.
Since you can pick and choose which files to copy, this also means you don’t need to have enough storage space on the destination drive to hold the entire contents of the source. The destination just needs enough room for the files you want to copy over. This makes copying helpful if you are trying to consolidate specific data from multiple locations onto a single smaller drive.
Overall, the flexibility to copy only needed files without requiring full space on the destination drive is a major advantage of copying versus cloning. As Microsoft notes, “Copying files gives you more flexibility than cloning disks.”[1]
Disadvantages of Copying
There are some notable downsides to simply copying the contents of a drive instead of cloning it. Some key disadvantages include:
No bootable backup – When you copy files and folders, you are not creating a full bootable backup of your drive. The copy will not be able to boot and function as the original drive. You will have to reinstall the operating system and applications.
Longer restore process – To restore your system from a copy, you will have to reinstall the OS, applications, and then copy everything back. This takes more time compared to cloning where you can just swap in the cloned drive and be up and running.
Could miss important files – When copying, it’s easy to accidentally miss system folders, registry files, boot partitions, and other critical components needed to boot and run your OS. A clone contains the full drive.
For more comprehensive system backups and the ability to quickly restore your exact system configuration, drive cloning is generally superior to just copying files and folders. However, copying can be useful for quick file backups or moving data to a new drive.
Summary
In summary, the key differences between cloning and copying a drive are:
- Cloning makes an exact replica of the entire drive, including the file system and boot sectors, while copying just duplicates files and folders.
- Cloning takes more time but is useful for backups or migrating to a new drive, while copying is faster but doesn’t fully replicate the original drive.
- Cloning requires specialized software, while copying can be done through the operating system directly.
- Cloning maintains the integrity and functionality of the original drive if it needs to be restored, while copying may miss system files.
Cloning is preferred for full system backups, disaster recovery, or replicating a drive for continued use. Copying is better for retrieving specific files or folders from one drive to another. Knowing the differences allows selecting the right technique for specific data transfer needs.