Cloning a PC drive comes in handy for a variety of reasons, but primarily when you want to replace one drive on a PC with another that is either bigger or faster than the original drive, if not both.
Such a cloning operation becomes critical on Windows PCs when the drive to be replaced is the boot/system drive, meaning it contains the files used to boot up the machine when it’s starting up or restarting, as well the operating system files used to run Windows itself. It’s critical because its proper outcome is a machine that boots and runs when that operation is complete, the old drive removed, and the new drive put in its place.
About disk cloning, a.k.a. drive cloning
Disk cloning, now often called drive cloning, means creating a true and faithful copy of one computer storage device on another — in other words, copying the contents of one storage device onto another storage device. The original name comes from a time when this meant spinning hard disks. But today, with solid-state drives (SSDs) as common as hard disks (HDs), both source and target can be either an HD or an SSD. In fact, it’s often the case when a boot/system disk is being cloned that the source is an HD and the target an SSD because of the improved performance that such a changeover invariably delivers.
That said, the terms “disk cloning” and “drive cloning” are used more or less interchangeably. The older nomenclature persists in terms like “disk image,” and you may see drive cloning software refer to all storage devices as “disks,” even if they’re SSDs.
What is drive cloning good for?
In workplace practice, drive cloning supports multiple valuable uses, including the following:
Storage device upgrade: Moving the contents of an older drive to a newer one, usually for improved performance, increased capacity, or both.
Full system backup: Cloning one drive to an identical device creates an easy, drop-in replacement for the original if it becomes damaged, corrupted, or otherwise unusable.
System wipe and restore: Sometimes, it makes sense simply to blow away the contents of a drive and replace it with a pristine, clean copy of the OS and applications. This is a common technique for completely removing virus or malware infections, for example. Here, the image created to make a clone is actually used to rebuild the original drive.
Provisioning new computers: This is how computer makers like Acer, Dell, HP, and others send desktop, notebook, and tablet PCs out the door. A high-speed cloning setup cranks out copies of a reference image for the target PC on individual drives that, when inserted into a PC, are ready to be turned on and run for their new owners.
Passing a computer to another user: By restoring an image created before a user logs into the system for the first time, a computer can be restored to its factory default (or first boot-up) state. This is a preferred method for preparing a machine for sale, or to pass…
2023-07-26 02:00:04
Original from www.computerworld.com rnrn