What Is the Difference Between a Disk Image and a Clone?

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Larissa· Answered on Nov 17, 2023

A Disk clone and a disk image are two different concepts.

Disk Cloning means creating the exact same copy of your hard drive, including all partitions, files, and data. It won't change the data format or size in any way. It creates a one-to-one usable copy of your drive.

While Disk Image means making an archive or backup of your hard drive, it is saved in a file format as a restore for your hard drive. The image will compress the file size and make a byte-by-byte archive as a compressed file.

Let's put things simply. Assume you have created a disk image and a disk clone for your hard drive separately. Your hard drive contains 500 GB of data, then the clone hard drive will also require at least 500 GB of storage space. But the disk image may take about 50 GB of storage space. And you can save several disk images on one external hard drive, but you can only save one disk clone on one target drive.

Different as they are, you can use both the disk clone and disk image as backups for your hard drive. When you want to restore to the previous system or encounter data loss, they can help you effectively.

How to create a disk image or a disk clone? You'll need a professional disk cloning tool and image-creating tool. Most third-party software is designed with only one feature, and you need to install two different programs to do it.

Fortunately, EaseUS Todo Backup is a practical tool combining two functions. It supports backing up and creating a system image and has a disk clone to let you move data from one drive to another without losing any data.

What's more, you can use EaseUS Todo Backup to back up files, folders, partitions, and App data. With an intuitive interface, you can operate it easily, even if you are a novice. Download it to keep the safety of your hard drive.

Related Article: Clone VS Image | What's the Difference? How to Clone or Image a Hard Drive