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21 February 2024  Amanda J. Brook  Senior Product Manager
 

Summary
In this authoritative article, we'll clarify the distinction between backup and cloning, their optimal uses, and provide step-by-step instructions for hard disk backup and cloning.



Table of contents

table iconI. What is backup and cloning, and what is the difference between them?
table iconII. How to backup hard disk and clone hard disk?
backup vs clone

I. What is backup and cloning, and what is the difference between them?

1. What is backup?

Backup and replication are similar concepts involving moving files to another location for preservation. However, their purposes differ. Copying files for immediate use, while backup is to protect file security. Regularly backing up files enhances security and allows for retrieval in case of loss. Backup objects can include files, folders, hard drives, or systems.

2. What is cloning?

Cloning creates an identical copy of a hard disk or partition, including files, system information, folder structure, file system, applications, and registry data. The cloned disk is ready for immediate use without any additional setup.

3. The difference between backup and clone

① The applicable situation is different: Backup is suitable for protecting files. Cloning is suitable for hard disk data transfer when replacing the hard disk.
② Operational time spans vary for backups and cloning. Backups can be long-term, like weekly/monthly automatic backups, or a single operation with files stored for future restoration. Cloning is usually a one-time operation that transfers all data from the original to a new hard disk for immediate use.
③ Operation objects for backup can include files, folders, operating systems, partitions, and hard disks, whereas cloning typically only supports partitions, hard disks, and system cloning.
After understanding the definition and difference between cloning and backup, let’s learn about the operation steps of backup and cloning together.

II. How to backup hard disk and clone hard disk?

1. Use Renee Becca to backup hard disk data

Renee Becca is a tool specialized for system/hard disk data backup and restoration. It can back up and restore crucial data like programs, system configuration, emails, photos, videos, documents, and bookmarks. Using incremental/differential backup technology to save time and disk space, it also offers partition backup, hard disk backup, file backup, and disk cloning options.
Renee Becca - Reliable Data Backup & Restore Software

Quick Backup files at up to 3,000MB/min.

Fullfill different backup needs Supports system backup, disk / partition backup, file backup and disk clone.

Intelligent Automatically analyze the differences between source and backup data.

Convenient Support VSS, allowing to freely view webpages when backing up system.

Highly compatible Supports various files and storage devices.

Quick Backup files at up to 3,000MB/min.

Fullfill different backup needs Backup for disk, partition and system. Save disk space by backing up incremental /differential data.

Highly compatible Supports various files and storage devices.

Free TrialFree Trial 2000 users have downloaded and enjoy Renee Becca!
It is very simple to back up hard disk data with Renee Becca, the specific operation steps are as follows:
Step 1: Download, install, and run Renee Becca on the computer. Select the (hard disk/partition backup) option in the main interface (backup) column. This option can back up the data of the entire hard disk or partition. If you only need to back up individual important data, you can also use the (file backup) function.
backup data in disks and partitions
Step 2: Select the hard disk to be backed up as the source file (device) and choose the hard disk partition to store the backup data as the destination. For partition backup, select the (Partition Backup) option in the upper right corner.
back up disk in Renee Becca
Step 3: In (Task Scheduler), you can set the daily/weekly/monthly regular backup and the time to automatically start the backup.
backup disk daily, weekly or monthly
Step 4: In (Backup Scheme)-(Scheme Type), choose a suitable backup scheme mode based on personal needs. Renee Becca offers 5 options: version chain, single version, overall, incremental, and differential modes.
backup mode of Renee Becca
Renee Becca has 5 backup plans to choose from:
Version chain mode: Only the latest 5 versions are kept, and useless old versions are automatically deleted after the backup is complete.
Single version mode: Only the most recent version is kept, and the previous version is automatically deleted after the backup is complete.
overall pattern: Create a full backup.
Incremental mode: After the initial full backup, only incremental backups are created.
diff mode: After the initial full backup, only differential backups are created. You can view the difference between incremental backup and differential backup.
Step 5: Finally, click the (Backup Now) button to start executing the hard disk backup command according to your settings.

2. Use Renee Becca to clone the hard drive

The method of using Renee Becca to clone a partition is also relatively simple. The specific operation steps are as follows:
Step 1: Download, install and run Renee Becca, select the option (Hard Disk Clone/Clone System Hard Disk) in the main interface (Clone) column.
renee becca disk clone
Step 2: Select the original disk and the replacement hard disk in the source and destination locations of the “Disk Clone” window. Check the “ignore bad sectors” option by clicking the (Option) button. Then, click the (Clone) button to start the cloning process. Remember to backup your files before proceeding.
ignore bad sectors