It has been said, but bits and pieces here and there, to clarify:
A Cloned Drive (often refereed to as a clone for simplicity & confusion
) Is a second drive written sector-by-sector (empty space and protected system files, etc) - and DOES require "tyeing up" a Full extra HDD - But on the good side, it is possible to literally use it as a instant replacement, and can be tested to be assured that it copied correctly.
A Cloned Partition - is likewise copied from the original drive's part. to another HDD's part. sector by sector, everything including blank space and system files is copied (I have never know of this allowing the from and to partitions to be on the same drive)
A Raw Image - is just like a clone in many ways - and comes in both flavors (part or drive) depending on the S/W used (it copies sector by sector - and again includes all sectors regardless of content or lack thereof.) It can be stored, albeit a huge file, and later written to the original or a new drive or partition for an exact copy that, yes is similar to a clone, but more versatile to move to desired final location of choice, but cannot be "tested" like a cloned drive can.
And Image file - Is the most commonly used implementation of the four mentioned types of backups, It copies all the files excluding protected system files (pagefile.sys, restore pts, etc) Because it does not copy blank sectors or certain system files it is substantially smaller and can be compressed (unless the drive of origin was compressed prior to backing it up) It is versatile,able to be used on any HDD as needed, on the downside, there are indeed instances that a problem during the shadowing process (which picks the drive/volume apart into copies so it doesn't change in the middle of the op) are either not realized by the software, or damaged after the copy, leading to a corrupt image. It can sometimes be "pseudo-quasi-tested by going through a catalog of files and checking them, but without being installed on the final mass storage media/HDD like a clone would be, there is more processing to be done to reassemble the drive and offers an opportunity for problems to occur. But small and versatile and quick!
So in the end, it depends on your intend purpose for making the backup and amount of extra HDD's you have.
- I have used True Image many times (hundreds) and only once was an image corrupt that I can remember anyway!
- O & O is a similar or identical engine with a different UI.
- And I honestly have never used Paragon Paragon Migrate OS to SSD that had you have had so much luck with, so I can't help, It may be better, equal, or worse, you do have one good opinion of it though so ask around if you might use it, to make yourself feel more confident (although you sound like your mind is made up)
Hope this helps at least consolidate!
Mike
