The software copies the data from the source device to a disk image file. The software copies the data from the source device to the target device directly. What is the difference between disk imaging and disk cloning?ĭisk imaging will copy the storage device’s data to a single file, called disk image file.ĭisk cloning (also called disk duplication) will copy the storage device’s data to another storage device. Nowadays people use it for all kinds of media and devices, from traditional storage media such as optical media, hard disk drive, to the latest storage media, such as solid state drive and Blu-ray. It became more popular when floppy disks appeared. In the 1960s, people used it to back up mainframe disk to magnetic tape. And it is easy to manage as a single file. The disk image contains everything on the device, including all files, the file system and operating system meta data, etc. The storage device can be a hard disk drive, solid state drive, floppy disk, USB flash drive, CD, DVD, Blu-ray, and any other devices that can store data. And some formats may compress the data to decrease the file size. may contain some meta data, other than the copy of the device. Some formats, such as ISO image format, Nero NRG image format, Apple DMG image format, etc.

A disk image file is usually an exact copy of a storage device.

Windows 7 disk image creator