

They each create an exact, uncompressed replica of a drive. There are a wide range of disk cloning tools out there. Clones come in handy when adding a new, larger hard drive and transferring all data, applications, and the operating system. In the last use case, a common reason is when the free space is running out on a hard drive.

There are various approaches and use cases for cloning. Instead of having to reinstall everything from scratch, it is all provided rapidly by the clone. It includes the data, applications, system software and related files. If the drive crashes or fails, the clone gives you fast access to everything on it as it is a duplicate of the original. Disk cloning software rose to prominence as an alternate way to back up and restore hard disk drives (HDDs) or solid state devices (SSDs).
