Backup vs cloned disc

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I have a problem that I cannot quite figure out. I am a novice when it comes to working with PCs so please forgive me if I am oblivious to the obvious. I cannot figure out which to use, cloning or backup. I have an old GigaStudio (I'm a composer) and the storage drives inside it are 6 or 7 years old. They are in a raid array 0, so they show up as 1 drive. What I want to do is ultimately swap out the two older 250GB SATA drive for one new 1TB SATA drive. So, I thought I could either clone or backup the Raid to an external firewire drive, remove the Raid array, install the new 1TB SATA drive, and restore the files to the new drive. Which process should I use - cloning or disk backup. THere is no system information on the raid array, just audio samples. It is almost full, I think that it has 466GB, another reason why I wanted a bigger drive. I also need to know that once I restore (or rebuild, whichever is the correct terminology) the files to the new drive, if I can turn off the Raid array and have the drive just function as a normal internal drive. I hope this is clear - I'm trying the cloning method as I type and it seems to be moving in slow motion. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Sat, 08/07/2010 - 00:44
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The basic difference between cloning and disk imaging (disk backup) is this: cloning makes a direct disk-to-disk transfer of sectors without creating an intermediate image file, while disk imaging (backup) saves a file containing a disk image in it. Cloning is not really a backup strategy, since nothing is saved, whereas disk imaging is a backup strategy, since the disk can be restored from the saved image file, either to it's original location (physical device) or a different location (different physical device, like a replacement drive).

The terminology can be confusing - no apology necessary! Different vendors and resources use different terms, so it is very likely to be confused.

Cloning is also primarily meant to make bootable drives, not just make copies of data, mostly for drive replacements/upgrades.

Hope this helps.

Sat, 08/07/2010 - 01:11
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Beginner
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Still a bit unsure. I made a drive using cloning - can I now rebuild a new internal drive that will function exactly like my Raid array did? That is the bottom line. I need to know that if I replace my two internal drives with my new 1TB drive, I will be able to restore/rebuild this drive with this external firewire drive that I just created - so it will function exactly like the raid array did.

Also, do you know how to turn off the Raid array on my PC? I'm running Windows XP home edition. DO I have to get into the bios to do this?

Thanks.

Sat, 08/07/2010 - 05:31
truwrikodrorowrelupicugojestutroclulachosaswunuhospikigawakijosaswenomaruclojeueclikaspedrubewidebrisubrohutrurifruuagothunugekedrumucisiuobrobrecrupeslapuswosluprothethibakaslechurathikucli
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Sorry, but my experience/knowledge does not include any kind of RAID, so I can't help you out in this kind of decision. I was just trying to clear up some terminology so Acronis-oriented forum member would be clear what you are talking about. Hopefully someone with RAID experience can contribute to this thread.

Sun, 08/08/2010 - 03:16