difference between mac clone and mac disk image

Over time, portions (or “ fragments”) of files are spread out over the entire hard disk, with free space in between.Ī clone is an exact duplicate of the original. When you delete a file, the area it occupied is marked as available (or free, or empty). As you create and use it, data gets spread out over the disk. Free space: currently unused areas of the disk.ĭata isn’t necessarily kept together on a hard drive.Data: all of the files and folders on the hard disk, plus the information the operating system uses to manage them.Overhead: boot and partition information, the contents of recovery partitions, and more.Content falls into three broad categories: To understand this, we need to review what’s on your computer’s disk. CloneĪ clone is an identical copy of a disk. When it comes to routine backups, an image is generally what you want. An image contains only what we care about: the overhead information used by the operating system and all of our data.

A clone contains every bit of information on a disk, including whatever’s in the unused areas, and preserves the physical layout.

Difference between mac clone and mac disk image