How to Choose Between Macrium Reflect Free and Clonezilla

Why do we need software clones?

Disk cloning can be incredibly useful in many situations, especially when a computer won't boot or is completely bricked. Ideally, without a clone, if a system fails, all of your data and operating system settings would be lost. However, if you've cloned it to another disk, you can recover everything. Disk cloning software makes an exact copy of a hard drive, including partitions, drives, installed software and drivers, and the operating system. With disk cloning, you can not only fix a bricked computer, but also upgrade your hard drive, install the same image multiple times, and even fix software errors.

Macrium Reflect Free

When it comes to free disk cloning software, there is no doubt that Macrium Reflect Free is one of the best in the market. It can be used for cloning, backing up disks, and even creating disk images. The best part is, as they say, “it's a zero-cost solution.” Yes, it's free, and you get all these rich features for free. That's why we call it adware-free. It uses the Macrium Backup engine for data backup, OS cloning, and imaging. Apart from being free, it is also efficient and fast. Macrium was the first company to release a fully functional free backup software; however, since it's free, it has fewer features than licensed cloning software. At best, it can be used to create disk images quickly and restore them when needed.

Why choose Macrium Reflect?

One of the key reasons to choose Macrium Reflect Free is that it's free. So, if your needs are basic and minimal, and you don't want to spend too much, this is obviously the tool for you. The user interface is simple, with a traditional look. It's clean and straightforward, albeit with limited features. This also makes it effective for new users who aren't familiar with the app.

Disadvantages of Macrium Reflect

With Reflect, you can only image partitions or disks. So, there's no file backup or actual cloning feature. That being said, it does offer the option to select a partition from which to restore the Windows operating system. So, here's the catch – if you want to back up folders, you have to pay another $70, and that's not free. Even the paid version only lets you back up folders and not files. Hence, make sure that all the files you want to back up are in the folder that you're backing up.

Reflect Free offers the option to create backup schedules, allowing you to set up tasks to run automatically. It also lets you define retention rules so you can choose what to keep and what not to, and for how long a specific backup should be preserved. This helps manage disk space. In the paid version, you get the benefit of password protection. You can also set up email notifications in the paid edition.

The application supports both GPT and MBR disks. It also offers an option to create a Windows PE boot media.

One of the biggest pros of this software is that it's free, but conversely, this can also be its biggest downside. This is because the free version only offers basic functionalities. To access additional features, you would need to purchase the paid version. Hence, if you're looking for enhanced functionalities for personal and commercial use, the free version might not be the right choice for you. As mentioned earlier, it is suitable only for basic individual use. Another drawback of the application is its performance. It tends to be slightly slower compared to other cloning software available in the market.

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Clonezilla

If you're old school and totally into command-line utilities, Clonezilla is made for you. It's free and open-source, meaning that if you're a developer, you can customize it. It supports different operating systems. This includes Chrome OS, Windows, Mac, and Linux. The limited user support is a downside, but it makes up for it with features that make it one of the best cloning software out there. It can perform disk cloning and image cloning. On top of that, Clonezilla can be used for system backup, drive cloning, system deployment, and more. The best thing about the software is that it supports multiple file systems and various bootloaders. Typically, most cloning apps only support MBR and GPT, but that's not the case here.

Why Clonezilla?

One reason is that Clonezilla is free. It's open source, so developers have access to and can customize the source code. But aside from that, it's a feature-packed software package. It runs standalone and is not dependent on the host operating system. This is because Clonezilla can run from a CD/DVD or USB stick. However, you can also run it as a server tool for a Clonezilla server. It has a reliable backup engine and different cloning options for system administrators to use. Since it supports multiple file systems, it can be used on any system. Backups can be executed via CLI with just a few simple commands. These backups can be automated and run unattended. It uses compression algorithms to compress the cloned or backed-up data, thus saving space in the end. Clonezilla allows for the recovery of multiple devices from a single image.

Disadvantages of Clonezilla

It is built mainly around its CLI platform, making it ideal for system administrators. There is a command and switch for almost everything, so it can get pretty complex. Therefore, it's not user-friendly for the average user. Also, the free version comes with basic features; you have to pay for more advanced ones.

Clone Software Alternatives: Disk Cloning Tools

Aside from Macrium Reflect and Clonezilla, you have another choice - AOMEI Backupper Standard. It's a straightforward cloning tool that supports sector-by-sector cloning, cloning HDD to SSD, and adjusting the disk layout as needed. The highlight of AOMEI Backupper is its simplicity. You don't need to spend much time learning how to use it or struggling to find buttons. Plus, it's powerful. Whatever Macrium Reflect and Clonezilla can do, AOMEI Backupper can also do for you.

Download and see how the hard drive cloning tool, Disk Copy, works.

Fire up the Disk Copy utility for a smooth disk duplication or cloning process.

< strong > 1. < / strong > Download, install, and run Disk Copy on your computer.< br > Click on Disk Mode, select the source disk that you want to copy or clone, and then click Next to proceed.

2. Select the target disk to which you want to clone/copy the old disk, then click "Next" to proceed. If prompted, click "OK" to confirm the deletion of data on the target disk.

3. Check and edit the disk layout. You can choose to “Autofit to disk,” “Copy as much as possible,” or “Edit disk layout.” Selecting “Autofit to disk” is recommended.

• The "Copy source" option will copy the partition layout of the source disk to the target disk.
• "Edit disk layout" lets you manually adjust the size or position of partitions on the target disk.
• If your target disk is an SSD, make sure to check the "Target is SSD" option.

Click Continue to start the disk cloning or disk duplication process.

Conclusions

Macrium Reflect Free is great for simple tasks, and even its paid version offers pretty basic features. But it's user-friendly and easy to navigate due to its classic interface. On the other hand, Clonezilla has command-line options that can be more complex, making it更适合 folks like system administrators who want to tweak settings or run batch jobs. With both, the free versions restrict what you can do, and you'll need to pay for advanced functionality.