For this operation, we recommend an in-depth study on the use of SysPrep, a Windows tool that allows you to make generic an OS installation, starting from the relative tutorial: This system can also be used to clone a Windows installation that must then be replicated identically on different machines. To see how to clone the image on a new disk, just follow the tutorial for the restore: To see how easy it is to create an exact copy of your hard drive, consult the relevant tutorial: The difference between an image backup and a disk cloning is therefore minimal, even though there are differences in the structure of the image file and in the possibilities of restore. This image file can be used immediately to start the system on a Hyper-V virtual machine ( instant-restore, P2V), or to re-image a new disk, by booting the machine with Iperius Recovery Environment®. In the first one the image file will be created. It is therefore an operation that must be done in two steps with Iperius. The second disk is created on the basis of the content of this image.

In performing cloning operations, the contents of the first hard disk (including the logical structure of its partitions) are transcribed into an image file (VHDX). Iperius is therefore both a backup software and a disk cloning software. Iperius therefore allows to clone the hard drive of a computer where it is installed for example Windows 10 or Server 2019, and this cloning allows you to have an identical copy of the disk that can be used for backup / restore, or simply to clone a Windows installation on a different disk or on a different machine, even with different hardware.

This new feature makes a perfect copy of a disk and its partitions, and it is therefore possible to consider it as a real cloning of the disks. Beginning with version 6.0, Iperius has introduced a new drive image engine, able to perform full backups of entire hard drives, which can then be restored using the Iperius recovery disk and Iperius Recovery Environment®.

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