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Cloning vs. Mirroring

Posted by LGL40 on 2012-June-21 02:48:30 EDT, Thursday
In reply to Find a free disk cloning program. posted by griffith on 2012-June-21 12:59:56 EDT, Thursday
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You will run across the terms "Cloning" and "Mirroring" in your search for software. They are similar, but different.

"Cloning" is generally where an exact copy is made, but you manually have to keep backing up new files, etc (what griffith was referring to). Advantage: Exact copy, protects against almost all "bad news." Disadvantage: Manual updates after initial clone is made, and there is a time issue. This is how I I do my backup, though right now I am jittery because I can't afford a new drive and my old one just died (SOOOOOO glad I had a backup of all my family pics and videos).

"Mirroring" is basically the same as cloning, but is automatic. If two drives are mirrored, they are always both plugged in at the same time. The computer is told "If you make change X to drive A, make exact same change X to drive B." The big advantage is that this is fully automatic and you don't have to worry about manually backing up files. The disadvantage is that damage from things like viruses have the same effect on both drives at the same time.

Just FYI, I have never used any crypt software until recently. I almost decided against Truecrypt because of your original post. It is a real pain in the butt to learn. But as of the last two days, I am no longer a Truecrypt virgin. My family is safe and sound in their hidden little cubbyhole. If anyone here tries Truecrypt for the first time, USE THE USER GUIDE and the BEGINNER GUIDE that come with it. Do the basic beginner things for practice until you understand what your computer is doing, THEN, try for advanced stuff like hidden volumes, etc.

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