Macrium Reflect - a strange observation

I recently downloaded the trial version of Macrium Reflect Workstation to use on my new computer. First I made bootable recovery media as recommended, and then I made a clone of my hard drive. This went smoothly, and took 27 minutes. Here's where things get strange.

I then made an image of my hard drive. This entailed a full backup, which I understand is capable of restoring the computer to its original state. In other words, an image obviously must capture virtually all of the same data that a cloning would, albeit in a technically different way than a clone, I assume. I used no compression for the image. The full backup was finished in a mere 7 minutes.

What could possibly explain the huge difference between the time it took to make a clone and the time it took to make the first full backup if both processes must capture virtually every bit of data on the SDD?

 

The quick opinion: a clone is a copy of the disk, incl empty space. A backup (image) only cares for files, so if the disk is not full, the image will take (much) less time than a clone, and produce a smaller file (compression on by default) than the actual used disk space.

example:
A clone of 120GB will result in a 120GB clone whatever disk space is in use by files, will copy empty sectors as well as files.
A backup (image) copies only actual files, a 120GB disk with f.ex. 40GB file content may produce something like a 25 - 30GB image file.

 

That makes sense. Thank you for clearing that up.

 

I have to confess that Macrium Reflect backup is not so simple to understand. I have it set for full backup (which it did) and daily differential. So every day I find a new backup, and now there are five backups (1 full +4 diff.) Let's say the computer went blue screen tomorrow, how does someone decide which backup to restore? I'm guessing one would restore the full backup, and one of the four differentials, presumably the last differential by date. Does this make sense?

I am also troubled by another phenomenon. When I went to look at my backup files via my drives in the file folder, I had to select a backup from a Backup Selection menu, and then Macrium created a "Macrium Reflect Image" and assigned it a new drive letter, each time. Now it's cluttered my folder view on the left. I have no clue what these new Macrium Reflect Images are or why they're necessary if the backups are still on new volume (f: ). I'd like to get rid of them, but right clicking does not present an option to delete.

image hosting

 

Am going the easy way, complete disk imaging on a regular basis, just a few cliks and zero possible confusion. To extract some files from an image, mounting (assigning a drive letter) and unmounting is a simple right click job. Never (after 10+ years using Reflect on a large numbers of pc's) had any practical need to use incremental or differential, so can't help in that dept.

If one really want\need to master advanced features > https://knowledgebase.macrium.com
& check out https://forum.macrium.com

 

Thanks for the reply. Perhaps I should adopt a similarly simple routine. I'd like to post questions at the Macrium forum (not that I don't appreciate your advice or the advice of other Notebookreview members, but presumably the pool of respondents at the Macrium forum would be larger since everyone there shares the same interest) but curiously, you have to have already paid for Reflect. The trial version will not furnish access, and neither will the free version. Mind you, a call to customer service might facilitate forum access.