How to Create the Sector by Sector Backup? Here Is a Full Guide!

What Is Sector by Sector Backup

What is the sector by sector backup? Sector by sector backup is also called exact copy. You can create an image of all sectors on the selected partition or disk with this function. The image will not only contain sectors with data, but also empty sectors.

Only Used Sector Backup VS Sector by Sector Backup

There are two image creation modes – only used sector backup and sector by sector backup. Now, we will introduce the differences between the two modes.

Only used sector backup means only copy sectors used by the file system. This will reduce the total backup image file size and backup time. Sector by sector backup means to make an extra copy of the partitions and both used and unused sectors will be backed up. The whole process may take more time than the only used sector backup mode.

Generally speaking, due to the flexibility and time-saving of the only used sector backup mode, it is widely used by users. Then, you may ask why you need to use the sector by sector backup. If you want to back up some hidden data and deleted files, it is recommended to use the sector by sector backup since the deleted data may be recovered after the backup.

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• Hard Drive Recovery: Recover Lost Data and Restore Lost Partition
• How To Recover Data From Corrupted Internal Hard Drive | Guide

How to Create the Sector by Sector Backup

Generally, Windows built-in tools will back up the used sectors in the file system. To create the sector by sector backup, you need a professional tool with this function. Thus, a piece of professional backup software is recommended – MiniTool ShadowMaker, which is designed to do kinds of backups including file backup, disk backup, and system backup.

Now, let’s see how to create the sector by sector backup with MiniTool ShadowMaker.

Step 1: Download MiniTool ShadowMaker from its official website and install it.

MiniTool ShadowMaker TrialClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

Step 2: Launch it and click Keep Trial to enter its main interface.

Step 3: Now, go to the Backup page. Click the Source module to choose the backup source. Then, you need to choose Disk and Partitions.

Step 4: Then, you can select a disk from the combo box and check the partitions that you want to back up. Click OK to continue.

Step 5: Next, you need to choose the backup destination. Click the Destination module and here you need to choose a destination path. MiniTool ShdoaMaker provides 4 paths for you – Administrators, Libraries, Computer, Share. Here, we take Local Disk (G) as an example.

Step 6: Then, you will back to the main interface. At the bottom right, click the Options button. Under the Backup Image Creation Mode tab, choose the Sector by sector backup option and click OK.

Step 7: Now, you can click the Back up Now button to start the process immediately or click the Back up Later button to delay the process. You can start the delayed backup task in the Manage page.

How to Reduce Backup File Size

You have known that the sector by sector backup will increase the backup file size and the image will take more space on your PC. Don’t worry! MiniTool ShdoaMaker offers a solution for you. This Compression feature enables you to compress the file size to save storage space.

MiniTool ShadowMaker provides 3 options for compression – Medium (default), None, and High. You need to set the compression option before you start the backup process.

Also see: What Does Compressing a File Do? [Pros and Cons]

Other Tips:

To delete the previous backup automatically, you need to set some other parameters. Click the Scheme button and turn it on. You can see MiniTool ShadowMaker provides three backup schemes including Full, Incremental, and Differential.

Besides, you can set retain the latest xx versions of the backup image file. When a later group joins in, the former group has to be removed automatically to save your disk space.

What’s more, you can click the Schedule button to set an automatic backup.

How to Create the Sector by Sector Recovery

If you use MiniTool ShadowMaker to create the sector by sector backup for the disk or partition, you can then create the sector by sector recovery. During the recovery process, the tool will copy all used and unused sectors to the target disk or partition.

The following is how to create the sector by sector recovery with MiniTool ShadowMaker.

Step 1: Under the Restore page, find the backup task you want to restore and click the Restore button.

Step 2: Then, you need to choose the backup version and click the Next button.

Step 3: Check the partition you want to restore and click the Next button. If you check MBR and Track 0, the partition cannot be restored to the unallocated space.

Alt=check the partition you want to restore

Step 4: Next, choose a disk as the target and select an unallocated space. Then, click the Start button. You will receive a warning message – Are you sure you want to restore now and you just need to click OK.

Step 5: Please wait patiently until the operation process is completed. After finishing partition restore, click the Finish button.

MiniTool ShadoaMaker also supports computer recovery. If you have backed up the system in advance, this professional software enables you to enter WinPE (Windows Preinstallation Environment) to restore your Windows 10 to a correct state with bootable media created by MiniTool ShadowMaker.

In addition to restoring the system image to the original device, you can also create the universal restore when restoring to a different computer with dissimilar hardware.

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Further Reading: How to Create the Sector by Sector Clone

If you want to create a sector by sector backup for your disk, you can rely on the sector by sector clone feature. Sector by sector clone refers to cloning all sectors on the hard drive, even if the sector is empty or logically bad.

In the following cases, you may need to clone disk sector by sector:

1. Switch from HDD to SSD without reinstalling the operating system and all applications, especially when the target drive and source drive are the same sizes.

2. Prepare a cloned drive for replacement, just in case your main drive suddenly crashes.

In this case, a free partition manager – MiniTool Partition Wizard Free – is strongly recommended. It’s an all-in-one disk partition manager and effective data recovery program.

Its Copy Disk feature can assist you with a sector-by-sector clone. As a result, the target disk will be equal in size to the disk being cloned after the process. And if you are copying the system disk, the target disk is bootable when finished.

To use this feature, you will need to prepare a hard drive that can be cleaned for a successful clone.

MiniTool Partition Wizard FreeClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

The following is how to create the sector by sector clone with MiniTool Partition Wizard.

Step 1: Download MiniTool Partition Wizard from its official website and install it. After installation, run this program to get the main interface.

Step 2: Now select the disk that you want to clone as the source drive and choose the Copy Disk feature from the left action panel.

Step 3: Select the disk you just prepared as the target disk and click Next to continue.

Step 4: Confirm the copy options. You can choose Fit partitions to entire disk or Copy partitions without resize. No matter which one you choose, you can resize each partition size by dragging the slider located in the lower part. And it is suggested to check the Align partitions to 1 MB option if the target disk is an SSD or advanced format disk.

Step 5: Then, you will see a note – To boot from the new disk, please configure computer BIOS setting. Make sure the new disk is configured as the default boot disk. After reading, you can click the Finish button.

Step 6: Finally, you can preview the changes to be made on the target disk from the disk map area. And to confirm this change, click the Apply button.

Bottom Line

From this post, you can know what sector by sector backup is and how to create a sector by sector backup/recovery with MiniTool ShadoaMaker at ease. Besides, you can know how to use MiniTool Partition Wizard to create the sector by sector clone.

If you have any different ideas of the sector by sector backup, you can share them in the comment zone. If you have any problem with MiniTool software, please feel free to contact us via the email [email protected] and we will reply to you as soon as possible.

Sector by Sector Backup FAQ