They are always small and very quick to make, especially if done frequently. Incremental images have the same advantages as differential images, but since they only store the changes that were made since the last full or incremental.The resultant backup set therefore consists of a full image and a number of incremental images which must all be present in order to restore the system correctly. The main difference with incremental images is that they only store file system changes since the last image, either full, differential or incremental. In order to reduce this time, it is necessary to perform a full image occasionally to reduce the size of the subsequent differential images.

As the time since the last full image was taken increases, the size of the differential grows as does the time it takes to create the differential image.Only two image files are required to restore the system.The amount of disk space used by differential images is significantly less than that of full images.Differential images created after the initial full Image are very quick because only file system changes since the full backup are saved.This is quicker than creating a full image, however the longer the time between the full and the differential, the larger the differential image file is and the longer it takes to create. Subsequent differentials can be taken, but only one differential and the full are required in order to fully restore the system. Differential ImagesĪ differential image stores the changes that have been made to the imaged file system since the last full image. Note: With the Free Edition of Macrium Reflect you can only make full and differential images of your disks and partitions. These are both quicker to execute than full images and create much smaller image files. This is a reliable way of backing up your PC, however, repeating the process is slow and subsequent images can fill your backup media very quickly.Īfter you have created an initial full image, you can create differential and incremental images. The entire contents of the imaged file system are stored in a full image file.

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