--- title: "Partition backup — ZEBR.ai" description: "How do you back up a partition? Partition backup A partition backup, also known as a partition image, is a file or several files containing an exact copy of…" url: "https://zebr.ai/en/knowledge-base/partition-backup" markdown_url: "https://zebr.ai/en/knowledge-base/partition-backup.md" language: "en" alternates: cs: "https://zebr.ai/cs/knowledge-base/partition-backup.md" sl: "https://zebr.ai/sl/knowledge-base/partition-backup.md" sk: "https://zebr.ai/sk/knowledge-base/partition-backup.md" hr: "https://zebr.ai/hr/knowledge-base/partition-backup.md" sr-Latn: "https://zebr.ai/sr-latn/knowledge-base/partition-backup.md" bs: "https://zebr.ai/bs/knowledge-base/partition-backup.md" sq: "https://zebr.ai/sq/knowledge-base/partition-backup.md" fr: "https://zebr.ai/fr/knowledge-base/partition-backup.md" es: "https://zebr.ai/es/knowledge-base/partition-backup.md" de: "https://zebr.ai/de/knowledge-base/partition-backup.md" pt-BR: "https://zebr.ai/pt-br/knowledge-base/partition-backup.md" pl: "https://zebr.ai/pl/knowledge-base/partition-backup.md" it: "https://zebr.ai/it/knowledge-base/partition-backup.md" nl: "https://zebr.ai/nl/knowledge-base/partition-backup.md" hu: "https://zebr.ai/hu/knowledge-base/partition-backup.md" ro: "https://zebr.ai/ro/knowledge-base/partition-backup.md" tr: "https://zebr.ai/tr/knowledge-base/partition-backup.md" id: "https://zebr.ai/id/knowledge-base/partition-backup.md" --- [Home](https://zebr.ai/en/) [Knowledge base](https://zebr.ai/en/knowledge-base) Partition backup # Partition backup **How do you back up a partition?** **Partition backup**\ A partition backup, also known as a partition image, is a file or several files containing an exact copy of the partition from which the backup was created, including a working operating system (if it was on the disk partition from which the backup originates), installed programs, user settings, and data. Other commonly used names for a partition backup are: disk partition image, disk partition image file, and partition image. **Disk backup**\ A disk backup refers to a backup of the contents of an entire disk, including the installed operating system, installed applications, and all data stored on the disk. Unlike a file backup, a disk backup also contains the boot record and hidden parts of the operating system, so when a disk backup is restored, the operating system is fully functional and able to boot (provided it was functional at the time the backup was created). **What do I need a partition backup for?**\ A partition backup allows you to return the contents of a partition to its original state (the state it was in when this backup was created). If you have a working backup of the system partition, you can restore it when necessary and get, for example, a crashed system working again. For creating partition backups, we recommend using software that supports bare metal restore, i.e. restoring to bare metal (for example, Acronis True Image). Some tools for creating and restoring disk partition backups only allow you to restore the backup if you have a working Windows installation with the partition backup and recovery software installed. This is highly inconvenient when the system crashes and you need to get it up and running as quickly as possible. You would first have to install Windows, then the recovery software, and only then perform the recovery. Acronis True Image allows you to restore a disk partition backup using Acronis bootable media even if the operating system has crashed, no system is installed on the disk, or the disk is completely empty. The disk can even be formatted; nevertheless, you can restore the system within minutes using Acronis bootable media. - Features · Software - [Acronis True Image](https://www.acronis.cz/produkt/true-image/) · [Acronis Backup](https://www.acronis.cz/produkt/acronis-backup/) · [Acronis Disk Director](https://www.acronis.cz/produkt/acronis-disk-director/) · [Acronis Disk Director (Workstation, Server, Technician licence)](https://www.acronis.cz/produkt/acronis-disk-director-advanced/) - Which environment the product is suitable for - For households · Yes · Yes - For organizations of all sizes · Yes · Yes - Which types of machines are supported - Computers with Windows OS (Windows 7, 8, 10) · Yes · Yes · Yes · Yes - Computers with Mac OS (Apple computers) · Yes · Yes - Physical Windows and Linux servers · Yes · Yes - Virtual machines (VMware, Hyper-V, RHEV, Citrix, KVM) · Yes · Yes - Cloud machines (Azure, Amazon EC2) · Yes · Yes - Mobile devices based on iOS and Android · Yes · Yes - What can be backed up - Backups of entire machines (disk, volume, and partition images) · Yes · Yes - Data backups (files and directories) · Yes · Yes - Database backups (Exchange, SQL, SharePoint, AD, Oracle) · Yes - How backup is managed - Backup is managed directly from the backed-up machine · Yes - Backup and recovery are managed centrally from one location · Yes - Remote installation of agents on backed-up machines · Yes - Backup can be started manually at any time · Yes · Yes - Backup can be scheduled to run automatically · Yes · Yes - Backed-up machines can be organized into groups · Yes - Backup can be managed by delegated administrators · Yes - Option to configure email backup notifications · Yes - Backup options - Full, incremental, and differential backups · Yes · Yes - Always incremental scheme, GFS scheme, custom scheme · Yes · Yes - Backups can be encrypted with a custom password (AES 256 standard) · Yes · Yes - Backups are automatically compressed · Yes · Yes - Backups can be deduplicated · Yes - Backups can be stored in multiple repositories at once · Yes - Where backups can be stored - Local disks, external disks, USB drives · Yes · Yes - Network storage including NAS · Yes · Yes - Tape drives and tape libraries · Yes - FTP servers · Yes - SFTP servers · Yes - Acronis cloud storage (for an additional fee) · Yes · Yes - How backup recovery can be performed - From the operating system – if the machine is working · Yes · Yes - From bootable media that can be created (CD/DVD, USB) · Yes · Yes - A machine without a working OS can also be restored · Yes · Yes - Recovery can be performed on hardware-dissimilar machines · Yes · Yes - Recovery can be started remotely from central management · Yes - Recovery can also be performed to a larger or smaller disk · Yes · Yes - Partition sizes can be changed during recovery · Yes · Yes - Recovery from HDD to SSD and vice versa is possible · Yes · Yes - What can be restored from a backup - Entire disk, volume, partition · Yes · Yes - Required data (files and directories) from both data and image backups · Yes · Yes - Entire databases or individual parts of databases · Yes - Virtual environment backup - Machines can be replicated to a standby ESXi host · Yes - Backups can be automatically converted into ready-to-use virtual machines · Yes - Backups can be started as virtual machines · Yes - Backups can be restored as ready-to-use virtual machines · Yes - Backups can be restored inside virtual machines · Yes - Virtual machines can be backed up without an agent inside (Hyper-V and VMware) · Yes - Virtual machines can be backed up with agents inside the virtual machines · Yes - Support for granular recovery of virtual machines · Yes - Hard disk operations - Support for both HDD and SSD drives · Yes · Yes · Yes · Yes - MBR disks can be cloned using the Disk to Disk method · Yes · Yes - MBR and GPT disks can be cloned using the Disk to Backup to Disk method · Yes · Yes - Option to create new disk partitions · Yes · Yes - Option to delete a disk partition · Yes · Yes - Option to increase or decrease a disk partition without data loss · Yes · Yes - Option to format disk partitions · Yes · Yes - Option to merge disk partitions without data loss · Yes · Yes - Additional software information --- - Source: - Site overview for AI agents: