Best Backup Software for Restoring to Dissimilar Hardware

In this section of this guide I will be going into more detail about how restoring to dissimilar hardware works in practice and what components are involved and required to make effective use of it. This involves looking at the differences between file level and image based backups, how disk cloning works, how Windows drivers and new hardware play their part and finally, how all of these components can be managed to make migrating an existing system to new hardware possible.

File vs Image Level Backups

One of the first key parts to understanding how the process of restoring to dissimilar hardware works begins with understanding how disk image backups themselves work (and crucially how they are different form file level backups).

When making a file level backup of a system we are only backing up the actual files which reside on the device being backed-up, this is usually confined to just important parts of the device such as the current user’s “Documents” folder (within Windows) which will be the default place for saving any documents being worked on using said device.

As can be seen above (in many cases), when making a file level backup on a Windows device, we can simply backup the current user’s “Documents” folder to provide a very good level of data protection overall (and this will usually suffice unless you have specific reasons not to back this folder up or have knowingly stored files in other locations).

When we move on and start looking at disk image backups we start to see a very different technology coming into play, one which will, instead of imply selecting individual files, instead make a mirror copy of the physical system disk (or disks) and compress and compile this information into a single file for storing. By default, due to this approach of imaging (copying) the entire disk itself, this method will capture all user data, any installed applications as well as the operating system itself as a part of the backup.

Modern imaging technology is actually becoming very advanced and can actually accommodate for excluding certain files and file types from an image backup to help keep file sizes smaller. Additionally, as is the main subject of this guide, modern image backup technology can now also adjust system settings within the image itself to allow said image to be recoverable on dissimilar hardware when applicable to do so!

NB – For a more detailed explanation on the differences between file level and disk image level backup techniques, check out our detailed guide on system image vs file level backups!

Disk Cloning Capabilities

A closely related technology to that of disk imaging backup software is disk cloning software, often used for moving (migrating) an entire active system (with all data, applications and settings included) over to a new, often larger hard disk or a faster SSD drive.

What makes disk cloning software slightly different to image backup software is that with disk cloning software the process usually happens directly between two different disks at the same time (i.e. in real time). Some disk cloning software will take a hybrid approach and allow a disk to be imaged, saved to a file and then recovered from this file onto a replacement disk at a later date, but even when this is the case this file almost always remains an exact copy of the original disk in most cases.

Where disk cloning software often becomes less useful is when trying to migrate an existing device over to a completely new system (with different hardware), in many cases the disk cloning software will be configured to simply make an exact clone of the original disk meaning the new hardware wont be taken into account as a part of the recovery process and could potentially lead to problems!

NB – Some developers take a hybrid approach and combine disk cloning and disk image backup techniques into a single piece of software (i.e. saving the disk image to a file and then recovering or cloning from this file, as might be required, at a later date). In many cases, such software titles can provide very good value given that they perform both functions!

When making use of specialist image based backup software (which has the ability to optimise for recovering onto dissimilar hardware) we can also often bypass this common limitation of only working with a single PC which is found within many disk cloning titles (i.e. we can, realistically, usually only recover the device upon which the image backup is being taken).

New Hardware & Drivers

As I have already discussed so far, when simply cloning an existing system disk to a new disk for use on the same system, simple disk cloning software will be sufficient given that all of the other hardware will remain the same. When migrating an active system to a new piece of dissimilar hardware (e.g. when getting a new PC) we have to think about the fact that the new device will most likely have different hardware running and this must be taken into account beforehand!

In such cases that we are migrating an existing system across to new hardware, one of the safest and most reliable ways of ensuring the migration process works correctly is via use of specialist disk image backup software which includes provisions for recovering to dissimilar hardware. Such software will commonly do this by taking into account any new hardware and either removing any old drivers specific to the existing device (so as to make use of Windows generic drivers on the new device) or by simply adding-in the correct drivers for the new hardware to the image to ensure the existing system works on the new hardware.

NB – It might be possible with newer versions of Windows to simply clone a disk and insert it straight into the new device (i.e. Windows can handle driver issues very well itself and might be able to keep the system running after such a migration). This is, however, probably not the most safe or reliable method for performing such a migration and extreme caution should be taken when not using specialist software such as the titles mentioned in this guide!

Bringing Everything Together

At this point it is hopefully clear that specialist disk image backup software (with provisions for restoring to dissimilar hardware) is often the safest and most reliable way of migrating an existing PC system over to a new piece of dissimilar hardware. Even though other methods and techniques do exist, it is definitely worth looking at disk image backup software with such functionality included to potentially save a lot of wasted time and help in mitigating any other unusual problems which might arise when using other, less official methods!

Next, in this final section of this guide, I will be listing several disk image backup software titles, as have been reviewed on BestBackupReviews.com, which feature the ability to optimise any disk images for being restored onto dissimilar hardware in some capacity.