Image backup

Term: Image backup

Definition:
An image backup is a backup of an entire hard drive by means of creating its image and its probable consequential backup. It allows, in case of a disaster, by restoring a disk image to have the exactly same system state as on the moment of the initial image backup.

Some backup programs only back up user files, boot information and files locked by the operating system, such as those in use at the time of the backup, may not be saved on some operating systems. A disk image contains all files, faithfully replicating all data. For this reason, it is also used for backing up CDs and DVDs.

Related terms: image backup, restore, boot, disk image