I actually have two questions on this. And I know many will say "best is so subjective". When I say "best" I mean the program "YOU think is best" not what "the world thinks is best". What you think is much less subjective, since I'm hoping you have actually tried them. 
I want to make an exact image of my SSD. I am trying to avoid relying on backup programs. Backup programs tend to leave out things like permissions, attributes, dates, etc. Some are worse than others. Some are better than others. Backups don't always restore 100% reliability. There is always tweaking. Cloned drives have the best chance of immediate recovery, of baseline install.
What I'm trying to do, is to get an exact bit by bit image of my SSD, so that I can have it as a backup, if I ever want to get back to square one.
I want everything preserved. Attributes, permissions, dates, etc. I have two ways I'd like to consider.
1) Two SSD drives. The 2nd will be an exact mirror image of the other. It will be the same size. Using this would require simply removing the first drive (i.e. when it is corrupted), sticking in the 2nd and making another copy back to the original drive (which now becomes a good backup again). This would require only software to make the clone (or mirror drive).
2) One SSD drive. But create an image file, that is an exact mirror image of the other. This would require software to create the image of the drive, and would require booting to a recovery drive (DVD, thumb drive, etc), to allow the program to restore the original disc, by bit-by-bit copy of the image to the drive.
I'm pretty sure this is possible. I have heard of others doing this with SSD, for new installs. They just stick in an SSD and copy the image.
What is the best software for doing this? Have you tried this? The reason I would like to know if you've tried it and used it is because I too can read the PR on products. They just don't always work as advertized.
I want to make an exact image of my SSD. I am trying to avoid relying on backup programs. Backup programs tend to leave out things like permissions, attributes, dates, etc. Some are worse than others. Some are better than others. Backups don't always restore 100% reliability. There is always tweaking. Cloned drives have the best chance of immediate recovery, of baseline install.
What I'm trying to do, is to get an exact bit by bit image of my SSD, so that I can have it as a backup, if I ever want to get back to square one.
I want everything preserved. Attributes, permissions, dates, etc. I have two ways I'd like to consider.
1) Two SSD drives. The 2nd will be an exact mirror image of the other. It will be the same size. Using this would require simply removing the first drive (i.e. when it is corrupted), sticking in the 2nd and making another copy back to the original drive (which now becomes a good backup again). This would require only software to make the clone (or mirror drive).
2) One SSD drive. But create an image file, that is an exact mirror image of the other. This would require software to create the image of the drive, and would require booting to a recovery drive (DVD, thumb drive, etc), to allow the program to restore the original disc, by bit-by-bit copy of the image to the drive.
I'm pretty sure this is possible. I have heard of others doing this with SSD, for new installs. They just stick in an SSD and copy the image.
What is the best software for doing this? Have you tried this? The reason I would like to know if you've tried it and used it is because I too can read the PR on products. They just don't always work as advertized.
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