Many of us use USB flash drives in our daily lives to transfer and store files. Flash is convenient for editing documents directly from it, both at work and at home, and in general wherever you are, since all the necessary working files are always with you.

A flash drive is usually used in various weather conditions: rain, dampness, frost, subject to mechanical damage, electromagnetic waves, can be lost or stolen, etc. The only reliable way to save your data is to perform daily backups of the flash drive to the hard drive of your PC or laptop.

Flash drive backup options. Which to choose?

If you are not yet using Exiland Backup and you have lost a file from a USB flash drive, you are here.

Fulfill flash drive backup available on various media:

• computer hard drive or solid state drive (HDD, SSD)
• external USB drive (replaceable HDD)
• network drive, NAS server in LAN
• to the Yandex.Disk or Google Drive cloud
• remote server via FTP, SFTP (SSH)

Let's look at an example of how to organize automatic USB disk (flash media) backup to the PC hard drive every 3 hours.

To create backup flash drives, you can develop bat files or copy files manually, but this is the worst option, because you can forget to create a backup in time, and you often have to be distracted by creating backups.

We will not “reinvent the wheel”, since people have already come up with and developed automatic backup programs, but consider one of them, namely, the easy-to-use, reliable Exiland Backup utility, which creates backup copies of the specified files and folders from one medium at a given frequency on the other and does it almost imperceptibly, without interfering with the work of other programs.

Moreover, Exiland Backup has the ability to run a task to create a backup copy of the flash drive immediately after it is connected to the USB port of your PC. This is very convenient - I plugged a USB flash drive into a PC, and a backup copy was created within a few seconds.

Let's take a look at how Exiland Backup makes it easy and just set up a flash drive backup to the PC hard drive.

How to back up a flash drive. Setting up Exiland Backup

The Exiland Backup program has special "chips" for working with flash drives.

In the "Parameters of the selected folder" window, you can specify additional folder parameters: file masks, attributes, as well as excluding subfolders, for example, everything except the "Temp" and "_old" folders.

An excellent feature of this program is support for paths by volume name, for example, the source folder can be specified as :\Source\Folder, where FLESHKA is the volume name of the flash drive. This solves the problem when a flash drive in Windows OS is connected under different drive letters. Thus, if a removable disk is connected under a different drive letter, nothing in the program will have to be reconfigured. It is very convenient.

At the 4th step (ZIP compression options) you can leave the default settings and click "Next"

Exiland Backup allows you to compress source files and folders into one ZIP archive with a specified compression ratio and selected encryption (setting a password on the ZIP archive).

At the 5th step, tell the program where to save backups

Click "Add - Local/Network Folder". A window will appear in which you should specify the path to the folder on the hard drive of your PC or laptop, for example "D:\Backups".

You can do this through the folder selection dialog (from the same dialog you can create the "Backups" or "Backups" folder).

As in the case of selecting initial data, here the program also supports the ability to specify the path by volume name. This is especially useful when saving backups to removable disks, because Windows OS can assign different drive letters each time a removable HDD or flash drive is connected.

At the 6th step, specify the backup start schedule

The recommended backup frequency depends on how often you use flash media. Normally, the normal frequency is to back up once every 4 hours. Creating several backup copies (backups) during the working day is usually enough.

Moreover, if the data on the flash has not changed at all, Exiland Backup will not create a backup, but simply write about it in the log (log). If the flash drive was not connected to the USB port of your PC when the backup was started, nothing bad will happen, Exiland Backup will simply skip the task. You can also tell the Exiland Backup program to "start backing up the flash drive when it is connected to your PC's USB port", which is undoubtedly another advantage of the program.

So toggle the checkbox (*) Run on schedule, select Daily Schedule Type, click Edit. To add a start time, click the "Add" button and select "Periodic", select "Every 4 hours" and click OK. The selected value appears in the list.

Press the "Add" button again and select the item "When connecting a removable device (flash drive, removable HDD, etc.)", tell the program whether to back up files every time a USB device is connected or only the first time it is connected during the current day, then click "OK" and "OK" again to return to the "Schedule" step and click "Next".

Step 7: Notice

Here click "Done". Although the program allows you to send a notification of backup results in various cases (in case of errors, in case of warnings, in any case), but in this case ( backup flash drives), it is not necessary.

Flash drive backup task created! When the launch schedule arrives or when the USB flash drive is connected, the backup will start. Also, nothing prevents you from starting the task manually by clicking on the "Run" button on the top panel.

Other features of the Exiland Backup utility

Exiland Backup differs from its analogues in a clear Russian-language interface and combines good features and flexibility of settings.

Usually the amount of data on flash drives is small: 8, 16, 32, 64, 128 GB. Exiland Backup also does a great job with backing up large amounts of data 1-2 terabytes, has a high copying speed, thanks to copying in several streams, can do not only Full backup (full backup), but also create incremental backups (incremental backup), differential backups (differential backup), as well as synchronize folders over the local network , FTP, SFTP (SSH). Therefore, the utility can make an FTP site backup made on any CMS, for example, on WordPress.

With the automatic Exiland Backup program, you will protect your files once and for all from virus damage, failure of your flash drive, etc.

The Exiland Backup backup utility is quite versatile and is perfect for backing up home files - photos, videos, documents, and for use in organizations (copying documents, accounting databases, etc.). The program can be used by both novice PC users and more experienced professionals (system administrators and programmers).

A test drive of a flash drive backup showed good results.

Mikhail, developer of Exiland Backup

Hi admin! My friend has a great a multi-boot 16 GB USB 2.0 flash drive with five operating systems, several useful LiveCDs and a bunch of other useful programs, and I have a blank 32 GB USB 3.0 flash drive. The question is how to transfer all the information from his bootable 16 GB flash drive to my 32 GB and so that my flash drive automatically becomes bootable? That is, I want to make an exact copy of his flash drive on my own, but I have no idea how this can be done.

Cloning a bootable flash drive

Hi friends! The situation is basically clear. In simple words, our reader has a 16 GB bootable flash drive containing operating systems and some useful software, and he wants to make an exact copy of this flash drive on another a larger flash drive, such as 32 GB. And in smart words, we need to produce flash drive cloning.

• Note: You can do the same.

So, we connect two flash drives to our computer.

The first flash drive is 16 GB, it is bootable and contains several operating systems, plus a LiveCD, user files and program installers.

The second flash drive is 32 GB clean.

Disk management.

We launch a free program.

Choose Master-->Disc Copy Wizard.

We select the source USB flash drive - a bootable USB flash drive from which we want to copy the contents.

Left-click on the selected flash drive and click "Next".

We select the target flash drive, that is, the one to which we want to copy the contents of the bootable flash drive.

In this window you can see how the flash drive will look after cloning. We don’t need two partitions on a bootable USB flash drive, so we check the item “Fitting partitions of the entire disk”

"End"

"Apply"

"Jump"

The flash drive cloning process begins.

Some users are interested in the question of how to copy a bootable flash drive, and then transfer the disk image to another flash drive, making it bootable. It is necessary to save the image of the flash drive, transfer it to another flash drive in order to get two identical flash drives.

Another bootable flash drive may be needed in some cases: relatives, friends or acquaintances ask for a bootable flash drive for a while (it is not yet known what they will return), you need to copy someone else's bootable flash drive that you need to give away, etc.

Is it possible to copy a bootable flash drive? By simple copying - it’s impossible, because the flash drive will not be bootable, when you start the computer, you won’t be able to start the Windows installation from it.

Therefore, you will have to use workarounds. In this article, I will use the UltraISO program, which is designed to work with images.

Using UltraISO, you can copy a bootable USB flash drive, and then transfer the image to another USB flash drive. Additionally, I will show you how to copy the system image from the installation DVD to a USB flash drive.

It makes sense to check the created bootable flash drive in order to be sure that it will not fail at a crucial moment when you need to reinstall or restore Windows. When checking a bootable USB flash drive, pay attention to one nuance:

• on modern computers, you must disable the "Secure Boot" mode in UEFI, which prevents booting from USB drives

How to copy a bootable USB flash drive to another USB flash drive in UltraISO (1 way)

First, consider a fairly simple way to copy content from one flash drive to another.

To copy the image of a bootable USB flash drive, you will need to perform the following steps:

1. Connect a bootable Windows USB flash drive to a USB port on your computer.
2. Launch the UltraISO program.
3. Enter the "Boot" menu. From the context menu, select "Create Disk Image..." or "Create Hard Disk Image..." (both options work the same).

1. In the "Create Disket Image" window, in the "Drive" item, select the drive letter that indicates the bootable USB flash drive connected to the computer in Explorer. In the "Save as" settings item, select a location to save the disk image or floppy disk. By default, a disk or floppy image will be saved in the ".ima" format.

• Please note that the file in the "IMA" format will have a size equal to the volume of the entire flash drive. If the flash drive has a size of 4 GB, 8 GB, 16 GB, then the “.ima” file will have an identical size, respectively. Make sure you have enough free space on your computer disk. After copying the flash drive is completed, this file is no longer needed, it can be deleted.

1. Click on the "Make" button.

1. Next, in the "Process" window, the disk image file is created.

1. The “Hint” window that opens will inform you about the successful completion of the disk image creation.

1. Connect the second UISB drive to the computer to which you want to transfer the contents of the first flash drive. Disconnect the original bootable flash drive from the computer, it is no longer needed.
2. In the UltraISO program, enter the "File" menu, click "Open ...", select the "boot.ima" file.

1. In the "Write Disk Image" window, you need to make settings for recording a bootable USB flash drive with Windows:

• in the “Disk Drive” setting, select the flash drive (be guided by its designation in Explorer, the name and size of the disk space)
• you can put a checkmark in the "Check" item to check the recorded flash drive for errors
• in the "Image file" field, check the path to the original disk image
• in the "Record Method" option, select "USB-HDD +"

1. Click on the "Record" button.

1. In the "Hint" window, agree that all information will be deleted from the disk.

1. Next, the flash drive will be formatted, and then the image recording will begin, which will last a certain period of time.
2. After completion and verification, the event information will appear in the "Write Disk Image" window: "Write completed!".

Close the UltraISO program, the Windows bootable USB flash drive has been transferred to another disk and is ready for use.

How to make a bootable flash drive image in UltraISO (2 way)

The second method assumes that you first need to copy the bootable USB flash drive to ISO format, which is then written to another USB flash drive. During this operation, a system image was created in the ISO format without booting, however, during the check, the copied USB flash drive with the Windows 10 operating system was loaded on my computer.

Do the following:

1. Connect a bootable USB flash drive with Windows and an empty USB flash drive to which you want to copy the data to your computer.
2. Enter the UltraISO program.
3. Select the name of the bootable flash drive in the Catalog area, and then drag it to the new project area.

1. In the Prompt window, agree to add all files to the disk.
2. After that, the contents of the bootable flash drive will be displayed in the new project area.
3. Enter the "File" menu, select "Save as ..." in the context menu.
4. In the Explorer window that opens, give a name to the file (I chose the name "Windows 10"), select the location to save the ISO file.
5. The Process window displays the process of saving the ISO file to the computer.
6. After saving the file on the computer, enter the "File" menu, select "Open ..." in the context menu.
7. In the Explorer window, select the previously saved ISO image.

1. Enter the "Boot" menu, select "Burn Hard Disk Image..."
2. In the "Write Disk image" window, make the settings:

• in the "Disk Drive" option, select the USB flash drive to which you want to copy the contents of the bootable USB flash drive
• check the "Verify" item to make sure that the process of writing to the USB flash drive went without errors
• check that the path to the image file is correct, in this case, to the "Windowsiso" image
• in the "Record Method" setting, select "USB-HDD+"

1. Then click on the "Record" button.

1. In the warning window, agree that all data from the flash drive will be deleted.
2. Further, after formatting, the process of writing data to the USB flash drive will begin, which will take some time.
3. After the recording is completed, close the UltraISO program window.

How to transfer a Windows image from a DVD to a USB flash drive in UltraISO

Sometimes, there are situations when the user has a Windows installation disc recorded on a DVD. He needs to copy the disk with the operating system to a USB flash drive, which will become bootable.

To transfer a Windows image from an installation disk to a USB flash drive, you must perform the following steps:

1. Insert the operating system DVD into your computer's drive.
2. Connect a flash drive to your computer.
3. In the UltraISO program window, enter the "File" menu, select "Open CD / DVD ...".

1. In the "Open CD / DVD" window, select the computer's optical drive, click on the "Open" button.
2. Enter the "Boot" menu, select "Burn Hard Disk Image...".
3. In the "Write Disk Image" window, make the settings for writing a bootable USB flash drive:

• in "Disk Drive" select the flash drive
• check the box next to "Check"
• The Image File field will display the drive letter of the optical drive
• select the recording method "USB-HDD+"

1. Click on the "Record" button.
2. Agree to delete all data from the flash drive in the "Hint" window.
3. After the burning process is completed and the flash drive is checked, close the UltraISO program.

You have a bootable Windows 10 flash drive created from the installation DVD.

Conclusion

If necessary, using the UltraISO program, you can copy the contents of a bootable USB flash drive to another USB flash drive, making it bootable. UltraISO has the ability to transfer the contents of a DVD disc with the Windows operating system to a USB flash drive.

When it becomes necessary to create an exact copy of a flash drive on another similar drive, simply copying the contents will not work. Files and folders will be copied, but the checksums will be different, and this will affect the performance of the programs installed on the flash drive. For example, if you have a program for storing passwords on a flash card, you will not be able to copy the contents of the drive one to one without separate programs.

Copying a flash drive one by one

The first program to solve this problem is the USB Image Tool. Download it from the official site and unzip the archive (the program does not require installation). Insert the first flash drive and run the program. In the main window, select the desired drive and click the "Backup" button at the bottom right.

In the window that opens, select a location to save the files and wait for the copying process to complete. Insert a second USB flash drive, which will become an exact copy of the first one, select it in the USB Image Tool and press the Restore button instead of the "Backup" button. An explorer window will open, in which you need to find the previously saved file and open it. Confirm your actions in the dialog box that appears and wait for the process of writing data to a new flash drive to complete.

There is another program for creating an exact copy of a Flash drive. The software is paid, but there is a free trial version with limited functionality, which is enough to copy a flash drive one to one. You can download the program. Install it, run it and select the "Disc Copy Wizard" item from the "Wizard" menu from the top.

Select "Quickly copy a disc" in the window that opens and click "Next. Select the flash drive you want to copy and "Next" again. Select the second flash drive to which the information will be copied and click "Next. Put a marker in front of the item "Fitting partitions of the entire disk" and again "Next", and in the next window click the "Finish" button.

You will return to the main window, where you need to select "Apply" on the top left, after which a new window "Pending operations" will open. In it, click "Go" and confirm the operation. Creating a copy will take some time, which depends on the type of files on the flash drive and their size. Wait for the operation to complete and click OK. Now you have two identical flash drives that can be used for their intended purpose.

Unlike regular data stored on USB drives, data from bootable USB drives cannot be moved to another USB drive by simply copying or cutting and pasting files. If, for example, there is a bootable flash drive with an operating system installation disk, but the original ISO file is lost, it will not work to release such a flash drive for a while by temporarily moving the data to the computer. After moving back to the USB flash drive, it will not become bootable. By the same principle, you cannot copy the contents of one bootable USB flash drive to another. If there is no source ISO file so that you can use it to create bootable flash drives anytime and anywhere, you need to resort to using special software. It's easier, of course, to store the original ISO file somewhere and burn it, if necessary, to any USB media. But if with installation disks of operating systems and Live disks for their resuscitation it is only a matter of free space on the hard disk, then with multiboot flash drives for installing multiple systems it is both a matter of free space and a question of the process of creating them.

Below we will consider the simplest way on how to clone a bootable USB flash drive to another empty USB flash drive in a Windows system if there is no source ISO file. This method is also suitable for the case when there is only one flash drive available, and it needs to be freed from data for a while, and then returned to its original state.

For these purposes, you can use the capabilities of backup programs or disk space managers for Windows. In particular, software assemblies from the developers of Acronis, Paragon, AOMEI Technology provide functionality for backing up and restoring partitions and disks, which can be used to create a backup copy of a bootable flash drive. The created backup copy can later be restored either to the same USB flash drive or to another one. The mentioned programs also provide the functionality of directly transferring the contents of a bootable USB flash drive to another USB drive - this is functionality. Just as a partition or an entire hard drive with an installed operating system can be cloned, a bootable USB flash drive will be cloned in the same way.

In our case, as mentioned, the simplest way to solve the problem will be considered. To transfer the contents of a bootable USB flash drive, we will use a small free utility USB Image Tool. It can be downloaded from the developer's website.

USB Image Tool is a portable program that does not require installation into the system. Simply unpack the downloaded archive and run the application file.

The utility is designed to work with USB-drives only. It works on the principle of creating a backup image of a bootable USB flash drive. The created image in IMG format is later used to restore the contents of the bootable USB flash drive, either on the original or on any other USB media.

After launching the USB Image Tool, in the left part of the window we will see a list of all connected USB drives. If there are several devices, select the one you need and click on it. In the lower right part of the window, click the "Backup" button.

Specify the location on the computer where the image of the bootable flash drive will be stored. Click "Save".

We are waiting for the completion of the backup process.

As soon as the image is created, we can restore it to another flash drive. We make a click on the desired flash drive in the utility window on the left, and at the bottom of the window, click the "Restore" button.

Specify the previously saved IMG image. Click "Open".

We confirm actions.

The last step is to wait for the process to complete.

Have a great day!