Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

MiniTool ShadowMaker VS Disk2vhd

Compare MiniTool ShadowMaker VS Disk2vhd and see what are their differences

MiniTool ShadowMaker logo MiniTool ShadowMaker

As professional backup software, MiniTool ShadowMaker offers various backup services and enables users to perform some recovery actions to solve some Windows issue.

Disk2vhd logo Disk2vhd

Creates VHD (Virtual Hard Disk - Microsoft's Virtual Machine disk format) versions from...
  • MiniTool ShadowMaker Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-06-16

MiniTool ShadowMaker Free is an all-in-one system backup and data protection solution that can be used to back up system/disk/files/folders, to customize backup schedule, to manage disk space taken up by backup files, to create WinPE bootable media, to clone hard drive, and so on.

  • Disk2vhd Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-20

MiniTool ShadowMaker features and specs

  • User-Friendly Interface
    MiniTool ShadowMaker has a straightforward, easy-to-navigate interface that is suitable for both beginners and advanced users.
  • Comprehensive Backup Options
    The software offers various backup options, including full, incremental, and differential backups, providing flexibility in data protection.
  • Secure Backup
    It includes features like password protection and encryption to ensure the security of backed-up data.
  • Disk Cloning
    Allows users to clone their disk, which is useful for migrating data to a new drive or upgrading storage devices.
  • Scheduled Backups
    The ability to set up automated scheduled backups reduces the risk of data loss and ensures regular data protection without manual intervention.

Possible disadvantages of MiniTool ShadowMaker

  • Limited Free Version
    The free version of MiniTool ShadowMaker comes with restricted features which might require an upgrade to a paid version for more advanced functionalities.
  • Occasional Performance Issues
    Some users have reported slow backup speeds and occasional software lags during the backup process.
  • Complex Recovery Features
    The recovery process can be challenging for inexperienced users, requiring some technical understanding to fully utilize advanced recovery features.
  • No Cloud Backup
    Lacks integrated cloud backup solutions, which means users must rely on local storage for backups, potentially limiting accessibility and safety.
  • Limited Technical Support
    Technical support might not be as robust or responsive as some users expect, potentially leading to difficulties in resolving more complex issues.

Disk2vhd features and specs

  • Convenience
    Disk2vhd provides a simple and straightforward way to convert physical disks to virtual hard disks. This ease of use can save time and effort during the virtualization process.
  • Integration with Windows
    As a tool from Microsoft Sysinternals, Disk2vhd integrates well with Windows environments, ensuring compatibility and stability for Windows users.
  • Support for live systems
    Disk2vhd can create a VHD from a live system without requiring a reboot, which minimizes downtime and disruption for users or applications.
  • Compact VHDs
    Disk2vhd includes an option to create VHDs from only the used portions of a disk, resulting in smaller and more efficient virtual hard disks.
  • No installation required
    The tool is portable and does not require installation, making it easy to run Disk2vhd on any system directly without modifying the registry or installing additional software.

Possible disadvantages of Disk2vhd

  • Lack of advanced features
    Disk2vhd offers basic conversion functionality and lacks advanced features that may be required for complex virtualization scenarios, such as support for non-Windows systems or advanced configuration options.
  • Performance limitations
    Due to its simplicity, Disk2vhd might not perform as efficiently as more comprehensive virtualization tools, especially when dealing with large or heavily fragmented disks.
  • File size limitations
    Disk2vhd creates a virtual hard disk in VHD format, which has a size limitation of 2 TB per file, potentially restricting its use for larger disk conversions.
  • Limited platform support
    Disk2vhd is primarily designed for Windows environments and may not be suitable for use with other operating systems, limiting its versatility in heterogeneous IT environments.

MiniTool ShadowMaker videos

MIniTool ShadowMaker review Simple, free image backup

Disk2vhd videos

Disk2VHD and QNAP NAS - Turn your Local PC into a VM

More videos:

  • Review - SysInternals disk2vhd - Crear discos VHD desde máquinas físicas

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to MiniTool ShadowMaker and Disk2vhd)
Cyber Security
46 46%
54% 54
Backup & Restore
55 55%
45% 45
Antivirus
55 55%
45% 45
Backup
100 100%
0% 0

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare MiniTool ShadowMaker and Disk2vhd

MiniTool ShadowMaker Reviews

The Best Free Backup Software and Why it is Difficult to Find One
MiniTool ShadowMaker is a tool that has a rather impressive feature set for a free version – one of the few solutions on the list that can offer both file-level backup and the capability to backup entire hard drives. This software can run incremental backups on a schedule with a variable time frame between backups (a day, a week or a month), it can save backups to external...
Source: www.bacula.org

Disk2vhd Reviews

We have no reviews of Disk2vhd yet.
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Disk2vhd seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 55 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

MiniTool ShadowMaker mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of MiniTool ShadowMaker yet. Tracking of MiniTool ShadowMaker recommendations started around Mar 2021.

Disk2vhd mentions (55)

  • Imaging mounted disk volumes under duress (2021)
    I know TheFineArticle is in Linux land but for Windows people with this issue you might look at Sysinternals Disk2vhd.[0] It can be run from the online OS itself and it can store the resulting vhd on the same disk it is imaging (with space and disk performance constraints). I find it handy for turning my freshly superceded gaming machine into a VM on my new machine for easy access to files, before doing whatever... - Source: Hacker News / 4 months ago
  • Can I virtualize my CURRENT Windows10 install from Linux?
    I've had good luck with Sysinternals Disk2VHD. I've run it from live installs of Windows, saved the resultant VHD to another drive, then spun it up in Virtualbox. Source: almost 2 years ago
  • What free software do you use to create a system image?
    A really quick and easy way to back up a a drive is to use the SysInternals Disk2VHD tool: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/disk2vhd. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Help with Reset & Backup On Win11
    In addition to individually copying important files and folders, use Disk2vhd from Microsoft Sysinternals. Check "Use VHDX" and "Use Volume Shadow Copy" and check all volumes the HDD contains but not any volumes from other disks. Create separate files if backing up multiple disks. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Creating an image/backup of a live Windows System but.... no restart, no VSC.
    Do it with https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/downloads/disk2vhd it has saved me many times with legacy OS. No restart needed. Source: over 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing MiniTool ShadowMaker and Disk2vhd, you can also consider the following products

Clonezilla - Clonezilla is a suite of software that's designed to allow you to back-up and image new hard drives with your data.

BackupChain - BackupChain Backup Software backs up your system, virtual machines, and databases while running.

Macrium Reflect - Macrium Software - the creators of Macrium Reflect backup, imaging and cloning software.

Acronis True Image - (Formerly Acronis True Image) Complete protection for your digital life

Rollback Rx - RollBack Rx is an instant time machine for your PC. A Comprehensive Windows System Restore solution that empowers users and IT administrators to easily restore their PCs to any previous state within seconds!

OSFMount - OSFMount allows you to mount local disk image files (bit-for-bit copies of a disk partition) in Windows with a drive letter. You can then analyze the disk image file with PassMark OSForensics™ by using the mounted volume's drive letter.