INTELLIGENT SECTOR BACKUP vs EXACT BACKUP - AOMEI Backupper

[SoMuchToLearn]

I am making C drive image backups with both Windows 7 Backup and Restore, and AOMEI Backupper Standard. Backupper Standard allows me to choose if I want to create an image that consists of only the "used" sectors of the drive (Intelligent Sector Backup), and Exact Backup, which makes an exact copy of the entire drive, sector by sector. I know that Intelligent Sector Backup will make a smaller file and will make it faster. But which image will actually be the most reliable backup if my system crashes? Thanks.

 

[TrainableMan]

As long as the intelligent is programmed properly it should back up everything that is in the file directory so the only thing you could lose are files that are already lost/broken/deleted.