Method and apparatus for full backups in advance

An improved system and method are disclosed for the backup and restoration of data. An init image is created for a new system. Data is uploaded from a current system and a data image is generated. The resulting data image and the init image are combined to create a combined data image, which is then stored on an on-line backup host. A copy of the combined data image is transferred to the new system. The uploaded data is extracted from the copy of the combined data image and stored on the new system in the same location as the original system. Metadata describing the location of the combined data on the new system is captured and then applied to the combined data image stored on the on-line backup host. The extracted data on the new system is compared to the current data on the original system and the new system is updated. A differential backup is performed on the new system and then uploaded to the on-line backup host, where it is associated with the combined data image.