Restoring your data is as easy as creating an image. If you want to restore data drives, you only need to start O&O DiskImage under Windows.
You will, however, need the O&O DiskImage bootable medium for restoring an entire computer or system partition. If you buy the product online, an ISO file for creating a bootable medium CD/DVD/USB Stick, etc.) will be sent to you along with additional information.O&O DiskImage starts directly from the bootable medium without any previous installation. Additional integrated system recovery tools also give you the chance to restore the original system and identify mistakes.
Restoring entire disks
O&O DiskImage can also assist you when installing/configuring new acquired computers. After configuring your computer, create an image of your entire system and do this for as many computers as you have Windows licenses:
- Restoration of an entire storage volume
- Restoration to or as MBR disks
- Restoration to or as GPT disks
- Restoration to or as dynamic disks
Restoring individual drives
O&O DiskImage enables you to restore individual drives from existing images. It doesn't matter how many drives were included in one image. The following drive types can be restored from an image:
- Single drives (Partitions/volumes)
- Primary, extended and logical partitions
- Simple, spanned, mirrored volumes
- System areas
- Master boot record (MBR)
- Create system partitions (e.g. Microsoft reserved partition)
- Exclusive restoration of the Master boot records (MBR)
- Restore a combination of the above mentioned objects (various hard disks, partitions, volumes or similar) in one image
Mount drives from images
You can also quickly and easily restore single files from an image. Mount drives from images as virtual drives. Doing this will allow you to copy files and folders from the image onto existing drives. Making changes to the image, however, such as deleting or adding files, is not possible.
Modifications for restoration
Several settings can be configured for restoration.You can adapt the restoration to meet your requirements according to your intended purpose.
- Bare Metal restoration, including bootable disk for Windows PE.
- Restoration of multi boot systems
- Restoration of encrypted partitions, hard disks from a direct forensic image
- Image restoration with damaged or missing parts, e.g. due to disk loss or disk errors
- Restoration of damaged images if the structural integrity of the image is ok, e.g. due to purposeful destruction or disk errors.
- Direct restoration of a Microsoft Virtual PC Disk (VHD)
- M.I.R. (Machine Independent Restoring) Adapting to different hardware
Bootable disks
The bootable disk contains Windows PE with all the default drivers necessary for running O&O DiskImage without installation and without a Windows operating system. This enables you to, for instance, perform a system restoration that would otherwise not be possible.
- Bootable disk for using O&O DiskImage without prior installation includes effective system recovery programs from O&O BlueCon
- Interface - O&O Tasktray, Start menu, and program shortcuts are based on Windows
- Load drivers for hardware that is not immediately recognized, e.g. hard disk controllers or network card drivers
- O&O FileExplorer for file and folder management (create, delete, copy, move folders and/or files)
- O&O SRP-Manager to manage existing system restore points (Only for Windows XP)
- O&O RegEditor to display and change the Windows system registry
- O&O DiskManager for the management of your hard disk(s)
Machine Independent Restoration (M.I.R.)
Machine Independent Restoration technology (M.I.R.) provides the option of restoring an image that contains a system partition onto a computer with a different hardware. This means that a restoration of a system image or clone can be carried out not only on devices with identical hardware, but on those where, for example, the motherboard or processor has been replaced.
Adapt size of the target drive for restoration and cloning
If the target for restoration or cloning is an empty area, the user can adapt the size of the target drive to the actual data volume of the source drive. When, for example, the drive being imaged has 5 GB but the data on it is only taking up half its space, a smaller drive of maybe 3 GB can be entered as a target during restoration.