14 DAY TRIAL // I know it is an absolute pain to install your Windows from scratch. But the operation is necessary from time to time for various reasons: registry bloat, malware attacks, your sister's lack of training in fairly treating the computer or just because Windows has such a talent in becoming decrepit over time. But we love it and would not want it any other way.
The worst part when reinstalling the OS is not the fact that we have to wait for all the files to copy and align correctly on the hard disk, but the actual time wasted on re-tweaking, re-patching and installing all the applications you can't live without. As for every problem there is a solution, this one met its match, too.
Drive imaging is a nifty solution for the issue at hand and the softwares ready to help you in the matter are quite a few. The downside is that most of them cost a small fortune and those that don't, do a crappy job. However, I scoured the Internet for the best way to do it on both Vista and XP and I got it.
The winning answer comes from Runtime Software, the developer of GetDataBack data recovery software. DriveImage XML is a drive imaging solution designed to save you from the pain of reconfiguring the operating system and installing all the needed applications. The software is absolutely free and works best in XP environment.
Extremely easy to use thanks to the built-in wizard that guides the user through each step of the operation, DriveImage XML can create drive clones for safe and easy backup of data. The interface presents all the options right from the beginning (lower left hand corner of the welcoming screen).
The software lets you backup entire drives to image files, browse the images, restore them, make drive to drive copies and schedule automatic backup tasks. The restoration of the files is accomplished without booting your computer and the use of Hot Imaging Strategy permits creating drive images even if the partition is in use.
For Backup, Restore and Drive to Drive options the starting screen is the same. In the upper part of the window, there are all the drives available on your computer (USB keys included) while below there is displayed the information for the selected drive (both logical and physical details).
Hitting Next button after selecting a partition will bring up the specific wizard of the operation you are planning to launch. From now on, everything is piece of cake as the wizard takes over and all you can do is make a setting here and there like defining the path for storing the image and choose the way you want it to be created.
The options for creating the image are few, but quite sufficient for the job at hand. Raw mode results in creating a sector by sector image of the drive. That is, every sector will be included in the imaging process, even the unused ones. For backing up only the used sectors of the partition, leave the option unchecked.
Splitting large files option is not to be used unless the destination of the image uses FAT file system (FAT file systems cannot handle files larger than 4GB) or you plan on burning it to a disk. Otherwise, leave the box unchecked as well. Compression enabling leads to making the image up to 40% smaller according to the developer. However, the process will considerably slow down the entire imaging operation.
For testing, we used a 618MB folder of all sorts of files (pictures, text documents, executables etc.). When enabling the Compressed function, the operation took about 2'30'' and spit an image 9MB smaller. Disabling the option successfully terminated the process in just 34''.
In order to make sure that the result is a perfect clone of the drive even if it is in use, DriveImage XML employes Hot Imaging Strategy. This feature will enforce blocking of write operation on the portion of the drive that is being processed. So the latest change of a file will be available in the backup file. This is achieved via two methods: either by locking the volume or by using Microsoft's Volume Shadow Service. If one of the methods fails, DriveImage XML will automatically resort to the second one.
During our testing on a Vista enabled machine, we encountered some obstacles and sometimes Volume Shadow Copy could not be initialized, though Task Manager showed it as up and running. Disregarding the error message and proceeding to creating the image file anyway started the process and completed it. In our case, the result was fortunate as the image was OK, but be advised: the resulting image may be corrupt.
Restoring the image to a partition is actually the reverse process of backup. Just select the drive the image is located on, browse for the XML file and choose the location of the restore. The wizard is still there to assist and guide you, so there should be absolutely no problem in the process.
Drive image browsing feature allows the user to peruse the contents of the image without restoring it (even compressed folders). The great part is that you can extract any file from there with minimum effort. Additional options make it easy for you to search for this or that element, but not if it is enclosed in an archive. Also, you will have to provide the full name of the file (extension included) for the trick to work in your favor.
The Good
With a nice and easy to use interface DriveImage XML successfully creates a clone of the drive you need backed up. It is very simple and efficient in the process and the user makes the smallest effort.
Image browsing feature lets you view the contents of the backup without restoring it. More than this, you can extract any file with the least hassle.
The Bad
Vista is not a good environment for DriveImage XML. The images were successfully created, but the error announcing the failure in initiating Volume Shadow Service was not assuring of the integrity of the image at all.
When extracting files in an image, you will have to type in the saving path yourself, as there is no browsing option available.
The Truth
If you are looking for a good drive imaging companion for XP, then this is it. Free, easy to use and efficient, DriveImage XML does a great job with cloning sector-by-sector partitions or just the used portions of the drive.
And if you combine it with Bart's PE Builder, you've got yourself a system saver.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
