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Home  > Data Recovery Using R-Studio > Advanced Data Recovery  > Images

Images


An image is an exact, byte by byte, copy of any object in the Drives panel . When created, images can be processed like their original objects.

Images are very useful if there is a risk of total data loss due to hardware malfunction. If bad blocks are constantly appearing on a drive, you must immediately create an image of this drive. All data search, scan and restoring can be done from this image.

While creating images, R‑Studio can simultaneously perform drive scan and save scan information to lessen time necessary to process the drive.

The image can be saved on the remote computer if it is created via network . R‑Studio can also load and process images created with the DeepSpar Disk Imager™ .

An imaging process can be stopped and then resumed later on.

 

R‑Studio Corporate version and higher can create images directly on hard drives making in fact disk clones.

 

To create an image ,

1 Select an object in the R‑Studio 's Drives panel and click the Create Image button

Click to expand/collapse Other ways to create the image

• Select the object and select Create Image on the Drive menu

or

• Right-click the selected object and select Create Image File on the shortcut menu

2 Specify image options, a file name, and destination for the image on the Create Image dialog box

Note: To store an image file, you need a free space equal to at least the object size.

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Create Image dialog box

Click to enlarge

Create Image dialog box

Click to enlarge

Create Image dialog box

Click to expand/collapse Image Options

Image filename

Specifies the name and path for the image file

Image type:

Compressed image (R-Drive Image compatible): If this option is selected, R‑Studio will create an image file which can be compressed, split into several parts, and password-protected. This image file is fully compatible with the images created by R-Drive Image , but incompatible with very old versions of R‑Studio .

Byte by byte image to a file: If this option is selected, R‑Studio will create a simple exact copy of the object.

Byte to byte image to a physical disk : R‑Studio will create an exact copy of the disk on another hard drive. Data on the target drive will be overwritten. Available in the Corporate, Technician, and T80+ licenses.

Some other image formats are also available in the Technician, and T80+ licenses. You may read more about these formats in the Supported Virtual Disk and Disk Image Formats page.

Image compression ratio

You may compress the data in the image to save space. Active only if the Compressed image (R-Drive Image compatible) is selected.

Estimated size

Shows the estimated size of the image file. An actual image size depends on how much empty space is on the selected partition and what file types are there . Active only if the Compressed image (R-Drive Image compatible) is selected.

Image split size

You may set this option to Automatic and let Windows decide how to split the image file. This mostly depends on the file system on the destination drive. You may also either explicitly specify the split size, or choose a preset for various devices with removable storage. Select Fixed size for that. Active only if the Compressed image (R-Drive Image compatible) is selected.

Password

Encrypt image

You may protect your image file with a password. Note: If you leave the Encrypt image option clear this feature will provide a relatively moderate protection against conventional unauthorized access. If this option is selected, R‑Studio will encrypt the image using the AES-XTS algorithm.

Note: Only files in the RDR format can be password protected and encrypted.

Create scan information file

If this option is selected, R‑Studio will perform drive scan simultaneously with image creation. See the Drive Scan help page to learn scan options.

Read retries

Specifies a value for I/O Tries , or how many times R‑Studio will try to read a bad sector .

R‑Studio treats bad sectors in the following way:

It reads a certain part of drive (predefined by Windows) and

• If Default read attempts is set to 0, the entire part with bad sectors will be filled with the specified pattern.

• If Default read attempts is set to a non-zero value, R‑Studio reads again that part sector by sector, repeating the attempts the specified number of times. If R‑Studio still cannot read a bad sector, it fills the sectors with the specified pattern. In this case only the bad sectors will be filled with the pattern, but that extremely slows the drive read process.

For example, if you set Default read retries to 1, a bad sector will be read 2 times.

Pattern to fill bad blocks

Specifies a pattern R‑Studio will use to fill bad sectors in this image. You may specify the pattern either in the ANSI or Hex data format.

Note: R‑Studio will never ever try to write anything on the drive from which data is to recover or an image is to create. This pattern fills bad sectors only in the image.

Drive sector map file

Enable multi-pass image creation

These options are available only in the Technician/T80+ versions. Read more about these options in the I/O Monitor and Sector Map files and Multi-pass imaging help page.

If a remote computer is connected for Data Recovery over Network , the Create Image dialog box will have a different look. You may save the image to the local or remote computer.

R-Studio Technician/T80+

These options are available only in the Technician/T80+ versions.

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Create Image dialog box

 

Click to expand/collapse         Additional output folders

Additional output folders

Additional output folders where image files will be stored when R-Studio runs out of space.

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Create Image dialog box

Click to expand/collapse         Post Actions Options

Shutdown the computer on all tasks completion

If this check box is selected, R‑Studio will shut down your computer when all task, including this image creation have been completed.

E-Mail notifications

If this check box is selected, R‑Studio will inform you about the outcome of the operation via email.

> R‑Studio will start creating the image, the Progress message showing the progress.

You may change some options during the imaging process. Click the Options button and change them as necessary/

You may stop the imaging process and then resume it later on. Click the Stop button and the Cancel drive operation dialog box will appear. Select Stop if yo want to keep the partially created image or Discard if you don't need this image file.

To resume the creation of the image for the same object, select the same file name for the image. You'll be able to create a new image file or continue to create the image for the object.

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Resuming image creation

R‑Studio will create a new file for every new start of imaging for the .rdi and .vmdk file types.

To process an already created Image , the image file should be opened.

To open an image

1 Click the Open Image button , or

Select Open Image File on the Drive menu

If a remote computer is connected for Data Recovery over Network , the Open Image File dialog box will appear when you select a place to load the image file from. You may load it from the local or remote computer.

2 Select the required image file

If the image is a multi-volume one, and not all parts are at the same place, the dialog box will appear

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Multi-volume image dialog box

 

Specify paths to other image parts and click the OK button.

> An Image object will appear in the Drives panel

Depending whether this is a byte-by-byte , compressed ( R-Drive Image compatible), multi-volume , or VMDK image, its appearance in the Drives panels is different.

You may perform all data search, scan, and recovery from this image as it were a regular drive/​disk object.

 

A byte by byte image

A multi-volume image

A VMDK image

 

To close an image

* Select the image and click the Close Image button,

• or right-click the image and select Close Image on the shortcut menu

• or select the image and press the F8 key.

 

To close all image

* Select Close All Images on the Tools menu

A logical disk (or disks) containing in an image can be mounted in the operating system as a device which makes its content accessible to any program including any other data recovery software.

To mount a logical disk in an image

1 Right-click the logical disk in the image in the Drives panel and select Mount on the shortcut menu
2 Select a disk letter to assign to the mounted logical disk and click OK
> A Virtual disk object will appear in the Drives panel

and this virtual disk will be available to system in the read-only mode

To unmount a virtual disk from the system

1 Right-click the virtual disk in the image in the Drives panel and select Unmount on the shortcut menu
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