Disk cloning is the process of copying the entire content of a hard drive to another, in the form of an image. This includes all the information to help you boot to the operating system from the created drive.
With IDrive Disk Clone, backup your entire drive / hard disk as an image file to a secondary location, like an external hard drive or to the cloud. Backup the drives and system image, including operating system and applications, with information structure intact with sector level backup.
I have created a drive / system image file from my PC, using the IDrive application. Can I access it on another OS like Mac, Linux, etc?
Drive / system image file created using the IDrive application is cross-platform compatible, which means you can access the image file created from PC, on Mac or Linux. To access it, mount the drive / system image file on the specific operating system.
At the time of running the bootrec command, why am I getting the 'Element not found' message for bootrec.exe /fixboot command execution?
Before running the bootrec command, ensure that the MBR partition is active.
To make MBR partition active,
Enter DISKPART in the command line window.
Enter the below commands:
DISKPART> list volume:
A list of volumes present will appear
DISKPART> select volume:
Select the volume where MBR is restored from the MBR.img image
DISKPART> active:
Partition is now made active
DISKPART> exit:
Exit the disk part
Perform the bootrec /fixBoot again to fix the issue.
Why am I getting 'Not enough memory resources are available to process this command' message after booting to the WinRE command line environment?
This message is displayed because the WinRE Bootable Media is not created using Windows 8.1 ISO. To resolve this issue, extract the Install.wim file from Windows 8.1 ISO and create a WinRE Bootable Media again.
Does IDrive support disk cloning for MAC users?
Currently, the disk clone option is only available for Windows users.
How many file versions are supported for drive image and system image backup?
Maximum 10 versions of drive image (IDDriveImage backup folder) and system image (IDHDImage backup folder) files are supported by IDrive.
Can I perform Disk Image Backup and Restore for a virtual machine?
It is recommended to use the Hyper-V / VMware Backup option to backup and restore virtual machines.
How is Disk Clone different from Entire Machine Backup?
While Disk Clone and Entire Machine Backup in IDrive can help to recover the user data along with Operating System and application in case of a system failure, both differ in the creation process and space utilization.
Disk clone: It is sector-level backup and creates an exact copy of the drive or harddisk. E.g., If the total space on C:\ drive is 25 GB and space utilized is 15 GB, it requires a physical disk with empty space greater than or equal to 25 GB to create a backup image file or clone. The local image backup is then uploaded to the cloud account.
Entire machine backup: It is file-level backup and the computer is backed to the cloud without creating a local copy. E.g., If the total space on C:\ drive is 25 GB and space utilized is 15 GB, the entire data (15 GB) is uploaded directly to the cloud account.
Are there any limitations for IDrive disk clone?
IDrive disk clone provides comprehensive data protection, securing all data on your computer with the ability to restore it in the event of a disaster. However, please note the following:
Recovery Limitations: The restoration and booting of your computer from an image backup may not be successful in all scenarios. Factors such as dissimilar hardware, boot file issues, RAID configurations, or other unforeseen circumstances may cause the restore process to fail. It is not guaranteed that a successful backup will restore the system to its original state under all conditions.
How can I perform drive / system image backup to a network mapped drive / NAS Drive?
In order to perform drive / system image backup to a network mapped drive / NAS drive, you have to map your network location to your system.
To perform the backup operation,
Click the 'Clone/Computer Backup' button.
The 'Clone/Computer Backup' screen appears. Click 'Disk clone'.
Go to 'Drive image backup'/ 'System image backup' and select the 'Local Backup' radio button.
Select the 'Source drive' for backup under 'Drive image backup' or 'System image backup' respectively.
For Drive Image:
For System Image:
Select the network mapped drive / NAS drive as the backup location for creating the drive / system image. Click 'Schedule'.
Enter your username and password to authenticate network mapped drive / NAS drive.
You can now schedule drive / system image backup to perform the backup operation to a network mapped drive / NAS drive.
How can I perform drive / system image backup to a local or express device?
To perform drive / system image backup to a local or express device,
Go to 'Backup' and select the ‘Local Backup ’ or ‘IDrive Express™ Backup’ radio button.
In the 'Backup location' section, click and select a location to backup your data to the local drive or Express device.
Click the 'Clone/Computer Backup' button.
Under 'Drive image backup' / 'System image backup', select the 'Local Backup' or ‘IDrive Express™ Backup’ radio button.
Select a source drive, under ‘Drive image backup' or 'System image backup' to backup to the local or Express device.
For Drive Image:
For System Image:
Select a 'Temporary local backup destination' for local image creation. You can select either a local or network attached drive. Your drive(s) will first be backed up to this local path and then the encrypted backup will be transferred to the local or Express device.
Click 'Schedule Now'.
Schedule the drive / system image backup for a future date and time or select 'Start the backup immediately' and click 'Save Changes'.
After the backup is complete, click 'Activity Logs' on the screen to view the backup details.
Note:
You cannot backup drive / system image files to the drive that runs the operating system.
If you have selected the Express device as the location for both local image and encrypted image creation, after successful completion of the drive / system image backup delete the unencrypted local image (delete the 'IDriveDiskImage' / 'IDriveSystemImage' / 'IDDriveImage' / 'IDHDImage' folder) before shipping the Express device to IDrive.
How can I perform drive / system image backup to a Network Computer?
To perform drive / system image backup to a network computer,
Click the 'Clone/Computer Backup' button.
The 'Clone/Computer Backup' screen appears. Click 'Disk clone'.
Go to 'Drive image backup' / 'System image backup' and select the 'Online Backup', 'Local Backup', or ‘IDrive Express™ Backup’ radio button.
Select 'Source drive' under 'Drive image backup' or 'System image backup' respectively, to create the drive / system image backup.
For Drive Image:
For System Image:
Select the 'Network' as the location for creating the temporary local backup destination drive/system image.
The 'Network Computer list' will appear.
Double-click the desired computer. The 'Network Authentication' popup will appear.
Enter your username and password to validate the network computer.
Select the location to perform the backup.
Click 'Schedule Now'. Schedule the backup to perform the backup operation to a network computer location.
How can I perform drive / system image backup to a Network location or Network attached storage location?
To perform the backup operation,
Click the 'Clone/Computer Backup' button on the LHS.
The 'Clone/Computer Backup' screen appears. Click 'Disk clone'.
In the 'Disk clone' screen, go to 'Drive image backup' / ‘System image backup' and select 'Online Backup', 'Local Backup' or 'IDrive Express™ Backup'.
Select a source drive under 'Drive image backup' or 'System image backup' respectively, to create the drive / system image backup.
For Drive Image:
For System Image:
Select the 'Network' as the temporary local backup destination for creating the drive / system image. The 'Network Computer list' will appear. Select the required computer and provide the authentication.
Alternatively, click 'Verify access to network location for backup'. The 'Network Details' popup will appear. Enter your NAS/Network UNC path (''\\IP Address or Computer name\dir''), username and password to validate.
Click 'Schedule Now'. Schedule the backup to perform the backup operation to a network computer location.
Can I perform incremental backup?
Yes, disk clone supports incremental backup. Once an initial backup is done, later on only changed blocks of the disk will be backed up during incremental backup.
A folder named 'IDDriveImage/IDHDImage' is getting created instead of 'IDriveDiskImage' / 'IDriveSystemImage' while backing up the drive image and system image. Why is that?
For IDrive versions 6.7.3.27 and above, the IDDriveImage/IDHDImage folder will be created for backup of drive image and system image to the cloud. If required, the user can delete the old folder data (IDriveDiskImage' / 'IDriveSystemImage) from the cloud.
How can I restore an OS Drive / System image file to make the hard disk bootable?
To restore the OS image file to any hard disk and boot,
Download and install the IDrive application. Sign in with your username and password.
Note: If you have set a private encryption key for your account, then provide the same here.
Click the 'Clone/Computer Backup' button.
The 'Clone/Computer Backup' screen appears. Click 'Disk clone'.
Go to 'OS/system image restore'.
Click ‘Go to Restore Tab’.
From ‘Online Restore’ under Restore, choose to restore the 'IDriveDiskImage' / 'IDriveSystemImage /'IDDriveImage' / 'IDHDImage' folder containing the OS / system image file from your IDrive account, for performing the restore.
Note: In case you have performed local backup, where the OS drive / system image backup on the local device is encrypted, you need to restore the encrypted Express or local backup folder to an external device to decrypt and then perform restore operation.
For OS Image:
For System Image:
Click under 'OS/ system image restore' and select the downloaded Disk Image file from your local computer.
Choose the desired hard disk for restoring the OS drive / system image file.
Click 'Restore Now'.
Note: Restoring an OS drive / system image overwrites all the existing drive contents with the image file.
How do I decrypt a Disk Clone Express / local backup folder before performing a restore operation?
To decrypt a local backup folder,
Sign in to IDrive with your username and password. If you have set a private encryption key for your account, then provide the same here.
Go to 'Restore' and select the 'Local Restore’ or ‘IDrive ExpressTM Restore’ radio button.
Select the location of your local or Express device.
Choose the required device from the ‘Device' drop-down list and select 'IDriveDiskImage' / 'IDriveSystemImage' / 'IDDriveImage' / 'IDHDImage' folder.
Click and select the location where you want to restore your encrypted local backup folder.
Note: Make sure you have sufficient storage space in the selected location to perform the restore operation.
Click 'Restore Now'.
Note: If you are using application version 6 and below, click here.
Can I restore drive / system images to a CD/DVD or to a USB hard drive?
Yes, you can directly restore a drive / system image backup file to a USB drive or burn it to a CD/DVD.
Note:
Restoring a drive / system image overwrites all the existing drive contents with the image file.
On the same computer you can perform operating system restore as well. Click here to know the recovery details on a different computer (hardware).
Can I restore drive / system image backup on the same computer or on a different computer?
You can restore drive / system image backup on the same or different computer.
Click here to know the recovery details on a different computer (dissimilar hardware).
Note: On a different computer (dissimilar hardware), you can restore the operating system.
Click here to know how IDrive disk clone restore option works on the same computer.
Note: On the same computer you can perform operating system restore as well.
Do I need to format the USB drive to restore a drive / system image backup file?
No. However, it is recommended that you confirm that the data on your USB drive is either copied to another location or no longer needed, as restoring an image file will format all the data on your USB drive.
How do I create a boot disk and recover my drive using a drive / system image backup file?
To create a boot disk to recover your drive using a drive / system image file, the following prerequisites need to be met:
How to create a bootable USB flash drive to restore drive image?
To create a bootable USB flash drive,
Insert a USB flash drive into a running computer.
Run Command Prompt window as an administrator.
Enter Diskpart in the command line window.
DISKPART> list disk
DISKPART> select disk x
where X is the drive number or drive letter of the USB flash drive
DISKPART> clean
To delete all data from the USB flash drive
DISKPART> create partition primary
DISKPART> select partition 1
To restore MBR disk image partition (legacy)
DISKPART> format fs=ntfs quick
DISKPART> active
To restore GPT disk image partition (UEFI)
DISKPART> format fs=fat32 quick
DISKPART> active
I have a backup (drive / system image file) of a 100 GB partition drive. After restoring it to a 500 GB partition drive, the partition seems to be truncated to 100 GB. Why?
Drive / system image recovery will maintain the information and the structure (including partition) intact, during restore. Hence, it truncates the 500 GB partition down to 100 GB. To avoid such a situation, you should resize the partition before restoring the drive / system image file on it.
How do I restore the OEM disk image to dissimilar hardware?
You can use the OEM recovery disk to make a partition of the disk image (MBR/GPT, OS drive / system image) and restore the MBR/GPT and OS disk image.
I'm getting an error message - 'Disk structure is corrupted and unreadable' after executing the rebuildbcd command while restoring the drive image to a new hard disk. What should I do?
This error message appears for Windows users when their computer tries to access a partition of its hard drive that has a corrupted or unreadable disk structure, thus resulting in a failed attempt to access it.
You need to restore the MBR/GPT partition to correct the disk structure and run the rebuildbcd command again.
After restore, I am getting the following error message - 'Disk is not accessible or is corrupted'. What should I do?
To fix the issue, run the chkdsk with flags /f/r/x.
Open command prompt with admin privilege.
Enter chkdsk E: /f/r/x. Replace E with your drive letter which has issues.
I have taken the drive / system image from a system with higher configuration motherboard and am trying to restore to a system with lower configuration motherboard. Why am I not able to boot after the restore operation?
To boot, we recommend that the motherboard and hardware configuration of the system to which the restore is to be performed should be equal to or greater than the system configuration from where the user has taken the backup of the image.
Windows operating system is not booting after I tried to perform drive / system image restore to dissimilar hardware/similar hardware. What should I do?
To fix the issue, we recommend that you 'repair' the operating system from Windows OS bootable disk.
Which operating system supports booting after OS image restore to an external hard drive?
Booting of external hard drives after OS image restore depends on the motherboard and other hardware components. From the Windows 8.1 operating system, IDrive OS image restore supports the booting of drive. External hard drives should be booted from a different computer after the OS image restore.
Does IDrive disk clone backup support backup / restore of RAID images?
Yes, IDrive disk clone backup supports RAID 10 level backup and restore.
How can I restore a drive / system image from a NAS / mapped drive to get my operating system working?
You can restore an entire drive with the content exactly as it is on the original storage device, which includes both data and structure information.
To perform drive / system image restore from a NAS / mapped drive,
Click the 'Clone/Computer Backup'.
The 'Clone/Computer Backup' screen appears. Click 'Disk clone'.
Go to 'OS/system image restore'.
Click ‘Go to Restore Tab’.
Under Restore, select ‘Local Restore’ or ‘IDrive Express™ Restore’.
Browse the 'IDriveDiskImage' / 'IDriveSystemImage' / 'IDDriveImage' / 'IDHDImage' backup from the NAS / mapped drive containing the OS drive image backup file (download the 'IDriveDiskimage' / 'IDriveSystemImage' folder from your IDrive account to a network path).
Select the restore location and click ‘Restore Now’.
Go back to 'OS/system image restore'.
Click .
Enter your username and password for network or mapped drive authentication.
Select the downloaded Disk Image file from your NAS/ mapped drive.
Select a hard disk to restore the drive / system image.
Click 'Restore Now'.
Once the restore is completed, select your hard disk in BIOS and boot your computer, to get your system ready.
How can I restore a drive / system image from a Network Location?
To perform drive / system image restore from a Network Computer,
Click the 'Clone/Computer Backup' button on the LHS.
The 'Clone/Computer Backup' screen appears. Click 'Disk clone'.
Go to 'OS/system image restore'.
Click ‘Go to Restore Tab’.
Under Restore select the ‘Local Restore’ or ‘IDrive ExpressTM Restore’ radio button.
Browse the 'IDriveDiskImage' / 'IDriveSystemImage' / 'IDDriveImage'/ 'IDHDImage' backup folder from the network computer containing the OS drive image backup file (download the 'IDriveDiskImage' / 'IDriveSystemImage' folder from your IDrive account to a network computer).
Select the restore location and click ‘Restore Now’.
Go back to 'OS/system image restore'.
Click .
Click 'Network' and select a computer.
Enter your username and password for network authentication.
Select the 'OS / System Disk Image File' from the network location.
Select a hard disk to restore the drive / system image.
Click 'Restore Now'.
Once the restore is completed, select your hard disk in BIOS and boot your computer, to get your system ready.
To perform drive / system image restore from a Network/NAS Location,
Click the 'Clone/Computer Backup' button.
The 'Clone/Computer Backup' screen appears. Click 'Disk clone'.
Go to ‘Restore drive image data' for selecting the OS drive image backup file (download the 'IDriveDiskImage' / 'IDriveSystemImage' / 'IDDriveImage'/ 'IDHDImage' folder from your IDrive account to a Network/NAS location).
Select the restore location and click ‘Restore Now’.
Go back to 'Restore drive image data'.
Click . A popup screen will appear.
Click 'Network' and select 'Verify access to network location for restore'. The 'Network Details' popup will appear.
Enter the UNC path ("\\IP Address or Computer name\dir") of Network\NAS location, your username and password for network authentication.
Select the 'OS / System Disk Image File' from the network location.
Select a hard disk to restore the drive / system image.
Click 'Restore Now'.
Once the restore is completed, select your hard disk in BIOS and boot your computer, to get your system ready.
When restoring OS to a dissimilar hardware, how do I launch the disk image restore wizard from the bootable WinRE?
To launch the disk image restore wizard from the bootable WinRE,
Go to 'Troubleshoot'
Click 'Command Prompt'.
Enter the path 'X:\Sources\recovery\OneClickRestore.exe'.
Can I access my entire OS and its contents from the drive / system image?
Browse the image file which has to be mounted in the OSFMount wizard.
Mounted drive / system image will be shown as a different drive (with new letter) in the new computer.
Save the required data from the new mounted drive.
I performed a drive / system image restore operation (on dissimilar hardware) for Windows 7/Windows server 2008 R2 successfully, but am still unable to boot the operating system. Why?
To boot Windows 7/Windows server 2008 R2, you must have the same motherboard configuration as the original backed up operating system drive.
Why am I being prompted to activate my Windows license after a disk image restore?
Your Windows license links your product key, which stores your activation codes, to your machine's hardware configurations. Therefore, in case of a hardware change, Windows may prompt you to re-activate your license.
To resolve this issue in the case of a retail license, enter the product key on the new machine and reactivate the Windows license.
Note: Retail licenses can only be installed on one machine at any particular time. Avoid activating Windows on multiple computers with the same product key.
In the case of an OEM license, however, your product key is linked to your machine's motherboard and is non-transferrable. To secure OEM license activation for a restored machine, you will need to contact your OEM-license provider. IDrive cannot assist you with third-party licensing issues.
How to create a bootable WinRE restore media for disk image restore?
In order to initiate a WinRE-based disk image restore, you need to create a bootable USB or media device using the IDrive® Disk Image Restore Media Builder app. You can use this bootable WinRE-based recovery media to boot up a Windows computer on which restore needs to be initiated.
Choose the required USB drive as the target disk from the dropdown.
Choose the desired partition style from the dropdown.
Click 'Create Bootable USB'.
Click 'Yes' in the confirmation popup to format the selected USB drive.
The selected drive associated with the disk will be formatted completely.
A bootable ISO file will be automatically downloaded and the entire content inside the ISO file will be copied to the selected USB thumb drive.
The progress will be displayed on the screen. You will be notified once the bootable USB device is created along with further instruction to use the bootable device.
If you are using a WinRE media with additional driver support, then follow steps 1 through 4 mentioned above and perform these two additional steps before clicking 'Create Bootable USB'.
Click the 'Select updated ISO' checkbox.
Browse and select the 'WinRE_Updated.iso' file.
How can I build a bootable WinRE media for disk image restore that includes additional driver support?
To create a WinRE media with support for an additional driver, follow these steps:
Run the 'System Disk Image Converter' from the desktop as administrator.
Select the 'System Disk image (.img)' from 'IDriveSystemImage or IDHDImageFolder' which is downloaded from your IDrive online account.
Select the location for converting the disk image to Oracle Virtual Box VDI file.
Click 'Convert Disk Image to VDI'.
Once the conversion is complete, a virtual machine is created with the converted VDI file. Start the virtual machine as administrator to use your system from Oracle Virtual Box.
Note:
System image of operating system from Windows 10 and above is supported for converting into VDI file.
If Oracle Virtual Box is not installed, only conversion from system image (.img) to VDI format will be done.
Can I convert a system disk image to Oracle Virtual Box VDI file in a Mac or Linux machine?
Yes, you can convert a system disk image (.img) to Oracle Virtual Box VDI format in a Mac or Linux machine using the command line.
Run the following command from the command terminal:
vboxmanage convertfromraw <Path to System image> <Conversion folder Path for VDI> --format VDI
Once the conversion is complete, create the virtual machine in Oracle Virtual Box and attach the VDI to the VM. Apply the following settings:
If the system disk image is in 'GPT' format, select 'Enable EFI (special OSes only)'.
Select the 'Use Host I/O cache '.
Start the virtual machine.
Your converted system image file will now boot in the virtual environment (may take multiple restarts to boot to OS).
While creating a virtual machine, the Oracle Virtual Box does not show the 64-bit Windows operating system. Why?
To display the 64-bit Windows operating system while creating virtual machines, ensure that the Intel® Virtualization Technology and Intel® VT-d features are enabled in the BIOS.
How do I run the Oracle Virtual Box on a Windows system, where Hyper-V is already installed?
To run the Oracle Virtual Box on a Windows system where Hyper-V is already installed, you need to disable the Hyper-V feature.
To disable Hyper-V,
Execute the following command:
dism.exe /Online /Disable-Feature:Microsoft-Hyper-V bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off
Restart the Windows system (twice) to run the Oracle Virtual Box.
and select a location to backup your data to the local drive or Express device.
