>O&O Diskimage Review
O&O DiskImage is an advanced backup and recovery tool that allows users to backup individual files and folders, or entire PCs to a disk image. The ease of use makes it simple enough for home users, while the functionality it provides makes it an attractive solution for IT professionals.
Specifications
Compatible with Windows® 8, 7, Vista, XP
32bit and 64bit support
Available in English and German
Size: 23mb
Features At a Glance
• Different encryption levels
• High-performance compression
• Clone hard disks and partitions
• Bare Metal Restore
• Hot Imaging
• Email notifications
• Mount virtual drives from images
• Incremental and differential imaging
• Support for Dynamic or GPT volumes
• Detailed reporting
• Support for VHD
• Image only of used sectors, individual drives or partitions
• Forensic images
• Images can be saved to disks, network drives, CD, DVD, and Blu-ray
• Interface with overview of non-imaged drives
Backing up Data
The best way to guarantee the safety of your data is to perform regular backups, which DiskImage does automatically, with no disruption to user productivity.
Users create a boot medium using a USB stick, CD or DVD and back up individual files, folders, or create a disk image of the entire PC. The program can run in the background while the user continues to work.
O&O DiskImage saves user settings as well as files, saving hours of personalising when the computer files are restored.
Restoring Data
Restoring a partition, or the entire PC is done from the boot media. O&O DiskImage can restore files and settings even if Windows is unable to start, using the recovery tools included in the boot medium. The software also highlights any errors, helping users identify potential causes of the crash or disk failure.
Restoring files from a backup is also very easy, with the use of standard compression software like WinZip or something similar.
The Machine Independent Restoration (MIR) feature of this software is that you can restore data to a machine with different hardware from the one the backup was made on. For example, if you buy a new computer and want to transfer all your old files and settings to it.
New features in Version 7
The developer added several new features to DiskImage in version 7 including:
• Full support for Windows 8 and EFI/UEFI systems
• Simpler dashboard screen where users can see at-a -glance the drives and folders backed up
• Ability to create emergency boot CD within the program itself instead of using a separate download
• Adapts to third party energy saving settings to prevent corruption of disk images
• More logical grouping of tools making it easier to find related functions
• Full support for Windows 8 and EFI/UEFI systems
Developers
O&O Software GmbH was established in 1997 and are a Microsoft Gold Partner, guaranteeing that their software is compatible with Windows.
Pricing
O&O DiskImage 7 Professional Edition is available for one computer for only €29,90 or €49,90 for use on up to three computers.
Conclusion
O&O DiskImage Professional is very reasonably priced for the features it offers and the essential back-up offers for users who could, in the event of computer failure, restore their files with very little effort. The layout of the new interface is certainly very logical and makes it easy to access all the necessary tools for creating a backup, or checking the status of the drives. There is no long complicated process to go through, and as the manufacturer states, you can create an image of the entire PC with just one click.
More experienced users will also be relieved to see a significant number of advanced configuration options to customize backups for professional IT services.
The fact that backup and restoring files, drives and PCs can be as simple or as comprehensive as users choose, is one of the best characteristics of O&O DiskImage Professional. For the regular user not who is not interested in trying to figure out what the different options mean, they can do a one-click backup to a disk image that includes everything, or select their most important files and folders for backup using a familiar interface just like they would find in a file explorer program.
From a performance point of view, DiskImage Professional has no impact on computer speed. A full disk image backup can be taken while continuing to work on the computer with no noticeable slow-down . This is crucial for multi-tasking individuals, or business environments where no down-time is required to perform backups, which can be scheduled during normal working hours.
The number of default and user-defined configuration options make O&O DiskImage a versatile software that can be adapted to simple home use or more complicated use in an IT setting.
O&O DiskImage Professional offers a lot of functionality for a very affordable price, especially when you compare it to the time saved if your computer crashes and you have to manually reinstall all your software and settings.
Most importantly of course, is the ability to back up all the data gathered over the years, much of which is impossible to get back, like personal photos etc.
Everyone should have a backup software, and O&O DiskImage Professional certainly makes a good contender for the job.
There is a free 30-day trial of both the 32 bit and 64 bit versions and for anyone looking for a reliable backup solution, it is worth downloading to see just how effective it is at protecting data.