Disk Imaging Software Review

For many of us, the data stored on our computers is precious, so taking precautionary measures to ensure that our data is safe is vital. With disk imaging software, you can preserve your data and avoid the frustrating and complex recovery process that can occur with a system crash. This imaging software simply takes a snapshot of your hard drive. It captures your hard drive piece by piece, so if you do have problems, you can simply load the disk image and get back to work once again.

Disk image software is different from backup software because it allows you to create a full copy of your entire hard drive, including the operating system, software, file organization and other data. Backup software simply creates a general copy of your data. Many imaging applications let you choose whether you desire to backup and create images of certain files or the entire system. All of the images can be saved on a variety of bootable hardware such as CDs, DVDs, USB flash drives, networks and more, making it possible for you to store your recovery hardware somewhere safe and speed up the recovery time. This image software also allows you to transfer all your files to a new hard drive as a precautionary measure before your old hard drive crashes.

For more information about how disk image software works and how you can keep your data secure, check out our articles on disk imaging software. Also, take a minute to read about the top three disk imaging products: Acronis True Image, Paragon Backup & Recovery and Norton Ghost.

Disk Imaging Software: What to Look For

Disk imaging software should be able to take an accurate picture of your hard drive. Several applications are capable of taking a good image, but once you go to load the image, it’s corrupted, leaving you without the crucial files you need. We looked for disk imaging software that not only captures and loads a good image, but also provides many additional features and has no learning curve. The last thing you’ll want to do when resurrecting your computer is to sift through help materials to get the job done. Everyone wants to get started now rather than later.

Below are the criteria we used to evaluate disk imaging software.

Backup Features
We looked for image software that gives you several options for preserving your data. Some of the best imaging software provides a variety of bootable hardware options and allows you to back up your data while many files and folders are still in use. Many of these products provide full and incremental backup capabilities, and allow you to store backups on physical partitions and compress backups.

Recovery & Restore
It is crucial that your data is restored correctly and that you do not lose any precious files or folders. Many of the best disk imaging products allow you to restore files and folders individually, and many offer virtual disk capabilities for even faster restoration. The best software allows you to deploy your backup on several computers at once and resize partitions, making the process easier.

Scheduling & Reporting
We make changes to our computer every time we save or delete a file or folder. Keeping up with those changes and constantly creating images of your hard drive doesn’t have to be a daily chore. Some of the best imaging software provides scheduling capabilities, which allows you to back up your data automatically on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. With many of these products, you can view all backup activity and receive notifications by email of the most current backup activity.

Help & Support
When you’re in the market for disk imaging software, you will want to choose software from a company that has the best interests of its customers in mind. Whether it is a large set of help and support options or a smaller number of features, we pay attention to how all of these companies treat their customers. We looked for companies that offer telephone and email support, along with online user guides, FAQs and a knowledgebase.

If you want to safeguard your data in case of a system crash, you will want to choose the best disk imaging software for you. With a combination of the above criteria, you will be able to create and load images with no hassle and keep your computer running as good as new.

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