Active@ Disk Image v 1.0
Copyright  2002 Active@ Data Recovery Software 


USERS MANUAL


Contents

1. PRODUCT OVERVIEW	
2. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
3. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DEMO AND COMMERCIAL VERSION
4. OPERATING PROCEDURES
	4.1. Bootable floppy disk (startup disk) preparation
	4.2. Program start and information display
	4.3. Disk Image creation
	  4.3.1. Starting Disk Image creation process
	  4.3.2. Previewing drive contents before creating a Disk Image
	  4.3.3. Selecting a target file name for the Disk Image
	4.4. Disk Image restoration
	  4.4.1. Opening Disk Image from the single file
	  4.4.2. Composing Disk Image from several files
	  4.4.3. Previewing Disk Image
	  4.4.4. Selecting target drive for restoration
	4.5. Long file names display
	4.6. Using Disk Viewer
5. COMMON QUESTIONS
	5.1 Why do I receive an error message while trying to save the 
	    disk image or restore it? 


1. PRODUCT OVERVIEW

Active@ Disk Image is a DOS-based backup solution designed for complete
backup and restore the whole HDD as well as particular FAT / NTFS partitions
and logical drives. Unique feature is an ability to open disk images and 
preview files and folders inside before image restoration. Using Active@ 

Disk Image you can perform backup of you PC system to another hard drive 
or to the network server storage and restore it from there in the event of
a system crash or loss of important information. Furthermore you can 
restore disk images created in other data recovery applications for DOS and 
Windows such as Active@ UNERASER, Active@ Partition Recovery or Active@ UNDELETE.


2. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

Active@ Disk Image  requires:
- AT compatible CPU with 286 or greater processor
- 640Kb of RAM
- 1.44 Mb floppy diskette drive
- EGA 640x480 or better screen resolution
- Bootable Floppy disk containing MS-DOS 6.0+, or startup disk for Windows 95/98
- HDD of type IDE/ATA/SCSI attached


3. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DEMO AND COMMERCIAL VERSIONS


Active@ Disk Image version                                           DEMO  COMMERCIAL
 
Can be placed to and run from DOS bootable floppy                     Yes   Yes
Displays complete partition and disk image information                Yes   Yes
Creates Disk Image as set of files for the physical drive (HDD)       Yes   Yes
Restores Disk Image from the set of files back to the physical drive   No   Yes
Creates Disk Image as set of files for any partition on HDD           Yes   Yes
Restores Disk Image from the set of files back to partition or drive   No   Yes
Preview mode allows to view all files and folders inside disk image   Yes   Yes
before restoration
Disk Viewer displays content of any physical sector on the drive      Yes   Yes
or within Disk Image  
Supports IDE / ATA / SCSI drives                                      Yes   Yes
Supports large (more than 8GB) size Hard Disk Drives and partitions   Yes   Yes
Supports FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, NTFS, NTFS5 file systems                Yes   Yes
Supports partitions created in MS-DOS, Windows 95/98/ME/NT/2000/XP    Yes   Yes
 
 
4. OPERATING PROCEDURES


4.1. Bootable floppy disk (startup disk) preparation
   
	If you do not have bootable floppy, you can prepare such disk from MS-DOS, 
	Windows 95/98 the following ways:
   
	- If you boot in MS-DOS or in Command Prompt mode of Windows 95/98, 
	  insert blank floppy and type:
	
			FORMAT A: /S

	and follow the instructions on a screen.
	

	- If you boot in Windows 95/98/ME, go to the "Control Panel" then 
	  "Add/Remove Programs", then switch to tab "Startup Disk" and 
	  click button "Startup Disk..." and follow the instructions 
 

	- If you boot in Windows XP, insert blank floppy, right-click A: drive, 
	  choose "Format...", check "Create an MS-DOS startup disk" option and 
	  click "Start" button

	Copy Active@ Disk Image (DISK_IMG.EXE) to the bootable floppy disk


4.2. Program start and information display

	- Boot from the floppy in DOS mode, or in Command Prompt mode in Windows 95/98
	- Run Active@ Disk Image by typing:

			A:\> DISK_IMG.EXE

	- You will see the menu with two choices: 

			CREATE DISK IMAGE
			RESTORE DISK IMAGE

	  Use arrows to select an action you want to perform and press [ENTER]
	
	- If you select image creation mode, at the left side you will see the list 
	  of detected Hard Disk Drives (HDD). If HDD has partitions and logical drives, 
          they are displayed beneath. 
 	  Use arrows to move cursor between HDD and logical drives. When you position 
	  cursor to the particular drive, its information is displayed at the right side.
	  Read "Disk Image Creation" section for more details.

	- If you select image restoration mode, Open Image dialog will appear.
	  Use arrows, [TAB] key to select the drive where disk image is located, then
	  folder, then disk image file itself and press [ENTER] to open disk image file
	  Read "Disk Image Restoration" section for more details.


4.3. Disk Image creation


	A "Disk Image" is a copy of the drive saved in file. Disk Image is used for 
	backup/restore purposes or for the analysis by other utilities like WinHex. 
	Disk Image for the whole Hard Disk Drive or for a particular logical drive 
	or partition can be created using Active@ Disk Image software.

  4.3.1. Starting Disk Image creation process

	- Start Active@ Disk Image
	- Select "CREATE DISK IMAGE" menu item and press [ENTER]
	- Select the drive (HDD or Logical) to create the "Disk Image" 

  4.3.2. Previewing drive contents before creating a Disk Image

	- (Optional) You can press [ENTER] to scan partition / logical drive and preview
	  files and folders on the drive to make sure that you create disk image for
	  the proper drive. Press [ESC] to return back to drive information screen.

  4.3.3. Selecting a target file name for the Disk Image

	- Press "Ctrl+I" to launch destination image file name dialog
	- Select path on another logical or network drive where you wish to save Disk Image.
	  Use arrows, [TAB] key to select the drive where disk image will be located, 
	  then folder.
	- You can change default file name for disk image
	- You can create a new folder where you want to store a disk image
	- Press OK [ENTER] key to start image creation process
	- View the progress and wait until creation of disk image is finished


	If you selected HDD, resulting Disk Image is saved in the following files: 
		Drive_80h.hdd, Drive_80h.001, Drive_80h.002... 

	If you selected partition or logical drive, resulting Disk Image is saved in files: 
		Drive_C.DIM, Drive_C.001, Drive_C.002... 
	
	Each file (except the last one) has size 1GB. MS-DOS does not support files 
	more than 2GB in size. Because of this the image data is written into
	a sequence of 1 Gb files.



4.4. Disk Image restoration

	- Start Active@ Disk Image
	- Select "RESTORE DISK IMAGE" menu item using arrows and press [ENTER]
	  Open Image dialog will appear.

  4.4.1. Opening Disk Image from the single file

	If one file contains whole disk image, i.e. its size is less then 1GB,
	you need to open the only one file.

	For HDD images the file name usually looks like: Drive_80h.hdd
	For partition and logical drive images the filename usually looks like: Drive_C.DIM

	- In Open Image dialog use arrows and [TAB] key to select the drive where 
	  disk image file is located, then folder, then disk image file itself and 
	  press [ENTER] to open a particular disk image file.

  4.4.2. Composing Disk Image from several files

	If more than one image file exists for the particular disk image, you are to add
	all of them to the file list before starting restoration process.

	For HDD images the file names usually look like: 
		Drive_80h.hdd, Drive_80h.001, Drive_80h.002...

	For partition and logical drive images the filename usually look like: 
		Drive_C.DIM, Drive_C.001, Drive_C.002... 


	- In Open Image use arrows and [TAB] key to select the drive where first disk image 
	  file is located, then folder, then disk image file itself and press [ENTER] 
	  to open a first disk image file. 
	  Selected file should be added to the file list on the screen.
	
	- If other consequently numbered files are found in the folder where first image 
	  file is located, new dialog appears asking whether you want to add them 
	  to the file list. Press [Y] or [N] and see your current file list.

	- if you want to add to the file list more files located at the same folder or 
	  at other place, press [Insert] and Open Image dialog appears again, so just 
	  repeat the operation.

	- If all necessary files composing disk image have been added to the file list,
	  press [ENTER] to preview disk image, or [Ctrl]+[ENTER] to start restoration


  4.4.3. Previewing Disk Image

	When you added all disk image file(s) to the file list and pressed [ENTER],
	Image Information window appears.

	When opened the image for the HDD you'll see information about the physical drive:
	drive geometry and size. Underneath there should be one or more partitions/logical 
	drives. Use arrows to display information for the particular drive.
	
	When opened the image for the partition or the logical drive you'll see complete 
	drive information at the right side of the screen, including size, file system, 
	volume label, etc.

	Press [ENTER] to start disk scan and enter Image Preview mode, 
		or 
	Press [Ctrl]+[ENTER] to skip previewing and start restoration process immediately

	When entering Image Preview mode, scanning process might start,  
	directory structure and files will be displayed after disk scan.
	
	Use arrows to move between folders and [ENTER] to go inside the particular folder 
	and see its content.
	

  4.4.4. Selecting target drive for restoration

	When you pressed [Ctrl]+[ENTER]	once, you go to the destination drive selection window.
	
	If you restoring disk image for the HDD, move you cursor at the left side of the screen	
	and position it to the "HDD 80h" - "HDD 83h" line, selecting the destination drive having 
	size equal or larger than disk image size.
	When positioned, pressed [Ctrl]+[ENTER] again to start restoration process.

	If you restoring disk image for the partition/logical drive, move you cursor at the 
	left side of the screen	and position it to the "Logical Drive ?:" line, selecting 
	the destination drive having size equal or larger than disk image size.
	When positioned, pressed [Ctrl]+[ENTER] again to start restoration process.

	When restoration started, you can see the progress. You can press [ESC] anytime to 
	cancel restoration procedure.

	Note: Be careful! After the restoration process started, data on the destination drive 
	is overwritten with Disk Image data, and it is not possible to recover the original disk
	contents even if you will choose to cancel the restoration process.
 
4.5. Long file names display
	

	Starting from Windows 95, file name is not limited to 8.3 pattern anymore and can have
	the length up to 255 characters.

	Standard View displays all files and folders the same way as DOS does, 
	i.e. forms file name using 8.3 format and displays it. 
	However sometimes it is not convenient to see the only first several symbols of the 
	long file name. To display long file names (up to 36 symbols): 

	To display long filenames (up to 36 symbols):
	
	- Boot in DOS mode and run Active@ Disk Image 
	- Scan the particular drive and folder by pressing [ENTER] 
	- Press [TAB] key to switch to long filenames view


4.6. Using Disk Viewer 
 
	Disk Viewer allows view and accesses any sector on the physical or logical drive. 

	- Run Active@ Disk Image for DOS
	- Select the HDD object to view physical sectors, Logical drive to view 
	  logical sectors
	- Press the [Ctrl]+[S] keys to open Disk Viewer

	The Title displays the object to be viewed and the current sector number will 
	be shown below. The rest of the area displays sector content in Hex view on the 
	left side and Text View on the right side. 

	- Use arrows, [HOME], [END] keys to scroll the view
	- Use [Page Down], [Page Up] keys to go to the next/previous sector
	- Press [Ctrl]+[G] to go to the particular sector 
	- Press [TAB] key to change Hex/Text view to Text Only and backward


5. COMMON QUESTIONS


  5.1 Why do I receive an error message while trying to save the disk image or restore it? 

  
	Problem:
	While saving or restoring I receive an error message saying 
	"Error writing physical sector". 

	Reasons:
	1. You attempted to run the software from Windows 95/98/ME "MS-DOS Prompt" console. 
	2. Hard Disk Drive is physically damaged (i.e. has bad clusters). 

	Solutions:
	1. DO NOT try to run the software from under Windows Operating System! Boot 
	   your computer in "Command Prompt" mode (press [F8] when Windows 95/98 boots) or 
	   boot from the floppy disk. 
	2. If your HDD is physically damaged, it's better to copy all important data 
	   from there and use another Hard Disk Drive or you are at risk of loosing your 
	   data.

