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Image the changes only

If you only want to store the changes since the last image, you can create an Image of the change.

To create an image of the changes, you need to have created at least one complete image of the drives or folders involved.

Differential/incremental imaging​

As a base image you can use either the complete image created using the “Used sector imaging”, “Forensic imaging” or “Direct forensic imaging”, or by using a previously created incremental image/differential image.

Follow the instructions below:

  1. Please make sure that the drive containing the base image is connected to your computer.
  2. Start O&O DiskImage and select Image of the changes on the start page.
  3. Select your base image in the explorer window and click Open.
  4. Now you can either select the recommended target folder for saving the image, or enter a new target path. For the sake of clarity, we recommend saving the base image and any subsequent images in one folder. The image is automatically named after the creation date. You can however enter a name manually.
  5. Now click More options (if you want to specify further settings) or on Start to initiate the imaging process.
note

When creating an image of the changes, O&O DiskImage compares each sector of the existing image with the corresponding sector of the (source) disk being imaged. This might require more time than a complete image. The image of the changes, however, takes up much less space than a complete image.

note

The option Compare data with checksums is set by default. The last incremental image is all you'll need as a base image for creating a new incremental image Use checksums to administer unchanged data is not set, you will need the last base image and all the incremental images previously created, because all of them must be accessed for creating the new image.

Create a job for incremental or differential imaging​

In order to create a differential or incremental imaging job, you'll need a complete or base image that was previously created. This complete image will serve as a base for creating differential/ incremental imaging jobs. The first image after the complete image is always a differential image. Incremental images can be based on a differential or other incremental images.

  1. Select Drive imaging from the O&O DiskImage Start Page.
  2. At the top, click on Imaging Options and activate Image of the changes then select the base image. Now close the options Window.
  3. Now click on Add as job.
  4. Enter the name and the schedule for the image in the job dialogue.
  5. Under Imaging you can either use the standard path or manually enter another storage location for the image.

The option Use created image as base image for the following execution is enabled by default. Incremental images will always be created based on the last image of changes. As a result of this, the data volume of the incremental image will end up being very small. All previous cumulative images and the last complete image will be needed for restoration. We recommend saving the complete image as well as any successive image of the changes in one folder.

If this is not possible, the default check has to be removed from Disable user inquires while task is running. The process is only partially automatic because every time an imaging is performed, all earlier images will be requested. If these are not entered, the job will be aborted as a result of error.

The selection check for Use created image as base for the following execution is enabled by default. If you disable it, all further images will be created as differential ones using the last complete image for their base. Restoration will then require the last differential image along with the complete. Incremental images that were created in the meantime will no longer be needed. The data volume of these differential images is correspondingly larger than a series of incremental images.