System requirements
O&O DiskImage 22 backs up and restores Windows PCs. This page lists what the computer, the backup storage and the recovery options need. For current product information, see the O&O DiskImage product page.
Computer
| Requirement | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows 10 (64-bit) or Windows 11 (64-bit) | Latest Windows updates installed |
| Memory | 4 GB RAM | 8 GB RAM or more |
| Disk space | 500 MB for the installation, plus space for the data to back up or restore | Fast internal or external storage (for example an SSD) for backup and restore operations |
| Internet connection | Required for product activation, and for the recovery environment (Windows PE) – in particular for activation, updates and some recovery functions | – |
| Permissions | Local administrator rights for installation, configuration and activation | – |
Dynamic disks are supported only as far as Windows supports them. Because Windows does not guarantee that dynamic disks can be booted in every configuration, the duplication or restore of a system to or from dynamic disks cannot be guaranteed either.
Supported file systems
| File system | Use |
|---|---|
| NTFS | The standard file system of modern Windows versions, with access rights, compression, encryption and journaling. |
| FAT16 and FAT32 | Older systems and removable media such as USB sticks and memory cards. Limited maximum file and partition sizes. |
| exFAT | High-capacity removable media and flash storage; manages very large files. |
| ReFS | Mainly server environments and critical applications; optimized for data integrity. |
O&O DiskImage backs up the used sectors of all supported file systems. A partition with an unknown or unsupported file system is backed up forensically, that is, with all of its sectors. See Backup options.
Supported storage media
| Storage medium | Notes |
|---|---|
| Internal hard disks (HDD/SSD) | All common internal disks, including RAID configurations. |
| External hard disks | Connected via USB, eSATA or Thunderbolt. Keeps the backup physically separate from the internal system disk. |
| USB sticks and memory cards | USB sticks, SD and microSD cards for portable backups. |
| Network storage (NAS) | Backups to NAS devices via SMB/CIFS. |
| Virtual hard disks | Backups in the VHD and VHDX formats for virtualized environments. |
Store backups on a different physical disk from the data they protect. See Backup destinations.
Recovery
| Option | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Fortress Mode | A working Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE) on the computer. O&O DiskImage checks it when you set up Fortress Mode. |
| Startup medium | A USB stick, a CD/DVD or an ISO file, and a PC that can boot from it. Booting the medium requires at least 4 GB RAM. |
| Drivers | Up-to-date storage controller drivers. The recovery environment can load additional drivers for RAID, NVMe or network controllers. |
See Fortress Mode and startup medium.