Using Image for Linux to Restore a Backup It is important to remember that you cannot restore an image over the partition that contains the image file you are using to restore. The size of the target location where you restore an image is important. The target must be large enough to accommodate the data from the source partition. The minimum amount of space required in the target location is determined by the amount of space encompassed from the beginning of the source partition to the last used area of the source partition. For example, if the source partition had 2 GB of data, and the last part of that data ended 15 GB from the beginning of the source partition, the target area needs to be at least 15 GB in size, regardless of the overall size of the source partition. Note: If the target is larger than the source partition, there will be an area of free space left over unless you use the “Resize Partition” option. Restoring a Backup Using Image for Linux Insert your Image for Linux boot media into the appropriate drive or USB port and boot your computer. Then, follow these steps: 1. On the Image for Linux Main Menu, select Restore. Use the Detect Device Changes command to have Image for Linux look for devices you attach to your computer after starting the program. Wait about 10 seconds after you select this command before proceeding. ??? 2. On the Restore/Select screen that appears, select an option to determine how Image for Linux handles the selection of the target drive and options: * If you choose Automatic, Image for Linux attempts to choose the target drive and options automatically using information stored in the backup files. If Image for Linux cannot identify the target drive and options or you don't accept the suggested target drive, Image for Linux will use the Normal option and ask you to select the target drive and options. Note: Performing an automatic partial restore will not change the disk type (MBR/EMBR/GPT) of the destination drive if it doesn’t match the type of the source drive. * If you choose Normal, Image for Linux will ask you to select the target drive and options. 3. From the Restore From/Select File Access Method screen that appears, select between the following options, which refer to the location where Image for Linux should look for the backup file you want to restore: * File (Direct) – This option allows you to directly browse for image file(s) to restore in a folder on a hard drive, bypassing the Linux OS file services. Supported partitions can be accessed, including unmounted partitions and those in the EMBR not loaded into the MBR. In most cases, when using physical drives attached to the system, it’s easier to use File (Direct), especially when using the Image for Linux boot media. 4. The screen that appears next depends on your choice in Step 3. * If you chose File (Direct), the Restore From/Select Drive Interface screen appears, from which you can choose Linux Drive or Virtual Drive; select the interface of the drive that contains the backup that you want to restore. The Restore From/Select File Drive screen appears; select the hard drive that contains the backup from the list shown. Image for Linux displays the Restore From/Select File Location on HDn screen; select a partition on the hard drive if it contains partitions; otherwise, press Enter to select the drive. 5. On the Restore From screen that appears, navigate to and select the backup file you want to restore. Next, select either the entire drive or partitions to restore. You can click the Information button to get details on the selected drive or partition (e.g. number of MiB* used, free, and needed to restore). >>>> * e.g: 300GB = ? MiB ??? >> regarding last paragraph. 7. On the Restore To/Select Target Drive screen that appears, select the hard drive onto which you want to restore the image = 400GB.... you selected in Step 5. Then, select the partition on that drive. A message appears, explaining that the partition you select will be deleted before Image for Linux restores the image; Select Yes and press Enter. 8. On the Restore Options screen that appears, select the options you want to use while restoring. For an explanation of each option, see the sections, “Understanding Restore Options for an Entire Drive” -> below: (Page 55.) Understanding Restore Options for an Entire Drive: Scale to Fit – On NTFS file systems, selecting this option will make Image for Linux assume that the size of the original hard drive is based on the location of the end of the last partition; Image for Linux then applies the same scaling to the target hard drive. If any unpartitioned space existed at the end of the source drive, that unpartitioned space won’t exist on the target drive after you restore your image. Log Results to File – Select this option to make Image for Linux log the details of the validation operation. Image for Linux saves the log as ifl.log in the imagel program directory. Validate Byte-for-Byte – If you select this option, Image for Linux will verify that every byte in the source backup image file was written to the restored drive correctly, ensuring 100% accuracy. This option generally increases the processing time of the overall operation, but is advisable to use where maximum reliability is required. Resize Partition – Currently available for NTFS partitions, you can use this text box to specify a new size for the restored partition, bound by the Minimum and Maximum values specified by Image for Linux. The units used here are mebibytes, abbreviated MiB. (Please refer to the section titled Data Storage Size Unit Conventions): >>> Data Storage Size Unit Conventions Since Image for Linux and this document refer to data storage size units, this section provides clarification on the definitions we use. Storage devicemanufacturers typically define gigabytes (GB) in base decimal, where 1 GB = 1,000 MB = 10?9bytes = 1,000,000,000 bytes. Microsoft Windows, on the other hand, defines GB in base binary, where 1 GB = 1,024 MB = 2?30 bytes = 1,073,741,824 bytes. Because of the confusion that can result when these different data storage size unit conventions are each referred to as “gigabytes”, the gibibyte (along with the kibibyte, mebibyte, etc.) was established in 1998 by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). A gibibyte (abbreviated GiB) is a base binary unit, so 1 GiB = 2?30 bytes = 1,073,741,824 bytes. The IEC retained the term gigabyte to refer to base decimal, where 1 GB = 10?9 bytes = 1,000,000,000 bytes. Image for Linux and this document will follow IEC recommendations, and will thus use the terms megabyte (MB), gigabyte (GB), etc. to refer to base decimal, and mebibytes (MiB), gibibytes (GiB), etc. to refer to base binary. So, when you read about the data storage size convention used by Windows, the units will appear as mebibytes (MiB) or gibibytes (GiB), even though Windows itself refers to the units as megabytes (MB) or gigabytes (GB).