Restore
Introduction
Use the Restore function to write an image previously created with DriveImage XML back to a drive.
Restoring an Image
Use existing partition or create new partition
Note that you must put the image into an existing partition. If necessary create a new partition with Windows Disk Management first.
You do not need to format the drive. The size of the partition you create will determine the size of the drive - for example if you create a 20GB partition and then restore a 10GB size image to it, the size of the drive will still be 20GB.
Start Windows Disk Management:
Start>Control Panel>Administrative Tools>Computer Management>Disk Management
If Windows Disk Management does not start, you can use the following commands from the command prompt:
net start dmserver
net start dmadmin
diskpart
To restore an image to an existing partition, click Restore in the main program window.
DriveImage XML will display all available destination partitions and show information about their geometry below.
Select the partition where you want the image to be restored to. This will be the partition, all the data that is contained in the image file will be copied to. Everything that is on this partition will be overwritten by the data from the image file. Be sure to select the correct partition.
Restore Wizard
Press Next to start the restore wizard.
Browse for the *.XML file, which you created earlier when you wrote the backup. Then press Next.
The wizard will ask you again to identify the destination partition - the partition where the images goes to. Choose the right partition and click Next.
In the following windows, you'll be asked to once again verify the right image and the right destination. Make sure everything is correct, then click Next.
A security window will pop up, and you will be prompted to double-check and verify the location the image will be restored to. Please be aware that all data on the destination partition will be overwritten and any files residing on it now will be destroyed. Follow the instructions on the screen and then press Next.
DriveImage XML will now restore the *.XML (together with its *.DAT) image file to the partition you specified. A status bar will tell you approx. how long this process is going to take. Once completed you will be notified whether or not the restoration was successful. Press Finish.
You may want to verify that the image was successfully restored by opening Windows Explorer. Go to the partition you restored the image to and double-check that the data was written to it and is accessible. Normally DriveImage XML doesn't require you to restart your computer for the changes to be in effect, in some cases however you might have to do that for the restored data to display correctly.
Note on resizing: While copying the source drive will be resized to the size of the destination partition if raw mode is unchecked and the file system to be transferred is an NTFS of FAT32 file system. Otherwise the transferred drive will have the original size, possibly wasting disk space if you had chosen a larger destination partition size.
Note on boot drives: If you want your computer to boot from the new partition you must set it to "active" with Windows Disk Management.
Check our FAQ if you have problems restoring a drive.
See also: Backup a Drive, Browse an Image, Drive-to-Drive, Partition a Drive