Copyright: 2000 Toolbox 1.0
Citation: © 1998 Network Associates, Inc.


Using Image
Using McAfee Image

Although it happens rarely, data stored on a hard drive can become damaged in several ways. For example, the electric company may be working down the street and accidentally send a spike, or power surge, to your PC. Even if you use a surge protector and connect all the computer's power cords and the modem's phone line to a surge protector (instead of connecting them directly to wall connectors), power surges can still reach your PC and cause lost or corrupted data.

An important step in preventing disaster is using McAfee Image to make a "snapshot" of the most critical areas on your hard drives. Since even a recent back-up copy is still not as good as recovering your current data, you'll want to try to recover the latest data first if anything goes wrong. If you use Image to make a snapshot of the most crucial information on your drives, then if a drive becomes corrupted, you can use Restore to restore the most current version of your data.

Image saves information that you'll need if your hard disk ever fails, including the boot record, partition tables, and FAT information. It's a good idea to run Image daily, as well as whenever you've reorganized a disk's files using Disk Tune. This ensures that you can use Image's Restore option to restore the latest states of your files and folders or directories. Image stores its information in a file on your hard drive. This file is stored using a special, patent-pending method that allows the file to be recovered even if the hardware is severely damaged.

Tip	Set the Image Properties sheet option to run Image automatically each time you start Windows. Image will examine your system and update the image only if needed. Doing this ensures you always have the latest data saved for your disks.


Creating an Image of Your Disks

Creating an image copy of your hard disks as a file (nbimage.dat) only takes a moment. You should create a new image file any time you've rearranged files or added many new files to your hard drive.

To create an image of your disks:

1.	Start Image by doing one of the following:

Click the Start button, point to Programs, 2000 Toolbox, and then choose McAfee Image.

Open the 2000 Toolbox folder and double-click the Image icon from the Windows Explorer or My Computer window.

The McAfee Image dialog box appears.

You can set the properties for Image before continuing by clicking the Properties button. If you do this, the Image Properties dialog box appears.

2.	Select the Create a New Image Backup option and click Finish.

Image saves the nbimage.dat file on your system hard drive, and displays a message letting you know the process is complete.

3.	Click OK.

4.	Create a Rescue disk using 2000 Toolbox’s Rescue Disk.

Rescue Disk places some Image information on your 3.5-inch rescue disk.


Setting Image Properties

You can set Image Properties to specify whether Image saves the File Allocation Tables (FAT), a roadmap or index, to where all the pieces of files on a disk drive are located. Most likely, you'll want to keep this check box selected. You can also have Image create a new image copy of your hard disks each time you start Windows (recommended).

To set Image properties:

1.	Start Image by doing one of the following:

Click the Start button, point to Programs, 2000 Toolbox, and then choose McAfee Image.

Open the 2000 Toolbox folder and double-click the Image icon from the Windows Explorer or My Computer window.

The McAfee Image dialog box appears.

2.	Click the Properties button.

The Image Properties dialog box appears.

3.	Select the options you want to use and click OK.

The Image dialog box reappears.


Restoring Drives From an Image File

In the unlikely event that one or more of your hard disks become corrupted, use the nbimage.dat file to try and fix the disk.

Important	Disk Minder repairs the current information, while a Restore puts back information that may be out of date. If you've used a defragmenter to optimize your disk, you should not restore a FAT image created before the defragmentation because it may rearrange the FAT completely.

To restore one or more drives from an image file:

1.	Start Image by doing one of the following:

Click the Start button, point to Programs, 2000 Toolbox, and then choose McAfee Image.

Open the 2000 Toolbox folder and double-click the Image icon from the Windows Explorer or My Computer window.

The McAfee Image dialog box appears.

2.	Select the Restore Drive(s) From Saved Image radio button, and click Next.

The Select Image to Recover dialog box appears.

3..	Do one of the following and click Next:

Select an image file to use for restoring your drives from the list of those found on your system hard drive.

Click the Scan button to look for additional image files if you don't see the one you want to use. Image scans your hard drives for image files.

The Select Drives to Restore dialog box appears.

4.	Select the hard drives you want to restore and click Next.

The Restore Image dialog box appears.

5.	Select the kinds of information you want to restore.

Image defaults to restoring the master boot sector, partitions, and the File Allocation Tables. In most cases, you should use the Image default settings. If you are an advanced user, you may want to only restore one or two of the options.

6.	Click Finish.


McAfee Image Dialog Box

This dialog box contains the following options:

Last Image Created

After you create an Image file, the creation date and time appear here in the Image dialog box.

Options

Select the Create New Image Backup option if you want to create an image file of your disks. Or select the Restore Drive(s) From Saved Image to restore your hard drives from the selected image file.

Properties

Click the Properties button to select the Image properties settings you want to use.

Finish / Next

While the Create New Image Backup option is selected, this button is titled Finish. Click the Finish button to begin creating a new Image file.

While the Restore Drive(s) From Saved Image option is selected, this button is titled Next. Click the Next button to select an Image file that you want to use to restore your hard drives.

Cancel

Click the Cancel button to close Image without creating an Image file or restoring hard drives from an Image file.


Image Properties Dialog Box

This dialog box contains the following options:

Save File Allocation Tables

Keep this check box selected and Image saves the File Allocation Tables (FAT) as part of the Image (nbimage.dat) file. The FAT is a roadmap or index, to where all the pieces of files on a disk drive are located. Most likely, you'll want to keep this option selected.

Update Automatically

Select this check box and Image creates a new image copy of your hard disks each time you start Windows (recommended).

Check Disk Integrity

Select this check box to test the integrity of your hard drives before creating an Image file. This check box is selected by default, and is recommended.

OK

Click OK when you are finished working with Image. It accepts any changes you've made, closes and returns you to the desktop.

Cancel

Click Cancel to close the Image Properties dialog box without making any changes to the properties settings since the last time you clicked Apply. The Image dialog box reappears.

Apply

Click Apply to apply any changes you've made and keep the Image Properties dialog box open.


Select Image to Recover

This dialog box contains the following options:

Image Files Recovered

Select an Image file in the list that you want to use to recover your hard drives. Most likely, you'll want to select the newest file.

Scan

Click the Scan button to look for additional image files if you don't see the one you want to use. Image scans your hard drives for image files. Image displays a progress thermometer to let you know how the scan is progressing. When it finishes, it displays all the nbimage.dat files it found in the Image Files Recovered list.

Back

Click the Back button to go back to the previous screen.

Next

Click the Next button after you've selected the Image file you want to use to recover your hard drives.

Cancel

Click Cancel to close Image and return to the desktop without restoring your hard drives.


Select Drives to Restore Dialog Box

This dialog box contains the following options:

Drives to Restore

Place a check mark beside the drives that you want to restore using the selected Image file.

Back

Click the Back button to go back to the previous screen.

Next

Click the Next button after you've selected the Image file you want to use to recover your hard drives.

Cancel

Click Cancel to close Image and return to the desktop without restoring your hard drives.


Restore Image Dialog Box

This dialog box offers the following options:

What to Restore

You can select any combination of the following restore options:

Master boot sector-Select this option if you cannot start the PC from your system hard drive. The master boot sector is the sector on your system hard disk that contains boot information with instructions for starting up your PC.

Partitions-Select this option if you cannot find a logical drive on your PC. Partitions subdivide a physical drive into multiple logical drives. Each partition has its own drive letter.

File allocation tables-Select this option if your files are corrupted and you have been unable to repair them. Often much or all of your data may be intact on the disk, but the file allocation tables (FATs) may be damaged. By restoring the most current copy of a disk's FAT, you can often recover files that would otherwise be lost.

Back

Click the Back button to go back to the previous screen.

Finish

Click the Finish button after you've selected the options you want to use to recover your hard drives. Image begins restoring your hard drives using the options you selected.

Cancel

Click Cancel to close Image and return to the desktop without restoring your hard drives.