Released already in the U.S. and due out here shortly, PowerQuest has announced Version 7 of its Drive Image software. Some significant changes have been made with the latest version including plenty of sensible features for offsite data storage and time and space saving.
Reviewed back in August 2002 (review on the PC Authority Web site) we were fairly impressed then by it's intuitiveness during backups. The new version however impresses us further still with its ability to backup - but entirely through the operating system, allowing you to store data without leaving the Windows environment.
Now supporting the ext3 and Reiser file systems, Drive Image 7 is multi-platform oriented, while the Windows user interface mirrors XP's style making backing up easier for the novice user.
More great features include: SmartSector technology, which images only written-to sectors of the drive, saving time while retaining settings and files; exporting disk images to mapped network drives as well as local storage; while block-based imaging captures all files including hidden and encrypted directories.
On the restore front, version 7 ensures you can reload disk images by mounting them as virtual drives, assigning drive letters, viewing contents and copying individual files and folders from the backup to another location rather than restore an entire image for a few files. Another handy idea is that you're able to save images externally with FireWire, USB devices and DVD, perfect for offsite storage and making a lot of sense given the risk of loss in the event of local drive corruption.
With plenty of new features to be found, Drive Image 7 now offers even more comprehensive insurance against data loss, while maintaining personal settings and ease of use for even the most inexperienced users.
Drive Image 7 is supportive only of Windows XP/2000, however it is supplied with Drive Image 2002 which scales all the way back to Window 95, catering to users with older operating systems. Drive Image 7 is a great piece of software that deserves to change the way we think about data retention and backup. Look out for it soon.