Active@ Disk Image

Discussion in 'backup, imaging & disk mgmt' started by napoleon1815, Mar 11, 2018.

  1. napoleon1815

    napoleon1815 Registered Member

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    Hey all,

    Just wondering if anything has used Active@ Disk Image (http://www.disk-image.com/).

    It's one of a few I don't own and you never really hear about it. So just wondering how it is.

    Thanks!
     
  2. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    I own it and don't use it. I just don't like the restore. For example the way I evaluate is by using Macrium as the standard. I image first with the program I want to test and then immediately image with Macrium.

    Then I restore the test image first, and when it reboots, I don't even go to the desktop, I boot in the Macrium RE, and do a macrium restore. Since the Macrium restore is just replacing changed sectors, the restore time of the macrium restore gives me an idea of how much data was restored. With IFW and DS, that time is typically 40-55 seconds.

    When I tested Active@Diskimage, after I did that restore and then did the Macrium Restore, Macrium had to do a full copy. This tells me the Active@restore was not good.
     
  3. napoleon1815

    napoleon1815 Registered Member

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    @Peter2150 Thanks for the info...that's interesting! It doesn't really appeal to me...more appealing in that it's one of a few I never tried.
     
  4. andylau

    andylau Registered Member

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    Active@Diskimage will change the spreading of sectors after restoration. It will put all used sectors in the front.
     
  5. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    Ah. None of the imagers I use do that. Interesting. But also for me it is slow
     
  6. andylau

    andylau Registered Member

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    In my memory, Acronis(old version, not sure for the latest) will also change spreading of sectors
     
  7. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    Hi Andy

    Is what you are saying if I image a fragment disk, image it with Active@Disk Image, and then restore it with same the restored image will essentially be defragged?
     
  8. oliverjia

    oliverjia Registered Member

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    Sounds like a two-in-one tool lol
     
  9. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    I am not comfortable with an image program that doesn't restore an exact image.
     
  10. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    If that's really the case, it's not an imaging application, it's a BACKUP application (not comfortable as well)...

    I've used their "Active@ BOOT Disk" as well that contains that app, but I've never used "Active Disk Image."
     
  11. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    I guess I will wait until the disk is fragmented a bit, reinstall Active@Disk Image, and look at the before and afters in Perfect Disk. Stay Tuned.
     
  12. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    Well, maybe it's just me but... the TRIAL will not let you create a Recovery Media, and without it, you cannot restore your LOCKED Windows partition for testing.

    Any ideas...??
     
  13. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    Well... they make it very difficult. The only way to TRIAL test ADI with a LOCKED partition (Windows) is to go back to Lsoft and create a DEMO of their "Active@ BOOT DISK" which does contain the current ADI application for doing the recovery test... a real PITA.

    Performed a single partition (Windows, ACTIVE) image (LIVE ADI under Windows) and recovery (ADI under the Active@ BOOT Disk) and ran a MyDefrag analysis of the partition being imaged both before and after (see results below). That showed that there was some small percentage of defragging that had occurred but definitely not the whole disk.

    The real eye opener was that I ran a Macrium REFLECT image both before and after the ADI image/restoration... hoping this would give me a good representation of the total changes made by ADI during the process. Although Reflect found the partition geometry as expected, starting a standard Incremental rather than a Full image if the geometry was bad, after it examined the "File System Bitmap" (the FAT table, I believe), which is where it determines to run the "Looking for changes" process, it found a drastic change in the FAT and decided it needed to save the entire partition at that time. The result was an Incremental file that was the entire partition size. I know not what ADI did to make REFLECT make that decision... but I don't like it.

    Here's the BEFORE and AFTER defrag analysis of the partition in question...

    BEFORE
    -------------
    Date: 2018-03-19 11:39:40
    Script: Analyze only
    MyDefrag version: MyDefrag v4.3.1 for X64
    Commandline: "C:\Program Files\MyDefrag v4.3.1\MyDefrag.exe"
    Working directory: C:\Program Files\MyDefrag v4.3.1
    ###############################################################################
    Analyzing volume: C:
    ###############################################################################
    Total disk space: 186,404,302,848 bytes ( 173.6025 GigaBytes)
    Volume type: NTFS
    Unfragmented items: 56,923,193,344 bytes 236,383 items
    Fragmented items: 18,134,245,376 bytes 4,872 items
    Gaps: 111,346,847,744 bytes 11,015 gaps
    Average gap: 10,104,832 bytes
    Median gap: 24,576 bytes
    Biggest gap: 90,155,560,960 bytes
    Average end-begin distance: 4,826,199.4183 clusters


    AFTER
    ----------
    Date: 2018-03-19 12:50:44
    Script: Analyze only
    MyDefrag version: MyDefrag v4.3.1 for X64
    Commandline: "C:\Program Files\MyDefrag v4.3.1\MyDefrag.exe"
    Working directory: C:\Program Files\MyDefrag v4.3.1
    ###############################################################################
    Analyzing volume: C:
    ###############################################################################
    Total disk space: 186,404,302,848 bytes ( 173.6025 GigaBytes)
    Volume type: NTFS
    Unfragmented items: 60,539,224,064 bytes 228,064 items
    Fragmented items: 16,543,416,320 bytes 4,850 items
    Gaps: 109,319,503,872 bytes 159 gaps
    Average gap: 687,542,272 bytes
    Median gap: 28,672 bytes
    Biggest gap: 109,060,542,464 bytes
    Average end-begin distance: 4,256,980.9045 clusters
     
  14. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    Okay indeed a strange beast, and at one point scary but here it is.

    Imaged just fine. Main concern was being sure I could identify the disks. That was fine. Then during restore I remembered. It showed it was restoring the c: drive as i: When the restore was finished sure enough in the RE tools is showed i: The last time i played with it I changed it to c: before going on. This time I just let the system boot and it did boot back into windows. When I looked the drive now showed c: Looked in Perfect Disk and 2 things. 1) it doesn't save a place holder for the page file so that was moved. 2) Instead of files being scattered every where, indeed they were place where a windows defrag would have moved them. Right now I am letting PD put back where it keeps them and then I'll take another incremental with Macrium.

    My feeling is all is well. just a strange way of doing things.
     
  15. TheRollbackFrog

    TheRollbackFrog Imaging Specialist

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    Following my test, I tried using REFLECT to take me back to the pre-test state. When REFLECT, while trying to use RDR, noticed the massive changes in things, it decided that RDR was too risky for this op so it went to a FULL restore of the image instead. All is well following this restoration.

    I don't know what ADI is doing but it sure is messing around with certain things... enough so to make REFLECT completely re-think its imaging and restore concepts following an ADI operation.
     
  16. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    More so they you know. I tried to take an incremental and it failed. Log said some problem with Partition ID. Hmm So I picked a point in time to do a restore, But while the boot menu was fine, the Windows but wasn't so out came the usb key. Said it was doing a looking for changes restore, but the time it took was the same as a full restore.

    That installer has joined the dust pan of junk software.
     
  17. andylau

    andylau Registered Member

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    I am not sure it is defragged or not.

    Here is screenshots I took before which is operated in VMWare.

    Orignal disk map
    Orignal.png

    After restoration by Active DiskImage
    ADI.png

    IFW
    IFW.png

    Aconis
    Aconis.png

    Reflect(OLD VERSION)
    Reflect.png



    DS
    DS.png
     
    Last edited: Mar 20, 2018
  18. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    It defragged, but it also did something to the partition structure. No way would I trust it.
     
  19. andylau

    andylau Registered Member

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    I have uploaded another apps' screenshots

    It is done in VMWare in about year 2013, maybe different in real environment.
     
  20. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    Don't See the screen shots.
     
  21. oliverjia

    oliverjia Registered Member

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    Based on Andy's test, it appears IFW and DS did a loyal restore of the original disk layout. Acronis and Active did the restore in a better way, and Reflect did it the worst. LOL. I know Reflect has issues with data sectors, especially on EXT4 partitions, several years ago. They are not what they used to be. Move on, people.
     
  22. Peter2150

    Peter2150 Global Moderator

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    Care to explain all of that

    Went back and reread your post Oliver. First I don'd see andy's test and the rest makes no sense pleas explain in detail and you basis of saying it.
     
    Last edited: Mar 20, 2018
  23. andylau

    andylau Registered Member

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    On above
     

    Attached Files:

  24. Brian K

    Brian K Imaging Specialist

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    As pointed out above, it isn't a sector based app and isn't compatible with metadata restores or Write Changed Sectors Only restores.

    Backup imaging time is fine but the restores are slow. Three times longer than IFL (without using a metadata restore).
     
  25. oliverjia

    oliverjia Registered Member

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    What I observed was that Acronis would always delete all partitions on a disk and then restore a backup image to
    I was talking about the way how the disk layout of the "used data sectors" changed upon disk image restore for various imagers. Personally I like the way Acronis and Active handled the restore (restore + defragment), but the way IFW/DS restored the image also perfectly normal. The used sector bitmap/layout changed upon Reflect's restore, but it appears to be a random change of used sectors and not defragmentation.
     
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