Thoughts on Image for DOS/Linux

Just a comment... For years I loved and used Image for DOS. "Cold" imaging is my preferred choice and IFD was a reliable mainstay. (A biggie being the fact that DVD images were bootable!)

But with recent changes (mostly version 2), Terabyte Unlimited has made IFD (and IFL for that matter) very cryptic to use. At one point, it was image this to that and go. But not anymore! I suppose it was a result of user requests for more features and such. But somewhere along the way, the underlying attraction of the program has been lost... at least for me.

So I guess that while I agree that they are highly reliable apps, for cold imaging today, I would have to say go other directions. (Yes I know there is a BART PE plugin for Image for Windows but you have to run/manage other software to use it. A "cold" imaging package should not need that much effort (as proven by Macrium, Paragon and ShadowProtect Desktop.)

 

I'm in the same boat. All my backups and restores seem to work well, but a little more descriptions (or "when" to use) on their optional parameters would help.

 

Can you name some of these cryptic features?
IFD/IFL/IFW work fine on the default settings. I fail to see what confuses you.

You are correct that some new features are results of user requests.
-For example the changes in version 2.55/2.55a were made after my request, because I needed to identify the disks based on their signatures and not from their bios order.-

The golden rule is go with the defaults and mess with the settings only when the defaults give you problems.

Panagiotis

 

After reading my comments, I left out a one word description that catches it all. Simplicity. Now, even when creating the IFD CD disk, one is faced with an additional page or 2 of options. Not to mention choosing how to pick which partition/disk and so forth.

If one steps back and compares the IFD of today vs. 3 or 4 years ago, it really looks like a different program. I consider myself a moderately informed user about PCs. Certainly not advanced in comparison to my fellow Wilders members! But I am now to the point with it that if I don't consult the manual, I don't feel like it's set up properly.

I guess it seems I am complaining but truthfully, I'm not... At least not in a complete manner. It's a reliable program from a great company that offers support second to none. But it's turned into something I have stopped using and probably will never go back to.

(In the FWIW category, I still use IFW on my desktop at work and have IFL as the restore/boot disk. For reasons Terabyte Unlimited can't figure out, IFD won't run on this Dell.)