DiskImage 20 is the latest edition of this fully functional disk imaging backup solution from software experts, O&O Software. This is a well-regarded backup tool which stands out thanks to the high degree of disk imaging, disk cloning and file backup related functionality provided from within a well-priced Windows desktop application.
Whilst the ability to make reliable disk image backups is clearly one of the biggest selling points of DiskImage 20, it is important to note this is a multifunctional backup tool with many related features ensuring it brings additional value to many mainstream Windows users. Additionally included within DiskImage 20 is support for making more focused file-level backups, easy one-click disk imaging, incremental disk imaging, automatic (scheduled) backup jobs plus a dedicated disk cloning tool with full SSD migration support.
New to version 20 are several new features including additional support for virtual VHD and VHDX image files alongside full support for converting DiskImage file formats to other compatible virtual disk file formats. Alongside this is also upgraded support for working with incremental and differential virtual disk image files plus various other new additions and improvements making this the most powerful edition of the DiskImage software line to date.
Time to install O&O DiskImage 20 for myself and find out how this top-rated backup tool handles various backup scenarios including use of the one-click disk image backup tool – Vamos.
Key Features
New & Enhanced Features:
- Advanced Virtual Imaging: Support for making both incremental and differential disk image backups to virtual VHD and VHDX files.
- Performance Optimisation: A brand-new backup engine is now capable of making file backup twice as fast as before.
- Virtual Image Conversions: Advanced functionality allowing direct conversions of DiskImage file formats into universal VHD and VHDX formats.
- Command Line Operation: New and improved control of the application and its operations is now available via the command line interface.
- Upgraded Application Interface: A revised interface makes use of the Windows desktop application more straightforward.
Already Proven Features:
- One-click Backups: Easily create a full disk image-based backup of a PC with just a single click.
- Full Windows 11 Support: Full support for all modern editions of Windows up to and including Windows 11 is available.
- Secure Encryption Support: Securely protect any backed-up data with highly secure AES 256-bit encryption technology.
- Multiple Backup Formats: Support for using multiple backup formats including the making of both file-level and disk image backups alongside full and incremental methodologies.
- Flexible Backup Scheduling: Configure automatic scheduled jobs capable of handling various tasks including file-level backups, data restores and differential disk imaging tasks.
- lug-n-Play Targets: Automatically trigger backup operations upon selected external storage media being plugged-in to a device.
- Advanced Restore Functionality: Easily restore data directly within the application or via the ability to mount image backup files as drives within Windows.
- Windows Boot Media Builder: Build advanced bootable media directly from within the DiskImage 20 desktop application.
- Dedicated Disk Cloning: Perform direct disk-to-disk cloning via a dedicated disk cloning utility with full SSD 4K alignment support.
- Dissimilar Hardware Recovery: Advanced support is provided for recovering and migrating to dissimilar hardware via the specialist O&O M.I.R functionality.
- Email Notifications: Easily configure SMTP settings within the DiskImage application to receive backup notifications and error reports.
- Limited Cloud Support: No third-party cloud storage support is officially built-in to the DiskImage desktop application.
Licensing & Pricing:
- One-Time Purchase Option: Pay $49.95 for a perpetual licence.
- Multi-Device Discounts: Pay $69.95 for a 5x PC perpetual licence.
- O&O PowerPack: Included as part of the O&O PowerPack for $59.95.
- Subscription Option: Subscribe to the O&O PowerPack from $4.99 / month.
- 30-Day Free Trial: A full 30-Day free trial of DiskImage 20 is also available.
DiskImage 20 Usability
In this section I will share my hands-on experience with the latest version of O&O Software’s DiskImage 20 backup software. I will walk through the download and installation process before exploring the many data backup, disk imaging, data recovery plus dedicated disk cloning and system migration features.
This process begins via the official O&O Software website where a full 30-day free trial of DiskImage 20 is available (no account is required for making use of this trial).
Installing DiskImage 20
Installing DiskImage 20 begins via the official O&O Software website where a fully featured 30-day free trial version of the software can be downloaded.
Despite initially being a fast download at just over 2MB in my own instance, the installer then went on to download a further data meaning an active internet connection is required throughout the installation process. Once downloading was complete the installer allows either a typical, complete or a custom installation to take place (as can be seen above) installing only required components as requested.
With the installation process complete, the software will ask that it is activated (for those already having purchased a licence key) or that the 30-day free trial be activated (which can be done form this same page in the installer application). Somewhat disappointingly, a restart of my PC was required after activating the software for myself before the installation was then fully complete and ready for actual use.
NB – Remember, O&O Software offer a full 30-day free trial of DiskImage 20 should you wish to try this backup software out for yourself (also note that O&O require no personal nor payment details to take advantage of this trial).
Making One-Click Disk Image Backups
One of the key features of DiskImage 20 is its ability to make full disk image backups of a Windows PC. Disk imaging is a special type of backup which sees the entire contents of a PC (inducing the operating system, documents, system settings plus any installed software) automatically included and backed-up as a part of the process.
NB – Disk image backups are more comprehensive than file-level backups, albeit at the cost of usually running slower and taking up more storage space in the process. For a full and detailed comparison of the two methods, please refer to this specialist disk image vs file-level backups guide right here on BestBackupReviews.com.
Creating an initial disk image backup is really easy within DiskImage 20 thanks to the simple “One-click Backup” module. Available via the main application homepage, this easy-to-use tool with just a click (or two) will allow for a full disk image backup of all attached disks to be made and stored in the default target storage location.
As can be seen above, the One-click module does allow for additional options to be set via the “More Options” menu as well as a custom storage location be configured for saving the backup to if this is required. Additional options available here include being able to automatically convert the disk image to a universal format (VHD or VHDX format), set a comment describing the backup or set the device to shut itself down after the operation is complete.
Once complete, a summary page will be shown and the disk image itself will be saved as a “.omg” image file format by default (unless the use of a VHD or VHDX was specified during the configuration process). From this point onwards this file can simply be stored safely as a backup of the entire PC or, as will be seen later on in this review, used as the basis for making further incremental or differential backups providing continued system protection.
Making Disk Image Backups (Advanced)
Whilst the one-click disk imaging module is without doubt one of the easiest ways of making an initial full disk image backup, the DiskImage software provides additional and more advanced disk-imaging functionality for anyone requiring such functionality. Automatically scheduled disk image backups form a key feature of the DiskImage offering as do other advanced features including secure AES 256-bit encryption, compression, incremental and differential backup methodologies, custom historic versioning plus sector-by-sector disk imaging amongst other available features.
Beginning at the “Drive operation” tab is where the disks to be included within a disk imaging backup can be selected (see above) and, via the “Options” button found on the menu bar, the specific configuration options set. Once on the options page (see below) we can manually specify backup settings or, if available, simply select an existing profile from the profile menu with pre-existing settings then applied.
As can be seen above, DiskImage makes it straightforward to specify the disk image file format being utilised, the level of data compression applied, manual file splitting parameters (useful for when saving onto fixed size media such as CD/DVDs) as well as being able to specify between 128-bit and 256-bit AES encryption.
NB – Remember, once set, these settings can be saved as a profile within the DiskImage software making re-use of these same settings quick and easy next time they are required (they can also be exported and imported when working across two or more devices).
Once the backup set is started (via the “Backup” button found at the bottom right of the page) the same summary screen as was seen earlier on (during the one-click backup) will be shown and the backup set can begin working.
Upon completion of the backup the application will (again) show a summary page detailing the result of the operation and the disk image file (again, a “.omg” format) will be saved onto the target storage. Moving forwards and this disk image file can now become the basis of a scheduled and incremental disk image backup via use of the “Jobs & Reports” page as can be seen below.
There are two main methods for making a scheduled backup job within DiskImage 20, this includes a wizard-based approach plus the ability to manually configure all required options if more exact settings are required.
Starting off with the wizard-based method (I will cover the manual approach later on) and a new job can be created by clicking the “Start wizard” button found on the main menu before being greeted by the initial setup page which will ask for the backup type to be created.
The wizard seen here can be used to create full disk image backups however, since I have already followed this process earlier on, I will set-up this wizard to simply focus on creating incremental image backups based upon this existing full disk image.
NB – As far as I can make out, the DiskImage job configuration process does not allow for handling both the making of an initial (base) full disk image followed by incremental image backups in one go. This means (as far as I can work out) it is better suited to simply crating an ongoing incremental imaging job when working from an existing base disk image.
The next step in configuring this automatic backup job is the selection of a schedule. This process is unfortunately limited to a maximum frequency of once per day as can be seen above (although it should be noted this job can be set to run upon the connection of a specified drive or run manually whenever required).
The next page, given I am creating incremental backups here, is where the base disk image file (see above) can be specified (the password must also be entered here if one is set). After specifying the base disk image file, the target storage location can then be specified as can the file naming format which makes easy the adding of date and time values via pre-set variables (should this be required).
Moving on to the next page in the wizard and this is where some very important settings including compression, encryption, overwriting rules, maximum file sizes and historic versioning can optionally be set. Compression and encryption can be turned on individually (the software will prompt for a password once checked) and the historic versioning history is effectively set at this point by specifying the maximum image file count (meaning if you set a maximum of 30 files here and make a daily incremental backup then it will (effectively) provide 30 days of historic versioning).
Once complete, the configuration wizard will show a summary of the new job and the job itself will also become visible in the “Jobs & Reports” tab as can be seen just above. At this point I can simply wait for the schedule to start the job when it is time to or, by right-clicking on this job, choose to run it on demand.
Once the job has completed its work a summary page will be displayed and the report, along with any others for this job, will be saved and become viewable (as can be seen below).
With this new job now configured and running as intended, there are still a couple of things to point out relating to these jobs within DiskImage 20. Firstly, these jobs can be edited if any changes are required by simply selecting the job and clicking on “Edit” from the toolbar. We also have the ability to export jobs and save their configuration details (as XML files) should there be a requirement to move any pre-configured jobs between different workstations running the DiskImage software (or simply to act as a backup of the job).
Making File-Level Backups
Whilst DiskImage 20 undeniably provides some good disk imaging-based backup options, also available are file-level backups as well. These file-level backups focus on backing up only selected files and because of this can often prove a faster and more disk space efficient option versus disk-imaging when the full coverage of a disk (e.g. everything including the operating system) is not required.
As can be seen above, creating a file backup begins by simply selecting any files and folders to be included in the set. Once all files and folders are selected, clicking the options button will allow any advanced options to be configured in much the same way as was done when configuring the disk image backup earlier on.
File-level backups made within DiskImage 20 can take advantage of multiple encryption options (up to and including highly secure AES 256-bit encryption), strong data compression plus the ability to automatically split resultant data files into specified sizes for easy storing on fixed size media (e.g. 4.5GB sized files can be specified for storage on regular DVDs). As was the case when making image-based backups earlier on, these settings can be saved to and loaded from a profile meaning they can easily be used across multiple backup sets or even exported and used across DiskImage installs across multiple devices.
Once all configuration options are set, the pre-run configuration box shows the finalised settings upon which the backup will be run and also allows for specifying the disk and location to store this backup. Once complete, DiskImage will make use of the same style of summary report to show the results of the file backup operation and to notify the Windows user of any errors and issues when applicable.
When configuring an automatic backup job earlier on (for the disk image backup) I made use of the wizard interface which guides users through the entire setup process, this time I will click on the “Add as job” option to configure this job manually. As can be seen above, this begins by selecting the “File backup” option before then selecting the “File backup of the changes” option on the following page.
Having now configured and initially run this new automatic backup job, we can now head back to the “Jobs & Reports” tab to look at the interface which allows for editing existing jobs within DiskImage.
As can be seen above, when manually editing a backup job we have the ability to make all changes which might be necessary. This includes being able to configure a schedule, rename the job and add notes, specify the data file name (with date / time variables when required), specify any tasks or commands be run on the device before and or after the job has completed and also specify the maximum number of data files to be stored (effectively enforcing the historic versioning settings by doing so).
NB – Remember, O&O Software offer a fully functional 30-day free trial of DiskImage 20 should you want to try out any of these backup features for yourself.
Restoring Data within DiskImage 20
Having now seen both disk image and file-level backups configured and in-use within the DiskImage 20 application, I will in this section be looking at the options provided for recovering such backed-up data. Starting off with the file level backup set configured in the previous section and recovery here begins in the “File operation” screen where a backup file can be selected to recover from.
NB – When selecting the file, be sure to select the correct date of file if you require recovery of data from an older version of the backup.
With the data file selected (and the password entered, if necessary) it will be possible to browse all files included within this backup set and select those which are to be recovered. After selecting such files, we can then choose the restoration location manually in the next step, something which is nice to see versus being forced to recover files to their original location which is the case with some other backup tools.
NB – When installing and configuring new backup software, always perform a test restoration of any backed-up data (for real) to ensure everything about the process is understood and that the backup is working as you might expect.
Moving on to the recovery of disk image backups and we have two main recovery options available within DiskImage 20. One option is mounting an image backup file as a virtual drive within Windows (which can then be used for browsing any files we wish to recover) and the second option which involves restoring the entire disk drive which has been backed-up to an earlier state.
NB – When recovering an entire disk, we are limited in that we cannot recover the disk which has the active OS installed upon it whilst actively in-use. In such cases where we need to recover the working (in-use) operating system disk, we must first boot into the DiskImage 20 recovery environment (which can be created within the DiskImage application itself).
Starting off with the virtual drive mounting approach and we can find the necessary Windows drive mounting tool under the “Tools” tab to begin.
As can be seen above (via the drive mounting tool) we can select the necessary disk image data file to be mounted and then (optionally) select to mount the entire drive or just a single partition upon it (note that we can also specify the drive letter which will appear in Windows should we need to). Finally, clicking on “Mount drive” will perform the actual drive mounting operation and, once finished with the drive, it can then be unmounted by simply right-clicking on the drive within the Windows explorer and via the context menu selecting the unmount option.
Finally, should we need to recovery the entire system or the currently live system disk (e.g. due to hardware filature, malware issues and similar), then it is possible to create a bootable system recovery disk from within DiskImage itself. This starts by having access to the DiskImage bootable recovery media which can be created via the “Create bootable disk” button found (again) on the “Tools” menu as is seen below.
Not only can DiskImage be used to create a physical boot disc, but also a recovery partition on an existing disk as well as a bootable USB flash drive as well (all options require the WinPE environment be installed first and, if this is not the case then the tool will guide users through the process). Once the recovery disc (or other media) has been created, the system can be booted into the DiskImage recovery environment as can be seen below.
The DiskImage recovery environment contains the DiskImage software itself (which can be run from the desktop once this bootable environment is running) and allows users to configure the environment (including setting an IP address) during the boot-up process. Once open, the DiskImage software runs in much the same way as the fully installed version does in the regular Windows system meaning we can recover the system disk (in this example) by simply navigating to the “Drive operation” tab, selecting the image file to be used and then confirming the source and target disks to be reimaged.
From this point onwards, this live version of DiskImage will perform the disk recovery operation in much the same way as it would when using the installed desktop version (albeit allowing reimaging of active system disks when working from within this bootable media). Upon completion, the software will prompt as to whether or not to make the newly reimaged disk bootable and the system can then be rebooted into this recovered disk as normal completing the recovery process.
Disk Cloning within DiskImage 20
With the core data backup functionality aside, another really useful aspect of DiskImage 20 is that it also contains a dedicated disk cloning utility which helps to make direct disk-to-disk cloning operations possible.
As can be seen above, the dedicated disk cloning tool (accessed via the “Cloning button” on the menu or the app’s homepage) begins with a straightforward page where the source and destination disks (or individual partitions) for cloning can be selected.
NB – Should you prefer, this disk cloning tool can be also used via the DiskImage bootable media solution (meaning a disk can be cloned without having to first boot into Windows). Ideal for times when a PC or laptop wont boot and the entire system must be backed-up.
Having selected both source and destination disks, advanced options for the cloning operation can be specified by clicking on the “Options” button found on the main toolbar.
DiskImage 20 provides plenty of advanced disk cloning options which can (in the same way as can be done with disk image and file-level backups) also be saved to custom profiles making them both exportable to other devices and easier to recall next time they are required. Key options available here include locking the source drive prior to cloning, skipping and excluding any bad disk sectors on the disk plus the option to specify excluded files and file types amongst various other options.
NB – The DiskImage cloning utility also supports cloning only used disk sectors for faster operations or one of two forensic cloning modes which means all sectors on the physical disk will be cloned to the target (even if they are not currently active or populated with data).
Before cloning commences, DiskImage will provide a summary of the cloning job to be undertaken and (if applicable) also offer to set the target disk drive as bootable if the source drive is also bootable. One cloning is complete a summary screen will be shown detailing any relevant information and (if present) any issues and errors encountered.
Furthermore, thanks to the inclusion of Machine Independent Restoration technology (M.I.R), the DiskImage disk cloning module also supports cloning to disks which will ultimately be used on new (or different) PCs when this special option is invoked. This means the cloning tool is not only ideal for updating an existing PC to a new disk (or SSD drive), but also for migrating an existing system over to completely new hardware.
NB – DiskImage 20 will automatically detect if either mechanical or SSD drives are used in the cloning process and automatically optimise for 4K sectors as required.
Other Tools & Features
So far, we have seen the core backup, disk imaging and dick cloning capabilities of DiskImage 20 and how the software handles such tasks both as an installed application or via use of the bootable recovery environment. Core features aside, in this section I will be highlighting some of the additional tools and functionality DiskImage 20 has on offer.
The “Tools” tab (see above) is where the majority of the additional tools and modules included within DiskImage can be accessed. This includes the virtual disk mounting tools for mounting disk image backups and even supports mounting ISO format files as drives (with a drive letter assigned) within Windows. Also included here is an easy-to-use tool for mounting and dismounting network drives via the DiskImage application, something which can be done within Windows itself, although a task made a little more user friendly thanks to the interface which is provided here.
With some other smaller utilities including being able to view and validate disk image files set aside, two of the main tools remaining on this page are the disk image file converter and the disk image file merging utility. Whilst the image file merger simply consolidates multiple image files (i.e. versions) into a single file saving space, the conversion tool is especially useful as it supports conversion from a DiskImage native OMG file into a Microsoft standard VHD or VHDX format.
As can be seen above, converting a file format type is as simple as first selecting the source disk image file and then the target format. When applicable, other settings can also be applied including encryption and data compression during this same process.
DiskImage 20 Security
One of the most important methods of ensuring any backed-up data remains private and secure is to make use of strong encryption technology in combination with a strong password whenever creating backups.
Thankfully, DiskImage 20 provides support for applying highly secure, zero-knowledge encryption (with up to AES 256-bit encryption technology available) across all disk image and file-level backups made within the software. Turning on this protection is as simple as clicking a button to enable encryption when configuring a backup set and then entering a strong password before the backup is first set running.
NB – If you do decide to make use of encryption when backing-up (and it is recommended that you do) then you must remember the password which has been set. If you forget this encryption password, O&O Software themselves won’t be able to reset it and this could result in an unusable backup set and data potentially being lost.
Software Support from O&O Software
O&O Software provide a detailed support portal providing detailed coverage of the DiskImage 20 application. Support available here includes both PDF and web-based versions of the DiskImage user manual alongside various “how to” articles plus a useful FAQ section explaining how to get the most out of the backup process.
Should further support be needed, the O&O Software support team can be contacted via an online messaging system found on the main support section of the O&O website.
DiskImage 20 Pricing
DiskImage 20 is available individually on a perpetual licence basis alongside being available as a part of the O&O PowerPack suite with includes DiskImage 20 alongside four other highly rated system tools (these are O&O Defrag, O&O DiskStat, O&O SafeErase and O&O AutoBackup).
Pricing and purchase options for DiskImage 20 are as follows:
- DiskImage x 1PC – $49.95 (perpetual licence)
- DiskImage 5x PCs – $69.95 (perpetual licence)
- O&O PowerPack x1 PC – $59.95 (perpetual licence)
- O&O PowerPack x5 PCs – $99.95 (perpetual licence)
- O&O PowerPack x1 PC – $4.99 / month or $49.99 / year (subscription)
- O&O PowerPack x5 PCs – $9.99 / month or $99.90 / year (subscription)
NB – A fully functional 30-day free trial of DiskImage is available via the official O&O Software website.
DiskImage 20 FAQs
DiskImage 20 from O&O Software is a powerful Windows PC backup software solution which is capable of making both disk image and file-level backups both manually as well as via a powerful automatic scheduling system. Also included in DiskImage 20 are specialist tools for direct disk-to-disk cloning, migrating existing systems to new or dissimilar hardware, full SSD 4K alignment support plus advanced disk image processing tools amongst other related features.
No, DiskImage 20 is priced from $49.95 for a single perpetual licence, $69.95 for a 5x PC licence or from $4.99 per month as a part of the O&O PowerPack subscription (which includes five powerful O&O products in a single suite). Other subscription and purchase options are available with full details being available via the official O&O Software website.
Yes, O&O DiskImage 20 is fully compatible with the latest editions of Windows up to and including full support for Windows 11.
Yes, Whilst DiskImage 20 is available as a part of the O&O PowerPack suite of tools which is available on subscription from $4.99 / month (or $49.99 / year), the individual DiskImage software package itself is also available on a perpetual licence form just $49.95.
Yes, DiskImage 20 includes a dedicated disk cloning module which supports advanced disk cloning operations. This includes full support for SSD drives (4K alignment support), support for cloning or omitting individual partitions and also support for cloning disks as part of migrating an active system across to new hardware (including support for dissimilar hardware via O&O Software’s M.I.R technology).
Yes, DiskImage 20 supports applying full zero-knowledge encryption to any backups made with up to highly secure AES 256-bit encryption technology made available. Also available are encrypted backups with AES 128-bit and AES 192-bit encryption for those seeking more performance optimised yet still encrypted backups.
No, whilst third-party party cloud storage might be usable within DiskImage 20 if it can be mapped as local drive or network storage upon a Windows device, no cloud storage service providers are officially integrated into the DiskImage 20 software.
Yes, both external hard drives and NAS devices (including network shared dives) can be added as backup sources within DiskImage 20.
DiskImage 20 Alternatives
In this section I will be looking at some good alternatives to DiskImage 20. This is comprised of similar backup software solutions which provide strong disk imaging capabilities, automatic scheduling, secure encryption, file-level backup options alongside other useful add-ins such as dedicated disk cloning utilities and similar.
Remember, any ratings and opinions given below reflect my own personal views and should be treated only as a guide. When purchasing any form of PC backup software, always be sure to carefully check the details of the offering out and try and to make use of any free trials, whenever possible, to help ensure the solution is correct before committing to a purchase.
1) Ashampoo Backup Pro 27
As one of the leading multipurpose Windows PC backup applications featuring strong support for both full disk image and file-level backups, Ashampoo’s Backup Pro 27 is naturally an ideal alternative to DiskImage 20.
As a well-designed and easy to use application featuring full support for Windows 11 PCs, Microsoft BitLocker protected drives, powerful automatic scheduling plus integration with several popular third-party cloud storage services (including Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox), Backup Pro 27 is a powerful choice for anyone seeking to make disk image backups. Additional backup functionality including use of more targeted file-level backup sets, secure zero-knowledge AES 256-bit encryption, user defined historic versioning settings plus pre-defined backup plans for making quick backup set configurations make this the ideal Windows backup tool.
Core backup functionality aside and, whilst Backup Pro 27 does not contain a dedicated disk cloning utility (as DiskImage 20, EaseUS ToDo and True Image all do), it does still feature many additional tools and features for helping make a reliable and secure backup. This includes a useful bootable media building tool ideal for migrating disk image backups between PCs, support for Synology, QNAP and WD My Cloud NAS devices, free (and subscription free) backup status emails (without the need to enter SMTP details), the mounting of disk image backups as drives within Windows plus the ability to run sequential backups meaning multiple backup sets can be run concurrently.
- Easy to use software
- Disk image backups
- Cloud storage support
- AES 256-bit encryption
- From $60 per PC
- Subscribe @ $16 / year
- Upgrade discounts
- Full 30-Day free trial
Backup Pro 27 is priced from just $16 per year (for a 3x PC licence) on an Ashampoo subscription plan (with free upgrades included) or from a one-off cost of just $60 per device on a perpetual basis. More information on both Backup Pro 27 plans including the fully featured 30-day free trial can be found via the official Ashampoo website.
2) EaseUS ToDo Backup Home
Another well-known and highly rated disk imaging backup utility which forms a great alternative to DiskImage 20 is ToDo Backup Home from backup software experts, EaseUS.
Featuring powerful disk imaging-based backup support, good automatic scheduling, use of multiple backup modes (including the EaseUS “Smart Backup” technology), user defined historic versioning, zero-knowledge AES 256-bit encryption plus integrated cloud support both from EaseUS themselves and selected third-party providers, ToDo Backup Home forms a powerful backup solution. Additional backup functionality found in the premium edition of this tool includes support for recovering disk image-based backups on to dissimilar hardware, use of the EaseUS Security Zone for protecting stored backups (e.g. against ransomware modifications), backing up of Microsoft Outlook directly plus support for file-level backups for more targeted and disk space efficient backups.
Core backup functionality aside and ToDo Backup Home also includes various other useful tools and utilities including (like is found in DiskImage 20) a dedicated hard disk cloning utility with support for migrating existing systems on to new or dissimilar hardware, full SSD 4K alignment support, a powerful bootable environment builder plus additional support for mounting disk image backups as drives within Windows or using with virtual machines when applicable.
- Disk Image backups
- Easy to use software
- Secure cloud backups
- AES 256-bit encryption
- Disk cloning tools
- Dissimilar HW support
- 30-Day free trial
- From $39.95 / year
ToDo Backup Home is available from just $39.95 per year or from $59.95 per year with 1TB of cloud storage included directly from EaseUS themselves. Also available is a perpetual licence option from just $59.95 per PC or just $79.95 with free lifetime upgrades included. A 30-day free trial of ToDo Backup Home is available via the official EaseUS website.
3) Acronis True Image
True Image is a highly regarded disk imaging backup and disk cloning utility software from disk imaging experts, Acronis.
Providing a solid and dependable disk imaging backup experience is what Acronis True Image has become well known for over many years and this still rings true with the latest editions of the tool since changing its name back (form Cyber Protect Home Office) to True Image during 2024. Alongside strong disk-imaging functionality is support for making file-level backups, automatic scheduling capabilities, automatic folder synchronisation, secure AES 256-bit encryption plus (in all but the essentials edition) an allocation of cloud storage provided directly from the Acronis cloud which makes safe and secure offsite backups possible.
NB – Unlike O&O DiskImage which still offers perpetual licencing options, Acronis True Image is now a subscription only product. Acronis do, however, offer free upgrades to anyone with an active subscription and (in all but the Essentials edition) an allocation of cloud storage via the Acronis Cloud.
Core backup functionality aside and True Image includes various additional tools beginning with a dedicated disk cloning utility with full support for SSD 4K alignment, the resizing of live system partitions and even support for restoring to new or dissimilar hardware. Also available is the Acronis bootable media which can be helpful when dealing with unbootable PCs, Acronis Secure Zone for protecting storage targets against unauthorized modifications (e.g. ransomware), Acronis Try&Decide for easily rolling back a live system after trying new software plus use of the Acronis system cleaning utility for easily removing unwanted junk.
- Disk image backups
- Secure cloud backups
- Built-in antivirus suite
- Disk cloning tools
- AES 256-bit encryption
- 30-Day free trial
- From $49.99 / year
- Subscription only pricing
Acronis True Image pricing begins at $49.99 per year for the Essentials edition, $57.99 per year for the Advanced edition (with 50GB+ Acronis cloud storage included) and $124.99 per year for the Premium edition incorporating advanced blockchain technology. Multi-device licences are also available for all editions of True Image as is a 30-day free trial via the official Acronis website.
O&O DiskImage 20 Review Summary
DiskImage 20 performs well as a Windows backup application offering full and incremental disk image backups, one-click disk imaging, dedicated disk cloning tools plus a good set of file-level backup functionality for making more performance optimised backups. Support is provided for several key features including strong AES 256-bit encryption, potentially unlimited historic versioning, SSD 4K alignment, data compression, VHD and VHDX file formats plus automatic job scheduling amongst various other options.
Whilst the application is (on the whole) of a fairly nice design and well laid out, I believe usability and functionality could be improved in some key areas. This includes being able to set scheduled backups more frequently than just once per day (I think at least hourly would be better), official integration of popular third-party cloud storage providers into the application plus being able to configure incremental backups without having to first take a full disk image (separately) beforehand.
Pricing is also a big positive of DiskImage 20 with O&O Software offering some very competitive options beginning at $49.95 for a single perpetual licence or just $69.95 for a 5x PC perpetual licence with subscription options also available in the form of the O&O PowerPack suite (of which DiskImage 20 is a part) beginning at $4.99 per month.
Overall, DiskImage 20 is a solid and dependable Windows backup application with a powerful set of disk imaging and disk cloning features which will appeal especially to power users – Great work O&O Software.
