R-Drive Image is a powerful Windows-based disk cloning and disk imaging backup software utility from software developers, R-Tools Technology Inc.
Providing support for direct disk-to-disk cloning, disk imaging-based backups, file-level imaging and disk partition management amongst various related features, R-Drive Image is clearly aimed at those seeking more than just basic disk imaging software. Additional built-in features which make this much more than just a basic disk cloning tool include support for mounting disk images as virtual drives within Windows, resizing and re-ordering of disk partitions, integrated cloud storage services (including AWS S3), a recovery media builder plus a scripting centre which can be used for automating various processes.
Whilst this is undoubtedly a highly-featured disk cloning utility, R-Drive Image comes packaged in a straightforward and easy-to-use Windows desktop application which makes finding the correct tools really easy. It is also a tool which is reasonably priced with perpetual licencing available from just $44.95 making this a great premium disk cloning solution which doesn’t burden users ongoing subscriptions.
With all of this said, it’s time to install R-Drive Image for myself and check out how this disk imaging and cloning software performs in various real-world tests – Vamos.
Key Features
New & Enhanced Features:
- Powerful Disk Imaging: Upgraded disk imaging and disk cloning tools combines underpin this latest version of the software (v7.x).
- Upgraded Cloud Support: Enhanced cloud storage integration now includes more providers including AWS S3 and S3 compatible services.
- Support for VHD/VHDX: Disk imaging processes can make use of Microsoft standard VHD/VHDX file formats.
Already Proven Features:
- Full Windows 11 Support: Compatible with the latest Windows operating systems including Windows 10 and 11.
- Easy to Navigate Interface: A well-designed desktop application interface makes finding specific features and configuring tools straightforward.
- Direct Disk Cloning: Dedicated tools for direct disk-to-disk cloning including full SSD 4K alignment support.
- Disk Imaging: Disk imaging tools supporting both disk and partition imaging.
- File Imaging: File-based imaging supports building and including individual files and folders into a single image file.
- Incremental & Differential: Full, incremental and differential backup methodologies help to make disk imaging a faster and more efficient process.
- Virtual Image Mounting: Mount disk image files as virtual drives within Windows (with drive letters available).
- Full SSD Support: Automatic disk imaging and cloning optimisation providing full SSD support.
- Cloud Storage Support: Cloud storage from services including Dropbox, OneDrive, AWS S3 and Google Drive is integrated directly into the software.
- Additional Network Storage: Additional network storage support is provided via FTPS/SFTP, WebDAV and extensions for OwnCloud and NextCloud.
- Scheduling & Scripting: Create disk images on demand, upon events happening or on automatic schedules via the built-in task scheduling tools.
- Bootable Recovery Media: A system recovery disk can be built using either Linux or WinPE and can be useful for recovering an un-bootable PC.
- SMART Warnings: Built-in support for hard disk drive SMART monitoring with the ability to display necessary warnings.
- Strong Data Encryption: Secure disk imaging is available via built-in encryption AES-XTS encryption technology.
Licensing & Pricing:
- Perpetual Licencing Options: Pay a one-of $44.95 per PC (multi-device discounts available).
- 30-Day Free Trial: A full 30-Day free trial of R-Drive Image is also available.
- Privacy Friendly: No personal nor payment details are required for the free trial.
R-Drive Image Usability
Here I will be sharing my experience using this latest edition of R-Drive Image on my own PC. This involves walking through the download and installation process and getting started with the 30-day free trial. I will then progress on to explore some of the many disk imaging, cloning and backup related features for which R-Drive Image is clearly focused.
This process begins via the official R-Drive Image website where a full 30-day free trial is available for download (and better yet, no personal nor payment details are required to start this trial).
Installing R-Drive Image
Installing R-Drive Image begins via the tool’s official webpage where a 30-day free trial can be downloaded.
Once downloaded, no further registration or payment detail are required to start the trial and the installer can be set running straight away. Using default options sees the installation process take only a few seconds during my own testing before the main R-Drive Image desktop application becomes ready.
As can be seen above, R-Drive Image provides a well organised desktop application homepage which makes easy the accessing of all different parts of the application. I will be looking more into the core features in the subsequent sections of this review including the core disk imaging and disk cloning functionality plus associated tools including those allowing disk image backups to be mounted as virtual drives within Windows.
NB – Remember, R-Drive Image comes with a 30-day free trial should you wish to try the software out for yourself.
Making Full Disk Image Backups
One of the key features of R-Drive Image is its ability to make full image-based backups of entire hard disks and partitions into a single image file (these images can use the default R-Drive file format or an industry standard VHD/VHDx format amongst other options). Such disk imaging technology is an ideal way of backing-up a device as it ensures all data on the system disk (including any installed applications plus the Windows operating system) is included in the resultant image file. As such, this approach can be highly useful when migrating an existing system to a new hard disk or even a new PC entirely.
As can be seen above, via the “Create Image” section of the desktop application, we can start creating a new image by selecting the source disk or partition (or multiple partitions thereof) to be imaged. The next step is to select the target storage location which can be a locally attached hard disk, a network storage target or (as I will look at in more detail later on) a cloud storage service such as Dropbox or Google Drive which is integrated into the software.
Before moving on, another useful feature worthy of mention is that of the image replicator. As can be seen below, we can optionally use this tool to specify one or more additional storage locations upon which an additional copy of the resulting disk image file will be automatically saved to (alongside the original copy). An ideal piece of automation for anyone who normally makes duplicate copies of their disk image files after making such a disk image-based backup.
From this same page where the replication options are set, we can also specify other advanced setting for this disk imaging operation. This includes being able to password protect and encrypt the resultant disk image (using AES-XTS encryption), set custom data compression, set automatic or fixed file splitting sizes, turn on SMTP notifications and set the priority of the job. We can also specify use of default image file formats or make use of standardised Microsoft standard VHD and VHDx file formats when required.
NB – Custom SMTP server details must be entered to make use of the job status notification functionality.
With all configuration details complete, a detailed job summary screen is made available detailing the work about to be undertaken. Before starting the imaging process, it is important to notice the “Save script” button (on the top menu) which optionally allows these settings to be saved to a script for future use.
With all settings finalised, the disk imaging job can be set running. R-Drive Image provides a real-time progress view and, once complete, a detailed job summary page is also made available with options for viewing application logs should this be required (in case of errors etc.).
Making File Backups within R-Drive Image
Whilst image-based backups can form a comprehensive and reliable way of ensuring all data on a disk or partition is included within a back-up, file-level image backups are also very useful. This is thanks to file-level backup sets being able to focus on a smaller relevant set of files (instead of capturing everything on a disk or partition) making for faster and more disk space efficient backups in the process.
Starting this time in the “Tasks and Scripts” section of the desktop app (as can be seen above) and we can create a new file-level backup running on a continuous schedule. Having selected to create a new task which creates an image from selected files and folders, we can then select the individual files and folders to be included.
Having selected all files and folders we can then select the target storage location for the image file to be saved to. Having already seen locally attached disks being used as a storage target earlier on, in this section I will be connecting to and utilising my Dropbox cloud storage.
Advanced options are largely the same here as when making disk image backups with options to turn on encryption, set custom file splitting sizes and data compression levels alongside cloud specific settings including being able to specify the root folder path on the cloud storage drive.
Moving on and when creating a task assigned to a backup set (as is the case in this example) we can specify the backup methodology being used (full, differential or incremental) alongside the number of historic versions being kept.
Having selected the backup methodology, the next page in the task creation process allows for an automatic schedule to be created. Thanks to a detailed scheduling set-up page, regular schedules can easily be created with a start and end date settable for each schedule plus the option to run the schedule on selected events including at system startup and at user login amongst other options.
With the schedule set, the task can be saved and will become visible in the list of tasks found in the main “Tasks and Scripts” page. If the task is to be run outside of its usual schedule, then this can be triggered from this same screen via the task’s context menu entry (see below):
Once set running, any tasks can be monitored via this same “Tasks and Scripts” page found within the main R-Drive Image desktop application. We can also edit any existing tasks from this same view when changes are required.
Recovering Backed-up Data
Having seen both file-level and full disk imaging backups being made, in this section I will be assessing the various data recovery functionality available within R-Drive Image. This functionality is mainly comprised of the ability to recover a disk or partition from an image in its entirety, recover individual files and folders from a disk / file image backup or recover items via mounting an image as a virtual drive within Windows.
As can be seen above, the image recovery process can be started via the “Restore Image” section of the desktop application. From this page the image file created as a part of the backup can be selected (with cloud storage being accessible here if required) and any passwords protecting the image file entered.
With the source image file selected, we can in the next part of the process specify the disk or partition to be recovered. As can be seen above, R-Drive Image provides an intuitive drag-and-drop style interface for selecting the correct target (disk or partition) to be restored with additional advanced copying options (e.g. Windows drive letter and free space left before or after the copied section) also configurable.
With all recovery options configured, a summary page will appear confirming the work to be undertaken (be sure to double check you are recovering to the correct location as the software will prompt you to). Once happy with all details we can click to start the recovery process running with progress visible via this same summary screen.
Moving past full disk and partition image-based data recovery and R-Drive Image also provides the ability to recover individual files and folder from image-based backups. This can comprise of file-level backups as was seen earlier on or via full disk / partition images containing a disk or partition in its entirety. This process begins by selecting the disk file for recovery in the same way as before (in the “Restore Image” section) and, if applicable, selecting the correct historic version also.
When recovering only specified files and folders from an image, we must on the next page identify these files. This is done by dragging-and-dropping the image to be recovered (at the top of the page) onto the area marked “Drag and drop here to restore file” as can be seen below. Once done, the software will allow for individual files and folders to be selected.
When recovering individual files and folders we can specify manually the location for where these items are to be restored and, via the options box, specify what happens when files already exist during restoration. This includes being able to overwrite, skip or rename files in cases where duplicates exist as well as specifying if file attributes should also be restored.
As was seen earlier on, when restoring individual files and folders we see again the familiar summary screen which confirms the restore operation details and can also be used to monitor job progress.
Finally, the third major method for recovering data involves the ability to mount disk images made within R-Drive Image as virtual drives (with drive letters assigned) within Windows. This begins in the “Mount Virtual Disk” section of the desktop application where the image to be mounted can be specified and the correct historic version to be used (if any) specified.
After selecting the image file to mount, the next step in the process allows for selecting (or confirming) the actual drive been mounted and allows for a virtual drive letter within Windows to be set. With these details selected, the mounting process can begin with the familiar summary page showing any related details.
NB – When mounting virtual drives in R-Drive Image, the resulting drive will be effectively be read-only and suitable for data recovery purposes only.
Dismounting virtual drives is also a simple process which can be triggered via the “Dismount virtual drives” page. This process simply involves simply selecting the drive to be dismounted and then starting the dismount process on the following page.
Direct Disk-to-Disk Cloning
With the disk imaging and data recovery features of R-Drive Image covered, another really useful component to look at is the built-in direct disk cloning module. Labelled as “Copy Disk” on R-Drive’s main application start page, this tool allows a hard disk, partition or SSD drive to be copied in its entirety (1:1) to a secondary drive without the need to store an image file first (as is the case when making disk images).
As can be seen above, R-Drive provides a familiar interface allowing the source drive or partition being cloned to be selected and the target drive to be specified via the same drag-and-drop system seen earlier on. It is also useful to note that when cloning between disks, R-Drive Image allows for partitions to remain the same size (by default) on larger disks (effectively leaving unallocated disk space after the cloned component) or, as can be seen below, manually expanded to fill some or all of any additional free space.
NB – The above image shows that we can simply drag-and-drop the copied component (partition) to fill some or all of the available free disk space (if any exists) or simply leave as is.
With all cloning options configured, we can set the cloning process running on the next page where we see the familiar summary page detailing the job and providing a means of monitoring progress.
Other Features within R-Drive Image
With the core disk imaging and cloning features covered, there are several other useful tools and features included within this latest edition of R-Drive Image. The first feature of which, and a highly useful feature for all PC users, is that of the recovery media builder. This specialist media building module produces a live CD/DVD or flash drive-based edition of R-Drive Image for the purposes of recovering an unbootable PC or for time when migrating a device to new hardware.
When building recovery media within R-Drive Image we have the option to use either a Linux-based distribution or one based upon the Windows WinPE framework (which involves downloading the WinPE components beforehand). We can also specify other settings such as including support for cloud storage services amongst other technical system details on the resulting media.
Another really useful addition to R-Drive Image is that of the disk partition management suite. This is a specialist tool which allows for managing disks, individual partitions plus any free space which might be present on a drive (and can extend existing partition to fill this space as required). This module also supports securely wiping disks (and any free disk space) alongside providing support for also formatting, moving, reordering, shrinking and expanding disk partitions amongst other related functions.
R-Drive Image Security
One of the key security features found within R-Drive Image is support for highly secure zero-knowledge AES-XTS encryption which is available when creating image-based backups. Such encryption ensures any image files remain secure once moved to their target storage location and is especially useful when making use of the integrated third-party cloud storage services.
Another useful security-related tool comes from the built-in partition manager module which allows for the secure wiping clean of any disks or partitions (including unallocated disk space) as required. Simply deleting or reformatting a partition (or deleting data files individually) is often not a secure means of destroying digital data, therefore it is great to see that R-Drive Image includes such secure disk wiping technology.
Software Support
R-Tools Technology provide a highly useful support portal which features detailed product documentation, a knowledge base plus access to a useful FAQ section.
Also available via this support portal is the ability to contact the R-Tools support team directly for more involved help and support related issues via a web-based contact form.
R-Drive Image Pricing
R-Drive Image is available on a perpetual licence for a one-off cost of just $44.95 per device with multi-device discounts available.
NB – A full 30-day free trial of R-Drive Image is also available and is a great way of trying out the full set of features on offer. More information on multi-device discounts plus this full 30-day free trial can be found via the official R-Drive Image website.
R-Drive Image FAQs
R-Drive Image is a highly useful backup and cloning tool for Windows devices. It is particularly useful for anyone seeking a secure disk-imaging based approach to backing up devices with additional functionality covering direct disk-to-disk cloning and the integration of a useful disk and partition manager module.
No, R-Drive Image is a premium software title available with a perpetual licence available priced from $44.95 for a single device (multi-device discounts are also available). Alongside this is a full 30-day free trial which is a great way of trying out the functionality of this software prior to purchase.
Yes, R-Drive Image is fully compatible with all modern versions of Windows including the latest versions of Windows 11.
Yes, R-Drive Image features a dedicated disk cloning module which supports direct disk-to-disk cloning.
Yes, R-Drive Image supports applying zero-knowledge AES-XTS encryption to all disk image backups made within the software.
Yes, R-Drive Image has integrated support for connecting to popular third-party cloud storage services including Google Drive, Dropbox, Microsoft OneDrive, AWS S3 plus any WebDAV compatible provider.
Yes, multiple external hard drives plus any mapped network drive sources can be included in backups made using R-Drive Image.
R-Drive Image Alternatives
In this section I will be looking at some good alternatives to R-Drive Image. This is comprised of similar disk imaging-based backup software featuring good support for making both disk image and file level backups alongside other useful features including direct disk-to-disk cloning and zero-knowledge data encryption.
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 right before committing to a purchase.
1) EaseUS ToDo Backup Home
EaseUS ToDo Backup is a well-known PC backup software title and forms a great alterative to R-Drive Image thanks to its strong disk and partition imaging functionality.
In addition to this strong disk imaging support, ToDo Backup Home also includes a direct disk cloning utility, specialist system migration tools, a bootable recovery media builder alongside various other features including support for recovering disk image backups onto new or dissimilar hardware.
ToDo Backup Home also supports applying strong zero-knowledge AES 256-bit encryption to backups, automated task scheduling, backing-up of Microsoft Outlook plus the integration of popular third-party cloud storage services including Dropbox and Google Drive (alongside EaseUS providing their own cloud storage solution).
Other useful features found within EaseUS ToDo Backup Home include the ability to mount disk images as virtual drives within Windows, Smart Backup and security Zone utilities providing enhanced backup protection, powerful automation and scheduling, bootable recovery media plus support for migrating existing systems onto new or dissimilar hardware (via disk cloning or disk image-based backups).
- 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 $59.95 per year with 1TB of cloud storage included. A perpetual licence is also available for a one-off cost of just $59.95 per PC or just $79.95 with free lifetime software upgrades included. A 30-day free trial of ToDo Backup Home can be found via the official EaseUS website.
2) Hasleo Backup Suite
Hasleo Backup Suite is a free-to-use Windows backup solution which, despite being free-to-use, contains a considerable amount of disk imaging and disk cloning related functionality in a simple and easy-to-use package.
Hasleo Backup Suite supports making full and complete image-based backups of disks, SSD drives and even individual partitions as required. This helps to ensure that, as is the case with R-Drive Image, all data, applications and even the operating system itself can be safely backed-up and stored within an image file.
Also available within Hasleo Backup Suite is support for securing disk image-based backups with strong, zero-knowledge AES 256-bit encryption. Alongside this is support for powerful data compression, good automated scheduling support plus the ability to mount disk image files as virtual drives within Windows for recovery purposes.
Hasleo Backup Suite also featured a powerful disk cloning module which supports the direct (1:1) cloning of disks, partitions and SSD drives as required. We also see included secure disk drive erasure tools plus support for building bootable recovery media which can be useful when utilising disk images for recovery purposes or when migrating to new or dissimilar hardware.
- Disk image backups
- Disk cloning tools
- AES 256-bit Encryption
- Bootable recovery media
- MBR to GPT conversion
- Virtual drive mounting
- Secure data erasure
- 100% Free to use
Hasleo Backup Suite Free is powerful backup software providing a strong set of core file-level and disk imaging-based backup functionality alongside a powerful disk cloning module. More information on this and similar cloning tools can be found via the official Hasleo website.
3) Acronis True Image
Formally known as Cyber Protect Home Office, True Image is the leading all-in-one disk imaging, disk cloning, antivirus and cyber protection suite form top-rated developers, Acronis.
As an evolution of the highly popular Cyber Protect Home Office software, modern editions of True Image retain the industry leading disk imaging functionality for which Acronis have become well known. This means full disk, partition and system image backups can be made within this software, automatically replicated to the Acronis cloud, mounted as virtual drives within Windows and even used as a base for migrating existing Windows PCs to new or dissimilar hardware.
Also included alongside this powerful disk imaging functionality are many other useful features and software utilities which come built-in to True Image. This includes support for efficient file-level backup functionality, powerful automatic scheduling, blockchain backup verification, powerful system recovery tools plus utilities for directly cloning between disks and SSD drives (with 4K sector alignment and sector-by-sector cloning available) amongst other included functionality.
Also included within True Image is a fully functional antivirus suite featuring specialist anti-crypto mining technology which is capable of replacing a traditional antivirus suite. This specialist antivirus suite, coupled with the powerful imaging-based backup functionally, helps make True Image the ideal tool for making secure and malware-free backups.
- 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 is priced from $49.99 per year with multi-device plans available from $79.99 for use across 3x devices alongside plans featuring allocations of Acronis Cloud storage from just $54.99. A 30-day free trial is also available via the official Acronis website.
R-Drive Image Review Summary
R-Drive Image stands out as a powerful disk imaging tool with plenty of advanced functionality for creating and recovering from disk and partition-based images. This includes being able to make incremental and differential image-based backups with custom historic file retention periods on a schedule plus support for mounting these same disk image backups as virtual drives within Windows.
Unusually for a disk-imaging and disk cloning focused tool, R-Drive Image also provides strong cloud storage support with several popular third-party cloud services (including Google Drive, AWS S3 and Dropbox) integrated directly into the software itself. Other related functionality includes support for protecting disk image-based backups with secure, zero-knowledge AES-XTS encryption, bootable recovery media building tools (supporting both WinPE and Linux variations) a disk partition management module plus support for securely wiping hard disk drives and partitions.
Overall, R-Drive Image is a powerful disk imaging tool effective both for making one-off and continuous disk imaging-based backups on a schedule. Further modules including disk management and direct disk-to-disk cloning combine to make this a great disk management software – Great work R-Tools Technology.
