Note: If you use the startup (bootable) version of R-Drive Image on a computer other than that on which your copy of R-Drive Image is registered, the R-Drive Image startup disk will work in its Demo mode (with full functionality) for 7 days starting from the date when it was created.

Moreover, the startup version of R-Drive Image has almost the same features as its Windows counterpart. The only exception is the lack of the built-in scheduler, tasks, scripts, and connecting images as virtual disks, although copying individual files from opened images is a good substitution for the latter. The other features useful for non-Windows computers like support for various Apple and Linux volume managers are fully intact.

As a benchmark, we'll use a real PC running under Linux Ubuntu Mate 20.04.1 LTS 64-bit with the file system of the system disk being ext4 fs. The procedure for Mac computers will not be much different from this, except for starting the computer.

In this article we'll show how the startup version of R-Drive Image can be used to service a non-Windows computer. We'll simulate the following scenario:

1. Disk backup of a non-Windows workstation.
2. Disk crash that completely corrupted data on that disk in such a way that the computer cannot start.
3. Data restore on that disk from the image and attempt to start up the computer with the restored system.

Please also note that we'll take pictures directly from a real LCD monitor and make allowance for the image quality.

The partition scheme for the Linux disk is shown on the picture below.

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Some preliminary actions
1. Create a bootable USB stick with the startup version of R-Drive Image. You may do it directly from the main panel of R-Drive Image. See the R-Drive Image on-line help page "Create Startup Disks" for more detail.

2. Connect another disk large enough to store the disk image to the computer.

Image Creation
When we're ready, we can start creating the image of the Linux disk.

1. Start the computer with the bootable stick.

• Make sure that the first startup device in the system BIOS is the right drive. Disable "Secure boot" in the system BIOS if your computer is certified to run Windows 8/10. Refer to your system documentation for details.
• Connect the USB disk and start your computer.
  
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  Select the R-Drive Image GUI (Graphic Mode) to run R-Drive Image in the graphic mode in which its user interface is similar to the Windows version.
  
  You may read more information on R-Drive Image help page "Load Computer into Startup Mode". This may be especially helpful if you need to start a Mac computer.
• Accept the License Agreement and let R-Drive Image to finish its startup procedure.
  
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2. Select Create an Image on the Action Selection panel and click the Next button.

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3. Locate the disk you want to backup, select the entire disk icon, and click the Next button.

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4. Select the place to store the image, specify its file name, and click the Next button.

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5. Select image options on the Image Options panel and click the Next button.

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R-Drive Image can back up only useful information on disk. In other words, only sectors with actual data will be written to the image file. That may greatly reduce image size. It also can check the integrity of disk image right after its creation and report errors immediately.

The image file may also be protected with a password, but this feature provides only a relatively moderate protection against conventional unauthorized access.

You may read more about other image options on R-Drive Image help page "Create an Image".

6. Verify the image parameters and click the Start button.

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R-Drive Image will start imaging disk showing its progress.

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When the imaging is over, you may switch your computer off.

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Disk crash simulation
We simulated the disk crash by deleting all disk partitions using a Windows disk manager. Obviously, the Linux computer cannot start after this operation. We need to restore data back to the Linux disk to revive the computer.

Restoring data to the Linux disk
1. Start the computer with the bootable stick as it's described in the Image Creation part of this article.

2. Select Restore from an Image on the Action Selection panel and click the Next button.

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3. Select the image file on the Image File Selection panel and click the Next button.

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4. Enter the password if necessary.

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5. Select Restore disks or partitions on the Restore Mode Selection panel and click the Next button.

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6. Select the entire disk icon in the Image part and the entire disk icon in the Destination part on the Image Object Selection panel and click the Next button.

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7. Select Copy all partitions onto original places on the Restore/Copy Parameters panel and click the Next button.

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8. Verify that all restore parameters are correct on the Processing panel and click the Next button.

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R-Drive Image will start restoring data to the disk showing its progress.

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When data is completely restored switch the computer off.

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Disconnect the disk with images and bootable USB stick and start the computer again. It should load into the restored Linux OS.

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Conclusions
As our test has shown, the startup version of R-Drive Image can work not only with the Windows OS, but with Linux and Mac computers, too. In this article we have discussed some basic disk operations like creating disk images and restoring data back to the original disk. It also can perform more advanced actions like retrieving individual files from disk images of non-Windows computers.