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Backup & Restore Disk Headers

The Idea Behind Backing Up and Restoring Headers

For the operating system the disk image file is just another file. Some Windows malfunctions may lead to corruption of the image file. This can even happen when the disk itself is not mounted. For example, file system can fail or the physical surface of the hard disk can be damaged. This might affect only a small part of the protected disk image file, i.e. most information can remain intact. However, if the damaged part contains the disk header where service information is stored, all the intact information will become inaccessible (see "Protected disk construction and usage"). Since the costs of data loss can be very high, StrongDisk Pro provides the possibility to backup the disk image file header to a file, thus enabling its recovery whenever it is necessary.

When backing up the disk image file header the system writes the header to a separate file. When restoring the header the system reads it from the file with a backup copy and overwrites the existing disk image file header with it.

One might think that backing up the whole disk image file renders backing up the header useless. However, if data on the protected disk changes often then reverting to the backup copy will negate the latest changes. In this case restoration of only the header, which does not change when working with the disk, gives a chance to fully or at leas partially recover the changes that were made after the latest backing up the disk image file.

Backuping the disk image file header does not fully guarantee that your data will be safe from various malfunctions such as physical disk damage or file system failures during Windows malfunctions. We strongly recommend periodical backing up of the entire disk image file.

Backing Up Header into File

When creating the backup copy of the disk image file header the program saves the header into a separate file.

To create a backup copy of the disk image file header:

• Select item "Service" and sub-item ”Backup Header” in the StrongDisk main menu.
• In the "Backup Header" dialog box
  
  • Enter the name of the disk image file whose header you want to backup in the "Disk image file name" field. You can choose the disk image file in a standard dialog box after clicking the "Browse" button to the right of the field.
  • Enter the name and the path to the file where the backup copy of the disk image file header is to be stored in the "The name of a backup copy" field. You can choose the folder for the backup copy and enter its name in a standard dialog box after clicking the "Browse" button to the right of the field.
    
• Click "OK". If the file with the name that is entered in the "The name of a backup copy " already exists, a dialog box will open where you can confirm overwriting the existing file by clicking "Yes" or prevent overwriting by clicking "No". Click "OK" in the "StrongDisk" dialog box after the backup copy is successfully saved.

If you create a backup copy of the disk image file header and then change the access password (and/or a key), it will be possible to mount the disk with the old access password (and/or a key) using the backup copy. Do not forget either to erase (with Burner) or rewrite the backup copy of the disk image file header after changing the access password.

Restoring File Header

When the header is restored, the program reads it from the backup file and overwrites the existing disk image file header with it.

To restore the disk image file header:

• Select item "Service" and sub-item "Restore Header" in the StrongDisk Pro main menu. A warning window will appear. Please, read the information in it carefully and follow the recommendations if necessary.

The backup copy of the header does not contain the information about the disk image file where the original is stored. All the headers are similar for the program. So you can easily replace the current header with a foreign header. In this case the encryption key from the header will not match the encrypted data on the disk, and it will be impossible to decrypt it. So it is recommended to backup current header before restoring the header from some backup copy.

• In the "Restore Header" dialog box
  
  • Enter the name (and path) of the disk image file whose header you want to restore in the "Disk image file name" field. You can chose the disk image file in the standard dialog box that opens after you click "Browse" button to the right of the field.
  • Enter the name (and path) of the file that contains the header to be restored in the "The name of a backup copy" field. You can chose the disk image file in the standard dialog box that opens after you click "Browse" button to the right of the field.
• Click "OK". The "StrongDisk" dialog box then displays a message about completing the restoration. Click "OK" again.