How do I view contents of an image file?

[sebt27]

I like R-Drive Image, but one thing is driving me nuts. I can't figure out a way to view the contents of a particular image file. I don't mean I need to open a particular file: I just want to see which files are in that image file (perhaps from months ago), and how recent the files are.

I'm creating images from selected files/locations, rather than images of an entire disk.

I'm getting confused, because I use differential images: but if I try to create a differential image onto an existing (first, full) image, it seems to try to re-image all the files from the source location, rather than the 24 files Windows Explorer Search tells me have been added/modified since that image was made.

There doesn't seem to be any way to drill into the contents of the image file: all I get is a box telling me that the files came from e.g. Partition D:\, which doesn't really help. I tried mounting one of the images as a virtual disk to look at it, but R-Drive Image wouldn't let me - perhaps because these image files are not of entire disks.

I'm almost certain that I did manage to view the contents, somehow, a year or more ago - but I just can't remember what UI trick I had to use to do that.

thanks for any help!

[Alt]

There's a standard way to view an image content: Mount an Image as a Virtual Logical Disk. If this doesn't work, there may be something wrong with the image. You need to have the corresponding full image to mount a differential image, and no UI tricks are needed.

Try to check the images: Check an Image File.

[sebt27]

Thanks, I did try mounting the image, but I got this:

No partitions.PNG

I assume that this is because (like all my images), this was made out of specific files/folders, rather than being of a full disk?

There's a reference, again and again, in the manual, to "When you click the file, you may view its content in the right pane." Trouble is that this "content" is just this:

Image details.PNG

Which is correct, as far as it goes: the folder/file structure did come from C:\. But that "..." is a UI misdirection: clicking on it does nothing. Rather than drilling in to the contents of the image, as you might expect.

I have now figured out the only way to view the contents: pretend you want to restore the image, and go all the way to this:

Pretend To Restore.PNG

Then you do get an "Explorer-like" window: but quite a limited one. No re-ordering (e.g. by Date Modified), no Search.

This is a pity. It seems to mean that I can't - for example - search my images for a specific file. Everything else about R-Drive is excellent (speed of backups, for example). I do find the UI a bit weird, but I can deal with that.

It does seem that R-Drive is more dedicated to making images of full disks, and the "image from folders/files" option is not as well supported.

Is this "you can't mount an image as a virtual disk if it's of specific folders/files, rather than a full disk" thing a real limitation, or am I just not seeing how to do it? Because if I could mount these images as virtual disks, there'd be no problem.

[Alt]

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