richk skrev:
Someone here pointed out that its hard to access files that are
contained in an Image file. I asked a follow up question but the
question was never answered.Is this true and if so. Is there a program
that makes accessing files from an image file easier.
I have not seen the question you are referring to, so I don't know
specifically which type of image file you are referring to. But I
suspect that neither do you, so I'll try to give you some general pointers:
Some backup software just does a file-by-file copy to some media, such
as a mirrored folder or a DVD, including full or partial file names and
unmodified files. These are obviously easily extracted from their backup
location and to their original location or wherever you wish to put them.
Other programs use some form of container to put the file in. This can
be an open (i.e. well documented and easily accessed) container, such as
a ZIP or XML file. Other programs use closed formats, ususally specific
to that one program. In the case of a ZIP file you can easily extract
the files you want using any archiver tool, such as TugZip. Closed
formats are worse, and you have to rely on whatever tools the authors of
the program makes available to you. These can in some cases have less
functionality and flexibility than you would wish.
Also, there is the question of portability. Consider the following
scenario: You backup your vital documents and personal photos to DVDs
every once in a while. You even make sure that one set at all times is
safely stored in a bank deposit box, just in case. And then your house
burns down. Luckily your insurance covers you financially, and you have
a full offsite backup of your data. Great! Then, when you buy a new
computer, you find that you actually want a Mac. So you buy one. Only to
discover that the DVDs you created with a Windows only backup
application requires a Windows only recovery tool to be usable.
