Frequently Asked Questions

What is IDrive^® Mirror and how does it work?

IDrive Mirror is an advanced cloud backup and disk-image recovery solution for Windows computers and server systems including any virtual machines running on them. It allows direct data backup and retrieval from the secure IDrive cloud without any intermediary storage device.

Data from multiple computers and servers can be saved to a single cloud account and accessed from anywhere via a web browser or the desktop application. The data stored is secured with AES 256-bit encryption.

IDrive Mirror is available as an add-on with your IDrive subscription.

To enable,

1. Sign in to your IDrive account and navigate to 'IDrive Mirror' on the left menu.
   
   
   
2. Click 'Enable image backup' and follow the instructions to set up IDrive Mirror Backup.
   

How do I get started with IDrive^® Mirror?

To get started, sign in to your IDrive account and navigate to 'IDrive Mirror' on the left menu and click 'Enable'.

Once the Mirror centralized web console is launched, the IDrive Mirror backup application will automatically download on your computer. Install the application and enable backup for the configured computer.

To enable backup for the computer via web,

1. Go to the 'Dashboard' tab.
2. Click 'Enable Now' corresponding to the configured computer.
   
3. In the slider window, click 'Enable Now' to initiate a full image backup of the configured computer. By default, your 'Entire PC' will be selected as the backup source.

You can also create a backup schedule, change the backup source, modify the email notifications, cleanup, and performance settings for the computer.

How do I add or configure a computer for image backup?

You can configure more than one computer to your account.

To add a new computer,

1. Sign in to your IDrive account from the required computer and go to 'IDrive Mirror' > 'Dashboard'.
2. Click 'Add Computer'.
   
3. Download and install the backup application to configure backup.
   

To start backup for the configured computer,

1. Go to the 'Dashboard' tab.
2. Click 'Enable Now' corresponding to the configured computer.
   
3. In the slider window, click 'Enable Now' to initiate a full image backup of the configured computer. By default, your 'Entire PC' will be selected as the backup source.

You can also create a backup schedule, change the backup source, modify the email notifications, cleanup, and performance settings for the computer.

How do I perform an image backup of my computer?

To backup your computer,

1. Launch image backup.
2. In the 'Dashboard' tab, click 'Backup Now' next to the configured computer.
3. To start an immediate full disk-image backup of your computer, click 'Start Full Image Backup' in the slider window.
   

You can also schedule backup for your computer from the 'Backup Schedule' section in the slider window. Schedule backups daily or customize backups by selecting the required days and hours. You can even set an interval between consecutive backups.

How do I backup an individual disk partition of my computer?

By default, image backup selects your entire PC for backup to the cloud. However, you have the option to customize the backup source and upload data from specific drives of your computer.

To backup a disk partition,

1. Launch image backup.
2. Click next to the computer you want to backup.
3. Click the 'Backup Settings' tab in the slider window.
4. Click 'Customize'.
   By default, all the drives are selected for backup.
5. Deselect the drives that you do not want to backup.
6. Click 'Save Changes'.
   

Note: If you deselect the drive where the operating system is installed, you will not be able to restore the entire computer.

How do you schedule an image backup for your computer?

To schedule image backups,

1. Launch image backup.
2. Click next to the computer you want to create a schedule.
3. Click the 'Backup Schedule' tab in the slider window.
   The 'Schedule Backup' window will appear.
4. To apply backup settings modify the following options as required:
   
   • Backup Interval: Set the desired interval between consecutive backups from here.
   • Daily: Select this radio button if you want to schedule daily backups and set the backup start time.
   • Custom: Select this radio button to customize your backup on the required days and hours of the week.
   • No Schedule: Click this radio button to disable all scheduled backup settings.
   • Start time: Set the time for your scheduled backup to start.

In the 'Advanced' section, set options to wake up your computer from hibernate/sleep mode for backup and run missed backup on system startup if the computer was turned off during backup.

5. Click 'Save Changes'.

Backups will occur according to the saved schedule.

Will the subsequent changes in my already backed up files be transferred incrementally?

Yes, after the full initial image backup subsequent changes are backed up incrementally and synced with the existing data through automated data synchronization.

Can I perform image backup for more than one computer?

Yes, you can perform backup for multiple Windows computers directly to the cloud. You can see the list of configured computers in the 'Dashboard' tab. You can select individual or multiple computers at a time from the list for backup.

How does image backup optimize data transfers?

During image backup only the modified portions of your files are transferred after full initial transfer by utilizing the Changed Block Tracking (CBT) technology which conducts up to three times faster backup to optimize your bandwidth usage.

Is the backed up data reliable for restore?

To ensure reliability of the backed up image data, IDrive^® Mirror runs an immediate data integrity check after each volume is backed up. The data integrity check ensures that only the reliable copies of data are stored during backup and can be restored.

How long can I retain the backed up image data to my account?

The data in your account is cleaned up periodically based on the Cleanup settings defined by you in the web console.

To define Cleanup settings,

1. Launch image backup.
2. Click next to the computer you wish to update Cleanup settings.
3. In the 'Backup Settings' window, click 'Advanced Settings'.
4. Set the following options in the 'Cleanup' section:
   
   1. Automatically perform cleanup after every '-' incremental backup
   2. Delete versions that are older than '-' months
5. Click 'Save Changes'.

How do I view backup and restore activities logs for a computer?

To view image backup and restore logs for a particular computer,

1. Launch image backup.
2. In the 'Dashboard' tab, click corresponding to a computer.
   
3. Click .

You can also view session logs of your activities during a login session by clicking the 'Notifications' icon on the top right corner of the Dashboard.

How do I view web activity logs specific to Image Backup?

You can view a list of recent web activities for Image Backup from the 'Web Activity Logs' tab. Information such as the date, IP address of the computer, and a description of the activities for the selected period will be displayed on the screen.

To generate logs for any period upto 90 days,

1. Launch image backup.
2. Go to the 'Web Activity Logs' tab.
3. Select 'From Date' and 'End Date' and click 'Generate'.
   

To download the logs in PDF format, select 'From Date', 'End Date' and click 'Download PDF'.

Can I perform a snapshot-based restore of my backed up data?

Yes, you can perform a snapshot-based image restore for point-in-time recovery of your data backed up to the cloud. The historical backups function as recovery points and let you perform point-in-time data recovery.

Can I perform full system-image recovery?

Yes, you can perform a complete recovery of your Windows computer and server system from the image data, without the need of installing the operating system and other software.

How to create a WinRE restore media for system-image restore?

In order to initiate a WinRE-based system restore, you need to create a bootable USB or media device using the Restore Media Builder app. You can use this bootable WinRE-based recovery media to boot up a Windows computer on which restore needs to be initiated.

To get started,

1. Launch image backup.
2. Click 'Download ISO Builder'.

Once downloaded, install the Restore Media Builder app on your computer.

To build a WinRE recovery media for future use,

1. Launch the Restore Media Builder setup and login.
   
2. Select 'Create an ISO'.
   
3. Select the location where the ISO file needs to be saved from the 'Browse' button and click 'Create ISO file'.
   

The ISO build progress will be displayed on the page.

You will receive a success message once the rescue media is created.

To build a WinRE recovery media for immediate use,

1. Connect the USB flash drive to the computer.
2. Launch the Restore Media Builder setup and login.
   
3. Select 'Burn to USB drive'.
   
4. Select the required USB device as the target drive and choose the partition style from the respective drop-downs.
   
5. Click 'Create a bootable USB' to create the boot device.
   

The bootable USB creation progress will be displayed on screen.

You will be notified once the bootable USB device is successfully created along with further instruction to use the bootable device.

Note: If the setup is not able to find the .wim file, you will be prompted to download Windows ADK to complete building the ISO.

How do I build a bootable WinRE media that includes wireless WiFi support?

The Restore Media Builder app enables you to create a WinRE media with support for wireless networks. This means you can easily connect to a wireless network via WinRE.

To add WiFi support to a bootable WinRE media,

1. Launch the Restore Media Builder setup and login.
2. Select 'Create an ISO' or 'Burn to USB drive' as required.
3. Click 'Add WiFi Support'.
4. Add a relevant WiFi driver to support the target machine in the 'Add Driver(s) screen. To find the path of the WiFi driver used by your computer, see steps here.
   
5. Click 'Done'.
   

Once the driver is added, a list of all the available WiFi networks around will appear in the WinRE Restore application.

Next, follow the steps given in the above FAQ for building a WinRE-based recovery media for future and immediate use.

My Windows computer has crashed. Can I restore it using image backup?

Yes, you can restore your configured Windows computer from the image backups stored in your account without downtime during data loss or data corruption.

The following prerequisites must be fulfilled to restore data using a WinRE recovery media:

1. The boot image architecture that is compatible with the destination computer architecture.
2. A target hard drive with sufficient storage space for performing the restore operation.
3. Minimum 1 GB RAM in the restore computer is needed to boot the ISO.
4. A bootable WinRE ISO file or a USB bootable flash drive.

To restore data using WinRE bootable USB drive,

1. Connect the WinRE USB bootable flash drive to the computer.
2. Launch the WinRE Restore setup.
3. Choose the computer, volume, and backup version that you want to restore.
   
4. Click 'Next'.
5. Select the target drive you want to restore the selected data and click 'Restore'.
   
   
   

   Note: This operation will overwrite the existing data on the target drive.

The restore progress will be displayed and you will receive a message once the restore is complete.

To restore data using WinRE bootable ISO file, attach the ISO file to a virtual machine, and launch the WinRE Restore setup. Then follow the remaining steps for USB data restore.

Is it possible to restore specific disk volumes?

Yes, you can easily restore specific disk volumes.

To perform a volume-level restore,

1. Launch image backup.
2. Click 'Restore' against the required computer from the dashboard.
3. Click 'Image Restore'.
   
4. Choose the required recovery point from the 'Backup Version' section.
5. Select the required disk volume from the list appearing on the screen.
   
6. Click 'Restore Now'.

Note: Volume restore cannot be performed on the location where the operating system is installed on the computer.

Is it possible to restore individual files and folders?

Yes, you can easily restore an individual file or folder.

To perform a file/folder-level restore,

1. Launch image backup.
2. Click 'Restore' against the required computer from the dashboard.
3. Choose the required recovery point from the 'Backup Version' section under 'File Restore'.
4. Select the volume containing the file or folder that you want to restore.
5. Select the file or folder that you want to restore.
   
6. Click 'Restore Location'. Choose any location on your computer by clicking 'Browse' to restore the selected files.
7. Click 'Restore to original location' if you want to restore the file or folder to its original location on your system.
   
   

   Note:

   • To restore files to the original location the structure of the files/folders should be the same as your cloud backup.
   • While restoring to the original location your existing files will be overwritten with their corresponding latest version available in the cloud.
   • If IDrive^® Mirror fails to overwrite a file due to some issue, it may save a copy of the file in the same location after affixing the file name with 'restore' and an 'index number' which will keep on increasing in similar instances.
   • IDrive^® Mirror doesn't support 'Original Location Restore' for Operating System and application-related folders like 'Windows', 'Program Files' etc.
8. Click 'Restore Now'.
   

Can I restore one computer's data to another computer?

No, you can perform restore at original location and custom location only on the same computer from where the data was backed up. However, you can download required files to another computer.

To download a file,

1. Launch image backup.
2. Click 'Restore' against the required computer from the dashboard.
3. Choose the required recovery point from the 'Backup Version' section.
4. Select the volume containing the file or folder that you want to restore.
5. Hover on the file or folder that you want to download and click .
   

Note: You can only download one file on your system at a time.

Can I search a particular file from my account?

Yes, you can search specific files from your account.

To search and restore files,

1. Launch image backup.
2. Type the filename or a related string in the 'Search' field.
   
3. Click .
4. From the search results, select the desired file and click .

Can I use the ISO build created using IDrive^® Mirror for multiple computers, at any location?

Yes, the ISO build created on one computer using IDrive^® Mirror can be used in any other computer without any issues.

What is one-click virtualization in IDrive^® Mirror?

One-click virtualization in IDrive Mirror enables you to quickly set up a virtual instance of your computers on the cloud. This one-click process enables you to instantly create a virtual instance using default configurations and the latest backed up data of the computer you want to virtualize. The virtual instance can take the place of your primary machine, ensuring seamless business continuity and minimizing downtime during a disaster.

How do I perform one-click virtualization of my computers?

To create a virtual instance with a click,

1. Launch image backup.
2. Go to Dashboard.
3. Click Virtualization corresponding to the computer that you want to virtualize.
   
   
   Alternatively, you can click One-click Virtualization from the drop-down menu.
   

The virtual instance will be instantly created using the last backup of the selected computer. By default, it will be allocated with 2 GB RAM and 2 processors.

To access the virtual instance in the future, click Connect Now.

How quickly can I virtualize a machine with IDrive^® Mirror?

IDrive Mirror uses the KVM hypervisor for better virtualization and high performance. It allows you to instantly virtualize a machine, ensuring seamless business continuity.

How is IDrive^® Mirror optimized for virtual instances?

IDrive Mirror employs storage devices with NVMe accelerated caching and computing resources, delivering optimized storage and performance of the virtual instances.

How many virtual machines can I create?

With IDrive Mirror, you can create up to four cloud virtual instances. Each instance is created from a separate data backup, and only one instance can be created per computer. You can allocate up to 16 GB cumulatively for the RAM configuration of the four virtual instances. This solution is optimized to use minimal memory and CPU resources, allowing multiple virtual machines to operate efficiently.

What are the points that have to be taken into consideration while virtualizing a machine?

The following points must be taken into consideration while virtualizing a machine.

1. Virtual instances hosted on IDrive Mirror have outbound internet access only.
2. Any changes made to data using the virtual instance cannot be restored back to the primary machine.
3. Access to the virtual instance is secured via an encrypted VNC-based web client.
4. Virtual instances are automatically powered off after 14 days, but they remain mounted with data preserved. To resume usage, you must manually power them on again.
5. Each virtual machine is automatically deleted 21 days after creation.

If I virtualize a machine, will the original backup be affected?

No, virtualizing a machine does not impact its backed-up data. IDrive Mirror's file system allows for instant cloning of the original backup. Since the virtual machine is created using the cloned data, the original backup remains unaffected.

How do I build a custom virtual instance of my computers?

To create a custom virtual instance of your computer,

1. Login to your IDrive Mirror account.
2. Go to Virtualization.
3. Click Build Virtual Instance. The Cloud virtualization slider appears.
   
4. Under Computer, select the required computer from the Choose a system dropdown.
5. Choose a recovery point.
6. Select the number of processors for the virtual machine and allocate the required memory for the virtual machine in the RAM field, taking into account the memory available for cloud virtualization.
7. Select a network source and the appropriate network model.
8. Choose the required storage controller for the virtual machine (SATA is recommended) and select a graphics option from the Graphics dropdown.
9. Click Build Virtual Instance. A task to create the virtual instance will be created. Once the task is completed, the virtual instance will be built and ready to access.
   
10. Click Connect Now to access the virtual instance.

Note: When a machine with dynamic disks is virtualized, the created virtual instance will have basic disks with randomly assigned drive letters. You may have to sign in to the VM and change the drive letter associations as necessary.

Can I perform power operations on the virtual machine?

Yes, you can perform power operations on the virtual machine.

To perform power operations,

1. Login to your IDrive Mirror account.
2. Go to Virtualization.
3. Click Connect corresponding to any machine to power on the machine.
4. Click to forcefully power off the machine. You will be prompted with a confirmation window.
   
5. Click Power Off.
   

To restart a virtual machine,

1. Click next to the corresponding machine.
2. You will be prompted with a confirmation.
   
3. Click Reboot.
   

What are the network source options available for creating virtual instances?

Configure the connection of the new virtual instance to other devices and locations on the network by selecting a suitable network source.

The network source options available for creating a virtual instance are:

Disconnected
Isolate a virtual instance from all networks using the 'Disconnected' option. The virtual machine will not have any LAN or internet access.

NAT (Firewalled)
Create an isolated virtual network with internet access using the NAT (Firewalled) option — Network Address Translation mode. This will permit the virtual instance to have outbound internet access without causing any conflict with the production instance of the machine.

How do I test if the virtual machine from my backup boots successfully without creating any network conflicts?

You can test the success of a VM boot by configuring the 'Disconnected' or 'NAT (firewalled)' network source.

How do I test restore via virtualization without causing conflict with the production machine?

Create the test virtual instance on ‘Disconnected’ or ‘NAT (Firewalled)’ mode to avoid conflict with the production machine. Also, IDrive Mirror may backup data from either one of the machines as a part of its schedule, thereby causing inconsistencies in the backup. To learn about the network source options, refer to FAQ on available network source options for creating virtual instances.

Why am I being prompted to activate my Windows license for the new virtual instance?

Windows licensing links your purchased product key to the hardware configuration of the machine. In the case of a virtualized machine, the hardware for the virtualized machine is provided by the hypervisor which is different from the physical hardware and this may prompt Windows to re-activate your license.

The solution depends on the type of your Windows license.

Solution for retail license: Windows allows retail licenses to be transferred to another machine. You can simply enter the product key on the new machine and reactivate the Windows license.

Note: Retail licenses can only be installed on one machine at any particular time. Avoid activating Windows on multiple computers with the same product key.

Solution for OEM license: OEM license is non-transferrable and links your purchased product key to the motherboard of the original physical computer. To secure license activation for a restored machine, you will need to contact your OEM-license provider. IDrive Mirror cannot assist you with third-party licensing issues.

Can I retain the static IP configurations on a virtualized machine?

Your machine's static IP address is set on your ethernet network adapter. When you create a virtual instance of a machine, the NIC hardware will be different from the original and will reset the IP to DHCP. If your work environment is static-IP dependent, you will need to manually configure the network settings after restore.

How do I access resources within my site's network from a virtual instance on the IDrive cloud?

The virtual instances on IDrive Mirror will have outbound internet network connectivity. You can use a suitable VPN solution within your site's network and configure the VPN client on the virtual instance to bring it inside your network. We recommend using either of the two methods detailed below.

Method 1: Use a self-hosted OpenVPN access server
Self-host the OpenVPN Access Server within your network to which the cloud virtual instance can connect and get access to the internal network resources.

Prerequisite:

The OpenVPN Access Server is available as a virtual appliance and as a software package. The software package needs a spare Linux machine (Ubuntu 18) for manual deployment. We recommend using a pre-built virtual appliance instead which is quick and easy. The download for the virtual appliance method is available for both Hyper-V and VMware ESXi platforms in which you can choose the feasible one.

The following steps assume you have a Hyper-V server where you can self-host the OpenVPN access servers' virtual appliance, by downloading the required virtual disk file and attaching it to a Generation 1 VM.

Download the virtual appliance

1. Signup for a free account with OpenVPN
2. Click Get Access Server.
3. Under the As a virtual appliance section, click Microsoft Hyper-V.
4. Download and configure the virtual appliance as a Generation 1 VM in your Hyper-V server.
5. Ensure the VM is connected to a virtual switch in Hyper-V, configured with the External connection type so the VM has access to the physical network.
6. When the virtual appliance starts, log in to its root account using the username and password (Username: root, Password: openvpnas).
   You will be prompted with a few configuration steps. It is recommended to go with the default settings and use the default ports suggested.

Note: This free version of OpenVPN allows 2 licenses. You can connect only 2 cloud virtual machines via VPN at a time.

Set up port forwarding in your router to enable access to the OpenVPN access from the cloud VM

1. Log in to your network router.
2. Navigate to the section where you can enable virtual servers or define port forwarding rules.
3. Enable port forwarding to forward external traffic to the static local LAN IP of the OpenVPN access server with the following default ports: 443 (TCP), 943 (TCP), and 1194 (UDP).

Once the port forwarding is set up, your OpenVPN access server's web UI is accessible from anywhere for administration via the WAN/Public IP:
https://<your_wan_ip>:943/admin

Steps on Mirror VM

1. Create a VM with the networking option set to NAT (Firewalled), so that the VM has outbound internet access.
2. Open a browser in your cloud VM and download the OpenVPN client:
   https://<your_wan_ip>:943.
3. The downloaded client is preconfigured with the necessary connection details and authentication to reach your OpenVPN access server.
4. Install the OpenVPN client and launch the tray icon to start the VPN connection.

Your cloud VM now has access to your site's internal network resources through this VPN channel.

Method 2: Use your existing VPN solution

This method is suitable if you already have a hardware or software-based VPN solution setup within your network (router, switch, Cloud VPN software product, etc.). You can configure the cloud virtual instance to connect to your existing VPN infrastructure and get access to its local network resources.

Are full/incremental image backups in IDrive^® Mirror dependent on each other?

No, IDrive Mirror does not follow the traditional method where each recovery point in an incremental image backup depends on the previous ones. Instead, every recovery point created is completely independent. This means data can be restored from any available recovery point, even if an earlier full or incremental image backup is missing. As a result, you can create a virtual machine using any recovery point without relying on the integrity of a backup chain.

My computer is failing to virtualize. How can I recover my data?

Virtualization may fail due to various reasons, including disk configuration issues, driver incompatibility with IDrive Mirror's hypervisor platform, firmware type, or multiple OS boot loaders.

If your computer fails to virtualize, contact IDrive Mirror support as the first step. This will allow us to diagnose the issue and provide a resolution based on your specific case.

In the meantime, you can recover your data using the following methods:

• Recover specific files from the backup by choosing a recovery point
• Restore the entire system to its original state

Can I perform backups and restores in a virtual instance created from a recovery point?

Currently, IDrive Mirror does not support additional backups or restores within a virtual instance created from a recovery point.

This functionality will be available in future releases.