You can use a disk-imaging utility to create disk-image files. A disk image file (also known simply as a disk image) is a binary copy of an entire disk or drive. Disk images contain binary versions of all data stored on the source drive, including files and folders, boot sectors, file allocation tables, volume attributes and all other system-specific data. Disk images do not contain actual files or folders; they contain the raw data of the original disk, sector by sector. Disk-imaging software helps decrease the amount of time it takes to rebuild or restore a server.

Because disk-imaging software typically runs separate of the Windows 2000 operating system, you can perform a complete backup without any files being in use. To take advantage of this functionality, use a bootable floppy disk that contains the disk-imaging utility software to start your computer outside of Windows, and then back up the data on your server.

You can use disk-imaging software to perform the following tasks:

• Create full computer disk images
• Create Windows 2000 disk images
• Summary of Disk-Imaging Considerations

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Enterprise Edition
• Microsoft Exchange Server 2003 Standard Edition
• Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, Premium Edition
• Microsoft Windows Small Business Server 2003, Standard Edition
• Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server