More commonly than a full image-copy, disk-imaging utilities are used to create an image of only the partitions needed to restore Windows 2000 after a server is damaged.

To create a disk image of the Windows operating system, you must create an image of both the boot partition and the system partition. After you restore Windows 2000 from a disk image, you can use Backup to restore your full computer backup set.

If a disaster occurs, you can restore your operating system from that disk image in less time than it takes to reinstall Windows 2000. Windows 2000 disk images are usually created after Windows 2000 is installed, configured, and updated with all the current service packs and software updates.

With most disk-imaging utilities, you can create a bootable floppy disk that you can use to start the disk-image restore process. If the hard drive partition from which you normally boot your computer is damaged, this floppy disk allows you to start your computer.

Because most drives in Windows 2000 operating system are formatted with NTFS, this method requires that your disk-imaging software have the ability to read NTFS partitions. Furthermore, if your disk-image files are stored on a remote server, you must also have a network boot disk so you can access the network and then copy the disk-image files from the remote computer to the computer to which you want to restore them.

Another method for restoring a Windows 2000 disk image involves keeping an additional hard disk formatted with the FAT32 file system on your computer. On that hard disk, you must keep your disk-imaging software and the Windows 2000 disk image for that computer. To restore the disk image, open a command prompt by using a boot disk that allows you to boot to MS-DOS (for example, a Windows 98 Startup floppy disk); then use the disk-imaging utility located on your hard disk formatted with FAT32 to restore your Windows 2000 disk image.

Important The additional hard disk partition must be formatted with FAT32 because a Windows 98 startup disk cannot access a partition that is formatted with NTFS.

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