USB drives have become a ubiquitous element to store documents to keep them safe or just to have them at our reach on the go. Even though, most of the time we use this type of storage media to have copy of our data in case something goes wrong, you still want to create a backup of a USB drive, and depending on how you have it configured, you may want to create an exact copy or an image of that flash drive.
Today we are going to look at a freeware called USB image tool, which basically is a little utility for Windows that allows you to create an image (exact replica) of all the content on the memory stick.
Features included in USB Image Tool 1.31 are:
- Create/restore image (*.img) from a USB drive
- Device information
- Different image compression capability
- Image management
- Portable application — doesn’t need to be install.
Using this tool is pretty simple, just download the freeware with the above link, unzip the files and run the application. Insert the external drive (if it isn’t listed, click Rescan), click the Backup button and save the image, then to restore the image is the same process, but of course this time, click the Restore button.
I came across this tool when I wanted to backup my Windows 8 USB boot drive and I needed temporarily use the external drive to save some data. So you may need it for the same reason. Enjoy!
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert who started Pureinfotech in 2010 as an independent online publication. He has also been a Windows Central contributor for nearly a decade. Mauro has over 14 years of experience writing comprehensive guides and creating professional videos about Windows and software, including Android and Linux. Before becoming a technology writer, he was an IT administrator for seven years. In total, Mauro has over 20 years of combined experience in technology. Throughout his career, he achieved different professional certifications from Microsoft (MSCA), Cisco (CCNP), VMware (VCP), and CompTIA (A+ and Network+), and he has been recognized as a Microsoft MVP for many years. You can follow him on X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].