Overview of Win32 Disk Imager in Windows 10 64 bit
Win32 Disk Imager is a compact application that allows you to write a raw disk image to a removable device (USB drive, SD memory card, etc) or backup a removable device to a raw image file. The new version of this program (version 1.0) supports Windows 7/8.1/10. For Windows XP/Vista, you can turn to Win32 Disk Imager 0.9.
The Win32 Disk Imager is considered to be a lightweight piece of software, sitting at only 44 MB in size. The beauty of it is that it has a very simplistic design and it does exactly what it is supposed to do. Nothing more and certainly nothing less. It allows you to write boot images onto an SD flash device or a USB drive.
It is necessary to backup removable drives, because they can simply stop working at any time and are easily lost due to small size. To prevent the data of the removable drives from being lost, you can create an image file of the drives with Win32 Disk Imager. Suppose you want to backup a SD card. Let’s learn how to use Win32 Disk Imager.
Step 1. Download, install and open Win32 Disk Imager in Windows 10. Insert your SD card into the SD card reader on your PC.
Step 2. Click the blue folder icon to choose the location and the backup name you want to take. Then choose the drive letter for your SD card (here is E:).
Step 3. Click Read to backup your SD card.
However, Win32 Disk Imager in 64 bit Windows 10 doesn’t always work fine. Some users said that when they tried to create disk image they got these errors: “An error occurred when attempting to read data from handle. Error 21: The device is not ready.” or “Access denied”, “Error 5”. Many people can’t even launch this application. To gain better experience of imaging drives, and get things completed smoothly and easily, you'd better turn to a Win32 Disk Imager alternative.
Best free Win32 Disk Imager alternative for Windows 10 64 bit
Is there a reliable and easy-to-use Win32 Disk Imager alternative? In fact, AOMEI Backupper Standard is such a backup utility that allows you to backup removable drives and other storage devices like hard disk drives and solid state drives to local/external drives, cloud drives, NAS devices, and network, etc.
By using it, you can backup multiple SD cards at the same time to save time and energy. Optional compression and splitting settings support further reducing disk storage. Besides, you can schedule your backup tasks to run automatically.
In addition to supporting Windows 10 64 bit, this backup utility also works for Windows 10 32 bit, as well as 64 bit and 32 bit of Windows 8.1/8/7/XP/Vista. Backing up removable drives with this freeware only needs a few clicks. You can download it to have a try! Here is a step by step guide for your reference.
How to backup removable drives with the Win32 Disk Imager alternative?
Step 1. Install and open this freeware. Connect the removable drive to your computer and make sure it is detected.
Step 2. Click Backup and Disk Backup subsequently.
Step 3. Change the Task Name as you like. Select the removable drive by clicking Add Disk.
Step 4. Select the destination path.
Step 5. Finally click Start Backup.
>>Backup Options: click it to comment, compress or split the image file. Enable encryption for backups (supported by AOMEI Backupper Professional) under the General tab can bring a double protection for your removable drive.
>>Schedule: choose it to set up an automatic backup. For schedule settings, you can choose Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Event triggers, USB plug in or Real-time Sync. Upgrade to the advanced version to enjoy the last three features.
>>Scheme:works well to delete old backup images. This feature is avilable in the Pro edition.
Tips:
If your removable drive is used to store files/folders, you also can use file sync to backup your removable drive. This feature won’t create image files. After syncing, you can view your files/folders at any time.
You can go Home > the disk backup task > Restore to do a disk restore later.
Summary
Win32 Disk Imager in Windows 10 64 bit may not work sometimes. Luckily, Win32 Disk Imager can be replaced by AOMEI Backupper Standard that provides more advanced settings. By the way, incremental backup and differential backup are also equipped with this freeware. You can use them to backup changes only.
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DMG file is a compressed file format being used widely on Mac computer. Windows OS doesn't natively support DMG disk image files, so if you need to create a bootable USB drive from a DMG file, mostly for bootable Mac OS X or macOS installation USB, you need a special utility to help you complete the task.
There is also the possibility of converting the file into a format more suitable for Windows, which is the ISO file format for disk images. Considering the above, let's look at different ways to create a bootable drive from a DMG file on a Windows computer.
Part 1: Convert DMG to ISO and Make Bootable USB from ISO
Since Windows doesn't offer native support for DMG files, you can first convert the file to ISO. Why? A lot of easier to find an app for making a bootable USB from ISO file. The easy way to do this is to use Command Prompt. Don't be intimidated by the non-GUI environment even if you don't have any experience. If you follow the steps below, you can convert any DMG file to ISO and then create a bootable USB using the converted file.
Win32 Disk Imager For Mac
Step 1: Open Command Prompt by typing cmd in the Run windows and hitting Enter.
Step 2: In the command interface, go to the directory in which the DMG file is saved. You can do this by using the 'cd' command followed by the file path, then pressing Enter. For example, if your disk image is in D: and Command Prompt is currently in 'C:', then type 'd:' (no quotes) and press Enter. If it is in a subfolder, type 'cd subfolder', and so on.
Step 3: Use the following command to convert the DMG file to ISO:
hdiutil convert /path/sourceimagefile.dmg -format UDTO -o /path/targetmage.iso
Step 4: Once the ISO file has been created, you can use a burning tool to create the bootable USB drive. To do that, continue with this guide.
Cons:
- File damged or broken after conversion.
- Failed booting from burned USB disk.
- May not work with the latest DMG file.
- Complex and take more time.
Part 2: Create Mac OS X Bootable USB Installer from DMG
Androidphonesoft DMG Editor is a powerful software application for Windows that will allow you to manage the non-native DMG format even if you have no experience. The interface is uncluttered, and you can even use the tool to view files, extract them, edit the DMG and even copy it to a disk. The burn function has one of the highest success rates in the industry, which makes this an ideal utility for our purpose.
Created by the talented team of developers at Androidphonesoft, DMG Editor is currently the most intuitive Windows app for handling Apple's disk image format. Each of its functions have been tested on various Windows versions, with different types of DMG files and on different PC brands. This thorough testing means no wasted DVDs or corrupted files. As long as your DMG file is in good shape, you can directly create a bootable disk.
Step 1 Install DMG Editor
Win32 Disk Imager For Dmg Download
Download and install DMG Editor on your Windows PC.
Step 2 Plug in USB Drive
Launch the application and click on the 'Burn' section. You will also see other modules such as Edit, Extract and Copy.
Step 3 Start Burning ISO File to USB
Now import the DMG file by clicking the 'Load DMG' button, and click on 'Burn'.
In a few moments, your bootable USB flash drive will be ready for use. Since you haven't done any conversion, you can use this directly on a Mac for program installation, which you cannot do with the first method.
Part 3: Create Bootable USB from DMG in Windows Via PowerISO
Another well-known disk image utility is PowerISO. Apart from being ideal for burning ISO files, it can also burn a DMG file to USB to create a bootable drive. There are some settings that you have to keep in mind when burning with this software, but it's easy to get the hang of it once you do it a couple of times.
Step 1: Download PowerISO and install it in your Windows PC. Launch the app and insert a USB drive into a free USB slot in your computer.
Step 2: You can import the DMG file directly by clicking on ‘Burn' in the toolbar or going to Tools >Burn. In the Burn window, select the DMG file from the Source File section.
Step 3:Now review the settings to select the burn speed. The default will be the maximum your hardware can handle, so you can reduce that. You can also choose to finalize the disk and verify it. Finalizing means you can't save any more files on the drive, but it primarily applies to DVDs and CDs. Choosing ‘Verify' will prompt the software to execute an additional process after the burning is done. Any errors in the bootable USB will show up at that point.
Step 4: Now click on 'Burn' and wait for the progress bar to reach 100%. Your bootable USB is now ready.
Cons:
Win32 Disk Imager Manual
- Expensive for a single license.
- Higher failure rate for bootable device.
- Ugly user interface.
The Bottom Line:
The second two methods are recommended if you don't have much experience working with DMG files, but DMG Editor will appeal to novices and experts alike. The clean interface and minimal user input means a lower chance of errors while creating the bootable media.
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