Recommendation about “Destination Device” options in Data Extractor (File Image / Extended Image / Virtual Drive)
Posted: 25.10.25, 10:36
Hello Everyone,
I’d like to ask for an expert recommendation regarding the “Destination Device” options available in PC-3000 Data Extractor, especially when creating HDD imaging tasks.
Case description:
I created a Data Extractor task for a 4 TB HDD and selected File Image as the destination type.
During setup, I set the image fragment size to 25 MB, and as a result, the task folder now contains more than 156,000 image files.
The task itself works fine, but file management becomes extremely difficult.
My questions are:
File Image loading:
How can I correctly reopen or load a File Image task later in Data Extractor itself?
When creating a new task and choosing the File Image as the source, which file exactly should I select?
Image structure:
Is there any way to automatically save all the small image fragments into a separate subfolder inside the task directory, to keep the structure organized?
Alternative options:
What are the main advantages and disadvantages of each destination type —
File Image, Extended Image, and Virtual Drive — from the ACE Lab team’s point of view?
Recommended practice:
Which option do ACE engineers personally recommend for professional HDD imaging and later analysis (both within Data Extractor and using third-party tools)?
I’d like to ask for an expert recommendation regarding the “Destination Device” options available in PC-3000 Data Extractor, especially when creating HDD imaging tasks.
Case description:
I created a Data Extractor task for a 4 TB HDD and selected File Image as the destination type.
During setup, I set the image fragment size to 25 MB, and as a result, the task folder now contains more than 156,000 image files.
The task itself works fine, but file management becomes extremely difficult.
My questions are:
File Image loading:
How can I correctly reopen or load a File Image task later in Data Extractor itself?
When creating a new task and choosing the File Image as the source, which file exactly should I select?
Image structure:
Is there any way to automatically save all the small image fragments into a separate subfolder inside the task directory, to keep the structure organized?
Alternative options:
What are the main advantages and disadvantages of each destination type —
File Image, Extended Image, and Virtual Drive — from the ACE Lab team’s point of view?
Recommended practice:
Which option do ACE engineers personally recommend for professional HDD imaging and later analysis (both within Data Extractor and using third-party tools)?