No, Disk to Disk copy will clone your source to the target and erase all previous data on the target.

Yes. You need to have a basic backup to store changes to it.

Do not install R-Drive Image on the source HDD. Use the CD/DVD startup version instead.

No, you can restore images on local devices only.

This error usually means that R-Drive Image cannot write to the target where you want to create the image. Check whether this location has enough free space, you have sufficient permissions, or it is not read-only. Sometimes it may appear when you select a mapped drive as the destination in the scheduler but it appears not mapped when the task starts.

Yes, it is possible. R-Drive Image as it makes an exact copy of the source disk.

R-Drive Image creates ARC files that are NOT CD-image files, they can be burned as files only. An arc file is an image file that R-Drive Image can use to restore it to the same or another place (an HDD or partition).

Yes, you can. When you select the Create an image action and choose a DVD drive as the destination, then you will see on the 5th step an option to include R-Drive Image Boot to this DVD.

You may use this command-line command to check an image: r-driveimagecl check -a=file-name.arc

Create a new startup CD/DVD. Select Configure startup media troubleshooting options on the Removable Storage Device Selection panel. Disable ACPI/APIC and disallow PCI BIOS on the Startup media troubleshooting options panel. If this does not help, create another startup CD/DVD with the Display startup kernel messages option enabled on the Startup media troubleshooting options panel. Write down the messages and contact our tech support.

Please make sure that the Task Scheduler" service is running on the system.

Most likely this is a user permission issue. All original permissions on files and folders are preserved. Only users who had access rights for files on the original disk can access them in image.

No, R-Drive Image does not have such option right now.

Most likely yes, as there will be no changes in the file system.

Unfortunately, R-Drive Image doesn't support CD/DVD startup customization.

Most likely not because the Virtual OS Machine usually uses HDD emulation (usually it is just a file with the structure different from a real disk).

You can create a restore script command manually using this pattern:
r-driveimagecl [/switches] restore .....
or create a script from a scheduled task and then enhance it.

A non-interactive mode can be done using the switch "a".
In this case R-Drive Image will not ask the user any questions. If it cannot perform the action, it will generate an error.
Example:
r-driveimagecl /a restore .....

If you need the last incremental data then we can add -t parameter with -1 value
-t=<TimeSliceNumber>
It specifies which incremental data will be used to restore the data from the image. If the TimeSliceNumber is not specified, the first data in the image will be used. -1 specifies the last incremental data in the image.
Examples: -t="2" specifies the second incremental data in the image will be used to restore data.

All together:
r-driveimagecl /a restore -t="-1" .....

In an actual script, you should specify the mandatory parameters '-a','-s' and '-d instead of dots.
All details about scripting commands can be found in R-Drive Image Help "Scripting and Command Line
Operations"

No, R-Drive Image is not compatible with this file format.

A connected image is read-only. You cannot change or add anything to it. All the changes will be lost in short time, even if you may see them.

Yes, you can connect it as Virtual Drive. Be sure that all image files are in the same folder.

Yes, you can. The source and target can be different physical devices.

Yes. Check that "Notify System application" is selected on the Backup Options panel. The applications must support Microsoft Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) to be notified.

First of all, check if all components are on the same disk system disk, usually, disk C:. (For example, pagefile.sys may be on another logical disk.) If not, you have to combine them to the system disk, or to create and then therefore restore all disks the system components reside on. Failure to do so may result in your system freezing at startup.
Creating a backup image of the system disk does not much differ from that action for a non-system disk.
Restoring data to the system disk is much trickier. You cannot restore data to a system disk directly from the Windows version of R-Drive Image; you have to use the startup one. Here you have two options:
1-st: Create a special startup CD/DVD disc. It will help when the system is corrupted and cannot be started, and it does not have some other problems mentioned below. But you have to have a CD/DVD drive in your system.
2-nd. Restore the system without the startup CD/DVD. When you try to restore a system disk in the Windows version, R-Drive Image will ask you to re-start the system into the R-Drive Image startup version. Upon your confirmation it will make some changes to the system startup files. When you restart the system, the R-Drive Image will start in its startup mode. You don't have to have a CD/DVD drive in your system when using this method, but you cannot recover a corrupted system, and some system control software may prevent R-Drive Image from modifying the system startup files. Rarely such method cannot work in some EFI systems.
Then you will have to select an image from which data is to be restored and the target disk/drive.
Please note that that when you select partitions/disks/drives, you will not see Windows-style disk letters like C:, you will have to select required objects using disk label, size, file system type, HDD serial number , etc. They are the same both for the Windows and startup versions.

No. R-Drive Image creates an exact byte-by-byte copy of the source disk. The only exceptions are the pagefile.sys and hibernate.sys files on the system disk. They are excluded from the image if MS VSS snapshot provider is selected on the Backup Options panel.

Yes. Select a CD/DWD writer in your computer on the Image Destination Panel and Include R-Drive Image bootable version on the Media Options. R-Drive Image will create a startup disc with the image of your system disk (or a part of it). You may start your computer from that disk and use R-Drive Image startup version to recover your system from the image.

Yes. Create an image of the disk in the computer you want to clone. Start the virtual machine with the R-Drive Startup version CD/DVD and restore that image to that virtual machine. You may have to re-install some hardware drivers. You may also use an ISO image instead of the CD/DVD disc. See documentation to your virtual machine for more details.

This message may appear when R-Drive Image cannot lock the drive.
Possible causes are:
- other low-level software accessing the HDD is running.
- the system is swapping to the disk. Try disabling the pagefile.sys file on the disk.
- the disk or folder on it is shared over network. Remove the shares.
- sometimes a virus may be a cause of such behavior.
Also you may try to launch the CD/DVD version and see if it can pass the snapshot. If yes, then only OS with some software prevents it.

All of them save only changes between the data in the previously created original full image of the disk and the data at the instance the backup is being created.
For the differential backup the changes are saved between the original image and the current instance. When restoring data, you will need the full image and only the differential file created at the instance to which you want to restore data.
For the incremental backup, changes are saved between the last saved changes and the current instance. When restoring data, you will need the full image and all files (both incremental and differential ones) created to the instant to which you want to restore data.
Which method is to choose, depends on your task. If you need to keep only the latest backup instant, you may use the differential backup and delete all previous differential files. If you need to keep all instances, you may use the incremental backup to keep overall file sizes smaller. Please, take into consideration data safety: If any of the differential file is damaged, data will be lost only for that backup instant. If any of the incremental file is damaged, data will be lost for all subsequent backup instances starting from the damaged file until the next full or differential backup.

Most likely, your USB disk was improperly disconnected from a Windows system. For instance, it was simply unplugged from the computer rather than disconnected through the Safely Remove Hardware icon on the tray menu.
When a USB device with the NTFS file system is properly disconnected/removed/ejected from a system, Windows writes some info to that device that it's been properly disconnected. The R-Drive Image startup disk is built on Linux, another (and free) operating system. Linux can't write data to NTFS disks being not properly disconnected. Windows can. That is why R-Drive Image startup version shows your USB disk as read only while your Windows can write anything on it.
To recover the problem, try the following:
* Connect the USB disk to a Windows computer and properly disconnect it using the Safely Remove Hardware icon on the system tray menu.
Sometimes a Windows system can't properly disconnect a USB device and shows the "Generic Volume' cannot be stopped right now. Try stopping the device again, later." message. In this case,
* Connect the USB disk to a Windows computer and shut it down while the USB disk is working. While shutting down, Windows MUST properly disconnect all connected USB devices. That is a mandatory shutdown procedure.
If that still does not help, something is wrong either with your Windows computer or with the USB disk.