Unexpected Full Image File

This article applies to:
All EaseUS Todo Backup editions

Introduction

Since full images usually take up more hard drive space, any unexpected full image may confuse the backup schedule and make insufficient space to save subsequent image files. To figure out why the full image file is created, this article gives some ideas to complete the task.

Check if it is really a full image file first

Based on the principle of incremental and differential backup, if most of the selected files have been changed since full image created, a subsequent image file will be created in almost the same size as a full image file due to all changed files included. So it is important to determine if it is a real full image file first.

You can switch to the Management page, and easily find out what exactly the image file type is by following the red marks in the picture below. Or follow green marks to see image file table with detail file size listed in Windows explorer.

If the image file you confuse is not shown as a full type, then you have to check if it is real that most files has been changed since last backup, which result in a huge incremental/differential image file.

Or you find it is really an ‘unexpected’ full image file, then go on with the following part to find out why it is created ‘unexpectedly’.

The options which create additional full image file

1. In order to keep an auto schedule backup from using up all space on destination folder, users always specify an image-reserved strategy to a schedule. And during the strategy running, some additional full image file will be created. The configuration page can be found by following the picture below.

If user needs to preserve image file for X days or the latest X backups, there will be a new full image file created between every X-1 images.

And there will be 2 full image files created at the beginning of the schedule if the option I will preserve the first image.

2. When creating a schedule, user is allowed to specify a full image at the beginning of every schedule circle. Following the picture below to find schedule configuration page and check if the full image file is made by this option.

3. Image files are saved in the same partition where source files are located. for example, backing up entire D drive to D, the second incremental/differential will include the new added full image file created in the first backup, and result in a huge image file in a similar size to a full image.

As you may already found, all image files are always created under the rules you added to the schedule. So it would be better to go through all schedule options first when you find there is an uncertain full image files.