A mini-image thus solves a lot of problems. It gets around the protection built into a lot of media, and doesn’t consume much more than an mp3 does on a hard drive. How? By simply stripping away any files except those required by the copy protection method, and then extracting those files in a certain, non-destructive manner.

If you find you have a mini-image and now do not know what to with it, you have to mount the image with a special tool called a disk emulator, such as Alcohol 120% or Daemon Tools. Alcohol 120% can make images for you, amongst other things, but is not freeware like Daemon Tools. This being the case, I recommend Daemon Tools, downloadable here.

After installing Daemon Tools, you will have to reboot. When you log in next time, you will see a new icon in the tray by the digital clock in the right hand corner. Right-click the new icon.

If you have a good mini-image, your protected media should work flawlessly.

This is the preferred method of backing up your media. No-CD cracks are often associated with the illegal piracy of titles over the internet, whereas mini-image files are more than likely created by a user from his own image making utility like Alcohol 120%. I sincerely recommend you look into making your own mini-images for your own use.