FAQ

Imaging

How do I clone a drive and create multiple identical copies?

TaskForce is perfectly suited for cloning! Here is how to clone into 4 SATA drives and 1 RAW file simultaneously.

When you need to create multiple copies, simply:

  1. Go to Image.
  2. Select a source device.
  3. Select up to 5 targets (SATA, USB, SAS or RAW, E01 files) and click Continue.
  4. Click Start.

What's more, TaskForce has 18 ports in total including IDE and Extension ports in combination with huge overhead capacity to handle many imaging sessions or other operations concurrently. So if you start a 1-to-5 cloning, you still have at least 12 ports left for additional cloning/imaging sessions to run simultaneously. TaskForce is designed to minimize the imaging time.

How can I create an E01 image?

To image a source evidence drive to an E01 file, you have to create a new target file:

  1. Go to Image.
  2. Select the source evidence drive.
  3. On the Select target devices panel, click Select file.
  4. In the file selector, find the folder to store the image and click Create file.
  5. In the Create image file dialog, select the E01 file type.
  6. Fill in E01 file information, and then click Create.
  7. On the Select target devices panel, click Continue.

How can I image a U.2 NVMe drive?

To use a drive with U.2 interface, attach the drive to TaskForce with the help of U.2-to-M.2 adapter and cable:

Connecting to TaskForce:

  1. Plug U.2 drive into U.2-to-M.2 adapter using the cable.
  2. Plug U.2-to-M.2 adapter into Atola M.2 extension.
  3. Plug the extension into TaskForce while the unit is powered off.

How do I image to an E01 or a RAW file?

When selecting targets in the slide-out panel, click the Select file tile. It only works if TaskForce is connected to a network and with an accessible network folder.

How do I set up an automated launch of AXIOM after imaging?

You cannot launch a third-party software from TaskForce itself. However, there are automation tools that allow TaskForce to be integrated into a workflow with Magnet AXIOM. For instance, Magnet AUTOMATE. Atola team closely cooperates with Magnet's developers to support and enhance this integration. See how it works.

Another option is a folder monitor/watchdog. Use an app that tracks when a new image file appears in a specific folder. After that, such an app can launch Magnet AXIOM against the newly created image. There are many watchdog tools on the web.

Is there a way to delete an imaging session and start imaging all over again?

When you select source and target drives that were previously used in an imaging session, TaskForce will indicate the progress status of the previous session and you will be allowed to resume it.

To start a new imaging session with the same source and target, you will need to delete the previous one:

  1. Go to Image.
  2. Select the source drive.
  3. On the Select target devices panel, select the target and click Continue.
  4. Right-click the imaging session (or tap it with 2 fingers if you are using a touch screen).
  5. In the context menu, click Allow imaging map deletion. A Trash icon appears in each imaging progress status tile.
  6. To delete the previous imaging session, click the Trash icon. Now you are able to start a new session to the same target.

To disable imaging map deletion, click/tap the imaging session again and select the option in the drop-down menu.


RAID configuration autodetection & imaging

Can TaskForce identify a RAID’s configuration if I include drives that are not RAID members (the drives are not marked properly)?

Normally, TaskForce can identify the type of an unknown RAID within a minute. TaskForce reads data from the initial 3 million sectors of each drive and searches for the correct relation between the RAID members.

With an odd drive, the module will need more time to identify the configuration.

  • In case of RAID 1 or 10, detected mirrors will be arranged into groups, the odd drive will be placed separately, partitions will be mounted successfully.
  • If it is a JBOD, the partitions will likely be identified and the order of the drives will be correct, with the odd drive placed at the end.
  • As for RAID 0 or 5, TaskForce won't reassemble such array: data from the odd drive is taken into account when TaskForce combines data from all members.

NB The autodetection module attemps identifying configuration from scratch each time you remove or add a drive. Try removing a drive that seems odd. Normally, RAID members are drives of the same capacity and usually, of the same type, made by the same manufacturer, etc.

Can I image a RAID array that contains a damaged drive?

RAID assembly module requires good, readable drives to find a configuration. When one of the RAID's drives is damaged, it's best to image the drive first and attempt the reassembly using the image.

However, if the configuration is known and no search is required, you can try to mount the RAID even with a malfunctioning device. In this case, specify the configuration manually and proceed with imaging. TaskForce's multipass imaging engine copes with RAID arrays with such issues effectively.

If you are dealing with a RAID 5, RAID 6, or RAID 1, TaskForce will use the RAID's redundancy when encountering internal read errors.

When one of the drives in a RAID 5 array is seriously damaged, you can add a virtual Missing device instead of the damaged device. Next, it is possible to reassemble and image the RAID 5 array from the remaining healthy drives and 1 "stub" device. TaskForce reconstructs data from such arrays on-the-fly in the course of imaging.


Performance

How to reach 15 TB/h?

TaskForce was designed as an ultimate multitasking tool with huge overhead capacity. Given that most imaged devices are HDDs, whose data transfer rate is 200 - 220 MB/s at best, it is not frequently that you will be seeing TaskForce reach the limits of its capacity.

Our QA team achieves the speed of 15 TB/hour with this specific setup:

  • imaging 6 SAS ports to 6 SATA ports (all SSD drives)
  • imaging 2 USB ports to 2 USB ports (all SSD drives)
  • imaging NVMe extension port to a network file (10Gb connection)
  • imaging IDE port (with an IDE drive attached) to a network file (10Gb connection)

This adds up to 10 imaging sessions at superb overall performance.

However, in most cases, you deal with HDDs as source devices, and they are half as fast as SSDs, which creates a bottleneck.

Another potential performance bottleneck is network bandwidth. To achieve maximum throughput, connect ETH1 port to a network or NAS, and ETH2 port to another network or NAS. It will give you 20Gb/s of throughput. It also depends on your network hardware and setup.

To learn about network throughput optimization, read the official TaskForce manual:

Performance when imaging to a remote USB drive (write cache + exFAT)

There are two ways to boost imaging performance:

  1. Format the target drive to exFAT. It works faster than NTFS.
  2. Enable Windows write cache:
    1. Go to Device Manager.
    2. In the Disk Drives category, select your drive.
    3. On the Policies tab, switch to Better performance.
    4. Confirm the reboot of the PC.

Important: When the last imaging session completes, use Eject Removable media icon in the system tray to guarantee cache-flushing of the last portions of written data. Here is an article explaining how it works.


Connectivity

How do I extend my server network with a DHCP-enabled switch

Here is an example of switch that supports static IP setup via simple web admin. To set the IP addresses for each current server network node:

Ubiquiiti EdgeSwitch 16 XG
Four 10Gb Ethernet ports, twelve 10Gb SFP ports

To configure a Ubiquiti DHCP server:

  1. Connect PC and TaskForce to Ubiquiti switch.
  2. Set static IP address of PC to 192.168.1.4.
  3. Open a browser and enter 192.168.1.2 (default Ubiquiti switch IP).
  4. Log in with default credentials: ubnt (both name and password).
  5. Go to System > Advanced Configuration > DHCP server > Global.
  6. Activate Admin mode by checking the required checkbox and clicking the Submit button.
  7. Go to Pool Summary and click Add to make a new address pool
  8. Enter your:
    • pool name
    • network base address (192.168.1.0 for example)
    • network mask (255.255.255.0)
    • put Default Router Address and DNS

    After creating your pool, you can change it via Pool configuration tab.

  9. Click the Save configuration button in the right upper corner of the window and then Save.

Alternatively, there is a tutorial on Youtube.

To enable 10Gb with jumbo frames:

  1. Go to Basic > Port summary.
  2. Select ports 0/13, 0/14, 0/15, 0/16 and click Edit.
  3. In the Edit Port configuration window, change Maximum Frame Size to 9014.

There is no DHCP server on our internal lab network. How do I assign a static IP address to TaskForce?

  1. In TaskForce, click the menu button in the top right corner.
  2. Click Settings.
  3. In the Network section, you will find IP settings for both 10Gb Ethernet cards.
  4. Click the pencil button to see Use static IP checkbox.

Atola TaskForce demo video includes a basic explanation of the network settings. Here's a Youtube video on that.

How do I set up Windows Server share?

In Control panel:

  1. Enable Guest account (Administrative tools - AD users and computers - Users)
  2. Next, go to Network and sharing center - Change advanced sharing settings - Turn On network discovery + Turn on sharing (file and printers + public folders)
  3. In the shared folder access options, add Guest or Everyone

If the shared folder demands restricted access, please follow this guide.

How do I connect TaskForce to a network domain?

TaskForce does not require a preliminary setup for working in a domain. Instead, your flow would be:

  1. Click the Image icon in the left-side taskbar
  2. Select the source in the left slideout panel
  3. To select the target, click Select file in the FILE section
  4. In the file manager's Local network section, click Connect button
  5. A new dialog will appear with the Domain field

The entered server will remain in the Local Network section list.

Additionally, in Web API, there's a targetFolderDomain parameter of /start-image command that may be of use.

How do I setup Synology DS218?

  1. Go to Control panel > File services > SMB > Advanced settings.
  2. Set Maximum protocol to SMB3.
  3. Go to Control panel > Shared folder.
  4. Click Create button and specify network folder details.

If you need to get a guest account working, run the next actions:

  1. Go to Control panel > User.
  2. Edit for Guest user.
  3. Untick Disable this account.

How do I connect a mouse and a keyboard to the Surface tablet?

  1. Exit full-screen mode by tapping menu in the top right corner and selecting Toggle Full Screen.
  2. Enable Bluetooth in the tablet's Windows 10.
  3. Connect the mouse and keyboard.

Wiping

How does SSD Trim work and does it wipe a drive completely?

SSD Trim doesn't instantly wipe sectors (NAND memory cells) of a drive. It instructs SSD's firmware which sectors can be wiped by marking them as 'dirty'.

Time of erasure of 'dirty' sectors depends on the SSD manufacturer and firmware. For instance, recent Samsung SSDs have a so-called foreground garbage collection. It wipes any erased file almost immediately thanks to a TRIM command proactively executed by the operating system. In older SSDs, trimmed sectors can remain intact for minutes or even hours.

The most secure way to erase an SSD entirely is using one of the following methods:

  • Secure Erase - for SATA drives
  • Format NVM - for NVMe drives
The drive's internal implementation of these commands is vendor-specific. In most drives, it ensures full erasure of an SSD including non-addressable areas.


Case management & reports

How can I export reports in Standalone mode?

You can use an external USB drive for it. To proceed, it must be formatted as a TaskForce-compatible Storage device.

Here is how you do it:

  1. Plug USB drive into one of USB ports.
  2. Switch the USB port into target mode (turn off its Source switch).
  3. Click Devices and then click the File tile.
  4. In Select image file window, click the Add storage button.
  5. In Select device panel, click the drive you want to use in the Storage mode.
  6. Choose Format device to exFAT and click Next.
  7. Click Format and confirm the action.

Once the USB device has been formatted as a Storage, you can use it as a target device to save reports on in Standalone mode:

  1. Plug the USB Storage device into any USB port in target mode.
  2. Go to Cases.
  3. Search for the cases you need. Use the search field and sortable table to locate the cases.
  4. Select the cases and click the Export button.
  5. Select Storage plugged into TaskForce and click the Export button.

Can reports only be exported in PDF, can I export them into RTF format instead?

It should be possible to save a page into RTF. For example, in this Chrome AddOn you can select the reports and click Print. It will generate a single page with all selected reports, which can be exported to .RTF file.

Can all reports listed in the main page be sorted, managed, or deleted?

Yes, they can be filtered, sorted, exported, and deleted. The quickest way to perform a search is by using the Search field above the reports on the main page. Entering task name (Image, Diagnose, Wipe) and/or device model/serial helps getting a more specific output.

To sort, export, or delete reports, you can go to Reports in the top menu, where all case reports are shown in a table view. Save to helps download the selected reports in a single ZIP file. There is also a Delete button in the bottom right corner for your needs.


Hardware

How do I remove or swap out the internal storage from TaskForce for security reasons?

We have foreseen that such requirement may be imposed by some organizations. That's why TaskForce allows the following:

  • removable internal SSD: locate the hatch (behind the removable touchscreen) in the lid, unscrew it to remove the SSD.
  • units assembled in 2020 onwards Wi-Fi module is no longer built in
  • built-in Wi-Fi (in units assembed in 2018 - 2019) is disabled by default and can be removed if necessary (through the hatch in the lid)
  • the tablet's camera and mic are disabled during assembly
  • the touchscreen is detachable (the imager can be operated without a screen)

How can I protect my TaskForce from physical damage during transportation?

From September 2020 onwards, all newly assembled units are equipped with a magnetic screen cover that is included in the standard package with the product.

This cover helps protect the unit's screen, it is easily attached and removed when necessary. If you need a pelican case to pack the unit with all the cables and extensions, the suitable case model is IM-2700. For instructions on how to obtain a fitted foam, please contact our support.

Where can I purchase additional SAS and SATA cables?

eSATAp cables similar to the ones included in the package with TaskForce can be ordered on Amazon or a different online shopping site (Ebay, AliExpress, etc.) at around $9 each. The SAS/SATA powered cables are not widely available on the market - this custom cable is made per our order.

Is there a battery to keep my TaskForce powered when there is a no electric grid available?

These Cyberpower UPS systems can serve as a reliable battery for Atola imagers, TaskForce and Insight alike:

The flat horizontal UPS design is convenient as it allows putting an Atola imager on top of it. The price range of CyberPower UPS systems is quite vast, and you can choose a suitable model with power ranging from 500VA/300W to 2000VA/2000W.


Subscription

How do I activate my unit in a network-free environment?

There is a single way to perform TaskForce activation or subscription extension:

  1. Enter the TaskForce serial number. It can be found at the bottom of the unit.
  2. TaskForce generates a license key (Internet connection is not required).
  3. You find an Internet-connected PC and visit the website: a.atola.com.
  4. You enter the license key and several other details.
  5. The website generates a TaskForce activation code.
  6. You write the code down or take a photo, and then enter it in TaskForce activation screen.
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