How to make a system image. How to create a system image for quick Windows recovery

Due to our own erroneous actions on the computer or a virus attack, it is not possible to download Windows 7 by any means?! Or the operating system boots, but working in it is simply unbearable?! If you are familiar with these situations and would like to correct the situation within a minimum time, you need to prepare in advance for such problems and sometimes (once a month/every two months) make an image of the system and, if necessary, restore the operating system by rolling back to the created image. Windows 7 has a built-in system archiver, which is very simple and intuitive; you don’t need to install additional programs to create an image of your system, much less spend money on these programs.

How to make a system image of Windows 7? There are several ways to launch System Archiving, here is one of them. Come along the way
In the window that opens, you will see on the left "Creating a system image"- this tool will allow you to create a system archive once, if you look at the right side of the window, you will see a button, i.e. It is possible to configure archiving automatically.

It's up to you to choose which method suits you; in this article I will describe both of these methods.

Creating a system image

Click "Creating a system image", in the window that opens, select the location where the system backup will be stored, the ideal option is an external hard drive, you can use a CD/DVD, but keep in mind that you will need a lot of them. It is also better not to use a local disk, since in the event of a virus attack, recovery from the local disk is not always possible.

After choosing a location to save the backup, you need to choose what to archive. If you have enough space, save all local drives. In this example, I will only save drive C.

In the next window, confirm our choice and click "Archive".

Next comes the archiving process/creating a system image; it can last for quite a long time, it all depends on the amount of space being archived and the power of the computer.

At the end of archiving, the system will offer to write the data to disk, since I’m archiving to an external hard drive, I don’t need this, click “no”, besides, I don’t really want to write 32 GB :)

This completes the process of creating a system image, the backup is located on a removable disk, the folder name is WindowsImageBackup.

Setting up automatic system image creation

I remind you that we originally came along the way “Start-Control Panel-Backup and Restore”,press "Set up backup", in the window that opens, select the location where the system backup will be stored, please note that the specified backup location must be available when it is launched according to a schedule. The ideal option is an external hard drive; CD/DVD is not entirely suitable, since it will not be very practical to spend several disks on each backup. It is also better not to use a local disk, since in the event of a virus attack, recovery from the local disk is not always possible.

In the next window, we select what we will archive or present the choice to the system, i.e. leave it as default, in this example I will leave it as default. Click "Further".

In the next window, select the schedule for executing the system image, I recommend once a month, although this is individual, it all depends on how often you make changes to the system.

After clicking "Save settings and start archiving", the archiving process will begin. System archiving can take a long time, up to several hours, it all depends on the amount of data and the speed of the computer.

I hope you will never need a system backup, but situations are different and to be on the safe side, I strongly recommend making an archived image of the system.

Hi all! Today I decided to touch on the topic of restoring an installed operating system. We will, of course, talk about Windows.

I think many users have encountered a problem when Windows suddenly stops starting.

The reasons for such a problem can be very different - penetration into the system, damaged hard drive blocks, hardware problems, mistakes of one of the users...

In many cases, an image of an existing operating system can help out. I’ll tell you how to create a system image.

Standard Windows tools

When using the method provided by the operating system itself, you do not need any additional program. The only thing you need is administrator rights; an external hard drive is also desirable.

Let's look at all the details using the example of the "seven", still the most popular system from the Windows family.

So. First you need to prepare your computer for the upcoming operation. To reduce the size of the image that you will use for recovery, remove all unnecessary programs and files from the system partition (usually drive C).

But be careful, delete only what you know for sure is unnecessary, do not touch the Windows files itself!

And, by the way, be sure to think about what programs should be installed so that they are already in the image and reduce the number of additional actions in the future (after recovery procedures). Then it is better to restart the computer.

On the left side of the window, click “Create a system image.” You will have to wait for some time - the system will evaluate the system partition and scan local disks. The next window will prompt you to select a device to save the archive.

Choosing the right media

Other options are possible, but I do not recommend saving to a disk that is a system one; moreover, Windows in some cases may not provide such an option at all.

The capacity of a DVD is too small for such needs, and dividing the full image into ten pieces, each of which is recorded on a separate DVD, is clearly not the best solution.

In general, choose what is most suitable for your case, connect all the necessary devices and click “Next”.

In the next window, check whether everything is assigned correctly - the disks for archiving and the location of the backup copy (the window is called: “Confirmation of archiving parameters”) - and click the “Archive” button.

Until the process is completed, you must leave the computer alone - do not turn it off, do not launch any programs, or interrupt the archiving process.

In addition to the saved image, you can make a bootable disk by selecting “Create a system repair disk.” You may need it if you do not have an installation disk that contains the Windows distribution kit and all the necessary utilities. Go there too - to the “Control Panel”, then to “Backup and Restore”.

How it works

Now let's look at how to use the archive image file. In case of serious failures of the operating system, a boot disk is used - the one from which Windows was installed, or one created as I described above.

You just need to insert it into the DVD drive and start your computer from it. A menu will appear on the screen - select “Restore from a previously created image.”

Then you will need to specify the location of the image file - the external hard drive with the file must already be connected. Specify the file and the recovery operation will begin. The result will be a working, serviceable Windows in the form in which it was at the time the image was created.

With respect! Abdullin Ruslan

Today, almost every home has a computer. When you bought a computer, it either already had an OS or it didn’t have one. Typically, many computers are sold without operating systems. When the computer does not have an operating system, you need to install it yourself. But often computers are sold with an installed operating system and even some set of necessary programs.

Further, over time, when using a computer, problems and problems arise in the software. We are all accustomed to the fact that programs can fail. After this, you have to either reinstall the program itself, which is crashing, or in extreme cases, reinstall the operating system itself. The process of reinstalling the operating system itself is lengthy. Previously, this was done within 4-6 hours, but today it takes up to an hour. But you can save a lot of time and effort if you create an image of the operating system when you first start using your computer. What is a system image - let's figure it out.

The concept of a system image

The operating system itself and all programs are located on the system drive “C”. The operating system image is a copy of this disk. To be more precise, by default those disks that make it possible to run the operating system are written to the image. The image also includes the operating system itself and its settings, files and programs. That is, you can write into the OS image everything that is on the C drive and that is necessary for using the computer. Then, if some inevitable problem arises, for example, the hard drive fails, the image is launched and the system is restored. The peculiarity of system recovery is that it is impossible to select a single specific element to restore. In other words, all programs and parameters will be overwritten to those in the image.

Another feature of images is that they can contain the user’s own files. But this is not very useful, and a much better backup would be made using operating system backup programs.

What is a Windows 8 system image

Next, we'll look at how to create images for different versions of Windows. A Windows 8 system image is created as follows. To do this, you will need to use the command line, and you will also have to use the Resigm utility. Using this tool, an image will be created that will include programs, their settings, and in addition the entire complex of Windows system files. At the command line, you need to enter the recigm / createimage command and specify which disk you want to backup.

Windows 8 has another option to back up data files virtually on the fly. This can be done using the File History function. In order to enable this function, you need to press the key combination windows + w on your keyboard, and in the window that appears you need to enter the name of our function in the search field. There will be two options and all the necessary steps will be described.

The concept of a Windows XP system image

The Windows XP system image is created in the following sequence. Select “Control Panel” from the Start menu. Next, select the “System and Security” category, then “Archiving computer data” and at the end select the “Create a system image” item. After this, follow all the instructions that will appear and your image will be created.

Creating a system image

You can also record a system image using special software. There are quite a lot of such programs, although most of them are not free, but they are reliable. Such programs include Norton Ghost, DriveImage XML, GParted. But the most effective is the Acronis system image. When using this software product, you first need to create a boot disk. After this, the “Start Page” tab is selected in the program, and the “Backup” section appears in it. There we indicate with a tick which disk will need to be copied. After that, in the next section “Archive storage” we indicate the path where our image will be recorded. It is worth saying that it will be written in iso format, the operating system image will be placed in this file. And then all you have to do is click on the “Proceed” button.

In order to have something to use to restore the Windows 7 operating system in the event of a failure, you must first create these recovery tools. How?

We press the Start button, then click “Control Panel”, there we open “System and Security” and, finally, we get to what we are looking for, namely “Backup and Restore”.

"Creating a system image" and
"Create a system repair disc."

The Windows 7 system recovery disk is a boot disk, you insert it into the CD/DVD drive, and the computer boots (!) from the boot disk, and not from the C: drive, from which for some reason it does not boot.

Using a boot disk, you can boot your computer if your PC operating system is not working. After booting your PC from the Windows 7 system recovery disc, you can restore your PC's operating system. And for this you will already need a system image.

A Windows 7 system image is an archive of the operating system in the state it was at the time it was archived. That is, a system image is an archived copy of the OS that allows you to subsequently restore an operating system that completely matches the operating system at the time of archiving. What was archived is what we got as a result of system recovery!

A Windows 7 system recovery disc only needs to be created once. The same cannot be said for the Windows 7 system image. Since the operating system is constantly changing and supplemented, the more often we create a Windows 7 system image, the more accurately we can restore the system from the image saved in the archive.

How to create a Windows 7 system recovery disc?

Click on the proposed option “Create a system repair disk” and follow the instructions displayed on the screen. To create a system recovery disk, we will need a CD/DVD device with the ability to record discs on it, and we will need one blank CD or DVD blank. It is better to use non-rewritable discs for this, so as not to accidentally erase this very important disc later.

The Windows 7 system recovery disk created in this way must be carefully labeled, as recommended by the Backup and Restore program, and placed somewhere where it can be retrieved in an emergency.

If you use a mobile device (for example, a laptop or netbook), then it is better to take the system recovery disk with you. You never know what can happen on a trip?!

If your PC does not have a device for recording CD/DVD discs, then you need to use an external device connected via . There is no other way!

The same external device will also be needed when restoring the system in the event of a system failure. Therefore, it is better to take such an external device with you on trips if you plan to actively work on the PC on the road and outside the home (or office) with possible disastrous consequences for the operating system.

Creating a Windows 7 system image

To create a Windows 7 system image, we need an external hard drive. Moreover, this may be the same disk on which the . The main thing is that this external hard drive has enough space to accommodate the system image and user data archive.

Connect an external hard drive and click on the “Create a system image” option. After some thoughtfulness, the computer will offer to select one of the possible disks on which you can burn the system image. Select the external hard drive (in our example, this is external drive E:), click “Next”:

Then a confirmation window for archiving parameters will appear, in which we must confirm the selected disk for archiving the system image. Confirmation is made by clicking on the “Archive” button:

After confirmation of archiving, the actual creation of a system image on the specified external hard drive begins. In the “Creating a system image” window, the green “Archive saving in progress” indicator crawls, showing how much archiving has been completed:

Before the system image is backed up, you will be asked whether you need to create a system recovery disk. We can answer “No”, since we have already made a system recovery disk using the appropriate option in the main “Backup and Restore” window.

If the system recovery disk has not been created previously, then it is useful to answer “Yes” to the proposed question in order to create this disk.

Let me remind you that a system image created on an external hard drive cannot itself be restored on a PC where the operating system does not boot. This is exactly what you need for a system recovery disk:

Once archiving of the system image is completed, the message “Archiving completed successfully” will appear in the “Creating a system image” window. All that remains is to close the system image creation window by clicking on the “Close” button:

Thus, we created a one-time system image - an archive of the operating system for possible subsequent restoration in the event of possible failures.

In order for this procedure for creating a system image to be performed regularly, when setting up automatic archiving, you must check the box next to the “Enable system image” option, as shown in the following figure:

We're safe now. We have a system recovery disk from which you can start your PC in case of OS failure. And we have a system image on an external hard drive from which we can restore the operating system to the time it was last backed up.

How is operating system recovery performed?

“You’re about to hear something that would be better if you didn’t hear it!” - said one of the heroes of the film “The Man from the Boulevard des Capuchins”.

What I mean is that it would be better for each of us not to encounter the problem of restoring the OS. But if we have to, we will know how to do it.

So, the PC is “dead” and won’t boot. Then we take the Windows 7 system recovery disc, insert it into the CD/DVD device and try to boot the computer from this disc. It doesn't always work out that easy.

Sometimes you still need to go into the PC BIOS to specify the “Initial boot from CD/DVD” option there. I will not describe how to do this, since in each specific case, for each specific PC, this is done in its own way.

This is described in the documentation for the PC, or in the documentation for the PC motherboard, or in the documentation for the BIOS. Since the BIOS menu is most often written in English, the keyword when searching for the corresponding menu options should be the English word “boot” (read as “boot” with a long “u” sound, and translated as “boot”).

After booting the PC using the system recovery disk, connect the external hard drive with the system image saved on it to the USB port of the PC. Then select the appropriate options from the proposed menu for restoring the system from a system image. We indicate that the system needs to be restored, that the system image is stored on such and such an external hard drive. That's all. The recovery program does further work automatically. You just need to be patient and under no circumstances turn off the PC until the recovery is complete.

Upon completion of restoring the system from the system image, you need to remove the system recovery disk from the CD/DVD device, mentally thank it for the services provided (!), and put it back in its original place until the next time (it would be better if this case never happened again!) .

And then you should restart your PC. If everything went well, then to our joy and satisfaction the system will return to the state in which it was at the time the archived copy of the system image was created.
And if not? So, no luck...

"Rounding"

It is impossible to complete the repair, it can only be stopped - so says popular wisdom. Also with issues of archiving and restoring the system and data. There is no end to the methods and methods of performing these procedures.
Therefore, we need to wrap things up.

What other ways are there to restore the operating system? There are a lot of things.

For example, some users go so far as to install two operating systems on their PC, such as Windows and Linux. And they work with Windows until it fails. After Windows fails, they boot into Linux and use its tools to manually restore Windows.

- So it is possible?
- Why not. If this helps in restoring Windows.

You can have two C: drives with Windows operating systems preinstalled on them. One stands inside the PC, the other lies on a shelf (in a drawer, etc.) and waits for its turn. If something happens, we remove one disk from the PC and insert another. Expensive? Yes, but it’s reliable and practical!

To protect user data, you can use the so-called, which allows you to store user data (all or part) on a remote server. This remote disk on the server is accessed via the Internet. All issues of data safety and recovery in case of possible failures are taken over by the company providing access to the cloud.

It’s a pity that you can’t store operating system files in this way, although who forbids, for example, recording a system image during archiving to a cloud disk? Please…

The list of ways and methods can be continued indefinitely. It is important for us not so much to understand the methods themselves as to recognize the fact that both the operating system and user data need to be archived. You need to do this periodically, don’t forget to do it, and don’t be lazy about doing it.

And then you can be almost sure that the system and data will be safe and sound. Almost? Yes, almost, since His Majesty’s chance cannot be discounted. You might get lucky, or you might not.

Those who archive the operating system and their own data have much better luck and much more often. Tested empirically by millions of PC users. Proven in practice.

I suggest you join the majority of lucky people.

– When was the last time you backed up your operating system and your data? Never?! Last year?! Last week?! Yesterday?!
– I’ll do it today!!!

Need a quick and easy way to back up and restore Windows without using backup tools or cloud computing for your personal data?

There are several third-party Windows backup and recovery tools available, but they can be complex and time-consuming to use. So, why not learn how to create an ISO image of your Windows PC?

Why should you choose a Windows 10 image backup?

We all know that backing up our data is important, especially when upgrading to a new version of Windows. But instead of fiddling with partitions for specific data or syncing to the cloud, why not just back up your entire Windows installation?

You can add personal folders to the image backup, but skip apps and games. In addition, you can create an image of the entire system disk. Naturally, you will need a suitable amount of storage for such a backup.

Thanks to the ISO image format, you can create backup copies of your entire PC. Essentially, it creates an exact copy of your entire drive or selected directories. You will be able to restore the backup image in the event of a disaster.

ISO files can also be used to backup existing CDs and DVDs

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Creating a Windows 10 ISO System Image Using DataNumen

One popular way to use disk images is to create a clone of the hard drive (HDD or SSD) that may end up in the last place.

DataNumen Disk Image (a.k.a. "DDKI") is one such solution, works on all versions of Windows and is available as free software.

After downloading and installing the utility, use clone tab for selecting the disk from which you want to make an image; to clone multiple disks use Batch clone Tab.

Select a destination and assign a file name to Output image file as field where you have to select the target drive. This is the device you use to save your backup. This could be an existing external drive or a hard drive you recently purchased.

Click Start cloning This copies your disk to the target device, ready for use. Our view on HDD cloning

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Covers this topic in more detail.

Creating an ISO Disk Image in Windows 7

Even though cloud backup is easy, there is no reason not to prepare an ISO disk image for disaster recovery scenarios. You can make an image of the system in its current state. Alternatively, you can create an image of a recently installed operating system. This may include some apps and games you have installed.

If you are using Windows 7, backing up to an ISO disk image is part of the Windows 7 Backup and Restore feature

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To create a system image in Windows 7, open Start > Get Started > Back Up Files. In the left pane, click Create a system image and select your destination.

This could be an external hard drive or another large volume. You can also burn to DVDs (you'll need more than one) or Blu-ray.

Do you have a home server or some large network storage, perhaps in the form of a purchased NAS? If so you can use Online option. If you want to use a USB flash memory device, please connect it to your computer in advance and select it as the destination.

Also make sure that the system drive is selected (C: drive by default).

A confirmation screen will indicate how much space will be taken up by the backup. Check this to ensure that the design matches the remaining space on the target device. Continue with the backup and wait for it to complete. The duration will depend on the backup size and disk speed.

Recovering a Windows 7 disk image

Once completed, Windows will prompt you to create a system repair disc. This is a good idea, so find a blank disk and follow the instructions. You can then use this to boot your PC and choose the option to restore the ISO disk image of your Windows installation after a disaster scenario.

Creating an ISO Disk Image in Windows 8.1

The same disk image tool is available in later versions of Windows. Ideally, you will need to upgrade Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 before proceeding.

To find the System Image Tool, click Get started and enter " file history". Automatic search will show Recover your files from File history recording first, so click this button to open File history tool, then System Image Backup in the lower left corner.

You can then continue as described in the Windows 7 section above. After creating a backup ISO, follow the Windows 8.1 steps below to restore the image to Windows 10. In case of a disaster recovery, you will need to boot into Windows 10's equivalent of Safe Mode.

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Restore image.

Recovering a Windows 8.1 disk image

If upgrading to Windows 10 doesn't work for you (you might end up with a reboot loop), having an ISO image to fall back on is a huge advantage. You can restore a Windows 8.1 disk image in Windows Advanced settings screen which you will find by pressing F8 several times when your computer boots (or holds SHIFT when you press Run again).

IN Additional launch options, Choose Repairing your computer > System image recovery and follow the instructions, ensuring that Windows can find the ISO file.

Note that even if you have Windows 8.1 installation media, you can still restore the disk image. On Install now screen, use Fix your computer link and then Repair,

From here you will be redirected to the Advanced Startup menu, so select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Restore a system image by following the instructions for restoring a Windows ISO system image.

Backup your Windows PC using an ISO image

As you can see, creating an ISO image backup of your entire Windows system is ideal for backup before a major system update. Additionally, the speed with which an ISO can be created and subsequently restored should make it a much more attractive option than simply backing up your data and hoping for the best.

Once your ISO is made, you may need to boot your computer from it after a system crash. Try one of these tools to create a bootable USB from your ISO file

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Learn more about: data backup, data recovery, disk image, ISO.

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