Backup Complete Computer - Create an Image Backup

How to Create a System Image Backup in Windows 7​

   Information
A system image is an exact copy of a drive. By default, a system image includes the drives required for Windows to run. A system image would include all NTFS formatted partitions with an operating system installed on it (ex: C ), as well as the System Reserved partition. These system partitions cannot be unselected. It also includes Windows and your system settings, programs, and files. You can use a system image to restore the contents of your computer if your hard disk or computer ever stops working. When you restore your computer from a system image, it's a complete restoration—you can't choose individual items to restore, and all of your current programs, system settings, and files are replaced with the contents of the system image.

This tutorial will show you how to create a system image (clone) backup of the entire hard drive or partition that Windows 7 is on, and any other selected drive or partition. You can use this image to be able to do a system image recovery to restore the hard drive or partition at boot back to the way it was at the time the backup image was created.

If you want to include additional drives in the system image, you can manually create a system image. If you manually create a system image, it can be saved on a USB flash drive, CDs, DVDs, or a hard drive.

If a system image was created through Windows Backup instead with the Include a System Image of Drives box checked, you can set Windows to retain as many system images as it has space for on the backup disk or to only keep the most recent system image.

   Note
Keeping different versions of system images

If you're saving your system images on an internal or external drive, or on CDs or DVDs, you can keep several versions of system images. On internal and external hard drives, older system images will be deleted when the drive runs out of space. To help conserve disk space, you can manually delete older system images.

Backup images are saved as backup periods in this format at the selected saved to location like the example below.

drive letter:\WindowsImageBackup\computer name\Backup YYYY-MM-DD HHMMSS

For example, if your computer name is Computer, your backup image location is on hard disk or partition (network or local) D: , and you backed up on 11/22/2008 at 1:00:50 PM (It uses 24 hour time), then that backup image would be located in the folder below.
D:\WindowsImageBackup\Computer\Backup 2008-11-22 130050
If you're saving your system images in a network location, you can only keep the most current system image for each computer. If you have an existing system image for a computer and are creating a new one for the same computer, the new system image will overwrite the existing one.


   Tip
If you want to keep multiple system image versions on the same drive or partition, then you can use either method below to do so.

METHOD ONE:
Change the maximum space used for system images on the drive letter you are saving the Windows Backup to by changing the maximum space used by System Protection for the same drive letter. This is the same setting.

You do not have to have System Protection turned on for the drive letter, but do need to adjust the maximum space to what you like.

The size of a system image can be quite large since it will include all system drives in the image by default plus any drives you have included. If you want to keep multiple system images, be sure to increase the max size accordingly.

METHOD TWO:

1. Navigate to the backup location above for where you saved a system image that you want to keep before creating a new system image.

2. Right click, or press and hold, on the WindowsImageBackup folder, and click/tap on Rename.

3. Rename it to something like WindowsImageBackup-Copy-1, press Enter, and click//tap on Yes if prompted by UAC.
NOTE: This way you can just easily change the 1 an the end of the name to 2, 3, 4, etc... for each new system image that you make a copy of.

4. You now have a different system image version that you can leave at this location to be able to keep multiple versions.


warnsmall.png
NOTE: When you want to restore a system image in a renamed WindowsImageBackup-Copy-1 folder in the future, then you must rename the current WindowsImageBackup folder first, then rename the WindowsImageBackup-Copy-1 folder back to WindowsImageBackup in order to be able to restore it. The WindowsImageBackup folder must be in the root directory of the drive, and not within another folder.

   Warning

  • Windows 7 can only include drives formatted with the NTFS file system in the system image.
  • Windows 7 cannot include the partition or drive that you are saving the backup image to in the image.
  • All "system" or "boot" drives/partitions are included in the system image by default, so you will not be able to save the system image to a system or boot drive/partition.
  • If you are saving the system image to a HDD or partition, then you can only save the system image on a separate hard drive (recommended) or partition than what Windows 7 is installed on. It cannot be saved to the C: drive.
  • Only the Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions can backup to a network location.
  • You cannot restore a 64-bit Windows 7 backup image on a 32-bit system.
  • You cannot restore a 64-bit Windows 7 backup image with a 32 bit Windows 7 installation DVD or recovery partition, or the other way around. You must use the same 32-bit or 64-bit Windows 7 installation DVD or recovery partition as the backup image is.
  • A system image that was created on a computer using EFI cannot be restored on a computer using BIOS. It can only be restored on a computer using EFI.
  • When restoring a system image from a dynamic volume, the disks on your computer cannot be formatted to match the layout of the disks on the backup. To have full functionality, select a volume (partition) on a basic disk as your backup location instead.
  • I would recommend to create a system image on a separate HDD, or a separate partition on a separate HDD, for the best reliability to restore from it. CDs or DVDs are just not as reliable. A scratch one just one of them could ruin the whole image.



Here's How:
1. Open the Control Panel (icons view).

2. Click on the Backup and Restore icon.

3. Click on the Create a system image link. (See screenshot below)
Step1.jpg
4. If prompted by UAC, click on Yes.

5. Select the location to where you would like to save the backup image at, and click on the Next button. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: See the Warning box at the top of the tutorial. Only the Windows 7 Professional, Ultimate, and Enterprise editions can backup to a network location.
Step2.jpg
6. If available, check any additional hard drives or partitions (ex: Vista) that you would like to include in the backup image with the Windows 7 (System and C: ) partition or hard drive, and click on the Next button. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: See the WARNING box at the top of the tutorial. If you do not want to add any additional hard drives or partitions, then just leave the others unchecked. You will not see this, if you do not have any other OS installed other than Windows 7.
Step3.jpg
7. Click on the Start backup button. (See screenshot below)
Step4.jpg
8. You will now see this window. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: If you wish to stop creating the backup image during this point, click on the Stop backup, Stop, and Close buttons.
Step5.jpg
9. When it is finished you will see this create a System Repair disc pop-up window. Click on No. (See screenshot below)
NOTE: For how to always hide or show this message, see this tutorial.
Step7.jpg
10. Click on the Close button. (See screenshot below)
Step8.jpg
11. Close the Backup and Restore window. (See screenshot below step 3)
That's it,
Shawn









Related Tutorials

 
Last edited:
Click to expand...
In your guide you mention "If you move the saved backup from it's original location to another location, then it will no longer be usable to do a restore with."

I have been doing some testing and I am not sure that is entirely correct.

If you copy and paste the windows backup image folder to another location, the restore disc does not find the backup image.

However, if you cut and paste the windows backup image folder to another location, the restore disc does find the backup image.

If someone else could confirm this as well. I am not sure why it makes a difference to cut vs copy, unless copying changes something within the files (date and time stamp maybe) so that something doesn't match when restoring the files? :confused:

CL
 

My Computer

OS
win 7 pro 32bit
Hello CL, and welcome to Seven Forums.

Makes sense, but I'll do some testing on that tonight to help confirm it, but cut may have the system change it to the new location in the registry so backup can find it while copy doesn't. If you delete it after copying, then it can't find it since it is still referencing the original location.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self built custom
OS
64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
CPU
Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
Memory
64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
Sound Card
Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
Screen Resolution
2560x1440
Hard Drives
1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus NAS
PSU
Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
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Thermaltake Core P3
Cooling
Corsair Hydro H115i
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Logitech wireless K800
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 4
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2 Gb/s Download and 100 Mb/s Upload
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Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
Browser
Google Chrome
Other Info
Logitech Z625 speaker system,
Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Hello 74me Welcome to SF!

I ran into this problem with another program called Reflect by Macruim where a backup relocated is seen as invalid once you disturb the original location used. I think you will find the same with the MS backup tool as well which will create a record of where the image has been stored.

One example would simply be changing a second partition drive letter from D to E that will throw off the restoration once you go to use that option. With the Reflect program the drives involved were arranged between sata ports which made the backup seen at the time useless.

For safe keeping and to insure everything works choose a location that will remain constant like a second partition or drive even seeing the same drive letter reassigned to an external drive will help. If you move things around even on the same drive the image can also be seen as not found or invalid.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
    Custom builds = 2
    OS
    W7 Ultimate x64/W10 Pro x64/W11 Pro Triple Boot - Main PC W7 Remote PC Micro ATX W7 Pro x64/W11 Pro
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 975 Deneb 3.6ghz - 965 2nd remote pc
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4-Gigabyte GA-880GM-D2H remote pc
    Memory
    Kingston Hyper X DDR3 1600 1.5v 16gb - Hyper X Fury 8gb 2nd
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI HD Radeon 5750 1gb - MSI HD Radeon 6450 on mini tower
    Sound Card
    Creative Labs X-Fi Xtreme Audio P - Realtek onooard 2nd case
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS VW199T-P 19" HP 2082a Main-HP 2082a 20" remote pc
    Screen Resolution
    Asus 1440x900 - HP 1600x900
    Hard Drives
    WD Black 1TB HD per OS W7, W10, and pending W11 presently on 500gb OS Drive - Pending Triple 1TB HDs for Spanned Storage/backup volume
    Single 2TB external USB enclosure, single 1TB System 7 Host/Boot drive, Pending 8TB external HD for system image b
    PSU
    Corsair 750TX - primary / Corsair CX600 - second
    Case
    Antec 900-2 - SSD compatible / NZXT Vulcan mini tower
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900A
    Keyboard
    AZIO L70 Backlit Letters Gaming - ONN Cordless/USB
    Mouse
    MSI DS200 Programmable, Logitech Cordless
    Internet Speed
    30mbps upgrade - primary hard wired - mini tower usb WiFi
    Antivirus
    GFI VIPRE Internet Security 2014 on W7 2016 beta on W10,
    Browser
    Cyberfox, WaterFox 64bit FF variants, FireFox x64, Pale Moon
    Other Info
    Accomdata fan cooled usb 2.0 PIDE/Sata II, III external enclosure.
    Sambient usb/eSata PATA/Sata II, III external enclosure.
  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model Number
    CUSTOM ASSEMBLY
    OS
    W7 Pro x64/W11 Pro
    CPU
    AMD Deneb 3.6ghz - 965
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-880GM-D2H remote pc
    Memory
    Kingston Hyper X Fury 8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI HD Radeon 6450 DVI Output
    Sound Card
    Realtek onooard Creative or Other separate PENDING
    Monitor(s) Displays
    VIZIO 32" LCD TV Separate LCD Pending
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1080
    Hard Drives
    WD 500GB OS Host/Boot WD Green 1TB Storage/Backup
    PSU
    Corsair 600W - THERMALTAKE 600W spare case
    Case
    NZXT Vulcan mini tower
    Cooling
    Twin 120mm Top Fans - 240mm Side Cover
    Keyboard
    ONN Cordless/USB Logitech Cordless
    Mouse
    ONN USB/Cordless - Logitech Cordless
    Internet Speed
    DSL 5G
    Browser
    MS Edge, FireFox, WaterFox x64, FireFox Nightly
    Other Info
    OS Testing-Remote Access to Main TeamViewer
Thanks for the welcome Brink and Night Hawk.

I have been testing some more. Apparently it doesn't matter if I copy or cut the backup folder when changing its location (must have been something else). The following is what I have tried and have been successful restoring from:

1) Backup to separate internal hard disk Partition 1, copy or cut to Partition 2.
2) Backup to separate internal hard disk, copy or cut to external hard disk.
3) Backup to external hard disk, copy or cut to second external hard disk.
4) Backup to network location, copy or cut to external hard disk from network loc.
5) Backup to internal HD, copy or cut to network location, copy or cut to external HD.
 

My Computer

OS
win 7 pro 32bit
CL,

That's great news. Thank you for posting back with your results. :)
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self built custom
OS
64-bit Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
CPU
Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
Motherboard
ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
Memory
64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz
Graphics Card(s)
ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
Sound Card
Integrated
Monitor(s) Displays
2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
Screen Resolution
2560x1440
Hard Drives
1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
TerraMaster F8 SSD Plus NAS
PSU
Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
Case
Thermaltake Core P3
Cooling
Corsair Hydro H115i
Keyboard
Logitech wireless K800
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 4
Internet Speed
2 Gb/s Download and 100 Mb/s Upload
Antivirus
Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
Browser
Google Chrome
Other Info
Logitech Z625 speaker system,
Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Apparently the 7 backup/recovery tool is not anywhere near as fussy as the Macrium Reflect when that was tried out on the 7 RC as well as on a Vista install. Once the drive letter was changed after a few OS change and a clean install of Vista was seen the restoration from the same files were seen as invalid. :(

Softwares will have a record of one specific drive/partition logged while the backup and recovery in 7 simply has you point to the "present location and which backup" to restore instead! The results you saw there with the 7 restoration despite the location changes goes to confirm some good news for a change.

MS originally expected you would restoring from an old machine were location, drive letters, etc. were subject to any change at any time making this far more flexible!

This information will make the choice of what to use for backing up an entire system much easier at hearing this for sure. I think you just helped a lot of people that will be seeing this on what to use by passing that along here. ;)
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
    Custom builds = 2
    OS
    W7 Ultimate x64/W10 Pro x64/W11 Pro Triple Boot - Main PC W7 Remote PC Micro ATX W7 Pro x64/W11 Pro
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 975 Deneb 3.6ghz - 965 2nd remote pc
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4-Gigabyte GA-880GM-D2H remote pc
    Memory
    Kingston Hyper X DDR3 1600 1.5v 16gb - Hyper X Fury 8gb 2nd
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI HD Radeon 5750 1gb - MSI HD Radeon 6450 on mini tower
    Sound Card
    Creative Labs X-Fi Xtreme Audio P - Realtek onooard 2nd case
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS VW199T-P 19" HP 2082a Main-HP 2082a 20" remote pc
    Screen Resolution
    Asus 1440x900 - HP 1600x900
    Hard Drives
    WD Black 1TB HD per OS W7, W10, and pending W11 presently on 500gb OS Drive - Pending Triple 1TB HDs for Spanned Storage/backup volume
    Single 2TB external USB enclosure, single 1TB System 7 Host/Boot drive, Pending 8TB external HD for system image b
    PSU
    Corsair 750TX - primary / Corsair CX600 - second
    Case
    Antec 900-2 - SSD compatible / NZXT Vulcan mini tower
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900A
    Keyboard
    AZIO L70 Backlit Letters Gaming - ONN Cordless/USB
    Mouse
    MSI DS200 Programmable, Logitech Cordless
    Internet Speed
    30mbps upgrade - primary hard wired - mini tower usb WiFi
    Antivirus
    GFI VIPRE Internet Security 2014 on W7 2016 beta on W10,
    Browser
    Cyberfox, WaterFox 64bit FF variants, FireFox x64, Pale Moon
    Other Info
    Accomdata fan cooled usb 2.0 PIDE/Sata II, III external enclosure.
    Sambient usb/eSata PATA/Sata II, III external enclosure.
  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model Number
    CUSTOM ASSEMBLY
    OS
    W7 Pro x64/W11 Pro
    CPU
    AMD Deneb 3.6ghz - 965
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-880GM-D2H remote pc
    Memory
    Kingston Hyper X Fury 8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI HD Radeon 6450 DVI Output
    Sound Card
    Realtek onooard Creative or Other separate PENDING
    Monitor(s) Displays
    VIZIO 32" LCD TV Separate LCD Pending
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1080
    Hard Drives
    WD 500GB OS Host/Boot WD Green 1TB Storage/Backup
    PSU
    Corsair 600W - THERMALTAKE 600W spare case
    Case
    NZXT Vulcan mini tower
    Cooling
    Twin 120mm Top Fans - 240mm Side Cover
    Keyboard
    ONN Cordless/USB Logitech Cordless
    Mouse
    ONN USB/Cordless - Logitech Cordless
    Internet Speed
    DSL 5G
    Browser
    MS Edge, FireFox, WaterFox x64, FireFox Nightly
    Other Info
    OS Testing-Remote Access to Main TeamViewer
That never happened to me. Macrium will always use any image you select and restore it to wherever you point it.

Of course, if you move things around - it's own internal record of where the images are stored will no longer tally.

That's no problem - just browse to the new location of the image, obviously.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    OS
    7 X64
    CPU
    i5 8400
    Motherboard
    gigabyte b365m ds3h
    Memory
    2x8gb 3200mhz
    Hard Drives
    various
    PSU
    pure power 11 400w cm
    Case
    Coolermaster
    Cooling
    cryorig m9i
  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    OS
    7x64
    CPU
    g5400
    Motherboard
    ga b365m ds3h
    Memory
    8gb ddr4 2400
    PSU
    xfx pro 450w
That's what I ran into trying to restore Vista from a few location changes once the drive Vista had been on saw one of the RCs there instead. A clean install on the former XP drive failed to see the image restored at the time. That's when Vista was then installed on a vhd to solve that.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
    Custom builds = 2
    OS
    W7 Ultimate x64/W10 Pro x64/W11 Pro Triple Boot - Main PC W7 Remote PC Micro ATX W7 Pro x64/W11 Pro
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 975 Deneb 3.6ghz - 965 2nd remote pc
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4-Gigabyte GA-880GM-D2H remote pc
    Memory
    Kingston Hyper X DDR3 1600 1.5v 16gb - Hyper X Fury 8gb 2nd
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI HD Radeon 5750 1gb - MSI HD Radeon 6450 on mini tower
    Sound Card
    Creative Labs X-Fi Xtreme Audio P - Realtek onooard 2nd case
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS VW199T-P 19" HP 2082a Main-HP 2082a 20" remote pc
    Screen Resolution
    Asus 1440x900 - HP 1600x900
    Hard Drives
    WD Black 1TB HD per OS W7, W10, and pending W11 presently on 500gb OS Drive - Pending Triple 1TB HDs for Spanned Storage/backup volume
    Single 2TB external USB enclosure, single 1TB System 7 Host/Boot drive, Pending 8TB external HD for system image b
    PSU
    Corsair 750TX - primary / Corsair CX600 - second
    Case
    Antec 900-2 - SSD compatible / NZXT Vulcan mini tower
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900A
    Keyboard
    AZIO L70 Backlit Letters Gaming - ONN Cordless/USB
    Mouse
    MSI DS200 Programmable, Logitech Cordless
    Internet Speed
    30mbps upgrade - primary hard wired - mini tower usb WiFi
    Antivirus
    GFI VIPRE Internet Security 2014 on W7 2016 beta on W10,
    Browser
    Cyberfox, WaterFox 64bit FF variants, FireFox x64, Pale Moon
    Other Info
    Accomdata fan cooled usb 2.0 PIDE/Sata II, III external enclosure.
    Sambient usb/eSata PATA/Sata II, III external enclosure.
  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model Number
    CUSTOM ASSEMBLY
    OS
    W7 Pro x64/W11 Pro
    CPU
    AMD Deneb 3.6ghz - 965
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-880GM-D2H remote pc
    Memory
    Kingston Hyper X Fury 8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI HD Radeon 6450 DVI Output
    Sound Card
    Realtek onooard Creative or Other separate PENDING
    Monitor(s) Displays
    VIZIO 32" LCD TV Separate LCD Pending
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1080
    Hard Drives
    WD 500GB OS Host/Boot WD Green 1TB Storage/Backup
    PSU
    Corsair 600W - THERMALTAKE 600W spare case
    Case
    NZXT Vulcan mini tower
    Cooling
    Twin 120mm Top Fans - 240mm Side Cover
    Keyboard
    ONN Cordless/USB Logitech Cordless
    Mouse
    ONN USB/Cordless - Logitech Cordless
    Internet Speed
    DSL 5G
    Browser
    MS Edge, FireFox, WaterFox x64, FireFox Nightly
    Other Info
    OS Testing-Remote Access to Main TeamViewer
That was a nice post - but in the wrong place. Sorry - LOL.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP, Dell, Gateway, Toshiba - 4 laptops and 2 desktops
OS
Vista, Windows7, Mint Mate, Zorin, Windows 8
CPU
from 1.6GHz Duo to i7
Monitor(s) Displays
2x HP w2207
Hard Drives
5x HDD, 7x SSD, 12x Externals
Keyboard
with trackball - no mices
Mouse
Trackball mice
Internet Speed
DSL 6000
And... That is seen with 7 preinstalled by an OEM manufacturer there. That was also seen for previous versions of Windows as well for the preinstalled OS with prepackaged spftwares added on top.

The guide here on the other hand is great for custom builders or on systems where the preinstall has now been replaced by 7 not a new one with 7 already preinstalled. You will also note that once the image is complete the prompting to burn a repair cd comes up as well. The cd will contain all of the repair tools found on the regular 7 installation disk.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
    Custom builds = 2
    OS
    W7 Ultimate x64/W10 Pro x64/W11 Pro Triple Boot - Main PC W7 Remote PC Micro ATX W7 Pro x64/W11 Pro
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 975 Deneb 3.6ghz - 965 2nd remote pc
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4-Gigabyte GA-880GM-D2H remote pc
    Memory
    Kingston Hyper X DDR3 1600 1.5v 16gb - Hyper X Fury 8gb 2nd
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI HD Radeon 5750 1gb - MSI HD Radeon 6450 on mini tower
    Sound Card
    Creative Labs X-Fi Xtreme Audio P - Realtek onooard 2nd case
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS VW199T-P 19" HP 2082a Main-HP 2082a 20" remote pc
    Screen Resolution
    Asus 1440x900 - HP 1600x900
    Hard Drives
    WD Black 1TB HD per OS W7, W10, and pending W11 presently on 500gb OS Drive - Pending Triple 1TB HDs for Spanned Storage/backup volume
    Single 2TB external USB enclosure, single 1TB System 7 Host/Boot drive, Pending 8TB external HD for system image b
    PSU
    Corsair 750TX - primary / Corsair CX600 - second
    Case
    Antec 900-2 - SSD compatible / NZXT Vulcan mini tower
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900A
    Keyboard
    AZIO L70 Backlit Letters Gaming - ONN Cordless/USB
    Mouse
    MSI DS200 Programmable, Logitech Cordless
    Internet Speed
    30mbps upgrade - primary hard wired - mini tower usb WiFi
    Antivirus
    GFI VIPRE Internet Security 2014 on W7 2016 beta on W10,
    Browser
    Cyberfox, WaterFox 64bit FF variants, FireFox x64, Pale Moon
    Other Info
    Accomdata fan cooled usb 2.0 PIDE/Sata II, III external enclosure.
    Sambient usb/eSata PATA/Sata II, III external enclosure.
  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model Number
    CUSTOM ASSEMBLY
    OS
    W7 Pro x64/W11 Pro
    CPU
    AMD Deneb 3.6ghz - 965
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-880GM-D2H remote pc
    Memory
    Kingston Hyper X Fury 8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI HD Radeon 6450 DVI Output
    Sound Card
    Realtek onooard Creative or Other separate PENDING
    Monitor(s) Displays
    VIZIO 32" LCD TV Separate LCD Pending
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1080
    Hard Drives
    WD 500GB OS Host/Boot WD Green 1TB Storage/Backup
    PSU
    Corsair 600W - THERMALTAKE 600W spare case
    Case
    NZXT Vulcan mini tower
    Cooling
    Twin 120mm Top Fans - 240mm Side Cover
    Keyboard
    ONN Cordless/USB Logitech Cordless
    Mouse
    ONN USB/Cordless - Logitech Cordless
    Internet Speed
    DSL 5G
    Browser
    MS Edge, FireFox, WaterFox x64, FireFox Nightly
    Other Info
    OS Testing-Remote Access to Main TeamViewer
74me said:
Thanks for the welcome Brink and Night Hawk.

I have been testing some more. Apparently it doesn't matter if I copy or cut the backup folder when changing its location (must have been something else). The following is what I have tried and have been successful restoring from:

1) Backup to separate internal hard disk Partition 1, copy or cut to Partition 2.
2) Backup to separate internal hard disk, copy or cut to external hard disk.
3) Backup to external hard disk, copy or cut to second external hard disk.
4) Backup to network location, copy or cut to external hard disk from network loc.
5) Backup to internal HD, copy or cut to network location, copy or cut to external HD.
Click to expand...

OK, I've just read through this entire thread to only find what I think is my answer on the last page,lol. Still have some questions on this though. Does the copied/cut WindowsImageBackup folder have to be at the root level of a drive/partition in order for the recovery process to see it? Could it be pasted inside of a folder in the root of a drive/partition? I'm wanting to have multiple image backups and as we all know the previous image backup is overwritten.

Brink said:
Yep, it's saved incrementally as well. You'll notice under step 4C here, you can select a date within the incremental image backup to restore. :)
Click to expand...
Is there a browse button when one gets to the step in 4C or does one have to type in the path to the folder with the WindowsImageBackup? This may really be what I'm wanting to know.

Just to be clear, Let's say that I have used System image 3 times on three different dates. During the recovery process are those 3 dates an option to choose from? I know that the files in WindowsImageBackup are overwritten. What I'm unsure about is if in overwriting the files are all 3 dates available for restoration or is it just the last, most recent date.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Averatec 6130HS-20
OS
Windows 7 Professional 32-bit (6.1, Build 7600)
CPU
Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 3.00 GHz HT
Memory
2.0 GB
Graphics Card(s)
ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 64MB
Sound Card
Realtek AC'97 Audio
Screen Resolution
1280 x 800
Hard Drives
Seagate 96023A 60GB 7200RPM -
Seagate FreeAgentDesktop 250GB
Cooling
20 Inch Box Fan
Mouse
Targus PAWM10 Wireless Optical Laptop Mouse
The only real way to find out if a fuill recovery will work out is literally copying the original image created into a new folder and seeing how that goes. Since the restoration option provides a browser option to locate "where" the backup imsge is I suspext it would still work.

The problems seen with a 3rd party program of using a complete backup at the time seemed to be with the program looking at the changes in drive layouts and lettering as well as date as being invalid for some reason. The Windows tools seem to be far more flexible along those lines.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
    Custom builds = 2
    OS
    W7 Ultimate x64/W10 Pro x64/W11 Pro Triple Boot - Main PC W7 Remote PC Micro ATX W7 Pro x64/W11 Pro
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 975 Deneb 3.6ghz - 965 2nd remote pc
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4-Gigabyte GA-880GM-D2H remote pc
    Memory
    Kingston Hyper X DDR3 1600 1.5v 16gb - Hyper X Fury 8gb 2nd
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI HD Radeon 5750 1gb - MSI HD Radeon 6450 on mini tower
    Sound Card
    Creative Labs X-Fi Xtreme Audio P - Realtek onooard 2nd case
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS VW199T-P 19" HP 2082a Main-HP 2082a 20" remote pc
    Screen Resolution
    Asus 1440x900 - HP 1600x900
    Hard Drives
    WD Black 1TB HD per OS W7, W10, and pending W11 presently on 500gb OS Drive - Pending Triple 1TB HDs for Spanned Storage/backup volume
    Single 2TB external USB enclosure, single 1TB System 7 Host/Boot drive, Pending 8TB external HD for system image b
    PSU
    Corsair 750TX - primary / Corsair CX600 - second
    Case
    Antec 900-2 - SSD compatible / NZXT Vulcan mini tower
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900A
    Keyboard
    AZIO L70 Backlit Letters Gaming - ONN Cordless/USB
    Mouse
    MSI DS200 Programmable, Logitech Cordless
    Internet Speed
    30mbps upgrade - primary hard wired - mini tower usb WiFi
    Antivirus
    GFI VIPRE Internet Security 2014 on W7 2016 beta on W10,
    Browser
    Cyberfox, WaterFox 64bit FF variants, FireFox x64, Pale Moon
    Other Info
    Accomdata fan cooled usb 2.0 PIDE/Sata II, III external enclosure.
    Sambient usb/eSata PATA/Sata II, III external enclosure.
  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model Number
    CUSTOM ASSEMBLY
    OS
    W7 Pro x64/W11 Pro
    CPU
    AMD Deneb 3.6ghz - 965
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-880GM-D2H remote pc
    Memory
    Kingston Hyper X Fury 8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI HD Radeon 6450 DVI Output
    Sound Card
    Realtek onooard Creative or Other separate PENDING
    Monitor(s) Displays
    VIZIO 32" LCD TV Separate LCD Pending
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1080
    Hard Drives
    WD 500GB OS Host/Boot WD Green 1TB Storage/Backup
    PSU
    Corsair 600W - THERMALTAKE 600W spare case
    Case
    NZXT Vulcan mini tower
    Cooling
    Twin 120mm Top Fans - 240mm Side Cover
    Keyboard
    ONN Cordless/USB Logitech Cordless
    Mouse
    ONN USB/Cordless - Logitech Cordless
    Internet Speed
    DSL 5G
    Browser
    MS Edge, FireFox, WaterFox x64, FireFox Nightly
    Other Info
    OS Testing-Remote Access to Main TeamViewer
Night Hawk said:
Since the restoration option provides a browser option to locate "where" the backup imsge is.
.
Click to expand...
That is what wasn't really clear in everything that I read and looked at. So it does have a browse option? The other thing that is not clear, why is one given the options to choose different dates if they exist, if the Image backup overwrites the previous backup? <---- That's what led to this question below

Just to be clear, Let's say that I have used System image 3 times on three different dates. During the recovery process are those 3 dates an option to choose from? I know that the files in WindowsImageBackup are overwritten. What I'm unsure about is if in overwriting the files are all 3 dates available for restoration or is it just the last, most recent date.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Averatec 6130HS-20
OS
Windows 7 Professional 32-bit (6.1, Build 7600)
CPU
Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 3.00 GHz HT
Memory
2.0 GB
Graphics Card(s)
ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 64MB
Sound Card
Realtek AC'97 Audio
Screen Resolution
1280 x 800
Hard Drives
Seagate 96023A 60GB 7200RPM -
Seagate FreeAgentDesktop 250GB
Cooling
20 Inch Box Fan
Mouse
Targus PAWM10 Wireless Optical Laptop Mouse
Greg S said:
Night Hawk said:
Since the restoration option provides a browser option to locate "where" the backup imsge is.
.
Click to expand...
That is what wasn't really clear in everything that I read and looked at. So it does have a browse option? The other thing that is not clear, why is one given the options to choose different dates if they exist, if the Image backup overwrites the previous backup? <---- That's what led to this question below

Just to be clear, Let's say that I have used System image 3 times on three different dates. During the recovery process are those 3 dates an option to choose from? I know that the files in WindowsImageBackup are overwritten. What I'm unsure about is if in overwriting the files are all 3 dates available for restoration or is it just the last, most recent date.
Click to expand...


I keep 3 or 4 image backups. They all copy to a directory of my C: Drive root name. All I do after the backup I go and add a date to the directory or a statement like "All updated and clean" That way the next time I do an image it will backup with erasing anything.


Here is what my two backups are named.
Now the next image will be written to "Iggy-PC "
 
Last edited:

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self Built
OS
Windows 10 Pro
CPU
Intel i5
Motherboard
I have a fatherboard
Memory
I'm old and lost a few chips
Graphics Card(s)
Yup
Sound Card
Yup
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung 32" UHD
Screen Resolution
3840 x 2160
Hard Drives
Samsung 860 EVO drives
PSU
450 Watt and some fans that blow
Case
Small tower
Cooling
Yes I am cool. lol
Keyboard
Who needs a keyboard?
Mouse
Logitech Laser G7 wireless
Internet Speed
Zippy fast UP and DOWN
Antivirus
I got a shot
Browser
The new Improved EDGE 2020
The browser is actually network locations in case you don't already have an image created. What Iggy did there was keep the images right on C while I went for broke on a totally separate drive where I tend to store files for other versions as well. :D

You will first be prompted to back up your existing files before proceeding. Once Windows doesn't find the image at the original location I suspect that you will then see a prompt to browse for the image similar to what is seen with the Windows Easy Transfer tool.
 

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My Computers

System One System Two

  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
    Custom builds = 2
    OS
    W7 Ultimate x64/W10 Pro x64/W11 Pro Triple Boot - Main PC W7 Remote PC Micro ATX W7 Pro x64/W11 Pro
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 975 Deneb 3.6ghz - 965 2nd remote pc
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4-Gigabyte GA-880GM-D2H remote pc
    Memory
    Kingston Hyper X DDR3 1600 1.5v 16gb - Hyper X Fury 8gb 2nd
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI HD Radeon 5750 1gb - MSI HD Radeon 6450 on mini tower
    Sound Card
    Creative Labs X-Fi Xtreme Audio P - Realtek onooard 2nd case
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS VW199T-P 19" HP 2082a Main-HP 2082a 20" remote pc
    Screen Resolution
    Asus 1440x900 - HP 1600x900
    Hard Drives
    WD Black 1TB HD per OS W7, W10, and pending W11 presently on 500gb OS Drive - Pending Triple 1TB HDs for Spanned Storage/backup volume
    Single 2TB external USB enclosure, single 1TB System 7 Host/Boot drive, Pending 8TB external HD for system image b
    PSU
    Corsair 750TX - primary / Corsair CX600 - second
    Case
    Antec 900-2 - SSD compatible / NZXT Vulcan mini tower
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900A
    Keyboard
    AZIO L70 Backlit Letters Gaming - ONN Cordless/USB
    Mouse
    MSI DS200 Programmable, Logitech Cordless
    Internet Speed
    30mbps upgrade - primary hard wired - mini tower usb WiFi
    Antivirus
    GFI VIPRE Internet Security 2014 on W7 2016 beta on W10,
    Browser
    Cyberfox, WaterFox 64bit FF variants, FireFox x64, Pale Moon
    Other Info
    Accomdata fan cooled usb 2.0 PIDE/Sata II, III external enclosure.
    Sambient usb/eSata PATA/Sata II, III external enclosure.
  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model Number
    CUSTOM ASSEMBLY
    OS
    W7 Pro x64/W11 Pro
    CPU
    AMD Deneb 3.6ghz - 965
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-880GM-D2H remote pc
    Memory
    Kingston Hyper X Fury 8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI HD Radeon 6450 DVI Output
    Sound Card
    Realtek onooard Creative or Other separate PENDING
    Monitor(s) Displays
    VIZIO 32" LCD TV Separate LCD Pending
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1080
    Hard Drives
    WD 500GB OS Host/Boot WD Green 1TB Storage/Backup
    PSU
    Corsair 600W - THERMALTAKE 600W spare case
    Case
    NZXT Vulcan mini tower
    Cooling
    Twin 120mm Top Fans - 240mm Side Cover
    Keyboard
    ONN Cordless/USB Logitech Cordless
    Mouse
    ONN USB/Cordless - Logitech Cordless
    Internet Speed
    DSL 5G
    Browser
    MS Edge, FireFox, WaterFox x64, FireFox Nightly
    Other Info
    OS Testing-Remote Access to Main TeamViewer
IggyAZ said:
Greg S said:
Night Hawk said:
Since the restoration option provides a browser option to locate "where" the backup imsge is.
.
Click to expand...
That is what wasn't really clear in everything that I read and looked at. So it does have a browse option? The other thing that is not clear, why is one given the options to choose different dates if they exist, if the Image backup overwrites the previous backup? <---- That's what led to this question below

Just to be clear, Let's say that I have used System image 3 times on three different dates. During the recovery process are those 3 dates an option to choose from? I know that the files in WindowsImageBackup are overwritten. What I'm unsure about is if in overwriting the files are all 3 dates available for restoration or is it just the last, most recent date.
Click to expand...


I keep 3 or 4 image backups. They all copy to a directory of my C: Drive root name. All I do after the backup I go and add a date to the directory or a statement like "All updated and clean" That way the next time I do an image it will backup with erasing anything.


Here is what my two backups are named.
Now the next image will be written to "Iggy-PC "
Click to expand...

Night Hawk said:
The browser is actually network locations in case you don't already have an image created. What Iggy did there was keep the images right on C while I went for broke on a totally separate drive where I tend to store files for other versions as well. :D

You will first be prompted to back up your existing files before proceeding. Once Windows doesn't find the image at the original location I suspect that you will then see a prompt to browse for the image similar to what is seen with the Windows Easy Transfer tool.
Click to expand...

Ah, you both have cleared it upped beautifully! Thank you
I'm using USB external HD and will go the route of Iggy-PC. Now that I can see it for myself, I feel stupid for having asked the questions,lol
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Averatec 6130HS-20
OS
Windows 7 Professional 32-bit (6.1, Build 7600)
CPU
Intel(R) Pentium(R) 4 3.00 GHz HT
Memory
2.0 GB
Graphics Card(s)
ATI Mobility Radeon 9600 64MB
Sound Card
Realtek AC'97 Audio
Screen Resolution
1280 x 800
Hard Drives
Seagate 96023A 60GB 7200RPM -
Seagate FreeAgentDesktop 250GB
Cooling
20 Inch Box Fan
Mouse
Targus PAWM10 Wireless Optical Laptop Mouse
Night Hawk said:
The browser is actually network locations in case you don't already have an image created. What Iggy did there was keep the images right on C while I went for broke on a totally separate drive where I tend to store files for other versions as well. :D

You will first be prompted to back up your existing files before proceeding. Once Windows doesn't find the image at the original location I suspect that you will then see a prompt to browse for the image similar to what is seen with the Windows Easy Transfer tool.
Click to expand...


Actually Night Hawk I have a backup internal HD that I copy my images.
I don't thinkit will allow you to image to the C: Drive. Must be anything but C:
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self Built
OS
Windows 10 Pro
CPU
Intel i5
Motherboard
I have a fatherboard
Memory
I'm old and lost a few chips
Graphics Card(s)
Yup
Sound Card
Yup
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung 32" UHD
Screen Resolution
3840 x 2160
Hard Drives
Samsung 860 EVO drives
PSU
450 Watt and some fans that blow
Case
Small tower
Cooling
Yes I am cool. lol
Keyboard
Who needs a keyboard?
Mouse
Logitech Laser G7 wireless
Internet Speed
Zippy fast UP and DOWN
Antivirus
I got a shot
Browser
The new Improved EDGE 2020
Greg S said:
Ah, you both have cleared it upped beautifully! Thank you
I'm using USB external HD and will go the route of Iggy-PC. Now that I can see it for myself, I feel stupid for having asked the questions,lol
Click to expand...

Glad it helped. For awhle I was just copying over my old image until I saw the light. :D
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self Built
OS
Windows 10 Pro
CPU
Intel i5
Motherboard
I have a fatherboard
Memory
I'm old and lost a few chips
Graphics Card(s)
Yup
Sound Card
Yup
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung 32" UHD
Screen Resolution
3840 x 2160
Hard Drives
Samsung 860 EVO drives
PSU
450 Watt and some fans that blow
Case
Small tower
Cooling
Yes I am cool. lol
Keyboard
Who needs a keyboard?
Mouse
Logitech Laser G7 wireless
Internet Speed
Zippy fast UP and DOWN
Antivirus
I got a shot
Browser
The new Improved EDGE 2020
For the 1tb drive here seeing about 141gb between Windows and all else as far as files the full image turned to out to be 131gb in size. I wasn't going to fit all that on 11 dvd-rws anytime soon! :D

The restoration of an image on a clean install of Windows not the present copy would be the one where you would likely see the option to browse. When going to look here right after the recent image the prompting to backup the present files in order to continue came up first.

Unfortunately I don't have a drive free at the present time to throw on a fast install to see how restoring the present image would go. That would show what is seen as far as locating the present image with a free screens to add here and if it can still use it. That's when you go to the other guide for http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/675-system-image-recovery.html

Another guide provides some warning when restoring a drive or partition from an image which shows two options for the latest images created or locating the image manually once you have restarted the system after the initial screens in order to continue on. Windows 7: How to Restore Windows 7 Partition or Hard Disk Partitions from a System Image
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
    Custom builds = 2
    OS
    W7 Ultimate x64/W10 Pro x64/W11 Pro Triple Boot - Main PC W7 Remote PC Micro ATX W7 Pro x64/W11 Pro
    CPU
    AMD Phenom II X4 975 Deneb 3.6ghz - 965 2nd remote pc
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-790XTA-UD4-Gigabyte GA-880GM-D2H remote pc
    Memory
    Kingston Hyper X DDR3 1600 1.5v 16gb - Hyper X Fury 8gb 2nd
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI HD Radeon 5750 1gb - MSI HD Radeon 6450 on mini tower
    Sound Card
    Creative Labs X-Fi Xtreme Audio P - Realtek onooard 2nd case
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS VW199T-P 19" HP 2082a Main-HP 2082a 20" remote pc
    Screen Resolution
    Asus 1440x900 - HP 1600x900
    Hard Drives
    WD Black 1TB HD per OS W7, W10, and pending W11 presently on 500gb OS Drive - Pending Triple 1TB HDs for Spanned Storage/backup volume
    Single 2TB external USB enclosure, single 1TB System 7 Host/Boot drive, Pending 8TB external HD for system image b
    PSU
    Corsair 750TX - primary / Corsair CX600 - second
    Case
    Antec 900-2 - SSD compatible / NZXT Vulcan mini tower
    Cooling
    Zalman CNPS9900A
    Keyboard
    AZIO L70 Backlit Letters Gaming - ONN Cordless/USB
    Mouse
    MSI DS200 Programmable, Logitech Cordless
    Internet Speed
    30mbps upgrade - primary hard wired - mini tower usb WiFi
    Antivirus
    GFI VIPRE Internet Security 2014 on W7 2016 beta on W10,
    Browser
    Cyberfox, WaterFox 64bit FF variants, FireFox x64, Pale Moon
    Other Info
    Accomdata fan cooled usb 2.0 PIDE/Sata II, III external enclosure.
    Sambient usb/eSata PATA/Sata II, III external enclosure.
  • Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model Number
    CUSTOM ASSEMBLY
    OS
    W7 Pro x64/W11 Pro
    CPU
    AMD Deneb 3.6ghz - 965
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte GA-880GM-D2H remote pc
    Memory
    Kingston Hyper X Fury 8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI HD Radeon 6450 DVI Output
    Sound Card
    Realtek onooard Creative or Other separate PENDING
    Monitor(s) Displays
    VIZIO 32" LCD TV Separate LCD Pending
    Screen Resolution
    1600x1080
    Hard Drives
    WD 500GB OS Host/Boot WD Green 1TB Storage/Backup
    PSU
    Corsair 600W - THERMALTAKE 600W spare case
    Case
    NZXT Vulcan mini tower
    Cooling
    Twin 120mm Top Fans - 240mm Side Cover
    Keyboard
    ONN Cordless/USB Logitech Cordless
    Mouse
    ONN USB/Cordless - Logitech Cordless
    Internet Speed
    DSL 5G
    Browser
    MS Edge, FireFox, WaterFox x64, FireFox Nightly
    Other Info
    OS Testing-Remote Access to Main TeamViewer
Hey guys,

Zipping the Win7 backup works too :) this was the final thing I needed.

I will explain my backup process for anyone else it may help (7+ computers):

1) Run Windows backup to a second hard drive in the same PC as the Win7 drive.
2) Sched Task zips the WindowsImageBackup folder into 1 file. (7-Zip Cmd Line)
3) Sched Task sends the zip file (via Cmd Line FTP) to a central backup server.
4) Copy the backup zip files to external hard disk from server, and put into fire safe.

5) When restoring. Find the zip file that corresponds to the computer you are trying to restore. Unzip the WindowsImageBackup folder from the zip file to the root of the external hard disk. Load the recovery CD, and it will find the image to restore from.

With this method you are safe if 2 of the 3 hard disks fail, anyone steals your computer(s), and if there is a fire in the building. If you wanted an extra level of security you could FTP the file to an off-site location in case of natural or man made disasters.

CL
 

My Computer

OS
win 7 pro 32bit
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