How to Create an ISO Image from my operating system

I have my windows 7 installed as fresh install and the computer works fast and as it was when i bought it . i am wondering about the way that i can make an ISO from my windows so that if there is any problem i can use it to restore my computer to this operating condition, is there any special programs or i can do it using W7, I HAVE DELL data safe but i do not have much confidence on it..

ISO is an image of an CD or DVD! Not what you want.
You want to backup your partitions right? do you have an external USB drive to put the stuff on?

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/73828-imaging-free-macrium.html

Use that FREE software. So easy and so flexible... anyone can do it

i tried to make a bootable DVD using dell back-up and recovery tool, it says i need 4 DVD to make a bootable recovery,,i have partition my HDD to 3 partitions , one is dedicated for the recovery partition, now i want to back-up or create an image of my C drive so i can restore whenever i have problem,,
can i use w7 tool to make this back-up

^ Use Macrium as suggested - its the best tool for this job

nuflia said:

i tried to make a bootable DVD using dell back-up and recovery tool, it says i need 4 DVD to make a bootable recovery,,i have partition my HDD to 3 partitions , one is dedicated for the recovery partition, now i want to back-up or create an image of my C drive so i can restore whenever i have problem,,
can i use w7 tool to make this back-up

Click to expand...

Can you post a screenshot of disk management

Thanks guys for the reply, i am a way of home now , so i will post a screen shot as soon as i get home

nuflia said:

i tried to make a bootable DVD using dell back-up and recovery tool, it says i need 4 DVD to make a bootable recovery,,i have partition my HDD to 3 partitions , one is dedicated for the recovery partition, now i want to back-up or create an image of my C drive so i can restore whenever i have problem,,
can i use w7 tool to make this back-up

Click to expand...

I'd give up immediately on the idea of backing up via DVD. DVD backups are prone to failure and disappointment.

Use another hard drive, most likely external. Or even a USB thumb drive if you have one large enough. Hard drives are much preferable.

You will need to make an image of that small (100 MB or 200 MB) system recovery partition if you have one, rather than just C alone.

I'd vote for Macrium also, rather than the Windows tool.

Determine the amount of occupied space on the partitions you want to back up. Then figure you will need roughly half that much space to hold the Macrium images. That is, if C has 30 GB occupied, plan on an image file of C to take up about 15 GB, maybe a bit less.

I have EXTERNAL HDD ,1TB, that has some data saved already, i think Macrium will format the entire disk before the back-up is performed,,, . yes i have the 100MB system recovery partition besides my C partition where the windows7 installed .
what is the difference between image, clone, back-up, sometime i get abit confused to make the difference

An image is just a file whose contents are a representation of whatever partitions were included in the image. Images contain EVERYTHING in the chosen partitions. You can make an image file containing several partitions or you can make a separate image file for each partition. Most people would tell you to do the latter. An image is a form of backup and is typically used when things have gone bad, but can also be used to move to another hard drive when things are going well.

A clone is not an image or a file or a backup. It is simply a transfer of the system from one hard drive to another in real time. It's normally used when moving to a new and larger hard drive. You clone when all is going well and you just want to move a Windows system to another drive. The term "clone" is often misused---people often mean "image" when they say "clone".

Images and clones usually work and sometimes don't. Have a good plan B for when they fail.

The term "backup" is not crisply defined either. It means different things to different people. Some mean an image of Windows. Some mean an image of all partitions. Sometimes it doesn't refer to images at all. Some people use the term to refer to having a second copy of all data files, rather than Windows itself. It usually means the ability to recover something following a disaster or hardware failure---maybe Windows, maybe data, maybe both. Maybe only certain data, such as pictures or videos.

I don't know what you mean by "file-system image" or "real data".

Images are of complete partitions. No more, no less.

"Back-up" is a loose term. It might mean anything, depending on the speaker and the context. When you see the term used, the first thing you should ask yourself is "what does he mean by 'backup'? Backup of what"??? Backup of C? Backup of spaghetti sauce recipes?

A "backup" of the C partition or "Windows" most likely refers to an image of the C partition, but you never know what the speaker means.

I mean the disk-image is like a clone; it copies everything in the disk or partitions even the unused spaces of the disk or partition while the file-system image is only the copy of the system file without the unused spaces …
It is true back can mean different things,
In my PC, I have HDD 500GB, that I partition to 3 partitions; C;(250GB) for the windows installing and drivers and application programmes .E,(150GB) for my data and stored things, F;(50GB) intending to be for recovery partition , so in this case is it practical to have my recovery partition in the same physical hard-disk, or it will be useless if my hard-disk fails suddenly

What do you mean by "file-system image"? Images are replicas of partitions, not file-systems.

What do you mean by "system file"?

With your 3 partition setup, I would image C and F, but not E. Data is best backed up by direct file-by-file methods, rather than through an image. Why? Because data is too important to be left to something as shaky as images and image restoration.