How to create a .iso image file of my pre installed windows 7?

sam9953 · Oct 30, 2012

Okay, so I bought a laptop with an OEM serial key and I got windows home basic with it. My internet has limitations and I cannot afford to download a 3 GB .iso or image file of windows 7 home basic. Incase my system gets corrupt or anything happens I would like to have a backup of my whole OS, so is their any way to extract the whole OS from my computer to just one ".iso" file? which later I can convert into a bootable USB flash drive of disc. Plus if possible can I make the iso file which contains my OS and also all the drivers pre installed?

derekimo · Oct 30, 2012

How about creating an image for peace of mind,

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

Saves a complete image of your system exactly as it was when created, countless people have saved their systems from certain disaster by imaging.

http://www.sevenforums.com/backup-restore/128494-imaging-strategies.html

AddRAM · Oct 30, 2012

You should create an image reguardless of what else you`re trying to do. Post a shot of disk manangement so we can let you know your options. Do you own an external drive?

x BlueRobot · Oct 30, 2012

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/663-backup-complete-computer-create-image-backup.html

You can also create a Image Backup through Windows too.

sam9953 · Oct 31, 2012

Derekimo, thanks for suggesting that. I will try it. Will it also have the pre loaded drivers like my bluetooth or graphics driver. Because I don't have them.

derekimo · Oct 31, 2012

sam9953 said:
Derekimo, thanks for suggesting that. I will try it. Will it also have the pre loaded drivers like my bluetooth or graphics driver. Because I don't have them.

Yes it will, it is an exact copy of your system as it is when you create the image.

It is one of the most important and yet easiest way to rescue your system or data.

The peace of mind alone is worth the cost of an external hard drive.

sam9953 · Oct 31, 2012

I do have an external drive. So I will save the .iso file on the hard disk? Will that be a good idea?

derekimo · Oct 31, 2012

sam9953 said:
I do have an external drive. So I will save the .iso file on the hard disk? Will that be a good idea?

They aren't .iso files they are .img files saved to your external drive and you use a bootable rescue disc that you create ahead of time, it's all in the tutorial.

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

DeaconFrost · Oct 31, 2012

Your laptop should have come with a method of burning your own restore discs to keep in a safe place. That wouldn't save your data, though.

I would also recommend downloading the latest drivers for your laptop, or going somewhere with faster internet to download them. Imaging is great, and saves your data, but you'd be rolling back to older, outdated drivers.

Sir George · Oct 31, 2012

sam9953 said:
Derekimo, thanks for suggesting that. I will try it. Will it also have the pre loaded drivers like my bluetooth or graphics driver. Because I don't have them.

For clarification, a system image is not just the operating system. It is the entire drive or drives you copy. So, you will not have a bootable OS disk, but an entire image of your disk as it was the day you create the image; ie, all the software, files and folders you have installed or made since installing the OS. It will not be a *.iso, but an image file.

HTH

Mark Phelps · Oct 31, 2012

I use Macrium Reflect all the time -- so I can confirm that it is an excellent tool for backup and restore operations.

While you CAN get it for free, and that version will do full backups and restores, you might think about purchasing the Standard version. With that, you get the ability to create a boot option in Win7 which you can then use (without having to mess with a CD) to run a restore. That same boot menu also provides the ability to repair Win7 boot problems -- so you don't have to create or retrieve a Win7 Repair CD.

SIW2 · Oct 31, 2012

Let you into a little secret.

If you are running win7 - you can easily make your own macrium pe and have the boot menu selection.

You don't need to download WAIK - you already have everything you need on your hard drive. You can do that with the free version macrium .

sam9953 · Nov 1, 2012

Well i have never used any image files till now. Are they just the same like .iso files? Can I use image files to burn them on a CD or make a bootable USB out of that image file, to install my win 7 OS?

Sir George · Nov 1, 2012

sam9953 said:
Well i have never used any image files till now. Are they just the same like .iso files? Can I use image files to burn them on a CD or make a bootable USB out of that image file, to install my win 7 OS?

They are not like .iso files. You can copy the image to cd, but it would probably require quite a few of them. No, you can't make a bootable USB from an image. No it won't install just the OS.

You should take the time to digest the information provided. You are confusing an image file with an Operating System. They are not the same. OS's are just OS. They contain no other files, folders or additional data, just the OS. An image, as I explained in my previous post, is an exact copy of your system, including everything on it; all the files, folders, and programs you have added.

Think of it like this; Peanut butter is strictly peanut butter. A peaunt butter and jelly sandwich, has the peanut butter plus jelly and bread. So, peanut butter is the OS. A peanut butter and jelly sandwich is the image.

HTH

DeaconFrost · Nov 1, 2012

I think you're still missing the point of an image file. They are similar to .isos, in the fact it is a disc's contents in a single file, except we're discussing a disk's contents, as in a hard disk. The image file is stored on a server or external drive. Should you need to restore it, you do so using the same software's restore process. It copies over whatever is on the hard drive with whatever is contained within the image file, for example, your entire C drive. When finished, and you reboot, your computer is back to the exact same stage it was in when you created the image of it. Consider it a snapshot of your entire drive.

sam9953 · Nov 1, 2012

Okay now I get it. But guys what if I want to copy just the OS part along with the softwares, nothing else. No Data, no movies and no media. Is that possible? Can I make an image of just that?

DeaconFrost · Nov 1, 2012

Most of us don't store those types of files on our system volume, aka C drive, anyway. If you had them stored elsewhere, they wouldn't be included in your image size. If they are on your C drive, contained within the "My" folders, then they will be included in a system image.

x BlueRobot · Nov 1, 2012

sam9953 said:
Okay now I get it. But guys what if I want to copy just the OS part along with the softwares, nothing else. No Data, no movies and no media. Is that possible? Can I make an image of just that?

I think you may only be able to select a certain partition if you have more than one OS installed.

Although, if you moved all your important non-system files onto a different physical hard-drive or external hard-drive/USB flash stick, and then imaged the hard-drive you will just have whatever is left on the hard-drive.

sam9953 · Nov 1, 2012

Okay so this is what I can do, I will remove all the data from my C drive and move it to D drive. Then the system image will have just the softwares and the OS without the data. Is that right?

DeaconFrost · Nov 1, 2012

Yes, that's correct. I keep all of my user data on a D drive, and then use a program like SyncToy to keep the entire D drive backed up to a server/external drive. The image will cover all of your C drive. Between the two processes, you'd have everything backed up.

How to create a .iso image file of my pre installed windows 7?

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