System Image - what does it not include?

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  1. Posts : 17,796
    Windows 10, Home Clean Install
       #11

    If you do not have an image of just your personal data, and you accidentally lose someting in documents, or it corrupts. You cannot just restore that item. In addition, your system image may not be up to date. You use it to reinstall your personal files, you may be making changes to your system, too.
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  2. Posts : 16,132
    7 X64
       #12

    I think it is smaller mainly because of the excluded files as I have already explained.

    Up to you if you want to make separate backups of your pics/docs quite often , then only a system image much less often
      My Computers


  3. Posts : 12,012
    Windows 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-bit
       #13

    There is no "or" about it.

    If you have a usable drive, it has at least one partition.

    If you go downtown and buy a new drive, it has no partitions and is as functional as a rock.

    I think you should backup by both methods and think it is particularly foolish to rely on an image as the only backup of personal data--as opposed to Windows or your "system files".

    So no, you don't "probably don't need to do both". You do need to do both.

    In my opinion, after learning the hard way.
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  4. Posts : 285
    Windows 7 Home Premium x64
       #14

    ckmerc said:
    Ok..so because my hard drive does not have any partitions (or just one BIG one)...then the System Image Backup created an exact copy of all of the data on my hard drive. And the reason the system image backup file is only 39 Gig vs. the 59 gig my computer says I have used is because the files are compressed down approx. 20 Gigs.

    Reason I am asking is because I currently have a system image backup AND a backup of all of my music and picture files....If the system image backup has all of my music and pic files contained in it.. I probably don't need to do both...just the sys image backup.
    The system image backup is only the last system image backup created.

    The backup of your user files, can also be used to go back a period in time, so it is more flexible then a system image backup.
    Backup User and System Files

    See tutorial below, as you can see, you can restore user files from a period, opposite to the System Image, which only the last version can be restored.
    Restore Backup User and System Files

    Best regards,

    zx81
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  5. aem
    Posts : 2,698
    Windows 7 Ultimate 64Bit
       #15

    Before the intro of the built-in System Image backup utility, people use third part apps such as Norton Ghost to do there imaging. I find to date Norton Ghost offer a better, faster, easiest way to do imaging and reimaging. Everyone has their own preference, just do what you are comfortable with and one that works for you. As for compression, i never take notice of it.
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  6.    #16

    BTW, if you plug in your external drive and leave it, Windows 7 Backup Center will let you backup whatever files you want plus an update to your image on the schedule of your choice, even when the computer is idle.

    Set it and forget it. And it's done to an external drive (or secondary internal) so you're covered from HDD failure.
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  7. Posts : 41
    W7 Home Premium
    Thread Starter
       #17

    K...so use Backup User and System files for just your personal data and system settings... I am assuming that files saved using Backup User and System files can be restored to any computer with the same W7 operating system...correct.

    I.E. if my computer is stolen or damaged beyond repair, I could restore my Saved Backup files to my laptop...right?
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  8. Posts : 41
    W7 Home Premium
    Thread Starter
       #18

    Great info. here guys..thanks again for your responses
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  9. Posts : 12,012
    Windows 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-bit
       #19

    If your laptop is stolen, presumably you would get a new one with Windows 7, and then just copy back your personal data from any location that was not stolen, probably an external drive.

    Or you should be able to restore the most recent image you had to the new laptop. You may or may not want to do that.

    Or you could drill into your backup image and restore whatever files you found in there--most likely you would not do this unless another method failed.

    If your most recent image was a month old, you might not want to restore it to the new laptop and instead just copy your backed up personal data to the new machine, folder by folder, and then reinstall applications.

    If someone reached inside your laptop and stole the hard drive, you would replace it with a new drive. You could then restore your most recent image from an external drive to this new laptop drive, or install windows from scratch and then copy your personal data from any backup you may have, imaged or otherwise.
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  10. Posts : 17,796
    Windows 10, Home Clean Install
       #20

    ignatzatsonic said:
    .

    If your most recent image was a month old, you might not want to restore it to the new laptop and instead just copy your backed up personal data to the new machine, folder by folder, and then reinstall applications.

    .
    When I make a image backup. I list all the changes that I made between the back up just made and the next one. If there is a problem, I restore from backup and I then use my list to make all the other changes.
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