Need help using "Windows Image Backup"


  1. Posts : 13
    Windows 7 Pro x64
       #1

    Need help using "Windows Image Backup"


    I recently started hearing a ticking noise and narrowed it down to my Toshiba hdd which is where my Win 7 Pro O/S was located. I also had 2 Western Digital 1Tb drives installed with 3 partitions each. My O/S and all my docs, pics, vids, added up to 800GB's. I went out and purchased a new 2TB hdd and installed it and created 3 partions of 800GB, 400GB, and 800GB. I then cut and pasted all the folders I could, (approx. 600GB of the original 800Gb) , from the failing Toshiba to the 3rd partition on the new hdd. This left me with 200GB of O/S Programs. Pagefile Etc., still on the Toshiba. I then moved enough folders from one of my Western Digital to the 2nd partition of the new hdd giving me an empty 300GB 1st partition on the WD to use to backup the remaining 200GB. I used the built-in "Create Windows Image Backup" to do this.

    My problem is I then formated the Toshiba and removed it thinking I would be able to do a fresh install using my Win 7 Pro OEM disc on the 1st partition (800GB) on new hdd. Then figured I could use the Windows Image Backup to get back all my installed updates and programs. However when I use a system repair disc to boot into where I get the option to do the backup, its wants to format the new 2TB hdd (the way I read it) the whole drive and not just the C: Drive which is where the fresh install is?

    Hope someone knows a work around on this cause some of my programs file are not available anymore do to the company going out of business I purchased the from.

    Thanks for your input guru's!
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 8,135
    Windows 10 64 bit
       #2

    The easiest thing to do is use the Free Macrium Reflect and make an "image" (backup) of the entire drive to the new 2TB drive. Then you can restore the entire drive to whatever new drive you want to use. This is a lot better than the messy Windows backup where it doesn't backup everything. I and most techies I know use Macrium Reflect.

    Download and install Macrium. Make a "bootable rescue disc" and then do the full drive (all partitions) image to the separate drive.

    Macrium Software | Macrium Reflect Free
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 13
    Windows 7 Pro x64
    Thread Starter
       #3

    Hi Fireberd, and thanks for your response. My problem is I have already formatted the drive that had my op system on. I only have the "windows backup image" to work with. I actually have a dual boot setup, so I'm not without my main daily use items. It just took a long time to copy my 600gb+ of documents over to partition 3 of the new 2TB drive and wanted to put the backup image on the 1st partition of that drive. I think I'm just going to go buy another 1TB Western Digital Black Edition and put the backup on that. That backup just has a lot of older programs that do physics calculations with that I use occasionally. When trying to add the backup to the 2TB drive windows was wanting to format the whole drive which would wipe my 600gb+ docs.

    Also just to let you know, I have Win 7 Pro on a new 240GB SSD as my dual boot and I have all 6 of the sata ports of the mb full with other TB HDD's and Blu-Ray Burner. So I will have to remove a drive to make room for a new drive.
      My Computer


 

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