Hi Greg, Well I just booted from win7 repair disk and it found the image that I created last night on Drv E which is where I put it..... so it is going well I guess. I will just make sure to re-image at regular intervals as it does not take very long - I put it on a regular backup schedule so I don't have to worry about forgetting.
Meanwhile I will research other available options - who knows..... but if windows imaging is working I guess that is all I will (never) need hopefully. Imaging seems a much better option than copying partitions etc which takes up so much more space and has a greater risk of something going wrong?
So I have settled in and having some peaceful nights sleep.
Thanks again for your support and suggestions from others.