Creating a System Image backup

[tuuoploki]

So I've used Norton ghost in XP to do this and had a great experience.

When i got Win7 i was waiting for ghost to be patched. Then i read on this website about using some other free program the people here recommended. I just popped back to find it and now see its been replaced with windows 7s own system image backup program, i had no idea this existed, when did it come about and why wasn't it on here before? Is it better than ghost or that other program?

 

[Prof Kerfuffle]

Here you go.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/675-system-image-recovery.html

It is better than ghost because it is free

 

[JMH]

So I've used Norton ghost in XP to do this and had a great experience.

When i got Win7 i was waiting for ghost to be patched. Then i read on this website about using some other free program the people here recommended. I just popped back to find it and now see its been replaced with windows 7s own system image backup program, i had no idea this existed, when did it come about and why wasn't it on here before? Is it better than ghost or that other program?

Hello Xisuma,

I suggest that you read the links below to find out more information....

If you require more help let us know...

Jan.

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

http://www.sevenforums.com/performance-maintenance/111197-backing-up-everything.html

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

Hello Xisuma.











Here is the one most here recommend over the Windows program.


Imaging with free Macrium

 

[tuuoploki]

Thanks for the link to Macrium. Im already looking at the other page. What i wanted to know is when this came about because it was never there when i first got windows 7, sorry if i wasnt clear

 

[wcbrownhound]

Little HELP New at This

Pardon my ignorance but I am not computer savy. I am assuming the complete system back up Disks is more or less like the XP disc we used to get with Windows XP PCs. Does it take a lot of brains to make these? I understand it takes 4 DVD-R disk. Doesent the PC guide you through the process and tell you when to put another disk in? Also arnt you supposed to make these as soon as you take the PC out of the box before installing other programs. I purchased a PC for my Grandson to take to college and the 4 disk were already made. I got lucky and didnt have to pay for them. They (Best Buys) want $80.00 + tax for this. A little help please. Thank in advance

 

[Wishmaster]

I think what you are refering to are the OEM rescue disks.
These will restore your PC to the exact same state as it was the day you bought it.


Imaging is slightly different in the sense, it backs up everything on the disk you are Imaging.

Restoring it restores everything the way it was was the day you made the image.


Some Imaging programs can Automatically update the Image however often you choose. Others need to be done manually perodically.

Now, If a problem arises, you simply open the Program and tell it to restore.

In the even the PC crashes, or can not boot into Windows, they also have rescue disks.
So you can boot from a CD if you need too, and access your stored backups.

When the restore is complete, everything will be exactly as it was at the time you made the Image. All installed programs, personal settings etc.

 

[mjf]

I strongly recommend that when you buy a new PC with the OEM OS installed you make the recovery disks (2 DVDs should do it). Use good quality DVDs. Also I think you need to do it before you install any software.
If your HDD dies, put the new one in and use the recovery disks to put the system back into factory supplied state. I believe some will replace the hidden recovery partition giving back its capability and a partition layout the same as the dead disk.
Not all the OEM is bloat, eg drivers (to at least get you started) and things like ACER's eRecovery.

I use 2 imaging programs on a regular basis (Windows & Macrium) and I'm guessing that it may be safer to restore my latest image to a new disk after doing a factory restore. My recovery/hidden partition is 17.5GB at the front of the HDD and if it isn't there I'm not sure how the image recovery would work on a new HDD.

 

[Wishmaster]

I strongly recommend that when you buy a new PC with the OEM OS installed you make the recovery disks (2 DVDs should do it). Use good quality DVDs. Also I think you need to do it before you install any software.
If your HDD dies, put the new one in and use the recovery disks to put the system back into factory supplied state. I believe some will replace the hidden recovery partition giving back its capability and a partition layout the same as the dead disk.
Not all the OEM is bloat, eg drivers (to at least get you started) and things like ACER's eRecovery.

I use 2 imaging programs on a regular basis (Windows & Macrium) and I'm guessing that it may be safer to restore my latest image to a new disk after doing a factory restore. My recovery/hidden partition is 17.5GB at the front of the HDD and if it isn't there I'm not sure how the image recovery would work on a new HDD.

Having the factory Restore discs is certainly a good idea. never know when you may want them.

But, why would you want to do a factory restore, and then restore a current Image?

You need only do 1 or the other.
Even if you buy a brand new HD, the current sytsem Image will copy over and boot right up without issue.

Unless, of course, you simply want to go back to factory Preset.

But it is by no means a pre-requisite for restoring a System Image.

 

[mjf]

Wishmaster,
"I use 2 imaging programs on a regular basis (Windows & Macrium) and I'm guessing that it may be safer to restore my latest image to a new disk after doing a factory restore. My recovery/hidden partition is 17.5GB at the front of the HDD and if it isn't there I'm not sure how the image recovery would work on a new HDD."

This was my concern, and it may not be an issue. I've never restored to a NEW disk before and people who have done it successfully may not have had the 17.5GB sitting up the front of the disk. In my case before the 100M system reserved partition and the OS/boot partition.
So a question is:
Would a straight reimage to a new disk put the 100MB sys reserved at the front of the disk and would this cause problems (with the BCD and the OS partition location). Or would it leave a 17.5GB unallocated partition at the front of the disk.

I'm just unsure about this.

 

[gregrocker]

Anytime you reimage you run a risk that the System MBR (boot-critical files) doesn't get reimaged correctly. This is why some fancier imaging programs have you tick a box to take extra steps so the MBR gets copied.

If you reimage and Win7 won't start up, simply boot the Win7 DVD repair console or Repair CD - which you should have handy for repairs anyway. Click through to Recovery Tools list to http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/105541-startup-repair-run-3-separate-times.html to repair or rewrite the System MBR and start Win7.

In rare cases in a Dual Boot or OEM factory installation where another partition which is not being reimaged was System partition, in order to get Startup Repair to write the MBR you may need to mark Win7 partition Active first: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/71432-partition-mark-active.html

 

[tuuoploki]

Can anyone answer my question please? i understand all about imaging i just want to know why win7 didnt have it in the first place and when it came about

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

Have a look at the publish dates on these 2 tutorials for your answer.


Backup User and System Files

Backup Complete Computer - Create an Image Backup

 

[wcbrownhound]

I strongly recommend that when you buy a new PC with the OEM OS installed you make the recovery disks (2 DVDs should do it). Use good quality DVDs. Also I think you need to do it before you install any software.
If your HDD dies, put the new one in and use the recovery disks to put the system back into factory supplied state. I believe some will replace the hidden recovery partition giving back its capability and a partition layout the same as the dead disk.
Not all the OEM is bloat, eg drivers (to at least get you started) and things like ACER's eRecovery.

I use 2 imaging programs on a regular basis (Windows & Macrium) and I'm guessing that it may be safer to restore my latest image to a new disk after doing a factory restore. My recovery/hidden partition is 17.5GB at the front of the HDD and if it isn't there I'm not sure how the image recovery would work on a new HDD.

Having the factory Restore discs is certainly a good idea. never know when you may want them.

But, why would you want to do a factory restore, and then restore a current Image?

You need only do 1 or the other.
Even if you buy a brand new HD, the current sytsem Image will copy over and boot right up without issue.

Unless, of course, you simply want to go back to factory Preset.

But it is by no means a pre-requisite for restoring a System Image.

So what you are saying is: right out of the box you use the "System Restore" app, and it will take 2 DVD-R disk and it will walk you through it and when it crashes for whatever reason you can bring it back to the beginning similar to the way you do the XP OS in older PCs. When it crashes you generally lose everything. I learned a long time ago to back up all you can on something. Thanks again
Mr. Xisuma. I did not mean to hijack your thread. I am only trying to learn.

 

[marsmimar]

So what you are saying is: right out of the box you use the "System Restore" app, and it will take 2 DVD-R disk and it will walk you through it and when it crashes for whatever reason you can bring it back to the beginning similar to the way you do the XP OS in older PCs. When it crashes you generally lose everything. I learned a long time ago to back up all you can on something. Thanks again
Mr. Xisuma. I did not mean to hijack your thread. I am only trying to learn.

Just some personal experiences. Creating a system image (not a restore) on DVDs is not a guaranteed success. Seems that 7 is picky as to what DVDs are used (R, RW, +, -), whether the DVDs are formatted separately prior to use (as opposed to formatting during the imaging process), and even to some extent the brand and speed of the burner being used. A Microsoft forum goes into the problems some people have had.

Windows 7 "Create a System Image" problems

I would strongly recommend imaging to an external hard drive. Much fewer problems.

 

[mjf]

I strongly recommend that when you buy a new PC with the OEM OS installed you make the recovery disks (2 DVDs should do it). Use good quality DVDs. Also I think you need to do it before you install any software.
If your HDD dies, put the new one in and use the recovery disks to put the system back into factory supplied state. I believe some will replace the hidden recovery partition giving back its capability and a partition layout the same as the dead disk.
Not all the OEM is bloat, eg drivers (to at least get you started) and things like ACER's eRecovery.

I use 2 imaging programs on a regular basis (Windows & Macrium) and I'm guessing that it may be safer to restore my latest image to a new disk after doing a factory restore. My recovery/hidden partition is 17.5GB at the front of the HDD and if it isn't there I'm not sure how the image recovery would work on a new HDD.

Having the factory Restore discs is certainly a good idea. never know when you may want them.

But, why would you want to do a factory restore, and then restore a current Image?

You need only do 1 or the other.
Even if you buy a brand new HD, the current sytsem Image will copy over and boot right up without issue.

Unless, of course, you simply want to go back to factory Preset.

But it is by no means a pre-requisite for restoring a System Image.

So what you are saying is: right out of the box you use the "System Restore" app, and it will take 2 DVD-R disk and it will walk you through it and when it crashes for whatever reason you can bring it back to the beginning similar to the way you do the XP OS in older PCs. When it crashes you generally lose everything. I learned a long time ago to back up all you can on something. Thanks again
Mr. Xisuma. I did not mean to hijack your thread. I am only trying to learn.

NO
The "2 disk" factory recovery disks comes as part of or soon after you complete the computer manufacturers (guided) steps in setting up your computer. Before you install your own software or activate any trials (eg. Office) that have come with the computer. As part of the setup procedure you should be offered the opportunity to make factory recovery disks. As far as I am aware this is part of the computer OEMs setup software. The computer manufacturer (ACER in my case - not that I'm recommending them) should give you instructions on how to recover your PC using these disks should your hidden recovery partition be unaccessible (eg. your disk dies). It may be that not all computer manufacturers give you the recovery disk option - I don't know. You generally only get one opportunity to make your own factory recovery disks.

The Windows imaging comes later and it is a Windows 7 utility not the computer manufacturers utility. You can use this imaging capability as often as you like. Generally you make the image after you install your applications and have what you would consider a "minimally effective" working system that you can simply reimage back to should you get a virus or your operating system breaks beyond repair. It will take a lot more than 2 disks and a cheap external HDD is recommended. Finally some people have problems with the windows imaging (I don't) and use third party imaging. Just do a search of this forum on the topic (examples include Macrium Reflect).

 

[wcbrownhound]

Having the factory Restore discs is certainly a good idea. never know when you may want them.

But, why would you want to do a factory restore, and then restore a current Image?

You need only do 1 or the other.
Even if you buy a brand new HD, the current sytsem Image will copy over and boot right up without issue.

Unless, of course, you simply want to go back to factory Preset.

But it is by no means a pre-requisite for restoring a System Image.

So what you are saying is: right out of the box you use the "System Restore" app, and it will take 2 DVD-R disk and it will walk you through it and when it crashes for whatever reason you can bring it back to the beginning similar to the way you do the XP OS in older PCs. When it crashes you generally lose everything. I learned a long time ago to back up all you can on something. Thanks again
Mr. Xisuma. I did not mean to hijack your thread. I am only trying to learn.

NO
The "2 disk" factory recovery disks comes as part of or soon after you complete the computer manufacturers (guided) steps in setting up your computer. Before you install your own software or activate any trials (eg. Office) that have come with the computer. As part of the setup procedure you should be offered the opportunity to make factory recovery disks. As far as I am aware this is part of the computer OEMs setup software. The computer manufacturer (ACER in my case - not that I'm recommending them) should give you instructions on how to recover your PC using these disks should your hidden recovery partition be unaccessible (eg. your disk dies). It may be that not all computer manufacturers give you the recovery disk option - I don't know. You generally only get one opportunity to make your own factory recovery disks.

The Windows imaging comes later and it is a Windows 7 utility not the computer manufacturers utility. You can use this imaging capability as often as you like. Generally you make the image after you install your applications and have what you would consider a "minimally effective" working system that you can simply reimage back to should you get a virus or your operating system breaks beyond repair. It will take a lot more than 2 disks and a cheap external HDD is recommended. Finally some people have problems with the windows imaging (I don't) and use third party imaging. Just do a search of this forum on the topic (examples include Macrium Reflect).

Thank you. What you are saying is mostly what I have heard locally. (you know how confusing that can be) You said you only get one chance???? There is a App called Restore something???? that you can accesse and it seems to be the one that you would use. All I want is the disks I would need to bring the PC back to the way it was when I took it out of the box. I learned a long time to back up your stuff on something. I still cant find out on here why the PC ( Toshiba) I bought for my Grandson came with 4 DVD-R disk?????Thanks

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

All I want is the disks I would need to bring the PC back to the way it was when I took it out of the box. I learned a long time to back up your stuff on something. I still cant find out on here why the PC ( Toshiba) I bought for my Grandson came with 4 DVD-R disk?????Thanks

If you are looking for a way take a PC back to "factory" there may be a hidden, built-in recovery partition that can be used for that purpose, if so, what company manufactured the PC?

 

[wcbrownhound]

All I want is the disks I would need to bring the PC back to the way it was when I took it out of the box. I learned a long time to back up your stuff on something. I still cant find out on here why the PC ( Toshiba) I bought for my Grandson came with 4 DVD-R disk?????Thanks

If you are looking for a way take a PC back to "factory" there may be a hidden, built-in recovery partition that can be used for that purpose, if so, what company manufactured the PC?

I havent got the pc yet. It will probally be a Toshiba or a Asus. These 2 both have a restore app in them. I understand when you take them out of the box they promp you to make one of these. If you have a crash of any kind or a bug how are you going to re boot the pc to do anything? I have loaded several XP disk on pcs that run XP and after the disk runs and 2 hours of updates the pcs run ok.Thanks

 

[mjf]

Co-incidence - same brands I looking for a notebook for my son.
Anyway. Some points answering your question.
(1) The maufacturer (eg. Toshiba) should give recovery info. If your hard disk (HDD) is ok you can generally recover the factory state from within windows (a last resort though).
(2) If the HDD is ok but windows is broken and won't boot there will be a key sequence to press when booting is attempted eg F8 or alt F10 or something (see manufacturer info).
(3) options (1) and (2) fail. then boot from your "factory recovery" DVDs, generally by having disk 1 of the set in the DVD drive. Just follow the instructions. You may need to first go into the BIOS and tell it that you want to boot from the DVD. You may need to do a little homework. Sounds involved? - it's really easy.
(4) Option (3) can often work after replacing the HDD if it breaks.

After you start using imaging backups (Windows or other - see earlier comments) you may never need to do a factory restore. Factory restore is generally easy but a last resort. This forum can help with Windows issues often before you get to that.