How do I backup entire pc to external HD then Reinstall

[se7ensins]

I am getting an external HD any minute and I want to backup my entire pc to it. programs, data, music, files, folders, registry etc. Basically an exact copy of my current system but I want it to be bootable just in case I mess up the reinstall. Is this possible? If so what is the easiest way to go about it?

 

[theog]

Take a look here:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/675-system-image-recovery.html?ltr=S

 

[se7ensins]

Take a look here:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/675-system-image-recovery.html?ltr=S

I don't think that's what I want to do. At least from what I understand.

I basically want to copy my entire computer to another hard drive and then do a clean install from my windows 7 os disk. i do however want the backup copy to be able to boot up.

Is that what it is or am I completely confused?

 

[theog]

Take a look here:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/648-restore-backup-user-system-files.html

Programs will need reinstalling.

 

[se7ensins]

Looked it over...looks like what I need...few questions though. I haven't created a backup yet so when I do create a backup will it allow me specify an external hard drive that is attached to my pc? Will it backup EVERYTHING? Files, folders, registry, programs, media, everything? Will it be bootable from said external hard drive?

 

[gregrocker]

You'll boot the Win7 DVD Repair console or Repair CD, select "Recover Using an Image" and it will detect the WIn7 backup image stored on the external. That is the only booting that is involved with backup, and that is only used if you backup a System image and need to reimage the HD with it.

While everything is included in the image, it is also best to copy your files over to the external using either the backup utility or, more efficiently, by dragging the Active User files to the external.

Then you'll have a Backup image which can be reimaged to the HD or a replacement in 20 minutes, or you have files to choose from in case you lose them or they are damaged, or the backup image doesn't work and you are forced to reinstall.

For files, I backup Downloads, Documents, Pictures, Videos, Music and Internet Explorer Favorites, which is a lot smaller on the disk than using the blunderbuss backup utility.

 

[Max Peck]

When you make your backup, you will also have the opportunity to create a system restore disk and a system image. Create the restore disk and the image. Boot to the restore disk and you will be able to recover your system from the image - exactly as it was before you took the image.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there
Look at commercial products such as Acronis for backing up data / Disk images..

These types of programs will allow you to back up whatever you want from your computer to ANY device(s) of your choice and then be able to recover the data even if your whole Windows OS doeswn't boot.

A good "Multi-boot" system would be to have something like the LINUX GRUB boot loader and then you can choose which Windows disk you want to boot as default -- you can usually set the GRUB loader to boot a specific disk if the user hasn't made a choice within a user definable number of seconds.

Since you can boot and restore an alternate OS even from a USB stick these days I can't see the point of actually having the backup stored on the computer -- restoring a Windows 7 image from a 16 GB USB stick on my machine takes all of 9 minutes -- and it's got a load of applications installed such as Photoshop, Office etc etc.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[se7ensins]

Thanks for the detailed instructions that's what I was looking for.

here are the steps I'm going to take.

1. Open control panel click create system image. Go through the steps (I assume I can specify the external hd)
2. Drag all files such as documents, media, that type onto the external just to be sure they copied correctly.
3. drag all users to the external hd.
4. insert windows 7 os disk click install. Remember I want a clean install for now. (side note: is it a good idea to zero out my hard drive so nothing is left behind from the old install?)
5. Boot up windows 7 from external hd. Have to go into the bios for this right?
6. go through programs I want installed on new machine.
7. Install them. (side note: if I bought a program how can I recover the key from the external hd?)
8. Drag any media, files etc that I want on my new machine from external HD.
I'm done right?

Side notes: I have a massive iTunes library so will I need to back up the entire library or can I just drag and drop iTunes media folder and iTunes library xml to the new fresh install of iTunes?
does anybody know a good program that transfers files faster then the windows utility? Freeware is better!


Did I miss anything? Suggestions?

 

[se7ensins]

Hi there
Look at commercial products such as Acronis for backing up data / Disk images..

These types of programs will allow you to back up whatever you want from your computer to ANY device(s) of your choice and then be able to recover the data even if your whole Windows OS doeswn't boot.

A good "Multi-boot" system would be to have something like the LINUX GRUB boot loader and then you can choose which Windows disk you want to boot as default -- you can usually set the GRUB loader to boot a specific disk if the user hasn't made a choice within a user definable number of seconds.

Since you can boot and restore an alternate OS even from a USB stick these days I can't see the point of actually having the backup stored on the computer -- restoring a Windows 7 image from a 16 GB USB stick on my machine takes all of 9 minutes -- and it's got a load of applications installed such as Photoshop, Office etc etc.

Cheers
jimbo

I actually just bought a kingston datatraveler 128 gig usb stick off eBay just so I can have a portable linux system, media files and portable apps. I want to reduce the load on my laptop significantly.

Oh and did I mention I got the usb for 50 bucks. gotta love eBay.

 

[Thorsen]

check the 128G usb there have been posts on this forum about ebay and this

http://www.sevenforums.com/chillout-room/74254-128gb-flash-drive.html

if you haven't gotten it yet. return it if possible. i dont know if its fake, but at $50 there is a high chance that it is. i just dont want you to get burned. If you already got it, or cant return it file a complaint with ebay and retain all info on the seller that you can

 

[se7ensins]

check the 128G usb there have been posts on this forum about ebay and this

http://www.sevenforums.com/chillout-room/74254-128gb-flash-drive.html

if you haven't gotten it yet. return it if possible. i dont know if its fake, but at $50 there is a high chance that it is. i just dont want you to get burned. If you already got it, or cant return it file a complaint with ebay and retain all info on the seller that you can

Idk I bought it at like 3am in the morning with 2 hours to go. Didn't really know they were selling legit fakes of kingston. I emailed the seller and asked him str8 up if it was fake. I hope not but who knows. Not to smart on my behalf but I thought I was getting a good deal. Crosses fingers.

 

[se7ensins]

check the 128G usb there have been posts on this forum about ebay and this

http://www.sevenforums.com/chillout-room/74254-128gb-flash-drive.html

if you haven't gotten it yet. return it if possible. i dont know if its fake, but at $50 there is a high chance that it is. i just dont want you to get burned. If you already got it, or cant return it file a complaint with ebay and retain all info on the seller that you can

Idk I bought it at like 3am in the morning with 2 hours to go. Didn't really know they were selling legit fakes of kingston. I emailed the seller and asked him str8 up if it was fake. I hope not but who knows. Not to smart on my behalf but I thought I was getting a good deal. Crosses fingers.

In other news my HD got delivered.

 

[Thorsen]

I didn't want to make you to worried about it, just make sure it works correctly. There are alot of them posted on eBay, and most of the comments are good, but I have seen bad comments on some. I hope yours is good, but it might not be. just keep all the info on the seller and the order in case you have to demand your money back

 

[se7ensins]

What if any issues do these fake drives have?

On another note: Anybody had a chance to look over my steps? I really want to get started soon but don't want to do it until I am 100% sure.

 

[gregrocker]

Thanks for the detailed instructions that's what I was looking for.

here are the steps I'm going to take.

1. Open control panel click create system image. Go through the steps (I assume I can specify the external hd) Format the external and imaging app wil autodetect it as a drive where you can store image.
2. Drag all files such as documents, media, that type onto the external just to be sure they copied correctly. Just drag their folders.
3. drag all users to the external hd. This is unnecessary duplicative, since All Users contain all of your active files you already have copied, plus a lot of unneeded and empty files that waste space. However if u have a big enough external, it is easier just to copy the Active User - and uses less space than the Backup utility.
4. insert windows 7 os disk click install. Remember I want a clean install for now. (side note: is it a good idea to zero out my hard drive so nothing is left behind from the old install?) A clean reinstall is always the best time to chkdsk your file system, test the HD using maker's diagnostics/repair CD scan, and zero the HD for cleanest possible slate.
5. Boot up windows 7 from external hd. Have to go into the bios for this right? You do not boot Win7 or anything from external drive. You boot the DVD Repair console/ Repair CD to reimage the HD using the backup image stored on external. But this is not a clean reinstall, this is reimaging your HD. A clean reinstall is reinstalling the OS from the install DVD from scratch.
6. go through programs I want installed on new machine. If you reimage from stored image your programs will already be there. A clean reinstall from booted DVD is what you would instead do if you want to reinstall programs.
7. Install them. (side note: if I bought a program how can I recover the key from the external hd?) Audit your Win7 now with Belarc Advisor to get all installed program keys.
8. Drag any media, files etc that I want on my new machine from external HD.
I'm done right?

Side notes: I have a massive iTunes library so will I need to back up the entire library or can I just drag and drop iTunes media folder and iTunes library xml to the new fresh install of iTunes?
does anybody know a good program that transfers files faster then the windows utility? Freeware is better!


Did I miss anything? Suggestions?

see above

You are confusing reimaging your HD from backed up Win7 System image with a clean reinstall of the OS which is an entirely different operation: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1649-clean-install-windows-7-a.html

 

[se7ensins]

Thanks for the detailed instructions that's what I was looking for.

here are the steps I'm going to take.

1. Open control panel click create system image. Go through the steps (I assume I can specify the external hd) Format the external and imaging app wil autodetect it as a drive where you can store image.It's a mybook external HD so it auto plays. If I format it I lose the data already on it correct Backup utility say's it doesn't support image creation because it isn't formated ntfs. Am I out of luck? If I let window manage the backup it only backs up the user, app data, and librarys. I want the whole entire drive. Right?
2. Drag all files such as documents, media, that type onto the external just to be sure they copied correctly. Just drag their folders. Got it.
3. drag all users to the external hd. This is unnecessary duplicative, since All Users contain all of your active files you already have copied, plus a lot of unneeded and empty files that waste space. However if u have a big enough external, it is easier just to copy the Active User - and uses less space than the Backup utility.How do I find the active user?
4. insert windows 7 os disk click install. Remember I want a clean install for now. (side note: is it a good idea to zero out my hard drive so nothing is left behind from the old install?) A clean reinstall is always the best time to chkdsk your file system, test the HD using maker's diagnostics/repair CD scan, and zero the HD for cleanest possible slate.I googled the HD serial number to find the makers website but there were no results. How else can I find it? Do I want to do it before the clean install so I wipe out current HD or during the install? how does that work?
5. Boot up windows 7 from external hd. Have to go into the bios for this right? You do not boot Win7 or anything from external drive. You boot the DVD Repair console/ Repair CD to reimage the HD using the backup image stored on external. But this is not a clean reinstall, this is reimaging your HD. A clean reinstall is reinstalling the OS from the install DVD from scratch.
6. go through programs I want installed on new machine. If you reimage from stored image your programs will already be there. A clean reinstall from booted DVD is what you would instead do if you want to reinstall programs.
7. Install them. (side note: if I bought a program how can I recover the key from the external hd?) Audit your Win7 now with Belarc Advisor to get all installed program keys.It saved it to a local html file. Do I copy that to the external so I have it on file or will it atuomatically be copied?
8. Drag any media, files etc that I want on my new machine from external HD.
I'm done right?

Side notes: I have a massive iTunes library so will I need to back up the entire library or can I just drag and drop iTunes media folder and iTunes library xml to the new fresh install of iTunes?
does anybody know a good program that transfers files faster then the windows utility? Freeware is better!


Did I miss anything? Suggestions?

see above

You are confusing reimaging your HD from backed up Win7 System image with a clean reinstall of the OS which is an entirely different operation: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1649-clean-install-windows-7-a.html

See above^^^

 

[se7ensins]

I read that you can reformat your mybook and it won't cause you problems such as connecting and the like. Is this true?

If I reformat will it just be one big mass storage device or what?

 

[se7ensins]

I read that you can reformat your mybook and it won't cause you problems such as connecting and the like. Is this true?

If I reformat will it just be one big mass storage device or what?

 

[gregrocker]

The Active User is your named User account.

Did you try to save a Windows System Image to external and it errored saying it needs NTFS formatting? If you want to use Win7 imaging then you'll need to move your data off temporarily to format NTFS, or try using free Macrium Reflect to capture the image.

If you have decided to do a clean reinstall, then follow the tutorial I posted earlier. You can wait until after all of your programs are reinstalled and files in place and it is running as you like before capturing your backup image. Then you never have to reinstall again, just reimage the HD or a replacement.

Backup image is different than your folders which should be backed up separately. The image is an image file which is only able to reimage your HD in the exact image that was captured when u ran it. All of your files will be only current to that point in time, hich is why you should back them up more often so you have a current set

Also, sometimes the backup image does not work so you need your files and program installers (kept IN Downloads folder) backed up in case you must reinstall your OS from scratch.

HD Diagnostic