System Image Recovery

How to Do a System Image Recovery in Windows 7​

   Information

This will show you how to restore your Windows 7 hard disk back to exactly how it was when you created a system image backup.

   Warning

• You can only do a system image recovery to a HDD that is the same size or larger than the one the system image was created from. You will not be able to do a system image recovery to a smaller HDD.
• When you restore your computer from a image backup, it is a complete restoration. You can't choose individual items to restore, and all of your current programs, system settings, and files are replaced.
• If your backup image is on a external device (ex: USB drive), then make sure it is connected before starting. If USB drive, then also make sure that you have your BIOS settings (ex: Legacy USB) set to allow USB devices at boot.
• A system image recovery will format everything on each hard drive that was included in a system image, and will only restore what is included (see steps 7-9 in STEP TWO below) in the system image back. Be sure to backup anything that you do not want to lose that is not included in the system image backup first.

STEP ONE

Only if You Renamed the "WindowsImageBackup" Folder

   Note

To be able to have multiple versions of system images saved on the same drive or partition, you would need to rename the older WindowsImageBackup folder from the previously created system image as described in the NOTE box at the top of this tutorial.

If you renamed the WindowsImageBackup folder for the system image version that you wanted to restore, then you will need to do the steps below before you will be able to restore that system image.

1. If you are "Able to Boot" into Windows 7 A) In Windows Explorer, navigate to the renamed (drive letter)\WindowsImageBackup folder location of the system image that you want to restore.

B) If you already have a folder named WindowsImageBackup that is not the system image version that you want to restore, then you will need to right click on it, click on Rename, and type in say WindowsImageBackup-Copy-2 as an example.

C) Now, right click on the renamed system image version (ex: WindowsImageBackup-Copy-1) that you did want to restore, click on Rename, type in WindowsImageBackup an press enter.

D) Go to the STEP TWO section below to do the System Image Recovery.
2. If you are "Not Able to Boot" into Windows 7 A) If you have the system image backup save to an external device, be sure that it is connected now.

B) Open a command prompt at boot.

C) In the command prompt, type diskpart and press enter. (see screenshot below)

D) In the command prompt, type list volume and press enter. (see screenshot below)

E) Make note of the drive letter (ex: E: ) that you have the system image backup saved to.

F) In the command prompt, type exit and press enter. (see screenshot below)

G) In the command prompt, type the E: and press enter. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: Subsititute E: for your actual drive letter at step 2E instead.

H) If you already have a folder named "WindowsImageBackup"

NOTE: This is if you already have a folder named WindowsImageBackup that is not the system image version that you want to restore. If so, you would need to rename it to say WindowsImageBackup-Copy-2 as an example.

• In the command prompt, type the command below and press enter. (see screenshot below)
  NOTE: Substitute WindowsImageBackup-Copy-2 in the command below with any name in quotes that you would like to rename it to instead.

[B]ren WindowsImageBackup "[COLOR=red]WindowsImageBackup-Copy-2[/COLOR]"[/B]

I) In the command prompt, type the command below and press enter. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: Substitute WindowsImageBackup-Copy-1 in the command below with the actual name of your renamed system image folder in quotes that you want to use to restore instead.

[B]ren "[COLOR=red]WindowsImageBackup-Copy-1[/COLOR]" WindowsImageBackup[/B]

J) Close the command prompt window. (see screenshot below)

K) Continue on to step 3B in the STEP TWO section below to do the System Image Recovery.

STEP TWO

To Do the System Image Recovery

1. If you have the system image backup save to an external device, be sure that it is connected and turned on (powered up) now.
A) Start with either step 2 or step 3 below first.
2. From "Backup and Restore" in the Control Panel while in Windows 7 A) Open the Control Panel (icons view), and click on Backup and Restore.

B) Click on the Recover system settings on your computer link. (see screenshot below)
C) Click on the Advanced recovery methods link. (see screenshot below)
D) Select the Use a system image you created earlier to recover your computer option. (see screenshot below)
E) Select to either create a Back up now, or to Skip it and continue the system image recovery without backing up any of your current files.
NOTE: If you select Back up now, it will take you to step 6 in this tutorial link to create a User and System File back up of your current files first before continuing to step 1F. (see screenshot below)
F) Click on Restart. (see screenshot below)



G) Select a languange to be used for your keyboard input and click on Next. (see screenshot below)
H) Go to step 4.
3. From the System Recovery Options Screen at Boot A) Boot to the System Recovery Options screen from your Windows 7 installation DVD/USB, or System Repair Disc.

B) Select the System Image Recovery option. (see screenshot below)
4. If you saved the system image backup to a set of DVDs, then insert the last DVD from the set when prompted. If not, go to step 5 for a system image backup on a hard drive. A) Go to step 7 below.
5. To Use the Latest System Image A) Select (dot) Use the latest available system image and click on Next. (see screenshot below)
B) Go to step 7.
6. To Select a System Image A) Select (dot) Select a system image, and click on Next. (see screenshot above)
NOTE: This is if the system image that you want to use is not listed here and is at another location that you wish to choose from instead.

B) Select the location of the backup image for the computer you want to restore from the list, and click on Next. (see screenshot below)

   Note

To add a image from a network location, click on the Advanced button, and on the Search for a system image on the network option.

If the drive cannot be seen to select a system image from, then you may need to use the tutorial below to load your SATA or RAID drivers before it will be seen. You would click on the Advanced button, and on the Install a driver option.

SATA Drivers - Load in Windows 8 System Image Recovery

C) Select the date and time of the system image to restore, and click on Next. (see screenshot below)
7. To Do a Full System Image Recovery
NOTE: This option will format everything on each hard disk drive that was included in the system image, then restore them as they were when the system image was created.

   Note

Format and repartition disks box:
NOTE: Special thanks to MJF for this addition. 1) Grayed out and selected
You are forced to have the whole disk formatted and repartitioned to match the partition structure of the disk the image was made from. This can occur when restoring an image to a new disk or the original disk with a modified partition structure. Data on other partitions on the disk you are restoring to will be lost.

2) Grayed out and unselected
You are not given the option to format and repartition the disk. This will occur if you are restoring Windows from a partition on the same disk.

3) Not grayed out and unselected
Here you have the option to select format the whole disk and repartition or not. In this case the disk the image was taken from has a matching partition structure to the disk you are restoring the image to. By not selecting the format and repartition option your image will be restored and other partitions untouched such as valuable data partitions.

A) Check the Format and repartition disks box (if not grayed out) and uncheck Only restore system drives box (if available), and click on Next. (see screenshots below)


B) Go to step 10.
8. To Only Restore System Drives in System Image Recovery
NOTE: When restoring to the same disk containing data partitions, the Format and repartition disks option may format the data partitions as well. If this is the case and you have the option to leave the Format and repartition disks box unchecked, then initially attempt your image recovery with the Format and repartition disks box unchecked. If recovery is unsuccessful, repeat the process with the format box ticked. A) If available, check the Only restore system drives box, and click on Next. (see screenshot below)
B) Go to step 10.
9. To Exclude Restoring Specific Drives in System Image Recovery
NOTE: Since a system image recovery will format everything on each hard disk drive that was included in a system image, this will allow you to exclude specific disks so that specific disk will not be formated or restored. A) Check the Format and repartition disks box , and click on the Exclude disks button (if not grayed out). (see screenshot below)
NOTE: If the Exclude disks button is grayed out, then the HDD that you are restoring to is empty, or you do not have any disks in the system image that are able to be excluded from being restored.
B) Unselect the drives that you want to exclude from being restored.

C) Click on Next.
10. Click on Finish. (see screenshot below)
11. Click on Yes. (See screenshot below)
12. You will now see this screenshot below.
NOTE: If you have the backup image on DVDs, have them ready. See step 4 above.
13. When it is through, click on Restart Now to finish. (see screenshot below)
NOTE: Your computer will restart and the backup image restoration will be done.
14. If you created a backup in step 1E, then you will now see this option to Restore my files after the computer restarts. (see screenshot below)
That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

---

• How to Create a System Image Backup in Windows 7
• How to Create a "Create a System Image" Shortcut in Windows 7
• How to Restore Backup User and System Files in Windows 7
• How to Create a Windows 7 System Repair Disc
• How to Do a System Restore in Windows 7
• How to Backup and Restore the Windows 7 Registry
• How to Enable or Disable the Ability to Create a System Image in Windows 7
• How to Extract Files from Windows 7 System Image using Virtual PC
• How to Extract Windows 7 System Image Files Using Disk Management
• How to Restore your System with a Broken Windows 7 System Image
• How to Manually Extract Files from a Backup in Vista and Windows 7
• How to Create a System Recovery Shortcut in Windows 7
• How to Create a Windows 7 Backup and Restore Shortcut
• How to Restore a Partition Image From a HDD to a SSD
• How to Delete Windows 7 User Data and System Image Backup Files
• How to Load SATA Drivers in Windows System Image Recovery
• New Installation: How to Create a General System Image in Audit Mode

 

[bilvihur]

Thanks for the reply, Shawn. So, to be clear, if I had other data on HDD Disk 0 outside of boot partition C, would it have been left alone, or reformatted? Thanks.

 

[mjf]

In addition to Brink's comments. If you have say a data partition D: on the same HDD as C: and you don't change the partition structure of the HDD then Windows System Image Recovery will have the format box unchecked. If you do not check it D: will remain in tact. If you do check it then partition D: will get formatted and you will lose your data.
Also, as Brink says if you are force to format use the exclude option to specifically exclude other attached drives.

 

[bilvihur]

Thanks mjf and Shawn for your replies. To summarize my situation: Win 7 failed to boot due to error reading BCD; Startup Repair couldn't find an OS; and WSIR running without selecting the format and repartition option failed with an 80070570 error. It looks like the only option I had to recover a bootable Win 7 was to format and repartition. I'll be sure not to keep any valuable data on HDD 0. This is getting way over my head, but if the backed-up System Image only contained what was in the C partition on HDD 0, why is it necessary to specifically Exclude the other HDD's during the recovery?

 

[Brink]

You would want to exclude them just to be extra safe. Otherwise they are at risk of being formatted by the system image recovery process if anything just happened to be included in the system image without you knowing about it.

 

[bilvihur]

Wow! This new (to me) info is making me rethink my whole Windows 7 Backup strategy. Currently, I backup a System Image (C partition) to 2 separate HDD's in case one image was to get clobbered. I use Cobian to backup all my User data. However in the last 2 years, I've had the C boot sector corrupted twice (first when SuperAntiSpyware ran amok, recently when I tried to unlock the extra cores on my Phenom 550). I'm thinking I should use WSIR to create a Secondary bootable Win 7 partition on HDD 1. Then if the HDD 0 boot sector was to get corrupted again, I could boot Windows from the secondary partition, copy any other data off of HDD 0, and run WSIR with format and repartition to recreate the Primary Win 7 partition on HDD 0. I know this is kind of verbose, but I'd like to adopt a simple plan that gets me back online in the shortest time. Thanks.

 

[Brink]

Good plan. It's always best to have an extra backup plan than be sorry later if one should fail.

 

[bilvihur]

Well, I ran into a problem with my strategy. After selecting the latest System Image that I wanted to use to make a secondary boot drive, the next frame has the Format and Repartition option greyed out and unselected. How does on go about selecting a new HDD to recover to? Thanks.

I read in the "Imaging With Free Macrium" tutorial by whs that "...when restoring to another HDD you should disconnect the original. They will both have the same disk signature and this can cause problems." Do you think this is my problem?

 

[Brink]

Belvihur,

In that case, I woud recommend to disconnect all HDD's except the one that has the system image backup on it and the one that you want to restore the image to. By default, the partition that has the image saved on it will not be touched.

Normally, it will restore to the system (Windows 7) drive by default. If no system drive is found and you have more than one drive available to restore to, then you may have an option to select which one to restore to.

 

[mjf]

ditto Brink's comments. The HDD you restore the image to will have exactly the same MBR as the original including the disk signature. Windows will not allow 2 HDD to have the same disk signature.
The greyed out unselected format box is typical when your image is on the same HDD but a different partition to the OS. I guess we are assuming your image is on an external HDD?

 

[bilvihur]

Umm no. The C partition is on HDD 0, the image is stored on HDD 2, and I would like to make a secondary boot drive on HDD 3. The boot partition itself is only 30GB.

 

[Brink]

Bilvihur,

If you are wanting to have the same OS on more than one drive, then you would also need to have a separate product key number for each one to activate with as well. Otherwise it would violate the EULA.

That's not going to be a real easy task using System Image Recovery since you would basically have to disconnect HDD 0, restore to HDD 3 which would be formatted first, when finished connect HDD 0 back, then use something like the free program "EasyBCD" to fix the MBR to be able to have both OS's listed at boot to select which on you wanted to boot to. If you don't fix the MBR, then you would have to use the Boot Menu at startup to select to startup to the other HDD instead of the default one.

 

[bilvihur]

Now we're cooking! I don't boot that often, so I wouldn't mind using BIOS to select the Primary Boot disk at startup. I just want to have an exact copy of my system available to boot from in the event of catastrophic problems (already described). This would allow me to get back online quickly, and retrieve data from the Primary boot disk before using System Image Recovery to format and repartition it (which thankfully worked well). I hope I'm being clear. I don't want to propagate copies of Windows 7, just have a working copy of my Windows 7 system available for use. Thanks

 

[Brink]

You're most welcome Bilvihur. Glad we could help.

 

[mangoh]

You're most welcome Bilvihur. Glad we could help.

Hi just about to go to the shop to buy DVDs so I can do a system image.

Anything I should know before I go?

i.e. what DVDs to look for?

around 22GB and hard drive isn't an option etc...

prefer disks tbh as more likely to work (hard drive files can get deleted etc...)

 

[Brink]

Hello Mangoh,

I wouldn't recommend using DVDs to save a system image to. It would take to many, and would have a high chance of corruption or a bad burn. It would be bad to find out if the DVDs were bad when you needed them. If you must, DVD-R or DVD+R are good to use, but you will need to check to make sure that your DVD burner supports them. Most do these days though.

Instead, I would recommend to save a system image to another internal or external HDD than the one you have included in the system image. Another HDD is a lot more reliable.

 

[mangoh]

Hello Mangoh,

I wouldn't recommend using DVDs to save a system image to. It would take to many, and would have a high chance of corruption or a bad burn. It would be bad to find out if the DVDs were bad when you needed them. If you must, DVD-R or DVD+R are good to use, but you will need to check to make sure that your DVD burner supports them. Most do these days though.

Instead, I would recommend to save a system image to another internal or external HDD than the one you have included in the system image. Another HDD is a lot more reliable.

This is where I get a little confused

"save a system image to another internal or external HDD"

so internal HDD I assume means make another partition?

external hdd I assume means external hard drive, USB etc...? HDD standing for hard disk drive so anything that can hold the data? If so I don't get how a USB falls into that category when it doesn't have a hard disk tray?

 

[Brink]

Let me google that for you

It can be a normal HDD connected internally in the computer case, or externally via a HDD case.

 

[mangoh]

Let me google that for you

It can be a normal HDD connected internally in the computer case, or externally via a HDD case.

thanks understood

Is that Google link a hint to tell me to stop being lazy :sarc:

 

[Brink]

Nope, just to provide more information.

 

[mangoh]

Quick question if someone doesn't mind answering

*Insert example to explain*

1) I install Windows 7 last month on drive ( C: )
2) I decide to create a system image on the same day
3) I have finished creating an system image and have had it created on another partition but on the same Hard Disk Drive ( D: )
4) A week after creating a system image I decide to do some work and I save a word document in the "My Documents" folder
5) I decide to restore the system image that I had created last month.

Now when restoring the system image does that mean I will have to backup the word document (step 4) as I had created & saved it AFTER step 3?

Surely when I restore the system image it will erase all my documents etc... and then restore w/e was in the my documents folder before I had finished creating a system image?