Windows 7 system image recovery

billzant · May 23, 2014

Dear Forum,

I have long been aware of drive imaging. I once used Acronis, had a "starter disc" and drive images, but the restore was erratic so I gave up. I am wondering if someone will help me through setting up imaging or point me somewhere..

I have 3 partitions:-

C contains windows and whatever gets automatically installed on C - user settings (60Gb free of 100)
D has all my data except (108Gb free out of 529Gb)
E has backup data. (33Gb free of 69Gb)

Now if I have to reinstall windows, I install windows (inc format C), install the drivers, copy backups for data on D and E, install backup software and start customising. It takes many hours to get the system up and running, and I am customising and tweaking for days. The need to recreate my system does not occur very often, I tend to get a new laptop every 3 years. I keep my system backups on external hard drives (USB).

If I could take an image of C and be able to restore it WITH CONFIDENCE I would be very happy. I was happy when Acronis worked but I need reliability. Because of the lack of reliability I kept two types of backup - data and image, and in the end because of the lack of reliability when I used it I just stuck with data and the long install.

Restoring drive images is not really something I can practice I need it to work when it is needed - every 3 years.

I have just come across these words "system image recovery", does this take a snapshot of C and enable me to restore it? If not are there suggestions for reliable drive imaging and restore processes?

Hope you are keeping well,

All the Best,

BillZ

BurrWalnut · May 24, 2014

Bill

I’ve successfully used Windows 7 and 8 image creation/recovery and have had no issues whatsoever. Whether the restore will work the same way in three years’ time, only Microsoft knows.

Here is how it’s done in Windows 7:

1. To make a drive image or a full backup, go to Control Panel > All Control Panel Items > Backup and Restore > Create a system image > Choose hard disk or optical drive, select which drives to image/backup then Start backup.

2. To recover the disk image, boot from the Windows 7 DVD (or a previously made repair CD), choose ‘Press any key to boot from CD/DVD’ and Windows will start to load the files. Select your language, time, currency and keyboard then click ‘Repair’ in the bottom left corner, now choose...

Pauli · May 27, 2014

The more you rely on automated and given-to-be functions, the more you depend on them. The more you do-it-yourself, the more independence / control you have.

Must ask, the topic was System recovery?

badrobot · May 27, 2014

System image recovery. Fixer's question is still related to the topic as data is integral to image backup.

Sent from my HTC One X using WindowsForum mobile app

Fixer1234 · May 27, 2014

Pauli said:
The more you rely on automated and given-to-be functions, the more you depend on them. The more you do-it-yourself, the more independence / control you have.

Pauli, that's true, but independence and control are not necessarily related in that way. The more you do it yourself, the more work it is. "Not working" is independence. If the automated approach gets you "close enough for government work", less control can be just fine.

MikeHawthorne · May 27, 2014

Like Pauli, I prefer to back up stuff myself.
I know it gets done, it isn't compressed, and it doesn't take any software to recover it.

I feel a lot better knowing that my files are all saved individually on a separate drive and can just be copied back to my computer if I need to restore them.

I've gone through the bit where it says, "This backup is corrupted and can't be opened".
I don't want to do that again.

Now I have everything backed up in at least 2 locations, on external drives as well as in my computer.

I do use software to make my System Image files but I have 2 of those to, and done with different software.

Mike

badrobot · May 27, 2014

Fixer1234 said:
Pauli, that's true, but independence and control are not necessarily related in that way. The more you do it yourself, the more work it is. "Not working" is independence. If the automated approach gets you "close enough for government work", less control can be just fine.

No, I want FULL CONTROL. Like I tell my computer where to save my files (not in the same hard drive the PC is working on). So even if my computer decided to be independent and do crazy things by itself (due to "infection" or system error problems), my files are safe and intact in another hard drive. I also tell my PC not to download updates automatically (disable it) and not to use everything that is by Microsoft. I don't tell my PC to do auto-backup for me. I wanna do it myself manually so I know that my important files are safe.

Fixer1234 · May 27, 2014

badrobot said:
No, I want FULL CONTROL. Like I tell my computer where to save my files (not in the same hard drive the PC is working on). So even if my computer decided to be independent and do crazy things by itself (due to "infection" or system error problems), my files are safe and intact in another hard drive. I also tell my PC not to download updates automatically (disable it) and not to use everything that is by Microsoft. I don't tell my PC to do auto-backup for me. I wanna do it myself manually so I know that my important files are safe.

Some of the concerns people are expressing are just a matter of settings--storing on another drive, not using compression, storing as individual files, storing to multiple locations, etc. Also, good backup software verifies the backup. If you routinely backup entire directory trees, the process is simple but it eats up huge amounts of disk space, takes forever, and makes it harder to find specific files that you might want to recover. If you selectively backup directories, the list of directories can get extensive and doing it manually becomes a real chore, and introduces its own risks, like missing a directory.

I use Memeo (Backup Premium). You setup exactly what you want backed up and where you want it backed up to. It saves files individually and I've chosen not to use compression. You decide how many generations of backup you want (implemented file by file). You can have it save to more than one location or to backup the backup. It runs in the background during idle time, keeping the backup current. It also verifies everything it backs up.

badrobot · May 27, 2014

Fixer1234 said:
it manually becomes a real chore, and introduces its own risks, like missing a directory.

Not the way I'm doing it. My files are on separate hard drive. That in itself is a way of backing it up as being away from the destructive system errors on PC. Yes, the only manual part is just setting the save location. My NAS is mapped to my PC. So I just manually move/copy my important files (not everything) there and it's backed-up right away to my NAS which is on RAID 1 mode.

Fixer1234 · May 27, 2014

badrobot said:
Not the way I'm doing it. My files are on separate hard drive. That in itself is a way of backing it up as being away from the destructive system errors on PC. Yes, the only manual part is just setting the save location. My NAS is mapped to my PC. So I just manually move/copy my important files (not everything) there and it's backed-up right away to my NAS which is on RAID 1 mode.

The files you're referring to are the easy part. Like you say, just copy everything; it's 100% your files. I'm referring primarily to the stuff in appdata, which is what creates a challenge. Even after cleanup, on a good day my appdata contains 20,000 files in 6,000 folders, over 3 GB. 99% of that is flotsam that I don't want to back up, update, or wade through later, or tie up the backup program trying to keep up with it. For example, all of the crap in the browser cache is in there, and would be constantly growing in a backup. I created a surgical backup plan for that stuff, but it is still dozens of folders. That is where the chore comes in--doing that part manually.

BTW, badrobot, I just noticed that the image in your signature is animated. That's pretty cool! Hey, is there a way to "Like" a signature?

badrobot · May 27, 2014

Fixer1234 said:
The files you're referring to are the easy part. Like you say, just copy everything; it's 100% your files. I'm referring primarily to the stuff in appdata, which is what creates a challenge. Even after cleanup, on a good day my appdata contains 20,000 files in 6,000 folders, over 3 GB. 99% of that is flotsam that I don't want to back up, update, or wade through later, or tie up the backup program trying to keep up with it. For example, all of the crap in the browser cache is in there, and would be constantly growing in a backup. I created a surgical backup plan for that stuff, but it is still dozens of folders. That is where the chore comes in--doing that part manually.

BTW, badrobot, I just noticed that the image in your signature is animated. That's pretty cool! Hey, is there a way to "Like" a signature?

I don't really bother with appdata. The system image backup takes care of it. I only cleanup when creating an image backup which is not very often.

Thanks for "Liking" my sig. I can make you one if you want. Just send me a short video (30sec) of anything you want your sig to be. Cheers!

Windows 7 system image recovery

billzant

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BurrWalnut

Pauli

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badrobot

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Fixer1234

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MikeHawthorne

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badrobot

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Fixer1234

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badrobot

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Fixer1234

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badrobot

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