Windows 10: Create System Image in Windows 10

How to: Create System Image in Windows 10

How to Create a System Image in Windows 10


Information A system image is an exact copy of all system disks which can be used to restore your PC to the state it was in at the time the image was made. By default, a system image only includes the drives that Windows requires to run, including Windows 10 itself, your system settings, programs, and files. You may also include any other drive in the image if you wish. When you restore your computer from a system image it is a complete restoration, you cannot choose individual items to restore and all of your current programs, system settings, and files are replaced with the contents of the system image.

This tutorial will show you how to create a system image backup in Windows 10 to be able to use to restore the contents of your computer back to the state it was in when the system image was created if your hard drive fails or your computer ever encounters problems.

You must be signed in as an administrator to be able to create a system image.



Note System Images are saved in this format:

drive letter:\WindowsImageBackup\computer name\Backup YYYY-MM-DD HHMMSS
EXAMPLE: If your computer name is Boozad-PC, your backup location is on hard drive (network or local) D: and you backed up on August 29th 2015 at 1:53:41 PM (it will use 24 hour time), then your system image would be located in the folder below.
D:\WindowsImageBackup\BOOZAD-PC\Backup 2015-08-29 135341


Warning

• If you're saving your system images in a network location, you can only keep the most current system image for each computer. If you have an existing system image for a computer and are creating a new one for the same computer, the new system image will overwrite the existing one.
• You can only include drives formatted with the NTFS file system in a system image.
• You will only be able to save a system image on a drive formatted with the NTFS file system.
• You will not be able to include a partition or drive that you are saving the system image to in a system image.
• You will not be able to save a system image to any partition or drive that is included in the system image.
• You cannot restore a 64-bit system image on a 32-bit system.
• A system image that was created on a computer using UEFI cannot be restored on a computer using legacy BIOS. It can only be restored on a computer using UEFI.
• When restoring a system image from a dynamic volume, the drives (disk) on your computer cannot be formatted to match the layout of the drives included in the system image. To have full functionality, select a volume (drive letter) on a basic disk as your save system image to location instead.
• It is recommend to create a system image on a separate HDD instead of just another partition not included on the same HDD that is included in the system image for the best reliability. CDs or DVDs are just not as reliable.

SYSTEM IMAGE [/i] Create in Windows 10

1: Open the Control Panel (icons view), and click/tap on the Backup and Restore (Windows 7) icon.

2: Click/tap on the Create a System Image link on the left side.



3: Windows will quickly search for available backup devices.



4: Select the location you want to save your system image to.


Note You are able to save a system image to either one or more CDs/DVDs (not recommended), an external hard drive (best backup protection), any separate internal hard drive, or to a network location.

If you wish to save the system image to one or more CDs/DVDs, then read the article linked below below first:

Creating a system image on Windows 8 may fail if the CD/DVD is not formatted





Information If you select the same physical drive to store your image on as you are actually imaging, Windows will warn you beneath your selection. (see screenshot above)
5: At this point you can select any available drives you would like to be included in the backup. Click/tap on Start backup to begin the imaging process.



6: The imaging process will now begin.



7: When the process has completed you can click Close. You can now close File History if you wish.




That's it,
Gav.


Related Tutorials

• How to Enable or Disable Create a System Image in Windows 10
• How to Make a 'Create a System Image' Shortcut in Windows 10
• How to Create Hardware Independent System Image for Installing Windows 10
• How to Create and Restore a System Image Backup with Macrium Reflect
• How to Add or Remove a Windows Backup and Restore context menu in Windows 10
• How to Set Up Windows Backup in Windows 10
• How to Create a Windows Backup in Windows 10
• How to Manage Windows Backup Disk Space in Windows 10
• How to Delete System Image Restore Point from System Restore in Windows 10

:)

 

Create System image backup in Windows 10

You did not respond to yourself originally:





"OP" stands for "original post," meaning the original post in the thread. If you want help, you need to describe the problem.

 

How to: Create a system image in Windows 10

Are these instructions relevant? Seems odd that it has (Windows 7) in the Control Panel item, and so many people have problems (as do I). Is this for backwards compatible restore?

Has System Image been removed from Feature Update 1709, Creators Fall update?

Firstly, Win-X does not list Control Panel (at least, not on my machine, although I understand the update loses icons in Start, and maybe other places??)

Secondly, if I select Settings-Backup, there is a heading
Looking for an older backup?

It says, "If you created a backup using the Windows 7 Backup and Restore tool, it'll still work in Windows 10". This gives some indication that it is an old tool only relevant to a previously created
backup.

Under Back up using File History, you can choose to
Back up files to another drive, Add a drive, and
More Options.

On the right, there is Back up your stuff, with a link to
Get more info about backup

This opens

https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/17127/windows-back-up-restore

Being a link directly embedded into the OS (update 1709), you would expect the information to be completely up to date, however, it directs you to;

Control Panel > System and Maintenance >
Backup and Restore

System and Maintenance does not exist in Control Panel (at least, I cannot see it)!

If I choose Category view, there is System and Security, which hasBack up and Restore(Windows 7), but not Backup and Restore as directed in the instructions, however, both the
Set up back-up, and Create a system Image options are available, and so I am guessing it is the correct screen, and just very poor instructions (...or is it??? Surely we should expect Microsoft to employ professionals,
which makes me wonder if something has not been included in this update).

Going back to Settings-Backup, More Options opens
Back-up Options, allowing See advanced options.

This opens Control Panel-File History

In the bottom left, there is See also, System Image Backup, which ultimately takes you (back) to
Backup and Restore (Windows 7) within Control Panel. This is a somewhat contradictory to my initial question about the functionality being removed.

So, all options lead to Backup and Restore (Windows 7,...

When I attempt to create an image using Backup and Restore (Windows 7), I get;

There was a failure preparing the backup image of one of the volumes in the backup set.

(0x807800C5)

Additional Information:

The specified backup disk cannot be found (0x80780081)

NB I am using the option to backup to a network drive

Has Microsoft attempted to give any answer if this is actually meant to work?

 

I'm not sure to be honest, I'll have to try to recreate the issue in a VM.

 

This never occurred in 8/8.1 .

 

I never used 8/8.1 much really, nowhere near enough to have needed using a backup image. Like I say I'll set up W10 in a VM over the weekend and try to replicate the issue, if I can I'll see if I can find out what the issue is.

 

Did you image your whole system or just the drive with the OS on?

 

I imaged the System reserve and C drive that is OS drive only

Keep me updated on the experiment.

 

I will do, no problem. I only asked which drives you imaged as I know the drives have to be exactly as they were for the image to restore, for example if you image C: D: and G: then remove drive G: the image won't restore. A moot point though it seems but at least it's one possibility ruled out.

 

Another option would be to boot from W10 install media. I can point you to a tutorial to create one if you don't already have one.

 

I already have.

The restoration failed in the last step.

I literally had a system that could not boot. SO I had to clean install 10

 

Was it a USB stick you booted from to restore the image? If so, once you've located the image you want to restore try removing the USB stick before intialising the restore as this changes the drive layout that the image restore process sees.

 

Yep. I used a USB stick. I have restored previous version(8/8.1 restoration) but this has never occurred.

 

Give it a try by removing the stick before initialising the restore process please (you're already booted so the drive isn't needed anymore), it's been known to cause issues in the past even back to Windows 7. Let me know how it goes.

 

FYI- The restore process started and it failed in the end only.

Sure I will let u know. Give me some time and probably in the week end I shall tell u.
One more question
If the system image does not match the existing partition, then It will repartitioned automatically to match to the system image rite?