Windows 10: Questions regarding Windows 10 System Restores

Hi all,

After building my new computer and installing the OS/Programs last year I created a system restore point on another internal hard drive using the windows recovery tool (Settings -> Update & Security -> Recovery). I have a 500 gb Samsung SSD operating as the primary boot drive (C: )and the recovery image was saved to another internal IDE drive (E: ).

Here we are a year later and I want to restore the primary drive to the image that is on the E: without having to deal with a full reformat and program installation. My initial attempt was to boot into recovery (shift + click on restart) and use the restore tool to load the recovery image. Come to find out that the restore tool not only did not detect the E: drive but also had seemingly no capability of allowing me to select the recovery image or any other drive. In fact, it didn't detect any restore points at all and only offered the ability to search a network or scan for drivers. I chalked that up to a loss.

I thought that maybe if I dragged the recovery folder onto the desktop and repeated the above it would remedy the issue. It did not. After some googling I thought that maybe if I mounted the .vhdx file with Disk Manager and assigned it a drive letter that it would detect. It did not.

I began looking for 3rd party software and after reading countless posts that claimed Acronis True Image was the solution to all problems, I purchased it. Upon running the program I have the option to clone drives and other things but nothing that seems to allow me to image the .vhdx and install its contents to my primary C: which means I may have wasted $30. That is to say, every time I run Acronis' clone feature and use the .vdhx as the source and C: as the target it reboots, begins the process then spits back an error pop up that says "one or more of your removable disks may not have started", asks if I want to wait and if I click 'yes' it does it again. Clicking 'no' ends the process and it boots back to desktop.

All I want to do is use the windows recovery image that I created to do what it was intended to do: overwrite my C: and start over without having to re-do driver/program installation.

After 3 hours and $30 wasted....can someone help me?

:)

 

regarding system restore

i have to restore my system at earlier date but while restoring it is asking for administrative login and there by password for login. I have tried so many times but while writing password it is written in italics and could not sucuseded please help

 

regarding system restore

Hello Pardeep,

We're here to help.

There is no default password for the administrator account. Try leaving the password field blank and let me know if it works. You can also run
System Restore again and choose a different restore point, if one exists. For other options that you can use to restore your system, you can visit this article:

Recovery options in Windows 10.

Keep us posted and we will be glad to assist you further.

 

Restore points have nothing to do with a drive image.vhdx file is an image created by windows.
You can go back in time from within windows using the image.

settings>Update&Security>Recovery>advanced Start-up

Not running windows 10 ,then you need a system repair disk or win 10 install disk.Boot from one of those.

 

I'm aware that they're two different thing. My intended purpose for the image was to revert the drive back to the image instead of having to reformat and install drivers/programs. As is the recovery disk that I've already made does the same thing as shift+clicking restart and goes to the same recovery menus. I don't have restore points pre-most recent windows update and I am not pursuing a restore point avenue to solve my issue. Basically I have a system image in the form of the vhdx and I need to find a method to format the C: with the image.

 

Thats how you do it.Worked for me multiple times.Dont know why it cant find the image on your hard drive.
Is it a win 10 image? Why do you want to go back whole year?

 

Well it doesn't detect the system image, my presumption is that it is because the image is stored on an internal drive that I use for storage.

I want to go back an entire year because I built this system a year ago and upon completion and having installed driver and programs (Creative suite and host of other softwares that I don't particularly want to spend time reinstalling) and setting the UI like I wanted...I made this recovery image for the express purposes of being able to roll the comp back in the the event I had a virus or some other reason to roll it back. Far more efficient, in theory, than reformatting and spending the time re-doing everything. Except now, obviously, I've hit a hitch in the plan and am trying to find a way around it

 

AH ok.Ive restored images stored on my internal drive which i also use for storage.
Maybe the image is corrupted? There have been reports that windows imaging is a bit flaky but i have never had any problems with it.Thats why some people prefer acronis.
Dont think acronis can work with an image "created" by windows.

Dont know, maybe someone else can suggest something else to try .

 

I've found the most reliable way to restore a system image created by Windows Backup & Restore is to boot from the recovery disk that it offers to make at the end of making the system image. In particular, you seem to need the recovery drive in the same type of OS (x86 or x64) as the image you are trying to restore, else it doesn't recognise the image as being valid.

 

A far better tool to image backup pc and a firm favourite on this forum is Maxrium Reflect Free. Far superior and less confusing than the Windows image tool that MS have not developed since Windows 7.

 

Is the WindowsImageBackup folder in the root of your internal E drive.
Also try moving it to the root of an external USB HDD formatted by Win 10.

 

Yes the image is at the root of the E:. When it comes to making usb's mountable for Windows' various utilities, what's the proper process to make something like this recognizable when using one of these menus? I've had hit or miss success making things like windows reformat discs bootable via usb before.

 

I meant just connect an external HDD and move the folder from drive E over to it.Doesnt have to be bootable.
Go back into recovery and see if it recognises the ext hard disk and the image.

 

I have an external enclosure coming tomorrow via mail so I won't be able to test until then. i tried it with a USB and it didn't recognize it or do anything different that previously.