Windows 10: What is the correct way to reinstall windows annd restore a system Image?

Recently I discovered that all the files on my C: Drive An SSD had disappeared.

Fortunately I have a D: Data drive that I use to hold all my personal data and when I had a look, using a CMD window and some old DOS recollections, I noted that there was a "WindowsImageBackup" folder with an image dated the day before. There was also a "FamilyRoom-PC" folder containing a backup of the dame date.

I thought, "Great I should be abele to get my system back to its original state quite easily." My recollections from working with some system engineers in the past suggested that the image should contain the windows system, any software that had been loaded and the settings for the entire system. i.e. everything needed to bring it all back to it's original state.

My next step was to buy a new Samsung SSD 1 TB which would provide plenty of space, The old SSD was always running out of room.

I installed the new SSD and downloaded a windows "ISO" file to a thumb drive using another computer and used the thumb drive to install windows 10 on the new SSD.

However I had difficulty getting Windows to Find the "WindowsImageBackup". I called Technical support and after a bit of confusion, found the tool to restore the "WindowsImageBackup". As a watched I could see a lot of files going into a "C:\users\family room" folder, which was the original name of the PCs user name folder.

At the end of the process nothing happened. No errors were reported, my desktop was unchanged empty except for two icons, none of the original software Office, Spy hunter, etc was loaded.

When I did some investigation I discovered that the Windows installation has set up a "timch" user folder.

I assume the installation process had created the "timch" folder from my Microsoft.com username i.e. part of my email address.

I contacted technical support again and have found difficulty finding someone who knows what to do. Three times I was promised call backs from a supervisor, none eventuated.

The strange thing, is the number of "Experienced" people that seem to think that it is simply a matter of "Changing the folder name".

That was the first thing I tried and I wasn't surprised to find that I couldn't. There is all sorts of data in the active user's folder that Windows uses. The only way I can think of to change that folder's name would be to go into the mode that you get when you have startup problems I can't recall the term.

I hesitate to do this anyway as I fear it would cause registry issues I did a scan through the registry for "timch" and its there multiple times.

To me the only way to do this correctly would to get the system to change the folder name through the account settings, however I have only been able to create a local account this way. This leaves the "timch" account very much active.


Does any one know the right way to get the "family room" folder to the active user folder so the"WindowsImageBackup" can do its job properly?


While I have managed to get the system back fairly close to its original state manually, I am happy to blow that all away reinstall Windows etc. But only if I have confidence that what ever needs to be done will work properly.

:)

 

Windows XP PRO error after restore

System restore is handy when it works like it did for me 2 days ago saving the need to reinstall all of my software as well as windows, id suggest using norton Ghost 12 for an excellent system restore feature.

 

restore system image from command prompt, drive d: not seen by system restore

Hi,



Thank you for writing to Microsoft Community Forums.



To be able to help you with the appropriate troubleshooting steps, please reply with the following details:

• Are you trying to restore the system image or create a system image?
  
• Are you able to see the external drive in File Explorer?
  
• Could you please briefly explain the procedure that you are following to initiate a system image restore?
  

In the meantime, I suggest you to refer the articles on
How to: Create a system image in Windows 10 and

How to restore a Windows 10 system image to an existing or larger storage device created by Andre Da Costa.



Please reply with the detailed information, to help you in a better way.



Regards,

Nikhar Khare

Microsoft Community - Moderator

 

How to delete inactive System Image Restore Points in System Restore

Windows 10 64-bit.
When I click "show more restore points" in System Restore I see a bunch of old "system image restore points" that were deleted in past and do not correspond to any currently active restore points. Clicking any of these old restore points, I simply get an error message saying they could not be found, and to select another restore point instead.I would like to delete these restore points listings but have been unable to do so.
So far, I have tried steps mentioned below without any luck :

Disk Cleanup through (C Properties
Disable System Protection (OFF and ON) in System Protection for OS (C
Disk Space Usage to minimum (slider button all the way to the left then 'Delete all restore points for this drive'),
Delete all shown Restore points in CCleaner (the problem ones do not show here),
Reset Windows Backup to Default in Windows 10 with 'Reset_Windows_Backup.bat' utility.

Any suggestions highly welcome.