Windows 10: Windows own recovery tools doesn't work, need a better solution

I just did my first backup with aomei backupper and works!

It was ridiciliously easy, i ran into some problems at first because i created the backup file on my ssd, so i had to move the backup file to my USB flash drive in order to use it to restore my computer, but other than that it works.

I like the layout a lot, and i like how it creates one backup file that you can easily store on your usb flash drives.

 

One problem I found with AOMEI. If your computer has failed and won't boot, you need to have a way to boot it and then access the backed up drive on the external drive. This is usually done using a Win PE recovery disk (on DVD or USB). You can download and create it off their site. I did that (twice). The usb created does not work. Right at the very end they tell you that they have not tested it on enough PCs and therefore it may not boot! You don't want to find that out after your hard drive has failed!

I like the AOMEI Backupper interface, but heck, users need a way to recover! Not much use backing up if you can't recover! WinPE boot disks from other companies that might work, but surely AOMEI have something with tools that is designed to work with their software?

Not intending using any of these backup programs, but interesting to compare them. By the way, I also tried Easy TODO, It works, but the free version is VERY slow! They even tell you that so you will upgrade!

 

I see. Im going to wipe my SSD and see if aomei can restore windows again.

 

You may find Aomei Backupper's GUI much simpler. However, it's from a (good, responsive) Chinese company, so you may find the error messages a tad more obscure. Well supported, decent Help info.

Macrium is reckoned the most robust.

Note: Aomei like all the others is capable of generating disk image sets- a base image + incremental or differential images (whic are smaller and faster and depend on the base image + all preceding incrementals or the base image + 1 differential image (differences between the point at which the differential image was created and the base image).

For straightforward disk imaging I guess it's fine- I stopped using it when I found it didn't seem to image Windows 10 with all its partitions (normally 4 for an EFI installation); it's probably caught up now- that was long ago. I also found another bug when used in conjunction with a 3rd party program - I doubt that would bother you.

As for Macrium. there are loads of youtube videos, 2 videos on tenforums, and extensive Help documentation.

 

I understand! It took me awhile to catch on how to use MR6 and then MR7. If you really want to have some learning curve fun, tackle TeraByte's Bootit Bare Metal and Image for Windows (rescue USBs and DVDs are made in DOS or Linux). In short, I'm glad you discovered and will be using AOMEI Backupper *Smile

 

*Thumbs Good isn't it.

Once you get used to it you will become confident in its use and what you can and can't do. I keep my running backups (as I call them) on my main system drive but on a separate partition. This is an SSD and so a full backup takes just 3 minutes, and a restore is as quick.

Once a backup is created you can move it wherever you want for archiving.

Having run the backup, if you then open the program again you have a drop down menu option on that particular backup to create either an incremental or differential which back up just changes that have occurred since the first base image was made. Super slick and simple.

There is a terrific user manual preinstalled. Just click 'Menu' at the top of the program.

 

Cerawy said he/she was going to wipe their SSD after having made the backup. Hopefully a recovery disk had already been made or can be made from another computer. However, in my case the recovery disk would not boot. And AOMEI tell you this might happen, right after you have wasted time downloading and installing it.

As a result, AOMEI is no use to me. Unless you can provide a solution?

By the way, it is a Lenovo Thinkpad, I5 processor 8Gb, running Windows 7.

 

Sure, Aomei is included in my boot media.

17514x64-v5.iso

 

That's a 360MB file! Is one of the many folders on that iso the AOMEI recovery app? If so, already have it but it will not boot my computer.

OK, Sorry. I tried my AOMEI boot USB again. It initially presents a blank screen and nothing seems to be happening. Finally, after quite some time we get the Windows logo and rotating dots. And then a Desktop that contains AOMEI along with 8 utilities.

I made backups of system disk as well as separate data disk that are installed in my Lenovo. I was able to navigate to those. However, without a spare blank hard drive or two, I have no way to test if the recovery will work.

 

I just made a backup with aomei, wiped my ssd, and used it to recover my computer again.

It works great. So if windows should, for any reason, create a problem that prevents your pc from starting, you can simply wipe your ssd and use aomei to get your pc working again at its peak perfomance with a few clicks.

This is a great program so im going to keep it.

Sorry but i dont understand what you are talking about, which is exactly why i wanted to avoid macrium. I just wanted something simple that works.

Marking this as solved.

 

This is what dalchina means...

Your newly created backup is a 'Full' disk image. If you open AOMEI again you will be able to add to that backup as either an Incremental or Differential (that's something for you to look up and understand the differences *Smile)

This shows my full disk image at the top and the subsequent daily images made thereafter. Notice how small each subsequent image is. That is because each reflects only changes that have occurred between each set in the chain. These are incrementals. You can restore to any in the chain.





And how they appear in the location used to save them.

 

I created a backup CDR and tested it OK. Normally I always restore from the program itself but agree that bootable media is a good safety net.

If that fails then you can still recover by simply quickly installing W10 again and reinstalling AOMEI.

Two more thinks I like about AOMEI,

1/ Its a very small installation compared to other products.
2/ It doesn't keep constantly getting updated, something which tbh is a bit of a pain with other products.

 

So you do a clean install, add AOMEI then restore using your backup. This from within the new install of Win10? How does that work? Does AOMEI wipe the new install and replace it with the backup while still running from new install??? Hard to imagine just how it does that.

 

Yes, it would do just that and wipe the new install.

When you use any standard backup program from within Windows (not just AOMEI) the program first loads into RAM and then reboots as it automatically starts the restore process. The drive is then totally overwritten with the information contained in the disk image file. The program is loaded into and running all the time from RAM, not the HDD/SSD.

 

Most imaging programs have an option to start the recovery process from within windows. They will just reboot the machine into their own recovery media. They might use winpe/linux/dos for that.

In some cases the recovery media cannot be accessed from within windows - e.g. if the bcd recovery sequence is damaged, they might not be able to locate winre.wim on your hard drive. If that happens, they will just prompt you to use your external recovery media. In case you haven't already created external recovery media - some companies have a premade media which you can download. There is a small possibility that the premade recovery media won't be suitable for every machine.