After a complete weekend lost watching all the present content on TH-cam about recovery drive, repair disc, system image, file history, set up backup, system restore, and so many other intertwined terms that work combined or sometimes substitute one another (yeah, after a complete weekend all these things are not completely clear to me) I'd just like to express how your videos are the best ones on these matters. The most clear in my opinion. Thanks for making them so complete. I'm sure that if I could have an afternoon with you I would leave as an expert on this subject, you know everything. The completeness on the theme, the clarity on the explanations, the appropriate editions for the understanding of the common noob like me. Thanks a lot. I just would like if you had videos on all the doubts I have, like the counterparts of all the mentions I did for Win7 and linux. But for what you offered in your channel so far, I have nothing but to thank you a lot!!!!!!!!
THIS VIDEO coupled with the other one about how to make a recovery drive using a memory stick has been an absolute gem of a learning lesson. thank you Dave. appreciate your hard work.
@@basselessam4813 basically a usb recovery drive helps to recover your pc from any problems it has usually by reinstalling windows if it doesn't turn on at all and a system image is whats going to restore all the data you once had on your pc in otherwords its like a snapshot in time of everything you had on your computer on the day you did the system image backup
You have been an absolute lifesaver with this tutorial! Thank you! For your recovery usb drive and wipe and reset tutorials too! I have to send my HP Spectre 360 back to the retailer for investigation, as one of the thunderbolt USB ports has failed, and it appears to heat up quite quickly too, during ordinary usage. They told me I had to send it back wiped, just in case! I was panicking big time, until I found your amazing tutorials and advice. So simple and straightforward. What more can I say. As a 67 year old woman from the UK, who likes to think she’s more than a little up there, technically minded, and up for a challenge, it truly was a blessing in disguise!
As a person for whom English is not a mother tongue, I would like to admit that this guy has a very nice and clear English pronunciation (I wish all the native speakers had it...) and it is a real pleasure to watch his videos. Subscribed just because of his amazing English (and special thank you for not beating around the bush.)
Nice video buddy. Extremely helpful and easy to understand. I don't know why is it so hard for other people to explain in their video of "what is the system image". Most of the videos are junk.
Just a tip, you can hold your left shift key and click on restart and it will make your computer reboot into the recovery environment :) You can do this instead of turning it off 3 times.
Also you could try. Turn off your computer. Insert the USB with the Image on it. On your keyboard press and hold down ALT & F10 at the same time, then turn on your computer. This should work for Recovery USB also
Yes, years ago, w/win8, my drive would lose its mind; repair wouldn't work, but I could get into the "advanced options" and restore the system image backups I made. I got used to doing this on a regular basis. It HAS been a long time. Originally, I had to start from scratch and re-install updates'n'things. Later, I discovered I could make a system image that included installed programs, etc. Back then, I could make incremental system image backups so it was pretty slick. Thanks for the advice about using a quality usb drive for the recover drive in your prior video.
Don't know if any have had this issue when creating a Windows 10 System Image but I tried to successfully create a system image 5 times and each time the status would reach 97% then stall and never fully complete. Then a thought dawned on me and that was to NOT hide my desktop icons and make sure the "Show desktop icons" was selected from the right mouse click desktop context menu. I was finally able to create a Windows 10 System Image after much frustration! 😃👍
Hi Dave; I found your videos and boy they're a real help to unscrambled O S systems even to 76-year-olds that did not have pcs even in school and very little at work before retirement. Thanks a really big bunch!!
6 minutes. But I only have my installation and programs on C drive. That drive being a M2 NVME and backing up to a Sata SSD also helps speeds things up.
Very well done. I never understood the new way that Windows does backup since they moved away from NT Backup after XP/2003 Server. You remedied that in this and your last videos like no one ever ever been able to or documented well enough to. I like the file versioning better from before too, although at least that change they can make an argument for. Now that I understand it, I know that I'm not missing anything, and wouldn't consider using it. With ShadowProtect and Macrium Reflect, you can easily do automated continuous incrementals, (Synthetic Full Backups) that can give you 15 minute snapshots. You can browse or roll back and entire computer to a consistent point in time from minutes ago to months ago. You can also have them do periodic full images, all unattended. Moreover, you may want a copy of your old machine for software, operating system, or any other reason in the future. You can turn their backups into virtual machines and boot them on completely dissimilar hardware, and move them back in minutes. I've had to do that before with a server at a factory and they ran on it for 4 days and didn't notice any difference in performance or any other aspect. (Which you can do with Windows 10 images as well) Health checks are done automatically. The one that makes the most sense for home use is Macrium, while I tend to use ShadowProtect on servers. Macrium is $70 a license and $140 for 3. The free version will do about everything the pay-for version will except Synthetic Full Backups. It even makes it easy to restore from larger to smaller partitions.
Great explanation. Just had a complete catastrophe from a botched windows update. I lost all of my data and will not be making the same mistake again. Now that I have my computer up and running again after formatting both my hard drives and using a USB drive to boot from and install windows on my main drive I will be making a system image as shown in this video. Very clear and easy instructions thank you!
I had no idea which external hard drive to choose. I just looked for a solid-state external hard drive and Seagate had excellent reviews, so I bought one. I finally got around to using it. But today, I decided to create a system image. So, I closed everything and restarted. Then I cleaned my PC using CleanMyPC, then restarted again. Cleaning, I noticed, took 9 seconds off the restart time. Down from 31 seconds to 22 seconds. Which is only up 7 seconds from the original start-up time. But I had fewer apps, etc... Anyway, I am happy to see you recommend the Seagate HD I bought and I'll be even happier if, by the time I finish watching this video, I will learn how to save and make use of this specific system image. Especially if it can undo all the bs that happens after a windows update! What's curious to me is, I bought this old computer in late 2018, or early 2019 at the latest and it only took 15 or 20 minutes to create a system image. But maybe that's because I don't have video games on this computer? I am confident everything went well because it did say the system image had completed successfully. A question I have is what do the scheduled backups do to the system image? Nothing, right? They are two separate processes, right? They save all the new photos, apps, etc, correct? And the system image restores the computer's functionality... So if when I restore the system, will I still retain all the new things I added since I created the image? Dave? Or anyone who might know?
Thank you so much. My computer crashed and it took hours upon hours to get it up again. Wish I had made a recovery disc and watched your wonderful videos. I made a recovery USB to use if my computer crashes in the future.
THANK YOU DAVE , was my first experience to install the windows 10 to a new ssd hard drive ,{into a old computer with windows 7 and a failing old hard disk drive }, everything was perfect THANKS to all your instructions clear and to the point . All our thanks and appreciations !
Well FINALLY. For I have been trying to recover a FULL computer; after the internal HDD failed. And I have a "backed up" HDD; with even a "computer" Image and a "Shadow Copy" plus every Files on the old HDD. But NO one could tell me how to recover my computer; and told me only how they recover files. That will NOT fill my wants.! Yet I have backed up my computer EVERY night; for years; with "ALL" things backed up. But I did not know what to do; when my internal HDD failed. Not even Microsoft could tell me. Sad, but OH so true. And you told us that in a short time. WOW!. Thank you kind Sir for that. Awesome!
Great video. I’ve had the unfortunate experience of my hard drive completely crashing without a recovery disk. Super helpful in the event this happens again.
I just bought a new laptop and looked for videos on how to make a system image and a windows recovery drive. Your videos are the clearest and easiest to use i found. Thanks so much.
Hi Dave, 2 important comments. 1.- You can recover an image from a computer model to another by using a program called ACRONIS ECHO. this allows you to recover the image and after that reinstall the drivers of the new computer. 2.- You did not mention if the backup file can be shared in the external hard drive with other files or the system will erase other data of the external, I might want to have 2 separated images in my external hard drives, also once I want to recover, if it is possible to actually find the directory of where those images are located in the external HD
Hi. As an Auswertung to the question whether old data will be deleted when doing the backup, I found this, which says it won't: answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/will-backup-utility-overwrite-current-ext-hard/18688a26-ce6e-40fb-a124-eca592374e44?ranMID=46131&ranEAID=a1LgFw09t88&ranSiteID=a1LgFw09t88-DNl90hcTNs9uj1OSO5MnZw&epi=a1LgFw09t88-DNl90hcTNs9uj1OSO5MnZw&irgwc=1&OCID=AID2200057_aff_7806_1243925&tduid=(ir__lhsbprxovskfb1bg11sciavx6e2xqm30kpmmzdun00)(7806)(1243925)(a1LgFw09t88-DNl90hcTNs9uj1OSO5MnZw)()&irclickid=_lhsbprxovskfb1bg11sciavx6e2xqm30kpmmzdun00 Haven't tried yet though
Good evening Dave, I tried to find a way to direct message you to say thank you, but was unable to. You helped me in a very unconventional way. I have been spending many, many hours trying to get an SSD installed on a dell optiplex with the OS cloned from a HDD. I tried so many programs, clonezilla, acronis, shadow mask and many more. Every single one even the standard windows 10 loader had issues getting the installer and hardware to work and boot - Dell love to have their own non-standard peripherals and Bios. After watching your video I was able to 'Backup' a system image of the HDD and use the windows restore to 'restore' the backup onto the new SSD - IT literally took 15 minuets ! I am so happy, I thought the SSD had died and that machine for my workshop would have to run from a HDD forever. Thank you again, your videos at first were a little basic for me but I was not too familiar with the image backups. Thank you again and I will now setup pooled drives and have all my family's machines using the built in windows 10 backup with the occasional image backup. Thank you so much Dave !
Thanks, it was a good reminder to complete this before I need it. Very clear and easy to follow. To improve further it might help if the backing music is dropped, it allows us to focus on your instructions.
Thank you Dave, it was very informative on how to look after all the different ways of doing a good backup, I really needed to know earlier when i lost all my data BUT now i have it all backed up. Thanks again.
Years ago, my laptop suddenly refused to load windows. I bought a disc containing Ubuntu and used it, but I kept losing my desktop. It seemed like a Unity issue, so I went to Linux Mint. Mint extended the life of my laptop for the next five years. I finally got a new laptop last year, and I'm afraid of it happening again. Thank you for showing us how to back it up. I have some DVDs here for a recovery disc, plus a thumb drive.
These backup videos of yours are very helpful. Because backup isn't the sexiest topic I guess, there aren't that many good videos out there, but it is very important and you make a great job explaining this. Well done sir. Keep up the great work. Subscribed :)
Thank you for all the useful vids you made explaining backups. I wrote all your instructions and will do both, regular manual backups and create a system image with the recovery disc. Appreciate your time.
Thanks a lot, I lost my data and learnt from my mistake and your video helped me take precautions for the next time around. I am now prepared to face the future. :)
Nice information, I am going make a System image backup, and I also watched your other video of making a Windows 10 USB recovery drive. We all know that it's not "IF" your hard drive will fail. It's "When" will your hard drive will fail. When this happens using your videos I should be able to replace my hard drive and restore Windows and files that I have backed up.
Thanks for taking the time to make this video,nicely explained and at A pace where we can take take alot of info in ,calm and steady the way to go ,i just liked and subbed
Thank you Thank you Thank you.. Explained simply and in detail. Finally someone who talks like a human being not a geeky tech nerd assuming we all know what we are doing.
VERY good quality video. Thanks! Question: can you create a system backup like this on a hard drive that already has some data on it? or does the target drive for the backup have to be empty? Thanks in advance!
I am just about to join the windows 10 party so your video here has been a great help to me as my new laptop arrives tomorrow, and this will be the first thing I do. Thank you for the video
What if you do the backup and restore it in a new computer,will the windows 10 activation be intact or you would need to activate it again that is if yours is with a digital license
I believe there is a 2TB limit on which any Windows OS image can be created. I know this from initially trying to unsuccessfully create W10 images on a 3TB drive & found advice about this 2TB limit on the net. So I use a 3TB to do File History Backup's & from time to time an image backup on a 2TB drive. For drives greater than 2TB it maye work if a 2TB partition is created for image backups?
I would also recommend using File History which is similar to Time Machine on MacOS. It keeps versioned copies of all data on the fly. It’s included with all versions of Windows 10.
cool video simple and not with stupid things thank you i have one question, when we want to take the image back up from hard drive with usb, does it have possiblity that ll delete all datas in side the usb hdd ?
I have a doubt... is it necessary for the external drive with the system image to contain only the image ... im currently storing other stuff on it and i didnt understand whether during recovery the external drive will be wiped. That would not be great. Thanks for the info
@@DavesTechRescue im asking this since i didnt see any option to browse for the image file during recovery in your video ( at 7:38 )... i only see the option to select the location of the drive .... in the video u have selected seagate expansion drive (D:). Im not sure if you can select sub directories within the drive
Yes, I have had a "catastrophe" in the past: a power on/off situation in the 110v Household power ... it blinked on and off a few times in a second or so ... resulting in a power surge that took out the hard drives in both my Linux Desktop and my Windows Desktop. The drives in both of these computers had given me their money's worth ... over 8 years old each, I think, and I needed an excuse to upgrade to SSDs in both. Restoring my Linux Desktop hard drive was not too hard, but there were peculiarities that needed to be addressed: The size of the original hard drive was bigger than the SSD I replace it with. The Windows Desktop was a bit of a chore reinstalling my licensed copy of Windows 10. I am just a user and not a computer repair tech and I am quite aware of how easy it is to do even more damage to your equipment and software and files if you don't do EXACTLY what is required. The computer industry is at least partly responsible for the confusion that users experience due to ambiguous terms and vague directions. Room for improvement. I have to thank you for your well thought out videos and your clear communication on the subject on hand. Always remember that those listening to your videos may not and probably don't have the same level of understanding that you have.
Good video but i have a couple of questions: 1) When backing up to the external drive does the process copy over anything that is on the external drive? 2) Afterwards can we use the remaining space on the external drive?
Great tutorial. Thanx! You mentioned that the image would only work on the same computer. Can I still use an image to switch a mechanical drive to an ssd one on the same laptop? Will the image load on a brand new ssd internal harddrive?
Hi Dave, and everyone.. Firstly thanks to Dave for coming up with these videos, recognize the amount of effort spent to layman explain these techie things especially on backup and recovery. Kudos. So just to clarify, : in case i need to revert my whole local C drive including contents apps data drivers all in that C drive (OS plus ALL files in my C drive), i will need both System recovery usb + the system image hard disk?? Wont it work with just the system image hdd? Another thing to observe, - there's quite a number of queries here but would really appreciate some responses (much much appreciated). Cheers!
To Dave's Tech Rescue, On 3:33 - 3:37, Is there a difference between clicking 'Create a system image' to 'Set up back-up'? I was wondering which two chosen backup route is better?
Great video. Can I back up the system image to an SD card, or does it need to be an external hard drive? I do have a few hard drives sitting around somewhere, but they all have old data saved on them. I've heard that it needs to be a clean External HD
Will this clear an external hard drive of all of its stuff? I want to take all the stuff in my computer's storage and put it in a slightly filled drive, but I don't want to put it anywhere else.
Dave, Thank you so much again, you have the best videos on TH-cam, clear and detailed, thanks again for taking the time to make those videos, Appreciated.
Hi Dave, I just discovered your great videos. An excellent video of how to create a full system image using windows but could you make a video using Macrium Reflect 7 Free? It is much faster and more reliable than windows and can also make a full clone of your drive within the same program. You could also explain the differences between Intermediate and differencial backups etc, and between Cloning and a System image. What do you think?
Just found your channel Dave... So interesting... Just finished viewing the video on "System Image Backup" - Not sure I understand fully - I have a couple of questions. 1) If I make a System Image Backup, do I still need to make a full backup? 2) If I need to make a full Backup as well as a System Image Backup, Can I make both on the same External HD if it has enough capacity? Thanks Dave... I will surely view a lot of your videos.
Thanks John, really good question. Short answer - you should buy 2 drives, make a full backup as often as you can, and make a System Image backup less often. Long answer: System image backup is a thorough backup of the exact state of your computer, and can be a real timesaver if something like a bad windows update crashes your computer. However, it’s not convenient to make a system image as it takes so long, and it’s tailored to your exact computer. If you need to replace your computer, you can’t restore from it. So your regular backups should be done another way, like with File History or just copying files to an external drive. Or using a cloud service like OneDrive / Dropbox. You might be able to use the same physical drive for both backups, I haven’t tested this. But don’t take the risk if you can afford another drive.
Hi there I have faced an unfixable problem here. My laptop is a company laptop that came with preinstalled windows 10 enterprise. So I reset it in windows 10 and then it goes back to normal windows 10 that has a cortana welcoming me when I first setup my laptop but the problem is that I cannot get through the keyboard layout page and whenever i chose my preferred keyboard layout and it will ask me whether I want to add another layout or skip then I click skip but everything it will say " Something went wrong" and I click try again but it just will not go through it. I reformat my computer for the second time and it is still the same. I tried safe mode and all other methods and none work and I cannot even go through safe mode and it is just black screen. How can I fix it???
Quick question Dave. if I do system image for just "C" partition only and not include "D" and "E" partitions of that same internal hard drive, so suppose in future if I need to restore my system image which has just the "C" partition, so will the other partitions (D,E) be affected or formatted/deleted upon the restoration of that system image? Or will the other partitions remain intact as original states as they weren't disturbed in the first place ?? Thanks in advance
Please can you explain what you mean when you say sytem image backup can only be used on the same kind of machine it was created on? Does that mean it needs the same brand and model to be usable? Thanks.
Measuring that the original name as "WindowsImageBackup" should not change, I changed the name, so it showed "Windows cannot find a system image on this computer" in restoring.
Hi Dave, thanks for the great video! i have thinkpad x250 with 256gb M.2 SSD as C: drive (windows10, and all other programs installed here). In addition I have 1TB HDD installed to the SATA drive bay for my data (D:) drive. Have a few question: 1. Will it be OK to create the backup image file to the D: drive (not to external HDD)? I assume when anything go wrong it will attack mostly the C: drive so i still can use my D: drive as system image backup? 2. When you are using external hard drive to store the system image backup, can you use the external HD to store other files? or better to have dedicated external HDD just for storing system image backup? 3. When your C: drive completely destroyed then you need to buy and install a new hard drive, do we need to format it first? Can we choose to which drive we want to recover the system image? (in my setup, i have two physically-separate drive).
Thank you for sharing this video. I came here looking for a way to do the exact type of image backup for a mobile device. I am not sure this can be done via the mobile apps that come pre installed or not. There are options for backing up photos, documents, etc, but I cannot find any software programs that will do a mobile image. I have alot of important apps that I would love to just reinstall via a disk image, as I have done on my windows laptop. Are you aware of any way to do this and if not, can you suggest the best way to backup your smartphone (iphone and android) if a disc image is not possible? It sure would be nice to just load in that image onto another phone and you are back and running for every single data that was on the old phone. Thanks again, as this is such an important question today with everyone using smartphones for just about everything, and backups are an absolute necessity.
Probably a stupid question... I have numerous drives such as C, D, E and F, if I create a system image of only C, upon restoring from image it will not mess with the other drives at all? Thanks.
This was such a well explained video to follow thank you! I also have a few questions about making a system image about a brand new laptop. (1) I've just backed up my new laptop and it took 6 mins 45 seconds to create a system image and it is taking up 33.8GB on my hard drive at the moment out of 1 TB. Is this normal? (2) Also if I make another system image in the future once my computer has more files, will this be stored separately? (3) Finally can I use this hard drive normally to store other things or would you recommend keeping it separate? Thank you Dave!!
Thank you for a clear and concise explanation. I wish I had found your videos sooner. I am currently in the process of doing an system image backup to an external Seagate hard drive. However, I did a copy and paste of my hard drive to a folder I setup on my Seagate. Will this give me the same results. I didn’t think to look in settings for a backup command there. So far my computer has been copying 14,119 items and it’s been a little over 4 hours. Tx in advance for any advise. Diana from Ontario, Canada.
Hi there i need help with my backup the thing is I am downgrading my windows 10 to windows 8 and i want everything (games,steam,discord,files,etc) from windows 10 to windows 8 so please help me by telling which type of backup should i do(file history, manual, system image,etc)...I have a 1 TB Seagate Expansion drive for backing up my laptop please help me...
Hi Dave, can you help me out? I just bought a new laptop, and I'm not fond of reformatting computers. I just want a way to restore my laptop back to the day I bought it. Not for repair reasons. I sometimes get paranoid and want to restart my pc back to day 1, so it's without the apps I installed and most likely the virus, malware or spywares are gone. How can I do that? I dont care about the files in it being deleted, I have a separate drive where I store important stuff. Correct me if I'm wrong but restore point only reverts windows updates, recovery flash drive is only for repairs, and windows image well, It wasnt clear how to use it to revert everything back to day 1
My Windows wont come up. Using a Hirins boot disk I see my HDD has a Recovery Partition , How do I make a boot disk from my Recovery Partition ? Also it won't Repair from the OS disk. Thank you
Dave. I am behind the times, but am still trying. My ASUS laptop now gives me a hard drive error message upon start up. It is telling me to back up my hard drive and replace it. I must then hit the F1 function key to complete the start up routine. I purchased a Western Digital replacement hard drive. My question is this: Should I just purchase a compatible hard drive connector with a USB end and do a "system image" to my new hard drive so that when I install it permanently, it will pick up where I left off? I only have USB 2 ports, no USB 3 ports. Would there be enough power provided by the USB 2 port to do this? Everything sounds logical to me, but again, I am not tech savvy as most viewers seem to be. Thanks for any advice provided here. It would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for the great videos! You should consider lowering the volume ramp-up of the the 2 second music breaks, in your videos. It hurts. Question: can you create a system image on an external drive that also has data backed up, or does it need to be dedicated to only being a system image? I have a 3 TB WD Elements, and I'd like to put an image on it. If it is possible, would I need to partition the drive?
Late reply, but yes you can. Windows backup allows you to put the data files and system image on the same external drive. You will want to create a recovery USB, so you can boot into the utilities that allow this.
Many questions. I'll keep it brief. 1) Sys image isn't actually the same as clone is it? 2) Other than the storage medium, is there a difference between what can be accomplished with a recovery drive and sys repair disk? 3) Can I reinstall win 10 using the combo of "sys image/recovery drive" or "sys image/repair disk"? Thanks, good video.
I created my own SSD Drive for backup, that is the same model of the SSD that is in my computer. So when I do a System Image, I can recover by taking out the SSD Drive in the computer, and put the SSD in from the USB Case that holds the System Image, and just boot back up... I am Recovered... I use a program called AOMEI Backupper. It creates a exact copy of my 256GB Drive in about 15 minutes. I use this method because I have been burned by Microsoft Windows 10 updates failing, and getting support is timely. Now I just swap the drives, the one that has the OS error now becomes my new System Image Drive. For Individual files, I use a 256GB thumb drive that I keep plugged in all the time using the history method.
I've been using a USB-bootable copy of Norton Ghost to back up system images which I've found very reliable, But although my new computer boots to this USB stick, it won't recognize my mouse or keyboard. Glad there are other options.
Speaking of hard drives, whats your opinion on a hybrid drive vs an SSD+HDD combo in a desktop? Would the SSD in the hybrid last longer because its only used when it's needed? Also, solid video, wish this was made before my SSD failed on my laptop :( Still, very useful information and well layed out.
That’s a really interesting question! If you are able to have an SSD and an HDD, and you know how to manage what is stored in each, then you’ll be happier than if you had a hybrid drive. Hybrids are better for people who need the simplicity of storing everything in one drive, but they run slower than SSDs when they are in the phase of ‘learning’ what should be stored where. Hybrids are also great if your computer only lets you connect a single drive. As for whether the SSD would last longer in a hybrid drive - I would guess it would have a similar lifespan to an SSD in normal use. But overall I guess the hybrid drive has a shorter lifespan because it has an SSD + HDD in constant use, and as soon as either one of those fails, the whole unit is dead. Glad you like the video :)
Your instructions are clear and even I can understand them. THANK YOU. However, I got a brand ned Samsung T7 SSD and my computer will not allow me to use it as a backup drive. It sees the drive. I have a magnetic field, and when I am within 20 feet of a computer it automatically malfunctions. It is not that I am paranoid, it is just that the damn things are out to get me. how before it Do I have to format the drive somehow before I can use it? The Samsung instructions are nonexistent.
Are you certain the Windows cloning software requires you to restore your backup to identical hardware? I believe other software (like AOMEI or Acronis) can restore to dissimilar hardware.
Clear and concise video, thanks. My son set up my new, his old computer with a raid setup for the operating system, and an extra non raid data drive. I have just upgraded to win 10, and need to know when I over-write my backup Win7 HD, I believe that the system should treat the raid setup (the C: drive) as one continuous drive. Am I correct? I am familiar with Linux but not so much with Windows and don't want to make an incomplete image. Thanks, Bob
Does this also save the state of the registry? And if so, when reverting back to a backup does it return the registry to the way it was when the system image was made?
Good video! Is the backup external drive to be used as a dedicated system restore device? i mean can we reuse the external drive for other ad-hoc data backup's once we backup system image on it? Also can i use an external drive that already has data in it?
After a complete weekend lost watching all the present content on TH-cam about recovery drive, repair disc, system image, file history, set up backup, system restore, and so many other intertwined terms that work combined or sometimes substitute one another (yeah, after a complete weekend all these things are not completely clear to me) I'd just like to express how your videos are the best ones on these matters. The most clear in my opinion. Thanks for making them so complete. I'm sure that if I could have an afternoon with you I would leave as an expert on this subject, you know everything. The completeness on the theme, the clarity on the explanations, the appropriate editions for the understanding of the common noob like me. Thanks a lot. I just would like if you had videos on all the doubts I have, like the counterparts of all the mentions I did for Win7 and linux. But for what you offered in your channel so far, I have nothing but to thank you a lot!!!!!!!!
THIS VIDEO coupled with the other one about how to make a recovery drive using a memory stick has been an absolute gem of a learning lesson. thank you Dave. appreciate your hard work.
Can you explain to me what is the difference?
@@basselessam4813 basically a usb recovery drive helps to recover your pc from any problems it has usually by reinstalling windows if it doesn't turn on at all and a system image is whats going to restore all the data you once had on your pc in otherwords its like a snapshot in time of everything you had on your computer on the day you did the system image backup
You have been an absolute lifesaver with this tutorial! Thank you! For your recovery usb drive and wipe and reset tutorials too! I have to send my HP Spectre 360 back to the retailer for investigation, as one of the thunderbolt USB ports has failed, and it appears to heat up quite quickly too, during ordinary usage. They told me I had to send it back wiped, just in case! I was panicking big time, until I found your amazing tutorials and advice. So simple and straightforward. What more can I say. As a 67 year old woman from the UK, who likes to think she’s more than a little up there, technically minded, and up for a challenge, it truly was a blessing in disguise!
As a person for whom English is not a mother tongue, I would like to admit that this guy has a very nice and clear English pronunciation (I wish all the native speakers had it...) and it is a real pleasure to watch his videos. Subscribed just because of his amazing English (and special thank you for not beating around the bush.)
Nice video buddy. Extremely helpful and easy to understand. I don't know why is it so hard for other people to explain in their video of "what is the system image". Most of the videos are junk.
Excellent! Clear and concise, straight to the point. Great tutorial!
Just a tip, you can hold your left shift key and click on restart and it will make your computer reboot into the recovery environment :) You can do this instead of turning it off 3 times.
Also you could try. Turn off your computer. Insert the USB with the Image on it. On your keyboard press and hold down ALT & F10 at the same time, then turn on your computer. This should work for Recovery USB also
Hey Dave, thank you for your TH-cam "How to Make a System Image backup" It was a life saver. Cheers Mate
Yes, years ago, w/win8, my drive would lose its mind; repair wouldn't work, but I could get into the "advanced options" and restore the system image backups I made. I got used to doing this on a regular basis.
It HAS been a long time. Originally, I had to start from scratch and re-install updates'n'things. Later, I discovered I could make a system image that included installed programs, etc.
Back then, I could make incremental system image backups so it was pretty slick.
Thanks for the advice about using a quality usb drive for the recover drive in your prior video.
Don't know if any have had this issue when creating a Windows 10 System Image but I tried to successfully create a system image 5 times and each time the status would reach 97% then stall and never fully complete. Then a thought dawned on me and that was to NOT hide my desktop icons and make sure the "Show desktop icons" was selected from the right mouse click desktop context menu. I was finally able to create a Windows 10 System Image after much frustration! 😃👍
Hi Dave; I found your videos and boy they're a real help to unscrambled O S systems even to 76-year-olds that did not have pcs even in school and very little at work before retirement. Thanks a really big bunch!!
Hey Dave, an FYI, I used your video and backed up my windows 11 today. It did exact job as win10. Thanks a lot buddy, you are the best!
This backup took my computer well over 2 hours to complete! How long did it take for yours to do?
6 minutes. But I only have my installation and programs on C drive. That drive being a M2 NVME and backing up to a Sata SSD also helps speeds things up.
51 Gb total.
Hi dave can I using pen drive to make a system image backup ????
It took 9 mins. i5 with a 256 ssd C drive to an internal 2tb sata.
@@seunice3704 No, it does not have the sufficient capacity to store one.
Thank you for this beautiful guide.
It took me a total of 35 minutes to completed a "System Image backup" with a storage size of around 200 GB.
Very well done. I never understood the new way that Windows does backup since they moved away from NT Backup after XP/2003 Server. You remedied that in this and your last videos like no one ever ever been able to or documented well enough to. I like the file versioning better from before too, although at least that change they can make an argument for. Now that I understand it, I know that I'm not missing anything, and wouldn't consider using it.
With ShadowProtect and Macrium Reflect, you can easily do automated continuous incrementals, (Synthetic Full Backups) that can give you 15 minute snapshots. You can browse or roll back and entire computer to a consistent point in time from minutes ago to months ago. You can also have them do periodic full images, all unattended. Moreover, you may want a copy of your old machine for software, operating system, or any other reason in the future. You can turn their backups into virtual machines and boot them on completely dissimilar hardware, and move them back in minutes. I've had to do that before with a server at a factory and they ran on it for 4 days and didn't notice any difference in performance or any other aspect. (Which you can do with Windows 10 images as well) Health checks are done automatically. The one that makes the most sense for home use is Macrium, while I tend to use ShadowProtect on servers. Macrium is $70 a license and $140 for 3. The free version will do about everything the pay-for version will except Synthetic Full Backups. It even makes it easy to restore from larger to smaller partitions.
Great explanation. Just had a complete catastrophe from a botched windows update. I lost all of my data and will not be making the same mistake again. Now that I have my computer up and running again after formatting both my hard drives and using a USB drive to boot from and install windows on my main drive I will be making a system image as shown in this video. Very clear and easy instructions thank you!
What to do when I have no system back up and cannot boot
I had no idea which external hard drive to choose. I just looked for a solid-state external hard drive and Seagate had excellent reviews, so I bought one. I finally got around to using it. But today, I decided to create a system image. So, I closed everything and restarted. Then I cleaned my PC using CleanMyPC, then restarted again. Cleaning, I noticed, took 9 seconds off the restart time. Down from 31 seconds to 22 seconds. Which is only up 7 seconds from the original start-up time. But I had fewer apps, etc...
Anyway, I am happy to see you recommend the Seagate HD I bought and I'll be even happier if, by the time I finish watching this video, I will learn how to save and make use of this specific system image. Especially if it can undo all the bs that happens after a windows update!
What's curious to me is, I bought this old computer in late 2018, or early 2019 at the latest and it only took 15 or 20 minutes to create a system image. But maybe that's because I don't have video games on this computer? I am confident everything went well because it did say the system image had completed successfully. A question I have is what do the scheduled backups do to the system image? Nothing, right? They are two separate processes, right? They save all the new photos, apps, etc, correct? And the system image restores the computer's functionality... So if when I restore the system, will I still retain all the new things I added since I created the image? Dave? Or anyone who might know?
Thank you so much. My computer crashed and it took hours upon hours to get it up again. Wish I had made a recovery disc and watched your wonderful videos. I made a recovery USB to use if my computer crashes in the future.
THANK YOU DAVE , was my first experience to install the windows 10 to a new ssd hard drive ,{into a old computer with windows 7 and a failing old hard disk drive }, everything was perfect THANKS to all your instructions clear and to the point . All our thanks and appreciations !
Well FINALLY. For I have been trying to recover a FULL computer; after the internal HDD failed. And I have a "backed up" HDD; with even a "computer" Image and a "Shadow Copy" plus every Files on the old HDD.
But NO one could tell me how to recover my computer; and told me only how they recover files. That will NOT fill my wants.! Yet I have backed up my computer EVERY night; for years; with "ALL" things backed up. But I did not know what to do; when my internal HDD failed. Not even Microsoft could tell me. Sad, but OH so true.
And you told us that in a short time. WOW!. Thank you kind Sir for that. Awesome!
Here I made a system image with aomei and restore to another pc, worked well.
Great video. I’ve had the unfortunate experience of my hard drive completely crashing without a recovery disk. Super helpful in the event this happens again.
I just bought a new laptop and looked for videos on how to make a system image and a windows recovery drive. Your videos are the clearest and easiest to use i found. Thanks so much.
Hi Dave, 2 important comments. 1.- You can recover an image from a computer model to another by using a program called ACRONIS ECHO. this allows you to recover the image and after that reinstall the drivers of the new computer. 2.- You did not mention if the backup file can be shared in the external hard drive with other files or the system will erase other data of the external, I might want to have 2 separated images in my external hard drives, also once I want to recover, if it is possible to actually find the directory of where those images are located in the external HD
Hi. As an Auswertung to the question whether old data will be deleted when doing the backup, I found this, which says it won't:
answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/will-backup-utility-overwrite-current-ext-hard/18688a26-ce6e-40fb-a124-eca592374e44?ranMID=46131&ranEAID=a1LgFw09t88&ranSiteID=a1LgFw09t88-DNl90hcTNs9uj1OSO5MnZw&epi=a1LgFw09t88-DNl90hcTNs9uj1OSO5MnZw&irgwc=1&OCID=AID2200057_aff_7806_1243925&tduid=(ir__lhsbprxovskfb1bg11sciavx6e2xqm30kpmmzdun00)(7806)(1243925)(a1LgFw09t88-DNl90hcTNs9uj1OSO5MnZw)()&irclickid=_lhsbprxovskfb1bg11sciavx6e2xqm30kpmmzdun00
Haven't tried yet though
Great tutorials as usual. Thanks for all the effort. All your tutorials are easy to follow well explained and very informative.
Good evening Dave, I tried to find a way to direct message you to say thank you, but was unable to.
You helped me in a very unconventional way. I have been spending many, many hours trying to get an SSD installed on a dell optiplex with the OS cloned from a HDD. I tried so many programs, clonezilla, acronis, shadow mask and many more. Every single one even the standard windows 10 loader had issues getting the installer and hardware to work and boot - Dell love to have their own non-standard peripherals and Bios.
After watching your video I was able to 'Backup' a system image of the HDD and use the windows restore to 'restore' the backup onto the new SSD - IT literally took 15 minuets !
I am so happy, I thought the SSD had died and that machine for my workshop would have to run from a HDD forever. Thank you again, your videos at first were a little basic for me but I was not too familiar with the image backups. Thank you again and I will now setup pooled drives and have all my family's machines using the built in windows 10 backup with the occasional image backup.
Thank you so much Dave !
Thanks, glad to hear my video helped :)
Thanks, it was a good reminder to complete this before I need it. Very clear and easy to follow. To improve further it might help if the backing music is dropped, it allows us to focus on your instructions.
Thank you Dave, it was very informative on how to look after all the different ways of doing a good backup, I really needed to know earlier when i lost all my data BUT now i have it all backed up. Thanks again.
Sorry you lost your data, but glad the video was helpful
Years ago, my laptop suddenly refused to load windows. I bought a disc containing Ubuntu and used it, but I kept losing my desktop. It seemed like a Unity issue, so I went to Linux Mint. Mint extended the life of my laptop for the next five years. I finally got a new laptop last year, and I'm afraid of it happening again. Thank you for showing us how to back it up. I have some DVDs here for a recovery disc, plus a thumb drive.
Best video I found so far regarding this process. Thank you very much.
These backup videos of yours are very helpful. Because backup isn't the sexiest topic I guess, there aren't that many good videos out there, but it is very important and you make a great job explaining this. Well done sir. Keep up the great work. Subscribed :)
Thanks so much 😁
Thank you for all the useful vids you made explaining backups. I wrote all your instructions and will do both, regular manual backups and create a system image with the recovery disc. Appreciate your time.
Repaired computer returned and system image restored - successfully! Once again, thank you, BIG time!
Thanks a lot, I lost my data and learnt from my mistake and your video helped me take precautions for the next time around. I am now prepared to face the future. :)
Nice information, I am going make a System image backup, and I also watched your other video of making a Windows 10 USB recovery drive. We all know that it's not "IF" your hard drive will fail. It's "When" will your hard drive will fail. When this happens using your videos I should be able to replace my hard drive and restore Windows and files that I have backed up.
Thanks for taking the time to make this video,nicely explained and at A pace where we can take take alot of info in ,calm and steady the way to go ,i just liked and subbed
Thank you very informative, I backup with Aomei which is a easy tool for me
Great video Dave. I have spent hours trying to find a video on what i was looking for and i think you have nailed it. Thank you
Thank you Thank you Thank you.. Explained simply and in detail. Finally someone who talks like a human being not a geeky tech nerd assuming we all know what we are doing.
Just used this now in 2024 ... brilliant thank you so much
Thank you for taking the time to make this awesome tutorial. Super nice!
VERY good quality video. Thanks!
Question: can you create a system backup like this on a hard drive that already has some data on it? or does the target drive for the backup have to be empty? Thanks in advance!
i have the exact same question!
I am just about to join the windows 10 party so your video here has been a great help to me as my new laptop arrives tomorrow, and this will be the first thing I do.
Thank you for the video
What if you do the backup and restore it in a new computer,will the windows 10 activation be intact or you would need to activate it again that is if yours is with a digital license
Not sure if it will work on different pc, he mentioned that it will work on same type of machine.
@@Subtle_hints thanks anyway😇
I believe there is a 2TB limit on which any Windows OS image can be created. I know this from initially trying to unsuccessfully create W10 images on a 3TB drive & found advice about this 2TB limit on the net. So I use a 3TB to do File History Backup's & from time to time an image backup on a 2TB drive. For drives greater than 2TB it maye work if a 2TB partition is created for image backups?
I would also recommend using File History which is similar to Time Machine on MacOS. It keeps versioned copies of all data on the fly. It’s included with all versions of Windows 10.
cool video simple and not with stupid things thank you
i have one question, when we want to take the image back up from hard drive with usb, does it have possiblity that ll delete all datas in side the usb hdd ?
That was the best tutorial video I have ever seen! Outstanding!
I have a doubt... is it necessary for the external drive with the system image to contain only the image ... im currently storing other stuff on it and i didnt understand whether during recovery the external drive will be wiped. That would not be great. Thanks for the info
I think you'll be ok. But I haven't tested this, and if it's important then I would buy a second usb just for your files.
@@DavesTechRescue im asking this since i didnt see any option to browse for the image file during recovery in your video ( at 7:38 )... i only see the option to select the location of the drive .... in the video u have selected seagate expansion drive (D:). Im not sure if you can select sub directories within the drive
When want you back to YT!!! Thanks for the excelent tutorials
Yes, I have had a "catastrophe" in the past: a power on/off situation in the 110v Household power ... it blinked on and off a few times in a second or so ... resulting in a power surge that took out the hard drives in both my Linux Desktop and my Windows Desktop. The drives in both of these computers had given me their money's worth ... over 8 years old each, I think, and I needed an excuse to upgrade to SSDs in both. Restoring my Linux Desktop hard drive was not too hard, but there were peculiarities that needed to be addressed: The size of the original hard drive was bigger than the SSD I replace it with. The Windows Desktop was a bit of a chore reinstalling my licensed copy of Windows 10. I am just a user and not a computer repair tech and I am quite aware of how easy it is to do even more damage to your equipment and software and files if you don't do EXACTLY what is required. The computer industry is at least partly responsible for the confusion that users experience due to ambiguous terms and vague directions. Room for improvement. I have to thank you for your well thought out videos and your clear communication on the subject on hand. Always remember that those listening to your videos may not and probably don't have the same level of understanding that you have.
Good video but i have a couple of questions: 1) When backing up to the external drive does the process copy over anything that is on the external drive? 2) Afterwards can we use the remaining space on the external drive?
Great tutorial. Thanx! You mentioned that the image would only work on the same computer. Can I still use an image to switch a mechanical drive to an ssd one on the same laptop? Will the image load on a brand new ssd internal harddrive?
Thanks Dave, you made the process simple to understand and complete.
Hi Dave, and everyone.. Firstly thanks to Dave for coming up with these videos, recognize the amount of effort spent to layman explain these techie things especially on backup and recovery. Kudos.
So just to clarify, : in case i need to revert my whole local C drive including contents apps data drivers all in that C drive (OS plus ALL files in my C drive), i will need both System recovery usb + the system image hard disk?? Wont it work with just the system image hdd?
Another thing to observe, - there's quite a number of queries here but would really appreciate some responses (much much appreciated).
Cheers!
To Dave's Tech Rescue,
On 3:33 - 3:37, Is there a difference between clicking 'Create a system image' to 'Set up back-up'?
I was wondering which two chosen backup route is better?
Please continue what you're doing you're so helpful !!! Thanks 🇮🇳💕🇮🇳
Great video. Can I back up the system image to an SD card, or does it need to be an external hard drive? I do have a few hard drives sitting around somewhere, but they all have old data saved on them. I've heard that it needs to be a clean External HD
Will this clear an external hard drive of all of its stuff? I want to take all the stuff in my computer's storage and put it in a slightly filled drive, but I don't want to put it anywhere else.
Do i need a reformatted or empty harddrive to do system image backup?
I made image backup with aomei, it's really convenient.
Dave, Thank you so much again, you have the best videos on TH-cam, clear and detailed, thanks again for taking the time to make those videos, Appreciated.
Not a bad tutorial, you can also use a third party program like Acronis.
Or Symantec ghost, clonezilla...
Yes, a third party program is my choice too. Microsoft tools are not the best.
Hi Dave, I just discovered your great videos. An excellent video of how to create a full system image using windows but could you make a video using Macrium Reflect 7 Free? It is much faster and more reliable than windows and can also make a full clone of your drive within the same program. You could also explain the differences between Intermediate and differencial backups etc, and between Cloning and a System image. What do you think?
This is a useful way but if you have no system restore point you have to turn to aomei to do this.
great video! can i put a system image backup and a file history backup on the same hard drive?? thanks
Hello, have you managed to find a solution? Because I also have this doubt.
@@sr.m3708 no
@@djfritz okay, thanks for your reply
Just found your channel Dave... So interesting... Just finished viewing the video on "System Image Backup" - Not sure I understand fully - I have a couple of questions.
1) If I make a System Image Backup, do I still need to make a full backup?
2) If I need to make a full Backup as well as a System Image Backup, Can I make both on the same External HD if it has enough capacity?
Thanks Dave... I will surely view a lot of your videos.
Thanks John, really good question. Short answer - you should buy 2 drives, make a full backup as often as you can, and make a System Image backup less often.
Long answer:
System image backup is a thorough backup of the exact state of your computer, and can be a real timesaver if something like a bad windows update crashes your computer. However, it’s not convenient to make a system image as it takes so long, and it’s tailored to your exact computer. If you need to replace your computer, you can’t restore from it.
So your regular backups should be done another way, like with File History or just copying files to an external drive. Or using a cloud service like OneDrive / Dropbox.
You might be able to use the same physical drive for both backups, I haven’t tested this. But don’t take the risk if you can afford another drive.
Thanks, will take your advise and get a second external drive. So fast to respond.. THIS IS GREAT. You made a fan for sure. Thanks again.
Hi there I have faced an unfixable problem here. My laptop is a company laptop that came with preinstalled windows 10 enterprise. So I reset it in windows 10 and then it goes back to normal windows 10 that has a cortana welcoming me when I first setup my laptop but the problem is that I cannot get through the keyboard layout page and whenever i chose my preferred keyboard layout and it will ask me whether I want to add another layout or skip then I click skip but everything it will say " Something went wrong" and I click try again but it just will not go through it. I reformat my computer for the second time and it is still the same. I tried safe mode and all other methods and none work and I cannot even go through safe mode and it is just black screen. How can I fix it???
Quick question Dave.
if I do system image for just "C" partition only and not include "D" and "E" partitions of that same internal hard drive, so suppose in future if I need to restore my system image which has just the "C" partition, so will the other partitions (D,E) be affected or formatted/deleted upon the restoration of that system image? Or will the other partitions remain intact as original states as they weren't disturbed in the first place ??
Thanks in advance
Please can you explain what you mean when you say sytem image backup can only be used on the same kind of machine it was created on? Does that mean it needs the same brand and model to be usable? Thanks.
Measuring that the original name as "WindowsImageBackup" should not change, I changed the name, so it showed "Windows cannot find a system image on this computer" in restoring.
Hi Dave, thanks for the great video! i have thinkpad x250 with 256gb M.2 SSD as C: drive (windows10, and all other programs installed here). In addition I have 1TB HDD installed to the SATA drive bay for my data (D:) drive. Have a few question:
1. Will it be OK to create the backup image file to the D: drive (not to external HDD)? I assume when anything go wrong it will attack mostly the C: drive so i still can use my D: drive as system image backup?
2. When you are using external hard drive to store the system image backup, can you use the external HD to store other files? or better to have dedicated external HDD just for storing system image backup?
3. When your C: drive completely destroyed then you need to buy and install a new hard drive, do we need to format it first? Can we choose to which drive we want to recover the system image? (in my setup, i have two physically-separate drive).
Excellent as are all your other Videos Dave
Thank you for sharing this video. I came here looking for a way to do the exact type of image backup for a mobile device. I am not sure this can be done via the mobile apps that come pre installed or not. There are options for backing up photos, documents, etc, but I cannot find any software programs that will do a mobile image.
I have alot of important apps that I would love to just reinstall via a disk image, as I have done on my windows laptop. Are you aware of any way to do this and if not, can you suggest the best way to backup your smartphone (iphone and android) if a disc image is not possible? It sure would be nice to just load in that image onto another phone and you are back and running for every single data that was on the old phone.
Thanks again, as this is such an important question today with everyone using smartphones for just about everything, and backups are an absolute necessity.
Probably a stupid question... I have numerous drives such as C, D, E and F, if I create a system image of only C, upon restoring from image it will not mess with the other drives at all? Thanks.
Sir, Your videos are spot on !
Great video. One question, how does one know if the system image is a good image? Thanks!
This was such a well explained video to follow thank you! I also have a few questions about making a system image about a brand new laptop. (1) I've just backed up my new laptop and it took 6 mins 45 seconds to create a system image and it is taking up 33.8GB on my hard drive at the moment out of 1 TB. Is this normal? (2) Also if I make another system image in the future once my computer has more files, will this be stored separately? (3) Finally can I use this hard drive normally to store other things or would you recommend keeping it separate? Thank you Dave!!
Thank you for a clear and concise explanation. I wish I had found your videos sooner. I am currently in the process of doing an system image backup to an external Seagate hard drive. However, I did a copy and paste of my hard drive to a folder I setup on my Seagate. Will this give me the same results. I didn’t think to look in settings for a backup command there. So far my computer has been copying 14,119 items and it’s been a little over 4 hours. Tx in advance for any advise. Diana from Ontario, Canada.
Good stuff!!! I saved my computer using your info. Thanks
Hi there i need help with my backup the thing is I am downgrading my windows 10 to windows 8 and i want everything (games,steam,discord,files,etc) from windows 10 to windows 8 so please help me by telling which type of backup should i do(file history, manual, system image,etc)...I have a 1 TB Seagate Expansion drive for backing up my laptop please help me...
Hi Dave, can you help me out?
I just bought a new laptop, and I'm not fond of reformatting computers. I just want a way to restore my laptop back to the day I bought it. Not for repair reasons.
I sometimes get paranoid and want to restart my pc back to day 1, so it's without the apps I installed and most likely the virus, malware or spywares are gone. How can I do that? I dont care about the files in it being deleted, I have a separate drive where I store important stuff.
Correct me if I'm wrong but restore point only reverts windows updates, recovery flash drive is only for repairs, and windows image well, It wasnt clear how to use it to revert everything back to day 1
@Jayfox This video will show you how to do this. Hope it helps :)
th-cam.com/video/zDxV2gium5Y/w-d-xo.html
My Windows wont come up. Using a Hirins boot disk I see my HDD has a Recovery Partition , How do I make a boot disk from my Recovery Partition ? Also it won't Repair from the OS disk. Thank you
Dave. I am behind the times, but am still trying. My ASUS laptop now gives me a hard drive error message upon start up. It is telling me to back up my hard drive and replace it. I must then hit the F1 function key to complete the start up routine. I purchased a Western Digital replacement hard drive. My question is this: Should I just purchase a compatible hard drive connector with a USB end and do a "system image" to my new hard drive so that when I install it permanently, it will pick up where I left off? I only have USB 2 ports, no USB 3 ports. Would there be enough power provided by the USB 2 port to do this? Everything sounds logical to me, but again, I am not tech savvy as most viewers seem to be. Thanks for any advice provided here. It would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for the great videos! You should consider lowering the volume ramp-up of the the 2 second music breaks, in your videos. It hurts. Question: can you create a system image on an external drive that also has data backed up, or does it need to be dedicated to only being a system image? I have a 3 TB WD Elements, and I'd like to put an image on it. If it is possible, would I need to partition the drive?
Late reply, but yes you can. Windows backup allows you to put the data files and system image on the same external drive. You will want to create a recovery USB, so you can boot into the utilities that allow this.
Many questions. I'll keep it brief. 1) Sys image isn't actually the same as clone is it? 2) Other than the storage medium, is there a difference between what can be accomplished with a recovery drive and sys repair disk? 3) Can I reinstall win 10 using the combo of "sys image/recovery drive" or "sys image/repair disk"? Thanks, good video.
I created my own SSD Drive for backup, that is the same model of the SSD that is in my computer. So when I do a System Image, I can recover by taking out the SSD Drive in the computer, and put the SSD in from the USB Case that holds the System Image, and just boot back up... I am Recovered... I use a program called AOMEI Backupper. It creates a exact copy of my 256GB Drive in about 15 minutes. I use this method because I have been burned by Microsoft Windows 10 updates failing, and getting support is timely. Now I just swap the drives, the one that has the OS error now becomes my new System Image Drive. For Individual files, I use a 256GB thumb drive that I keep plugged in all the time using the history method.
I've been using a USB-bootable copy of Norton Ghost to back up system images which I've found very reliable, But although my new computer boots to this USB stick, it won't recognize my mouse or keyboard. Glad there are other options.
Dave. Excellent video. Thank you so much.
Is it a good idea to have an image as well as file history on one external drive?
Speaking of hard drives, whats your opinion on a hybrid drive vs an SSD+HDD combo in a desktop? Would the SSD in the hybrid last longer because its only used when it's needed? Also, solid video, wish this was made before my SSD failed on my laptop :( Still, very useful information and well layed out.
That’s a really interesting question! If you are able to have an SSD and an HDD, and you know how to manage what is stored in each, then you’ll be happier than if you had a hybrid drive. Hybrids are better for people who need the simplicity of storing everything in one drive, but they run slower than SSDs when they are in the phase of ‘learning’ what should be stored where. Hybrids are also great if your computer only lets you connect a single drive. As for whether the SSD would last longer in a hybrid drive - I would guess it would have a similar lifespan to an SSD in normal use. But overall I guess the hybrid drive has a shorter lifespan because it has an SSD + HDD in constant use, and as soon as either one of those fails, the whole unit is dead. Glad you like the video :)
Thank you for your help. is easy store a good backup drive? or is there a better won
Your instructions are clear and even I can understand them. THANK YOU. However, I got a brand ned Samsung T7 SSD and my computer will not allow me to use it as a backup drive. It sees the drive.
I have a magnetic field, and when I am within 20 feet of a computer it automatically malfunctions. It is not that I am paranoid, it is just that the damn things are out to get me. how before it
Do I have to format the drive somehow before I can use it? The Samsung instructions are nonexistent.
Are you certain the Windows cloning software requires you to restore your backup to identical hardware? I believe other software (like AOMEI or Acronis) can restore to dissimilar hardware.
Clear and concise video, thanks. My son set up my new, his old computer with a raid setup for the operating system, and an extra non raid data drive. I have just upgraded to win 10, and need to know when I over-write my backup Win7 HD, I believe that the system should treat the raid setup (the C: drive) as one continuous drive. Am I correct? I am familiar with Linux but not so much with Windows and don't want to make an incomplete image.
Thanks,
Bob
can there be anything else on the HD that you'll use for the system image Back up ? or does it have to be clear of anything else? Thank you.
Hey Dave, It was an awesome trick !!!.... Thanks a lot for this
Does this also save the state of the registry? And if so, when reverting back to a backup does it return the registry to the way it was when the system image was made?
Good video! Is the backup external drive to be used as a dedicated system restore device? i mean can we reuse the external drive for other ad-hoc data backup's once we backup system image on it? Also can i use an external drive that already has data in it?