Home-Good to know-Make a Windows 10 system image. Methods for creating an ISO image on Windows

Make a Windows 10 system image. Methods for creating an ISO image on Windows

One day, Windows 10 may not start. Fortunately, restoring the system will take a maximum of a day if you use backup copies and the necessary arsenal of programs.

Why do you need to back up Windows 10 with disk contents?

Backup is creating an image of drive C with all installed programs, drivers, components and settings.

Backup operating system with already installed drivers is created in the following cases:

  • it is necessary to effectively restore a Windows system that has suffered a sudden crash, with minimal or no loss of personal data, without spending extra time on it;
  • it is necessary to restore the Windows system without re-searching for drivers for PC hardware and OS components found, installed and configured after long search and experiments.

How to create a copy of Windows 10 and restore the system using it

You can use the wizard Windows archiving 10, built-in Command Line tools or third-party applications.

Backing up Windows 10 using DISM

The DISM (Deployment Image Servicing and Management) utility works using the Windows Command Prompt.

  1. Before you restart Windows 10, press and hold Shift key. Restart your PC.
  2. Give the command “Troubleshooting” - “ Additional options" - "Command Prompt" in the Windows 10 Recovery Environment.

    Windows Recovery Environment has a full arsenal of startup repair tools

  3. In the opened command line Windows line enter the command diskpart.

    The slightest mistake Windows commands 10 will cause them to be entered again

  4. Enter the list volume command, from the list of disks select the label and parameters of the partition on which Windows 10 is installed, enter the exit command.
  5. Dial dism command/Capture-Image /ImageFile:D:\Win10Image.wim /CaptureDir:E:\ /Name:”Windows 10”, where E is the disk with installed Windows 10, and D is the disk on which the OS backup will be written. Wait for the recording to finish copies of Windows.

    Wait until the Windows disc is copied

Windows 10 and the contents of the drive are now written to another drive.

Create a copy of Windows 10 using the Backup Wizard

Working with " Command line"- the most professional, from the users' point of view, method. But if it doesn't work for you, try the built-in Windows 10 Backup Wizard.

  1. Click Start and type in search bar main Windows menu 10 word "reserve". Select "Backup & Windows recovery 10".

    Run the backup tool Windows copy via the Start menu

  2. In the Windows 10 file log window, click the “System Image Backup” button.
  3. Confirm your choice by opening the “Create a system image” link.
  4. Select the option to save what you create Windows image.

    Choose, for example, to save the Windows image on an external drive

  5. Confirm saving the Windows 10 disk image by selecting the partition to save (for example, C). Click the start archiving button.

    Confirm archiving the image by selecting a disk from the list of partitions

  6. Wait until the disk copy has been written to the image. If you need an emergency Windows disk 10, confirm the request and follow the prompts of the OS Rescue Disk Wizard.

    Windows 10 Rescue Disk can make OS recovery easier and faster

You can start restoring Windows 10 from the recorded image.

By the way, saving on DVD discs is the most irrational way: the inevitable consumption of 10 “discs” weighing 4.7 GB with a C drive size of 47 GB. A modern user, creating a C partition of tens of gigabytes, installs 100 large and small programs. Games are especially hungry for disk space. It is unknown what pushed Windows developers 10 to such recklessness: CDs began to be actively replaced already in Windows times 7, because then sales of terabyte external hard drives sharply increased, and 8–32 GB flash drives became the best solution. It wouldn't hurt to exclude burning to DVD from Windows 8/8.1/10.

Video: How to create an image of Windows 10 using the Backup Wizard and restore the system using it

Creating a Windows 10 backup using Aomei Backup Standard and restoring the OS from it

To create a copy of a Windows 10 disc, do the following:


The application also helps to create not just an archive image, but a disk clone. It makes it easy to transfer all content from one PC drive to another, including Windows bootloaders. This function is useful when the old media shows significant wear and tear, and you need to transfer all its contents to the new one as soon as possible, without resorting to reinstalling Windows 10 and separate, selective copying of folders and files.

Creating a bootable USB flash drive Aomei Backupper Standard

But to restore Windows in Aomei Backup you will need another tool. Let's take as an example Russian version Aomei Backupper Standard:

  1. Give the command “Utilities” - “Create bootable media».

    Select an entry in Aomei Backupper boot disk

  2. Select the Windows bootable media entry.

    Windows PE bootloader will allow you to boot into Aomei Backupper

  3. Select media entry that supports UEFI firmware motherboard PC.

    Assign PC support with UEFI firmware to writable media

  4. Aomei Backupper will check whether the UEFI disc can be burned and allow you to burn it.

    In case possible recording disk with UEFI press the continue button

  5. Specify your media type and click continue.

    Specify your device and media for burning a disc with Windows

Restoring Windows from a USB flash drive Windows 10 Aomei Backupper

Do the following:

  1. Boot your PC from the flash drive you just burned.

    Wait for the PC to load the program into memory recovery Aomei Backupper

  2. Choose to roll back Windows 10.

    Enter the rollback tool Aomei Windows 10

  3. Specify the path to the archive image file. The external drive on which the Windows 10 image was saved must be connected, as it must be removed before restarting Windows 10 so that it does not interfere with the Aomei boot loader.

    Tell Aomei where to get the data for Windows rollback 10

  4. Confirm that this is the image you need to restore Windows.

    Confirm Aomei's request for allegiance Windows archive 10

  5. Select the operation to be prepared using the mouse and click the “OK” button.

    Select this line and click the “OK” button in Aomei Backupper

  6. Click the Start Windows Rollback button.

    Confirm Windows 10 rollback in Aomei Backupper

The Windows 10 system will be restored in the same form in which you copied it to the archive image, with the same applications, settings and documents on the C drive.

Wait for the Windows 10 rollback to complete, it will take up to several hours

After clicking the “Finish” button, restart the restored OS.

Video: how to create a Windows 10 image using Aomei Backupper and restore the system using it

Working on restoring Windows 10 in Macrium Reflect

Application Macrium Reflect is a good tool that allows you to quickly restore Windows 10 from a previously recorded backup image. All commands have been translated into Russian due to difficulties with the availability of a Russian version.

To copy data from the drive where Windows 10 is installed, do the following:

  1. Download, install and launch the Macrium Reflect application.
  2. Give the command “Save” - “Create a system image”.

    Open Windows 10 Backup Tool in Macrium

  3. Select the “Create an image of the partitions required to recover Windows” tool.

    Go to selection logical drives, important for Windows backup 10

  4. The Macrium Reflect Free application will automatically select the required logical drives, including the system drive. Give the command “Folder” - “Browse”.

    Click the browse files and folders button on your PC in Macrium Reflect

  5. Confirm saving the Windows 10 image. Macrium Reflect by default saves the image without giving it a file name.

    Macrium also suggests creating a new folder

  6. Press the "Finish" key.

    Press the end key in Macrium

  7. Leave both options “Start copying now” and “Save archiving information in a separate XML file” checked.

    Click "OK" to start saving the Windows backup copy

  8. Wait for the Windows 10 archive to finish recording.

    Macrium will help you copy Windows 10 and all programs with settings into an image

Macrium saves images in MRIMG format rather than ISO or IMG, unlike most other programs, including Windows 10's built-in backup tools.

Creating bootable media in Macrium Reflect

In case the system cannot start without external media, you should take care of a bootable flash drive or DVD in advance. The Macrium application is also adapted for recording bootable media. To speed up the process, the commands have been translated into Russian and popularized.

  1. Launch Macrium Reflect and give the command “Media” - “Disk Image” - “Create boot image”.

    Go to Macrium Reflect Rescue Media Builder

  2. Launch the Macrium Rescue Media Wizard.

    Select the media type in the Rescue Disk Wizard window

  3. Select the version of Windows PE 5.0 (versions based on Windows kernels 8.1, which includes Windows 10).

    Version 5.0 is compatible with Windows 10

  4. To continue, click the “Next” button.

    Click the go to button further settings Macrium

  5. After creating the list of drivers, click Next again.

    Confirm the action by clicking the same button in Macrium

  6. After determining the bitness of Windows 10, click “Next” again.

    Click the continue button again to go to further actions in Macrium

  7. Macrium will offer to download the necessary boot files from the Microsoft website (preferably).

    USB drive support must be enabled for Macrium to begin recording

  8. Click the "Finish" button. The Windows 10 bootloader will be written to the USB flash drive.

Recovering Windows 10 using a USB flash drive with Macrium Reflect

As in the previous instructions for Aomei, boot the PC from the USB flash drive and wait until Windows boot loader will be loaded into the RAM of your PC or tablet.


Windows 10 startup will be fixed. After this, you can continue working with Windows.

Video: How to create a Windows image using Macrium Reflect and restore the system using it

Why and how to delete Windows 10 backups

The decision to remove unnecessary copies of Windows is made in the following cases:

  • lack of space on media to store these copies (storage disks, flash drives, memory cards are full);
  • irrelevance of these copies after the release of new programs for work and entertainment, games, etc., deletion of “outdated” documents from drive C;
  • need for confidentiality. You do not leave secret data behind, not wanting it to fall into the hands of competitors, and get rid of unnecessary “tails” in a timely manner.

The last point requires clarification. If you work in law enforcement agencies, at a military plant, in a hospital, etc., storing disk images with Windows and personal data of employees may be prohibited by regulations.

If archival images Windows 10 were saved separately, deleting images is performed in the same way as deleting any files in a properly working system. It doesn't matter what drive they are stored on.

Don't create difficulties for yourself. If the image files have been deleted, recovery from a bootable USB flash drive will not work in any way: there will be nothing to roll back Windows 10 in this way. Use other methods, for example, fixing problems when starting Windows or a new installation of Ten using a copy of the image downloaded from the Microsoft website or from torrent trackers. Here you no longer need a boot one (LiveDVD loader), but an installation one Windows flash drive 10.

Backup and restore Windows 10 Mobile

Windows 10 Mobile is a version of Windows adapted for smartphones. In some cases, it can also be installed on a tablet, if the latter does not have impeccable performance and speed. Windows 10 Mobile has arrived change Windows Phone 7/8.

Features of copying and restoring personal data in Windows 10 Mobile

In addition to work documents, multimedia data and games, Windows 10 Mobile archives contacts, call lists, SMS/MMS messages, diary entries and organizer - all this is a mandatory attribute of modern smartphones.

To restore and transfer data to an image from command console Windows 10 Mobile is more convenient use any external keyboard and mouse, rather than typing long commands with numerous parameters from the sensor for 15 minutes: as you know, one wrong character or extra space, And command interpreter CMD (or PowerShell) will throw an error.

However, not all smartphones with Windows Mobile(as in the case of Android) will allow you to connect an external keyboard: you will need to install additional system libraries and, perhaps, compiling OS code in the hope of seeing the coveted cursor and mouse pointer on the smartphone screen. These methods also do not guarantee 100% results. If there are no problems with tablets, then with smartphones, due to the too small display, you will have to tinker.

How to Back Up Windows 10 Mobile Data

Windows 10 Mobile, fortunately, bears a great deal of similarity to desktop Windows 10: it's about as similar as Apple versions iOS for iPhone and iPad.

Almost everything Windows actions 10 have something in common with Windows Phone 8. Most of them in Windows 10 Mobile are borrowed from the regular “ten”.

  1. Give the command “Start” - “Settings” - “Update and Security”.

    Select the updater and Windows security Mobile 10

  2. Start Windows 10 Mobile Backup Service.

    Select Windows 10 Mobile Backup Service

  3. Turn it on (there is a software toggle switch). Settings may include both copying personal data and settings already installed applications and the OS itself.

    Enable copying data and settings to OneDrive

  4. Set up an automatic archiving schedule. If you need to immediately synchronize your smartphone with OneDrive, click the “Back up data now” button.

    Enable schedule and define personal details specific applications to be transferred to OneDrive

Since the C and D drives on a smartphone are often not as huge as on a PC, you will need an account cloud storage eg OneDrive. Data will be copied to the network cloud One Drive with her help. This all feels like work. Apple service iCloud on iOS or Google Drive in Android.

To transfer data to another smartphone, you also need to log in under your account OneDrive. Perform the same settings on it, the Windows 10 Mobile Backup service will download everything personal files from the cloud and to a second device.

Video: How to backup all data from a smartphone with Windows 10 Mobile

Creating a Windows 10 Mobile image

Co Windows smartphones 10 Mobile is not as simple as it was with the regular version of Windows 10. Unfortunately, Microsoft never presented working tool to create backups of pure Windows 10 Mobile. Alas, everything is limited only to transferring personal data, settings and applications installed on a smartphone to another smartphone. The stumbling block here is the difficulty of connecting Windows smartphones to external hard drives and flash drives, despite the MicroUSB interface in many smartphones and OTG connections to it.

Reinstalling Windows 10 on a smartphone is possible mainly via cable using a PC or laptop and a third-party program installed on the latter, for example, Microsoft Visual Studio. If you are using a smartphone that had Windows Phone 8, you need an official Windows support 10 Mobile of your model.

Backing up and restoring Windows 10 from backup copies is no more difficult than working with previous versions Windows in the same vein. Tools built into the OS itself for disaster recovery, as well as third party programs for the same task, it has become many times larger.

You can never have too many backups. If you can back it up backup, then be sure to do it. Luckily, Microsoft makes it much easier to create a complete copy of your entire computer with its built-in System Image tool.

Never used this utility? We will explain in detail how to use it to your advantage.

What is a system image?

The system image in Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 includes full copy the entire system. This backup includes a complete build of the operating system, settings, installed programs, Windows applications and all personal files.

The main advantage of this function is that it allows you to completely restore the system in case critical error with software or hardware failure.

Flaw this method is that you will not be able to recover individual files, i.e. all files on your hard drive. Although you will have access to the copied files in the Documents, Pictures, Music, etc. libraries.

Additionally, if you don't back up frequently, if a system crash occurs, you may lose valuable documents, settings, or programs because you can only restore the data to the point of your last backup.

The system image can be used to create a master backup of your computer, including the Windows installation itself, all latest updates, personalized configurations and programs. To create a backup copy of your files, you can use “File History” or OneDrive service. This backup recipe will avoid duplicating files, and you will always have an up-to-date copy of all personal documents.

If the computer is working correctly, then system function backup will help in all situations where changes have been made to the system that may disrupt performance. At the same time, recovery initial state will take a reasonable amount of time.

The instructions provided allow you to create backup image systems in Windows 10, but they work fine in Windows 8.1.

How to create a system image backup in Windows 8.1 or 10

  • Type in the Start menu search - Control Panel and follow the found link.
  • Select section File history.
  • Select link System image backup in the lower left corner of the window.
  • Connect a portable hard drive or USB flash drive with sufficient free space.

  • The system image wizard will ask you to choose one of three options for placing the backup copy: on a hard drive, on DVDs, or in network folder. The procedure will go fastest when you select hard drive.
  • Click Next.
  • Select the drives you want to include in the backup and click Next.
  • Confirm starting the backup by pressing the button.

The backup process can take from 10 minutes to 2 hours - it all depends on the amount of data being archived.

While archiving is in progress, you can continue to do other tasks, as with normal use computer.

After the Create a System Image utility completes the task, place the hard drive in a safe place.

Restoring your computer from a backup

To restore your system from a backup, connect the disk with the system image and installation media Windows 10 and restart your computer. During Windows installation, click Next, then select the option Restore in the lower-left corner of the screen. Select Troubleshooting, then Additional options and select Restoring a system image. After that, select the operating system that you want to restore, click the buttons Next And Complete.

How often do you take a full backup of your computer? What software are you using? Let us know your backup experience in the discussion below.

Found a typo? Press Ctrl + Enter

Technical level: Basic

Summary

In this article, I will show you how you can prepare to install or reinstall Windows 10 on your tablet or computer using official images of this OS that are provided by Microsoft.

By performing these actions, you agree to the following terms of use. When installing Windows 10, you will also need to accept license agreement, otherwise you will have to abort the installation and remove the OS from your device.

Summary:

1) What is needed to perform these actions.

2) Creating bootable media with a Windows 10 image using the program Media Creation Tool.

3) Create bootable media with a Windows 10 image using official images from the Microsoft website.

Note: Before performing these operations on your device, you should contact technical support its manufacturer. It may use special images for your device, and you will not be able to install the system correctly using "clean" images from Microsoft. Please clarify the possibility and legality of using this instruction.

Note 2: Enterprise/Education editions are not mentioned in this article, however, most of the steps for installing Windows 10 of these types are the same as described in this article.


Details

What is needed to perform these actions.

  • Internet connection (you will need to download from 4 to 7 GB of data).
  • Disk space on your computer/tablet to store downloaded files.
  • A flash drive or disk with a capacity of 8 GB (in some cases, 4 GB will be enough). You can also use SD cards (for example, this will be much more convenient for a tablet).
  • For tablets without a full USB port - a USB-OTG adapter.
  • Operating system Windows 7 or later (Windows 10 recommended).

Make sure you have all of this.

Create bootable media with a Windows 10 image using the Media Creation Tool.

This method is the simplest and is suitable for most Windows users.

1) Download Media program Creation Tool and run it.

You can download the program from the official Microsoft website by clicking on the button Download the tool now on this page. You can also use the direct link.

Run the downloaded file. The following window will open:

2) Read and accept the license agreement.

Review the license agreement. If you agree with it, what is necessary for further work programs, click Accept.

3) Select "Create bootable media for another PC."

After some time (usually up to 1 minute), the program window will update and look like this:

Click on the button Create bootable media for another PC. Then click Next.

4) Select required parameters for Windows 10 that you are about to install.

After the previous operations, a window will open where you will be asked to select the parameters of the Windows you are installing. Initially, as you can see in the next screenshot, they are inactive.

In order to select the necessary parameters manually, uncheck the box circled in the screenshot. It will be signed as Use recommended settings for this computer.

Select the options you need. In the first drop-down list, select Windows language. In the second - the editorial staff. In the third - bit depth, 32-bit or 64-bit.

Learn more about languages.

The language you select will be the default Windows language. The selected language also determines the region and format of time, currency, etc. in Windows, as well as the available editions of Windows 10. In the standard editions of Windows 10 - Home or Professional (Pro) - you can change the language. However, I recommend initially choosing the one you need.

More about the editions.

The editions available depend on the language you select. There are 4 of them in total. If you are going to reinstall Windows on your current computer/tablet, you can leave this parameter no changes - the program automatically selects what you need. Otherwise, you need to select exactly the edition for which you purchased the license.

1) Windows 10. This edition is available for all languages. It includes Windows 10 Home and Professional. When installing Windows from such an image, you will be asked to select desired type OS.

2) Windows 10 Home for one language (Home Single Language). This edition is also available for all languages.

3) Windows 10 N. This edition is available for a limited number of languages. There is no Russian or Ukrainian among them. It has a different set of built-in programs.

4) Windows 10 KN. This edition is only available for the Korean language.

Read more about bit depth.

The system capacity directly depends on the processor architecture. It comes in two types - 32-bit and 64-bit. Moreover, a 32-bit system can be installed on 64-bit processors, but a 64-bit system cannot be installed on 32-bit processors.

If you are going to reinstall Windows on your current computer/tablet, I recommend leaving this setting unchanged. Otherwise, make sure that the processor of the device you need supports one or another bit depth. In addition, the manufacturer of this PC must provide drivers for this bitness.

Moreover, please note that a 32-bit system will only work with 4 GB or less RAM, even if you have 6 GB or more installed, and a 64-bit system should only be installed if you have more than 4 GB of RAM.

You can also select the "Both" option. In this case, when installing the OS, you can select the bit depth you need.

After selecting the required options, click Next:

If you have changed any settings, you will receive a warning that Windows activation, which you install using this image, may require a different license.

Click OK.

5) Select to create bootable media based on a flash drive.

A window will open asking you where to save the system image. The program can simply download and save an ISO file on your computer for future use, or it can immediately write the system image to a flash drive. If you need to use a disk, I recommend using the instructions from Part 2 of this article (creating bootable media using official images from the Microsoft website). In this part of the article we will choose a flash drive.

Depending on the parameters you selected earlier, flash drives of different sizes will be needed. The required volume is displayed directly under the first item - “USB flash memory devices”.

Select 1st item - USB flash memory device and press Next.

6) Insert the flash drive and select it in the program.

A window will open in front of you with a list of all flash drives connected to your computer/tablet. If you connect a new flash drive, you will need to press a button Refresh disk list so that the program can detect it.

Insert the flash drive to which you will burn the image, refresh the list of drives and select the appropriate device. Please note that this flash drive will be formatted. After that click Next.

7) Wait for the image to download.

After selecting the flash drive, the program will begin downloading the image. During this time, you can freely use the computer.

8) After downloading, the image verification process will begin.

9) After this, the program will begin writing the image to the flash drive.

10) The bootable flash drive is ready!

You can close the program.

Creating a download private media with a Windows 10 image using official images from the Microsoft website.

Let's assume:

  • Media Creation Tool is not working correctly for you;
  • You wanted to download the OS image yourself;
  • You wanted to burn the image to disk;
  • You want to burn an image of one of the Windows Insider Program builds to a disk or flash drive.

Then this instruction will help you.

I note that this method Works on all the most popular operating systems, including Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10.

1) Download the desired image from the Microsoft website.

1.1) You need an image of an official, stable Windows versions 10.

Follow the following link: https://www.microsoft.com/ru-ru/software-download/windows10ISO/. The website that opens should look like this:

It is possible that your browser will redirect you to the site https://www.microsoft.com/ru-ru/software-download/windows10. In this case, use it to still enter the image download site.

Scroll down the page. You will see the following:

Here you are asked to select an edition of Windows 10. You can read more about editions in paragraph 4 of part 1 of this article. Open the drop-down list and select one of 4 editions. After that, click the button Confirm.

After a few seconds, the following drop-down list will appear. It asks you to select a Windows language. Scroll through the list and select Russian, if you need Russian, Ukrainian, if you need Ukrainian or any other language. After this, press the button again Confirm.

After this, two buttons will appear in front of you that contain download links. The first button is a link to download a 32-bit image, the second is a link to download a 64-bit image. Read more about bit depth in paragraph 4 of part 1 of this article.

1.2) You need an image of one of the preliminary OS builds.

Go to the following site: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windowsinsiderpreviewadvanced

If it says you're not an Insider even though you are, try changing your Microsoft account name to something in Latin rather than Cyrillic.

The process of setting parameters and obtaining the corresponding link is similar to the process described in paragraph 1.1 of this part of this article. True, the Insider Program website is in English, but you can use a translator.

The only thing that will change is the available editions of Windows 10. Different builds, corporate editions, etc. will be available. However, most will need the Windows 10 Insider Preview edition, which contains Windows 10 Pro Insider Preview and Windows 10 Home Insider Preview . These editions are activated by licenses from Windows 10 Professional and Windows 10 Home, respectively.

Also, not all languages ​​available for stable version Windows 10!

2) Download Windows program USB/DVD Tool.

This program from Microsoft is designed to burn ISO images to flash drives or discs. You can download it from this page, owned by Microsoft. Go to it and press the purple button Download on the right side of the site.

3) Install the Windows USB/DVD Tool program.

To do this, run the downloaded file.

Click Install("Install").

Click Finish(“Finish”).

Now the program is installed, its shortcut is on the desktop. It can also be found in the Start menu.

ATTENTION! During installation, the program may require you to install a system component - . NET Framework 2.0. The installation will most likely happen automatically; you will just need to confirm the download and installation of this component.

4) Launch the program and select the ISO file you downloaded earlier.

In the window that opens, click gray button Browse(1). Explorer will open. Find and open the ISO file you downloaded earlier there. Let it appear in line (2). After that, press the green button Next (3).

5) Select the media on which you will burn the image.

Click on the blue button USB device(1), if you write the image to a flash drive, use the blue button DVD(2) if you burn the image to disk or gray button Start Over(3) if you selected the wrong image in the previous step and want to return to the beginning of the recording process.

6) Insert the desired flash drive/disk to which you want to burn the image.

Select desired device in the drop-down list (1). If you have just inserted a disk/flash drive, click on the blue button (2) to refresh the list available devices. After that, press the green button Begin copying(“Start Recording”, 3). If you messed something up in the previous steps, the gray button Start Over(4) to return to the beginning of the process at your service.

7) Agree to format the flash drive if you are writing the image to it.

The flash drive must be formatted before the recording process. If it contains information that is important to you, copy it to a computer or other flash drive before burning the image.

To format, click the button Erase USB Device . After that, another window will pop up, “Are you sure you want to do this?” Click Yes("Yes").

A backup copy of Windows 10 is necessary to restore the system, in case of failures in the operating system, if it is impossible to load Windows on the computer, in case hard drive malfunction disk. This is a reliable option for restoring a PC previously installed with Windows 10 without reinstalling the system.

When using the operating system, you may experience problems with Windows or applications caused by for various reasons, mainly due to the actions of the user himself. Unfortunately, the user does not always cope with solving the problem that has arisen: there is no information about this on the Internet or it is impossible to choose correct actions due to the lack of obviousness of the source of the malfunction.

It is necessary to take measures to restore Windows functionality, or the desired program installed on your computer. The simplest option: use a system created in advance for recovery.

This option will not always work: there may be no recovery points on the computer, or there may only be recovery points created after the problem occurred. Sometimes, the process of restoring a system using restore points ends in failure: for some reason internal reasons the system does not apply recovery, then Windows continues to operate in the current mode.

A more reliable option: create a backup system image to restore Windows 10, which will be useful in case of problems. Failures can occur not only in software, the computer's hard drive may fail. After replacing the hardware, using a backup copy of the Windows image, the user will restore the operating system on the new hardware.

Windows 10 recovery backup image

To store operating system backups, I recommend using external hard disk connected to the computer via USB port. Before creating a system image, connect external drive to the computer. Once the backup is complete, the external hard drive can be disconnected from the PC.

Backup saved on another hard section disk, a less reliable storage method due to the fact that the system and backup are on the same hard drive. If your hard drive fails, you will not be able to use a Windows backup to restore your computer.

How to create a Windows 10 system recovery image

In order to create an image installed system, you will need to enter the recovery options. You can do this using the Control Panel or from the Settings application.

To enter system recovery settings from the Control Panel, follow these steps:

  1. On the Taskbar, enter the expression “Control Panel” (without quotes) into the search field.
  2. In the All Control Panel Items window, first select Small Icons in the View Settings, and then click on File History.

You can enter recovery mode using file history using “Options” as follows:

  1. Go to the Start menu and launch the Settings application.
  2. In the Windows Settings window, click on Update & Security.
  3. Enter the "Backup Service" section.
  4. In the File History Backup section, click the Other Options link to configure related settings.
  1. In the "Archive Options" window, in the " Related options» Click on “View advanced options”.

In the Backup and Restore (Windows 7) window, in the left sidebar, click on Create a system image.

In the “Create a system image” window, you must select a location to store the archive. After initialization of the archiving devices is completed, the system will suggest a suitable disk, in its opinion, with enough space to store the backup copy.

There are 3 options to choose from:

  • On your hard drive.
  • On DVD.
  • In a network folder.

The most suitable option for most users: a hard drive. This category includes portable hard drives connected to the computer.

Usage DVD disc ov for storing archival copies is less practical due to less reliability laser discs, and due to the relatively small size of DVD discs. Therefore, to create a Windows image you will need large number optical disks.

Network folders on own server Only a small number of users have it, so we will not consider this method.

Select the disk to store the archive, and then click on the “Next” button.

In the next window you need to select the disks included in the backup. By default, the system includes in the backup system disk“C:” and service system partitions on the hard drive.

This window displays information about the required location for saving the archive of the selected disks and about free space on the drive selected for storing the backup.

The user can add other partitions and disks to the Windows backup. IN in this case, we are backing up the system, so we don't need other drives.

In the “Confirm archiving settings” window, review the selected settings, and then click on the “Archive” button.

The process of creating a system image begins: data is archived.

Once the Windows backup is complete, you will be prompted to create a system repair disc.

I recommend creating a system repair disk, it may come in handy in a situation if it becomes impossible to Windows boot on the computer. Read a detailed article about creating a recovery disk in Windows 10. You can use an installation DVD or bootable USB flash drive with Windows 10.

The “WindowsImageBackup” folder will appear on the disk, in which the system backup image file is located. Do not move this folder to another location on the disk, otherwise Windows will not be able to detect the backup for system recovery.

Conclusions of the article

To create a backup copy of Windows 10, the user can use systemic means backup using the File History tool. An image of the system will be created on another disk with all Windows settings, at the time the backup was created. In case of problems on the computer, the user will restore the system from a previously created backup - a Windows backup.

Creating a Windows 10 backup (video)

Friends, hello everyone! In this article we will continue the topic of computer security and data preservation. Therefore, now I will tell you about creating a Windows 10 system image. regular means. And we’ll try to copy it even to a flash drive.

By the way, the method described below is quite suitable for Win 7, since the whole procedure is done in complete analogy. Now a few words about the essence created image. Its difference is that it can contain a complete copy of a PC disk.

That is, you catch, in this way a reserve is made not only of system files, but also of all user files: films, videos, pictures, and so on. And if you consider that all this can be done using the operating system, then it would be a sin not to protect yourself once again.

So, let's go. Remember, our task is to copy system partition to a USB flash drive. To do this, first of all we go to the Control Panel and follow the path “Small icons-backup backup and restore (Windows 7)":

And look, it says here that this recovery archive can be used even if your hard drive or computer fails. I wonder if it’s really possible to upgrade the system on new hardware using standard means? If so, then respect and respect to the guys from Microsoft. But to be honest, I seriously doubt it. Although…

Now about saving to a flash drive. As you can see in the picture below, it is available in the device selection list. But there is one caveat - it must be formatted in NTFS:

And one more thing. In this way, only standard system directories necessary to restore the functionality of Windows and programs are copied. free custom folders and files are not taken into account. By at least, I understand so. But below we will still consider the option of a full backup.

So, since about such requirements for file system I didn’t know if we would copy the archive to the second partition of the hard drive. In my case it is called "Multimedia":

Well, click the “Archive” button and wait for the Windows 10 image to be created. I must say that here everything depends on the amount of information being saved, but in any case you will need to wait a while.

Upon completion of the process, a folder will appear on the disk we specified WindowsImageBackup with fallback image:

Now a few words about how such an archive can be used in practice, for example, in a critical situation. It's very easy. If the system is crooked, but boots, use the “Recovery” function of the Win 7 backup partition:

Now let's look at another section of this panel, which is called “Configure backup”:

Please note that here copying to a flash drive is not available at all. You can only select external or internal hard drive:

But the user is given a choice. It is possible to archive not only the system partition, but also absolutely any user data. By the way, about the last one. Please note to the one highlighted in the picture Below is a fragment.

It says that the program will back up only those files that are stored in the user's libraries (Pictures, Music, Videos folders, etc.), desktop and standard system directories:

Therefore, by clicking “Give me a choice,” you should specify either the entire C drive, so to speak, with all the available stuff, or only the necessary directories:

I hope you can see the difference now? But keep one more thing in mind. If yours is divided into only two sections, for example, like mine is now, then you won’t be able to copy the second one in this way, since it will be selected as the save location.

Let's move on. At the next step, another nice option awaits us. You can configure the creation of images on a schedule. Agree, this is very convenient. Therefore, all that remains is to click on the “Save parameters and start archiving” button:

That's it, friends, now you know everything about creating a Windows 10 system image on a flash drive using standard tools. Do you think this function is conveniently implemented in the top ten?

Share your opinion in the comments and also ask questions if you have any. And finally, as always, I suggest you watch another interesting video.



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