Backing up data on your Windows machine is easy considering there are multiple options available. To begin with there’s file history, then there’s cloud backup or One Drive and lastly system backups or system images. In this article, let us see what exactly a system image backup is and how to use the feature.
System image backup contains all your files and folders along with complete Windows installation, settings, apps etc. Should your computer fail or anything unexpected happen, all you have to do is restore the system image and you can have your computer up and running in no time.
How to create a system image backup?
Let us now see how you can create a system backup in Windows 10. All you’re going to need is an external storage device such as USB pen drive, external hard drive or a DVD to store the backup created.
Once you have figured out the storage device you’re going to use, connect it to your system and follow the steps below.
- Click on Start menu and search for Control Panel
- Open Control Panel and select System & Security
- Click on Backup & Restore
- In the left menu, click on Create a system image
- Select a storage location from the list of options and click Next
- Then click on Start backup for the system to create a full backup of your system including all files & folders, Windows installation files, settings etc.
Note: After the backup process is complete, you will be given an option to create a system repair disc that provides a provision to repair your computer when it has trouble booting.
Once the process is complete, eject the device safely. It will be available when you need to restore the image when necessary.
How to restore an image backup?
Now that you have the system image ready, it can be used whenever you have booting issues or if your current Windows installation is corrupted. To restore the system image, follow the steps below.
- Connect the storage device that contains your image backup to your system
- Boot your system from a system repair disk (explained in the Note section above) or a Windows installation media and click on Repair your computer in the bottom left corner
- Click on Troubleshoot to open the Advanced Options menu
- In the Advanced Options menu, click on System Image Recovery
- Choose Windows 10 as the target OS
- Then select ‘Use the latest available system image’ option and click Next
- In the next screen, select Format and repartition disks if you want to restore the image to a new drive. But remember that formatting will delete all data from the drive.
- Click on Finish to start restoring the backup image. The time it takes depends on the amount of data you have in the image.
Conclusion
System images are a useful tool to restore your system along with apps, settings, files etc. to a state it was when you backed up. However, any modifications or additions you have made after the backup was created cannot be recovered using the tool. If you need to recover lost data that was not part of the System Image backup, you can use Hi5 data recovery software. It works in all situations like OS reinstallation, factory reset or when your system isn’t booting.
