What is a system image? Everything you need to know about creating a system image backup

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Is a system image the same as a backup? In short, a system image is a snapshot or exact copy of your entire hard drive. A system image is a complete backup of everything on your computer's hard drive, so it includes Windows, system settings, executable files, installed programs, and all your other files. The main advantage of a system image is that, in case of a hard drive failure or if your computer stops working, you can easily restore everything to the way it was, without having to reinstall Windows and your apps.

System Image Basics

You can learn about some important aspects of creating a system image on a hard disk, and how to correctly restore your computer from the system image you create.

Number one: The system image file is the same size as the backup file.

A system image is essentially a file containing the contents of a computer's hard drive or a single partition, so its file size is about the same as the amount of disk space you use. For example, if you have a 500 GB hard drive with 200 GB used, your system image will be roughly 200 GB. But that's not necessarily true if you compress the system image to make it smaller.

The built-in Windows backup utility doesn't compress system images, a feature that's pretty much standard in professional third-party backup and recovery tools like Todo Backup.

Second, different backup programs use different types of system images.

You can restore a computer only with the same tool that you used to create the backup image. Windows uses the .xml and .vhd file extensions to create system images, while third-party programs use their own. To make sure that your system images are restorable, you can keep several backup tools around, but make sure Image A was created by Tool A and Image B by Tool B. Each backup image file stands on its own when it's time to restore.

Related: How to Create an Image Backup in Windows 10 | Create a System Image Backup in Windows 11

How to Create a Reliable System Image in Windows 10/8/7

Windows does come with a built-in system imaging tool, which is part of the "Backup and Restore" feature. However, before you use the default program, we'd like to recommend a third-party alternative – Todo Backup. It's a free Windows backup software that allows for an easy system backup with just one click and offers unique features not found in the default program:

• Compress system images to save disk space
• Encrypt system images for privacy protection
• Perform system backups on startup/shutdown
• Automatically back up to an external hard drive on insertion
• Save system images to cloud drives
• Set up full/differential/incremental backup tasks

The reasons for choosing a disk imaging software don't stop at the free features that allow you to back up your entire OS. If you need more advanced features, such as restoring system images to different computers, you can upgrade to the Home Edition to enjoy those.

Step 1: Launch Todo Backup on your computer, then click “Create Backup” on the home screen, and hit the big question-mark button to “Select What to Back Up.”

Step 2: Click "OS" to start backing up the Windows operating system.

Step 3. Your Windows operating system information and all system-related files and partitions will be selected automatically, so you don't need to make any manual selections here. Next, click on the illustrated area to choose where you want to save your system image backup.

System Backup

Step 4. The backup location can be another local drive on your computer, an external hard drive, a network, cloud, or NAS. Ideally, system backup files should be saved to an external physical drive or the cloud.

Step 5: If needed, click on Options to set up an automatic backup schedule (daily, weekly, monthly, or event-based), incremental backup, and differential backup. Then, hit "Back Up Now", and the program will start backing up your Windows system. The completed task will be displayed as a card on the left side.

How to Restore a Computer from a System Image

As we mentioned, you must use the same tool to create and restore a system image for 100% compatibility. If you have created a system backup image with Todo Backup and need to restore a crashed or damaged computer from a system image, follow this guide.

* If the system fails to boot, try to start the computer and perform system recovery with the Todo Backup Emergency Disk.

Step 1: Launch Todo Backup and click on "Browse Restore".

Click “Browse to Recover”

Step 2. Point to your backup destination and select the system backup file you need. (The backup files created by Todo Backup are with .pbd extension.)

Step 3: Select the recovery disk. Make sure the partition style of the source disk and the recovery disk is the same.

Step 4. Customize the disk layout as needed, and click "Continue" to start the system restore.

Frequently Asked Questions about System Images

What is the purpose of a system image?

A system image is an exact copy or snapshot of an entire hard drive. It includes everything on the drive, such as the Windows operating system, system settings, executable files, installed programs, and all your other files. If your hard drive fails or your computer stops working, you can quickly restore everything without having to reinstall Windows and your apps.

What's the difference between a backup and a system image?

A backup is a copy of your files. An image is an exact copy of everything on your hard drive, including the Windows operating system, your settings, and all your files.