Creating a System Image: A Comprehensive Guide and Step-by-Step Process for 2024

Part 1: What is a System Image?

A system image, generally speaking, is a snapshot or exact copy of your hard drive. It's a complete backup of everything on your computer's hard disk. With a system image, if your PC stops working or your hard drive crashes, you can quickly restore everything without having to reinstall Windows and all your programs.

But are system images the same as backups? The answer is no. The definition of a backup is more extensive. System imaging differs from backing up in several aspects, including the content involved, speed, storage space, and flexibility. Let's take a closer look at the differences between system imaging and backup:

Backup Content

A system image backup backs up all the data on the system. So, when you choose to back up a system image, it backs up all system files. Also, you can't choose to ignore specific components when restoring files.

With backups, you can back up files and specific components on an as-needed basis and exclude items that don't need to be backed up. There are typically three types of backups: full, incremental, and differential.

Speed and Storage

The amount of data you want to back up and the performance of your computer's hardware will determine how quickly you can create system images and perform regular backups.

However, if all else is equal, making a system image takes longer, because it also backs up other files and combines them into one file.

Also, system images take up more space since they are a full snapshot of everything on your computer's hard drive. To be exact, if your system is using 400 GB of space on the disk, the system image will also be around 400 GB. However, things can get better if you use professional system image backup software, like the Todo Backup tool, to help you compress backups.

Flexibility

While your computer is likely full of all sorts of things, some files are more essential than others. Plus, if you've been backing up regularly, you may choose to restore just one or two files, rather than everything, saving time.

However, this option is only available if you have created a system image, since a full system image copies your entire hard drive. The recovery process can take a while. In theory, you could choose to restore specific files, but this is a slow and complicated process.

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Part 2: What Does System Image Backup Include?

As you can see, system image backup differs from regular backup in many ways. So, does system image backup everything?

The answer is no. A system image is essentially an extra copy of your computer's hard drive. It includes the Windows operating system (OS), system settings, installed programs, executable files, and all other files.

In case something goes wrong with your system, you can easily revert your computer to a working state using a system image, without having to reinstall the operating system, drivers, installed software, and so on.

One more time: “Does a system image backup everything?” No, it does not. It backs up only what's on the hard drive: the operating system, programs, and so on.

Part 3: How to Create a System Image in Windows 11/10/8/7

You can create a system image backup on your Windows 11/10/8/7 computer using third-party backup software or the built-in Windows backup program. Here, we'll share guides on creating a system image backup with both methods. Let's get started.

Method 1: Use Automatic Windows Backup Software

Pros: 100% safe, easy to use, system image backup, more advanced backup options, suitable for users of all levels.

When it comes to creating a system image, the easiest and most reliable way is to use professional backup software. This is because such tools provide you with more advanced backup options and fewer limitations. For this purpose, the Todo Backup tool is one that can cater to your needs.

allows you to back up entire hard drives or selected files and folders. It also lets you schedule automatic backups and then store the backups on an external drive, network drive, NAS, or cloud storage. Additionally, it can help you install Windows on another computer's hard drive.

Here's how to create a system image on a Windows computer using the Todo Backup tool.

Step 1: Launch the Todo Backup tool on your computer and click “Create Backup” on the main interface. Then, hit the big question-mark button to choose what you want to back up.

Step 2. To back up the Windows operating system, click OS to start the backup task.

Step 3: Windows will automatically select the operating system, system files, and system partitions, so you don't need to make any manual selections here. Next, click on the area highlighted in the image below 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, the cloud, or a NAS. Typically, we recommend using an external physical drive or the cloud to save your system image files.

Step 5: If desired, click on "Options" to enable automatic backup schedules (daily, weekly, monthly, or event-based), as well as differential and incremental backups. Then click "Back up Now" to start the Windows backup process. Completed backup tasks will be displayed on the left-hand side in card form.

Note If you want to save the system image to a USB flash drive, make sure that the USB drive has enough space (at least 16 GB) to store the Windows system image.

Option 2: Use Windows Backup and Restore (Windows 7)

Advantage: Free.

Another way to create a system image on your Windows computer is by using the built-in Backup and Restore program (Windows 7). This can also create an image backup that contains your operating system, installed programs, and settings.

Similarly, if you want to back up a Windows system image to a USB flash drive, you should first format the USB drive to NTFS. Otherwise, you will get an error that says “Can't create a system image on the USB drive.”

Here are the steps to create a system image using "Backup and Restore" (Windows 7) for Windows 11/10/8/7: 1. First, ensure your computer is connected to a power source and all important files are saved. 2. Click on the "Start" button, type "Control Panel" in the search box, and open it. 3. In the Control Panel, select the "System and Security" option. 4. Under the "System and Security" interface, find and click on "Backup and Restore." 5. In the "Backup and Restore" window, you'll see an option labeled "Create a system image." Click on it. 6. Next, the system will ask where you want to save the system image. You can choose an external hard drive, a set of DVDs, or a network location. Make sure the chosen location has enough space to store the system image. 7. After selecting the storage location, the system will automatically list the drives to be included in the system image. Typically, you should choose the drive containing the operating system and important programs (usually Drive C). You can include other drives, but ensure they are necessary. 8. Review your selections and click "Next" when ready. 9. On the following screen, confirm your settings, then click "Start backup." This will initiate the process of creating the system image, which may take some time depending on your computer's performance and the speed of the selected storage location. 10. Once completed, a message will appear indicating that the backup is finished. Click "Close." Now, you have successfully created a system image of your Windows setup, which can be used to restore your computer when needed. Please note that the backup process can generate a large amount of data, so ensure you have sufficient storage space before beginning.

Step 1: Connect an empty external hard drive to your computer. If it's a USB drive, format it as NTFS.

Step 2: Click “Start,” then go to Settings > Update & Security > Backup > Go back to the old Backup and Restore (Windows 7) . Then click Create a system image .

Click Create System Image to proceed.

Step 3: Under “Destination,” choose your external hard drive or USB drive as the location to save the system image, then click “Next” to proceed.

Select an external hard drive or USB flash drive as the destination disk

Step 4: The System and System Reserved partitions will be selected by default. Click Next to continue.

Click Next.

5) Verify your backup settings, and click “Start backup” to create the system image.

Click "Start Backup" to begin.

Cautions About Using Windows Backup and Restore

• A system image created with Windows Backup and Restore can only be restored when the current Windows operating system can boot or you can access the Recovery Environment. In other words, if your system won't start, you can't use a system image on an external drive to restore Windows.
• The system image can only be restored to the original computer.
• You can't restore a system image to a computer running a different operating system, for example, restore a Windows 7 image to a computer running Windows 10.
• A system image can't be compressed, so it takes up a lot of disk space.

Part 4: How to Create a System Image of Another Computer

As you can see above, if you want to create a system image for another computer, Backup and Restore (Windows 7) may no longer be your ideal choice. In this case, you can still use the Todo Backup tool to help you, which can help you create a Windows system image on an external hard drive.

It's recommended to back up data on the target computer before making any changes, just in case something goes wrong and you lose data.

Then, you can use the tool Todo Backup to create a WinPE bootable disk, create a system image, and restore the system image to another computer with ease.

Stage One: Create the Emergency USB Disk

Step 1: Get a USB drive that you can write to.

Step 2. Run and install the Todo Backup tool on Computer B.

Step 3: Click on Tools and select Create Rescue Disk.

Create Emergency Disk

Step 4. Choose the boot disk location. You can create an ISO file, a bootable USB, or a CD/DVD.

Step 5: Click Create to get started.

Stage 2: Create a system image backup on the source computer

Step 1: On the main screen, tap "Select Backup Content."

Step 2: Click on the OS among the four options.

Create System Backup Step 2

Step 3. Todo Backup will automatically select your system partition; you just need to choose a backup destination.

Step 4. You can choose to save the backup file on your local disk or NAS.

Step 5: After the backup is completed, you can check the backup status, restore, open, or delete the backup by right-clicking the backup task on the left.

Step 3: Boot the target computer using the emergency boot disk created with Todo Backup

Step 1: Remove the emergency boot drive and system image USB, and connect them to another computer.

Step 2. Restart your computer and press DEL/F2/F10/F12 to enter BIOS.

Step 3: Enter the boot menu and set your computer to boot from the emergency disk created by Todo Backup.

Note: If you want to restore a system image on a GPT disk, you must change the boot mode in BIOS to UEFI. Then, your computer will launch the main interface of Todo Backup.

Stage 4: Move the System to a New/Other Computer

Important: If you restore an image to a different computer, the data on the target drive will be deleted. Back up your data before you begin, or use an empty disk to restore the system image to avoid losing data.

* If the system fails to boot, try to recover it by booting from a Todo Backup WinPE bootable disk.

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

Step 2. Browse to your backup location and select the system backup file you need (.pbd file created by Todo Backup).

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

Step 4: You can customize the disk layout as you need, and then click "Continue" to start the system backup restore.

Stage 5: Reboot the target computer over the network

Step one: Boot into the BIOS and set your computer to start from the disk with the migration system on it.

Step 2: Save the changes and restart your computer.

Step 3. Update all the drivers and programs you need to make sure everything runs smoothly on your new machine.

Stage 6: Make the transferred system bootable on the new/other computer

After the system transfer is complete, one final step remains: Set the target computer's BIOS boot mode to be the same as the source computer's:

Step 1: Restart your computer and press DEL/F2/F10/F12 to enter BIOS.

Step 2. Access the boot menu and find the BIOS mode.

Step 3. Change the new computer's boot mode to match that of your old computer – either Legacy or UEFI.

Step 4. Save the changes, exit, and reboot.

Wait a bit, and you'll find that your computer has booted up and is running the operating system from your old machine.

Note: Since Todo Backup only transfers the operating system, you will need to activate your Windows key after the transfer.

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Part 5: Best Windows Backup Software to Create System Images

We recommend using one of the best Windows backup software solutions on the market – Todo Backup – to keep your data and computer safe. This is because the built-in tool does fall short in some areas!

When choosing backup software, consider the following:

• User-friendly. It should have an intuitive interface for easy installation and usage.
• Diverse backup options. It should let you create full backups, incremental backups, or differential backups.
• Scheduling options. It should allow you to schedule backups for hands-off convenience.
• Multiple storage choices. It should let you store backups on external drives, network drives, or in the cloud.
• File encryption. It should enable you to encrypt backup drives for data protection.
• Good after-sales service. It should provide excellent customer support in case you encounter software issues.

And that's why Todo Backup is so highly recommended and popular: it ticks all the boxes in terms of what you need:

All in all, Todo Backup is a tool that can cover all your backup needs on your computer. You can download and use it on your PC with peace of mind.

Part 6: How to Perform a System Image Recovery

After learning how to create image backups on the current PC and another computer, let's see how to perform system image recovery. Generally, there are 3 cases:

How to Restore System Image Without Repair Disc

If you're wondering whether it's possible to restore a system image without a repair disc, the answer is yes. In this article, we'll see how to create a system image on an external device using the professional backup tool, Todo Backup, and then use it to restore your device.

Scenario 1: Perform a System Restore in Safe Mode

The detailed steps to perform a system image restore in Safe Mode are as follows:

Step 1: Go to Settings > Update & Security > Recovery. Scroll down in the right pane, and click on the Restart now option under Advanced startup.

Click Schedule Backup.

Step 2: After your PC restarts, go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings, and then click Restart.

Click "Start Backup".

Step Three: After the computer restarts, press F4 to start it in Safe Mode.

Step 4. In Safe Mode, go to Settings > System, and then choose About. In the right pane, click System Protection under Related settings.

Click “System Protection”

Step 5: Click “Next.”

Click “Next”

Step 6: Choose the restore point you want to use, then click Next.

Select “Restore Point”

Wait for the recovery process to complete (there will be a progress window showing the status). When it's done, you'll get a notification that your system has been restored.

System Restore undoes recent changes that may be causing problems on your computer, returning it to a previous state (when the restore point was created).

Scenario 2: Running System Restore from the Command Prompt

When access to a Windows session is compromised due to an issue (driver installation, Windows update, or virus), it's time to perform a System Restore via Command Prompt. This allows you to roll back system settings to a previous date.

Important: This change can't be undone if you recover your operating system to a previous point in Safe Mode. To reverse the change, use the installation media that came with your PC. If you don't have it, install Windows on another PC with the same hardware, or create a Windows recovery drive.

Here, you will learn how to start System Restore in Windows 10 Safe Mode with Command Prompt.

Step 1. Hold the Shift key, and then select Power > Restart from the Start menu.

Step 2: After your PC restarts and you see the Choose an option screen, go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > Restart.

Click Proceed to restart.

Step Three: Press the number 6 or the F6 Function key to select “Safe Mode with Command Prompt.”

If necessary, log in with an Administrator account. When the Command Prompt appears, type rstrui.exe, and press Enter.

5. The System Restore Wizard will appear. You can use the recommended restore point, or choose a different one and click Next. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the System Restore.

Select a restore point.

Scenario 3: Perform a system image recovery

Performing a system image recovery involves three steps: creating a system image, creating a system repair disc, and then restoring your computer from the system image. Let's take a closer look.

Part 1: Create the System Image

As mentioned, a system image needs to be created from an earlier state of the system. Therefore, you need to create a system image for your computer first. You can refer to the methods provided in the article, such as using the Todo Backup tool or Backup and Restore (Windows 7).

Part 2: Create a System Repair Disc

A system image is technically required for system image recovery. When you back up a system image to a local disk, external drive, or network drive, it's typically not an issue to access it at boot time. But what if the system fails and you can't access the image?

When your computer crashes unexpectedly, you can use a System Repair Disc (first introduced with Windows 7 but also available for later versions of Windows) to boot up your computer. You can use it to diagnose and fix major problems that might be preventing Windows from starting up correctly.

Here's how to create a System Repair Disc for Windows 11/10/8/7:

Step 1: Click the “Start” button, choose “Control Panel,” and then click “Backup and Restore.” Next, click “Create a system repair disc.”

Click Create a system repair disc

Step 2: Choose the CD or DVD drive to create the system repair disc, and click Create disc.

Choose DVD or CD

Step 3: The system will automatically create the System Repair Disc until the process is complete.

Step 4. When the system repair disc is successfully created, click “Close” to finish.

Part 3: Restore your computer from a system image

We'll gradually show you how to perform a System Image Recovery on Windows 11/10/8.1/7. If you're using an older version of Windows, the interface might look slightly different, but the steps are very similar.

Step 1: Start System Image Recovery from the computer.

If it turns on, go to Settings > Update & Security > Recovery, and click Restart Now to enter Advanced Startup.

Click Schedule Backup.

If your computer won't boot, use the System Repair Disc. Insert it into your CD/DVD drive, and then restart your computer. Plug in the external hard drive with the system image.

Step 2: You'll then see the “Choose an option” screen, and from there go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Startup Settings > System Image Recovery.

Step 3: System Image Recovery will scan for system images on all available disks and display them in a list. Select the latest system image, and click “Next.”

4. Confirm the action. The System Image Recovery tool will warn you that everything on your hard drive will be deleted and replaced with the system image you selected. Click “Finish” to proceed.

Step 5: When the “Recover your computer” wizard appears, select the system image you want to restore. By default, Windows suggests using the most recent system image. Click “Next” to proceed.

Select the system image you want to recover, as shown below:

Step 6. You need to choose another restore point.

• Format and repartition the disk: Choose this if you're restoring to a new hard drive.
• Exclude disks: If you have multiple hard drives and don't want to restore the system image backup to all of them, select the ones you want to exclude from the recovery process here.
• Advanced options: Set more options for your system image recovery. You can change where Windows looks for your system image backup file. Choose this if your system image is located on a network.

The system image restore process will begin, and you'll see a progress bar on the screen. This may take some time to complete, depending on the size of the system image and the speed of your hard drive.

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Part 7: Troubleshooting System Image Backup and Recovery Issues

You may encounter some issues when creating a system image backup or restoring a system image to your computer. This article will show you how to fix errors for failed system image backup and restore.

System image backup failed.

Many users are accustomed to creating system images as a precaution against unexpected system crashes or data loss. However, for various reasons, a system image backup might fail. System image backup failure can mainly fall into the following two scenarios:

Scenario 1: The image copy is on another volume

As the error message indicates, the issue with the backup location is causing the Windows Image Backup to fail. You can try the following methods to troubleshoot and resolve the problem.

Press the Windows key + X, and type SFC /SCANNOW, then hit Enter. This will help fix the issue or inform you of any errors present on your computer. Once it's done, you should be able to create a system image without issues.

Scenario 2: There is not enough disk space to create the shadow copy

As the error message states, this issue occurs when you attempt to back up a source partition with insufficient space. To resolve the Windows System Image Backup failure due to lack of disk space, you should either extend the system partition or free up more space on the system drive.

In general, you should have at least 50 MB of free space when backing up volumes less than 500 MB. If the volume is greater than 500 MB, you need 320 MB or more of free space.

If the Windows Image Backup still fails after following these steps, you can resort to a Todo Backup tool. It can help you create a system image backup easily and hassle-free.

"System image recovery failed"

Another issue you might encounter is System Image Recovery failing when attempting to restore an image on your computer. Here are some methods to resolve this issue in different scenarios.

Scenario 1: System Image Recovery fails with no disks available

This error occurs for one of two reasons: The disk partition you want to restore to is smaller than the partition was when it was backed up, or the target disk uses the FAT32 file system.

Method 1: Clean the Target Drive

Step 1: Create a Windows installation disc or bootable USB that the computer can boot from.

Step 2: Go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command Prompt.

Step 3. Type each of the following commands, pressing Enter after each one:

- diskpart - list disk - select disk n: (replace "n" with the number of the target disk) - clean - exit

Method 2: Convert the Target Drive to NTFS

You need to access the Windows Recovery Environment and use the Command Prompt to do this. In the CMD window, type the command convert n: /fs:ntfs (replace n with the drive letter) and press Enter.

Scenario 2: System Image Recovery Failed with Error 0x80070057

Method 1: Remove the Bootable USB Drive

If you see this issue in Windows 7, it might be because Windows 7 is recognizing the USB device that you used to boot your computer as an internal hard drive. When you try to restore the image, Windows detects that the image doesn't match the physical disk on your computer. Some forums suggest that you disconnect the USB drive before you start the recovery process.

Method 2: Use the CHKDSK command

This issue can occur due to a damaged hard drive. Therefore, we recommend running a disk check to look for any hard drive errors.

If your computer is bootable, right-click the Start button and select Command Prompt (Admin). If your computer won't start, you'll still need to get into WinRE and the Command Prompt.

Step 2: Type in the command chkdsk c: /f, which will find and fix precise errors on your hard drive.

If both of these fixes for the System Image Restore Failed 0x80070057 error don't work, your system image might be corrupted. You might need to reinstall Windows.

Part VIII: Conclusion

That's all we have for you today on “How to Create a System Image.” Through this article, you learned how to create a system image backup of your current or another computer, how to restore a system image to another computer, and how to troubleshoot issues that may arise during the imaging backup and recovery process.

Worth mentioning is that to avoid any errors when performing such tasks, you can use a Todo Backup tool to assist you. Such a tool can help you accomplish the task easily and quickly. Feel free to download and use it on your computer. Hopefully, you will find what you need in this article.

Part 9: Frequently Asked Questions About Creating System Images

< strong > 1. Are system images and clones the same? < /strong >

Cloning refers to copying the contents of one hard drive to another on a one-to-one basis. In other words, it involves making a perfect replica of a drive so that you can't tell the difference between the source and target drives. If the source drive sustains major damage, a clone lets you restore its data to the target disk. By contrast, imaging involves archiving the data on a hard drive byte for byte to a compressed (but still very large) file, which is then moved to another drive.

2. What's the difference between a system image and a recovery drive?

A more advanced version of a system restore is a system image recovery. A system image recovery will restore an image of your computer, not just reinstall Windows on the system. In other words, your system will be returned to the state it was in when the image was created.

3. Can I boot a Windows image?

System image backups created by third-party software are bootable because they contain partition metadata. Indeed, what good is an image of the C: drive if it won't boot? There's no need to reinstall anything or use a recovery drive.

< strong > 4. Does creating a system image wipe my hard drive?

Normally, creating a system image backup will wipe all data from the target drive. But there's another way. If you want to create a system image and keep the original data on the target drive, you'll need to create a new partition and store the image on the new volume.