#CREATE IMAGE OF HARD DRIVE FROM WINDOWS HOW TO#
#CREATE IMAGE OF HARD DRIVE FROM WINDOWS FULL#
#CREATE IMAGE OF HARD DRIVE FROM WINDOWS PASSWORD#

When the backup is complete, Windows gives you the option to create a system repair disc.

#CREATE IMAGE OF HARD DRIVE FROM WINDOWS HOW TO#

RELATED: How to Create and Use a Recovery Drive or System Repair Disc in Windows 8 or 10 Your time will vary depending on your PC and the type of storage to which youвЂ™re backing up.

It took about 2.5 hours when backed up to an external hard disk connected to our PC via USB. In this example, weвЂ™re backing up a drive with about 319 GB of data. YouвЂ™ll see a progress meter as the tool creates the image. If everything looks okay, click the вЂњStart BackupвЂќ button. If anything doesnвЂ™t look right, you can still go back and make adjustments. Typically, we like to create separate image backups for each drive.ДЄt the confirmation screen, notice the amount of space the image may take. You can include other drives if you want, but remember that this will add to the size of the final image. Select where you want to save your backup and then click вЂњNext.вЂќД«y default, the tool only backs up your system drive. It can beВ to an external drive, multiple DVDвЂ™s, or on a network location. You can then decide where you want to save the image. When you first open the tool, it will scan your system for external drives. The process of finding the System Image Backup tool is different in Windows 7 than in Windows 8 and 10, so weвЂ™ll show you to find the tool in all versions, and then explain how to create and use the system image.

#CREATE IMAGE OF HARD DRIVE FROM WINDOWS FULL#

But free is free, and if you donвЂ™t need the extra features, the Windows tool offers a solid way to perform a full backup of your system.

#CREATE IMAGE OF HARD DRIVE FROM WINDOWS PASSWORD#

For example, both support incremental backups, password protected images, and the ability to browse backups for individual files. Third-party apps like like Macrium Reflect or Acronis True Image-at least, the paid versions-do offer some advanced features you wonвЂ™t find in the Windows system image backup tool. RELATED: How to Use All of Windows 10вЂ™s Backup and Recovery Tools With that in mind, though, image backups can still be really handy.

It would be like trying to plug your hard drive into another PC and expecting everything to load well. YouвЂ™re creating an image of your full Windows installation and, since Windows is set up specifically for your hardware, it just wonвЂ™t work as-is in another PC. The biggest disadvantage with system image backups-other than taking a bit longer-is that you canвЂ™tВ restore the backup to a different PC. No need to reinstall Windows or your apps. The advantage of a system imageВ is that if a hard drive crashes, you can replace it, restore the image, and have your system right back to where it was when the image was captured. A system image backup, on the other hand,В is like a full snapshot of an entire hard drive. Normal backup programs, like CrashPlan or WindowsвЂ™ built-in File History feature, essentially copy your files to another location.

Optionally, create a system repair disc that you can use to startВ your computer and restore a backup image.

Choose where you want to save the backup image.

In Windows 10, head to Control Panel > Backup and Restore (Windows 7) > Create a System Image. LetвЂ™s take a look at how toВ create a full backup image of your PC without the need for a third party utility. The built-in backup utilities in Windows are pretty solid.

Create image of hard drive from windows