System Image question

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  1. Posts : 12
    Windows 10 Pro version 22H2
       #1

    System Image question


    I've read a bit here. Not much in the grand scheme of things, but enough to know that this has been discussed for a long time.

    I've so dreaded the amount of work and effort I was going to have to put in to force myself off of Windows 7 and onto Window 10 that I got away with waiting almost 2 years after support of Windows 7 ended before attempting the transition. So far I have about 200 hours into getting Windows 10 to work the way I want it to and it's absolutely critical that I can to return to the state of the OS (Registry, Group Policies, Executables and Configurations) in case a random regedit or "Get-AppxPackage Microsoft.YourPhone -AllUsers | Remove-AppxPackage" goes wild.

    I do have an image taken with the Windows 10 "Backup and Restore (Window 7)" process. Do I have any chance at all restoring a System Image taken 5 days ago before the install of Kindle for PC hung up on me and mangled my instantiation of edge (which I hate and don't use anyway).

    What is the site accepted system image backup and restore solution? I think someone said something about Macrium. What is it exactly that I need? I may also need to understand how to restore an EFI.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 18,044
    Win 10 Pro 64-bit v1909 - Build 18363 Custom ISO Install
       #2

    Hello @Mumblefratz,
    Welcome to TenForums.

    As a start . . .

    Personally, I would stay clear of the Windows Built-In Imaging & Backup option for the reasons I have given below.

    Information:

    DOWNSIDE:

    It is common knowledge that most of the time you CAN'T trust ANY of the MS built-in Backup or Image facilities because they just DON'T work. The System Imaging facility is a deprecated feature which is NO longer being developed or updated [ it used the same executables in every version of W10 ]. Even MS say that the built-in System Imaging facility should NOT be used . . .

    System Image Backup (SIB) Solution
    We recommend that users use full-disk backup solutions from other vendors.

    SOURCE: > Features Removed or Deprecated in Windows 10



    UPSIDE:

    If you do use the built-in MS System Imaging facility, then a Recovery Drive USB from almost any version of Win 10 is capable of restoring any other version of a Win 10 MS System Image. A Recovery Drive USB and the System Repair Disk DVD are functionally identical. The only requirement is that it is the same Win 10 bit type [ x86 or x64 ] as the System Image to be restored.



     Macrium Reflect - Imaging & Backup

    Macrium Reflect is a trusted and recommended source that is widely used in this forum, therefore, there is plenty of help available for ANY questions or advice if needed.

    Download => Macrium Reflect - FREE Edition

    Quote from their website . . .

    FREE Edition

    A free back up, disk imaging, and cloning solution capable of meeting the needs of both commercial and personal users.

    Protect your data, upgrade your hard disk or try new operating systems safe in the knowledge that everything is securely saved in an easily recovered backup file. Macrium Reflect supports back up to local, network, and USB drives, and is licensed for both home and business use.



    I hope this helps.
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 4,512
    several
       #3

    I do have an image taken with the Windows 10 "Backup and Restore (Window 7)" process. Do I have any chance at all restoring a System Image taken 5 days ago
    Yes, of course. If you need to restore that it is quite straightforward.

    One way is to boot the installation media.

    On the window with the “Install now” button. Ignore that and click the “Repair your computer” link at the bottom-left corner of the window. That brings up the same system repair tools as the recovery drive or from the boot-up menu.

    Click “Troubleshoot”, click “Advanced Options,” and then click “System Image Recovery.”
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 18,044
    Win 10 Pro 64-bit v1909 - Build 18363 Custom ISO Install
       #4

    Hello @Mumblefratz,

    Have a look at these . . .

    > How to Create a System Image Backup in Windows
    > How to Do a System Image Recovery in Windows

    I know that they are for Win 7, but they should work OK.

    I hope this helps.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 31,480
    10 Home x64 (22H2) (10 Pro on 2nd pc)
       #5

    Mumblefratz said:
    I do have an image taken with the Windows 10 "Backup and Restore (Window 7)" process. Do I have any chance at all restoring a System Image taken 5 days ago....

    Yes, SIW2 has already given you the instructions. "Backup and Restore (Window 7)" tends to be temperamental and unreliable. Its main failing is that sometimes it fails to recognise a perfectly good system image as being available to restore. When it does see its images, then the restore should be reliable.

    What is the site accepted system image backup and restore solution? I think someone said something about Macrium. What is it exactly that I need? I may also need to understand how to restore an EFI.

    Macrium Reflect Free does get mentioned a lot. It basically does the same job of creating and restoring a system image. If you select its option to 'Create an image of the partition(s) required to backup and restore Windows' then the single image file it creates will contain all the partitions you need, including the EFI partition.
      My Computers


  6. Posts : 12
    Windows 10 Pro version 22H2
    Thread Starter
       #6

    Wow. A lot of good information. It's going to take me a few days to digest it all but it looks like there's more than enough information here to ensure that I have a reliable method of OS backup and restore going forward (which is the primary importance) with a reasonable chance of being able to backup to a state from a few days ago prior to a bit of unpleasantness that I wished I hadn't done.

    I do have another complicating factor which is that the WindowsImageBackup folder of the System Image I would like to restore was initially created on a USB drive which had to be shared and mapped as a network drive in order for the "create system image" functionality to save to a USB drive.

    I have gotten through the restore process 3 or 4 times where it has found the image as a legitimate system image only to have it quickly fail once the restore process started. I'm thinking that this maybe due to the network mapping trick used to get the image saved to the USB drive in the first place. I also suspect that the mediaID file might defeat simply copying the WindowsImageBackup folder and all it's contents to a hard drive before trying to restore. Does anyone know if this is an issue? Could I just replace the mediaID file that was created on the USB with one created on the same HDD where I'd like to move the WindowsImageBackup folder?
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 4,512
    several
       #7

    If you have done something strange that affects the ms restore ui, it can be accessed and restored by other tools that can work with vhd files.

    For example to restore the os partition, open the vhd with diskgenius ( free portable version works fine ) .


    System Image question-dg-vhd1.jpg


    System Image question-dg-vhd2.jpg

    Rt click the partition image you want to restore from it and select clone partition.

    System Image question-dg-vhd3.jpg
    Last edited by SIW2; 19 Nov 2021 at 04:16.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 4,512
    several
       #8

    The most common restore is just replacing the existing os partition with the contents of the partition image you made earlier. Piece of cake.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 12
    Windows 10 Pro version 22H2
    Thread Starter
       #9

    SIW2 said:
    The most common restore is just replacing the existing OS partition with the contents of the partition image you made earlier. Piece of cake.
    This is getting a bit ahead of myself as my first step is to get an OS backup that is guaranteed to be restorable (which I take it everyone is agreed can be done with Macrium Reflect). Once I have that then I’m free to try pretty much anything I want because I can always at least get back to the current state of my OS registry settings and the like.

    However, I would like to understand what you just told me above. Forgive me if this screws up but this is my first attempt at including images on this site.

    The following are what the System Image and Partitions look like using the tools I currently have.

    System Image question-directory.png

    System Image question-partitions.png
    Are you perhaps suggesting that all I need to do is to somehow restore the 8c87c31f-75c0-4599-a709-18d073ed04a1.vhdx file into the OS (C:) partition and I will have restored the OS complete with all the registry tweaks, group policy settings and program configurations that existed at the time this image was taken? I see no way I could have screwed up the EFI System Partition or the Recovery Partitions (I assume this is the WinRE, Windows Recovery Environment) so there's not much point in restoring them.

    Am I understanding this correctly?
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 4,512
    several
       #10

    yes
      My Computer


 

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