What is included in Windows system image back up?

surfing69 · 10 Jan 2022

Edition Windows 10 HomeVersion 21H2Installed on ‎30/‎12/‎2021OS build 19044.1415Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 120.2212.3920.0

hello

i would like to know precisely what is included in a system image backup? I have come across various posts in Google which appear to differ considerably.

I am accessing the backup function via the control panel. I have the latest Windows 10 home edition and is fully updated
I see the following when i click on backup and restore window7

when i then go into change settings, I see the following

Does choosing 'Let windows choose' include all my apps and personal data? Also if i set the back up to repeat once a day, does the available space on the target hard drive get smaller and once there isn't any sufficient space for the next system image backup, does windows automatically delete the oldest image? Or does it just stop the backup process?
I have come across another option within the settings where windows replaces the previous system image with the latest.
Please help me understand.

thanks

SIW2 · 10 Jan 2022

It creates an image of the partitions needed by the os. There is an option to include other partitions as well.

The image is stored as a .vhdx file. Subsequent images replace only the changed blocks in the vhdx. The older blocks are moved into shadow storage. When the shadow storage gets full, the oldest blocks are deleted.

When restoring using the supplied gui, it offers to restore various time points from the vhdx and the shadowstorage.

MS have said they arent going to develop the "system image" program any further, presumably because they try and drop things whenever they can to save space/resources and there are 3rd party imaging programs around. They have been saying it for years, so who knows.

It is still there and functions. MS are vague, they havent said anything specific about wbadmin.exe command, which is different from the sdclt.exe that has a gui, though it can be used for similar purpose, i.e. creating vhdx images of partitions.

Vhdx has a lot of advantages as an image format.

To use wbadmin:

adminstrator command prompt:

WBADMIN START BACKUP -backupTarget:f: -include:c:,d:,e:

or

WBADMIN START BACKUP -backupTarget:f: -allCritical

To include chosen partitions, specify them as above separated by a comma for example -include:c:,d:,e:

Specifying -allCritical is essentially the same as system image

surfing69 · 10 Jan 2022

Hello

thank you for quick reply. However I am not sure if you have actually answered my query(?)

SIW2 · 10 Jan 2022

i would like to know precisely what is included in a system image backup?

I already posted it includes all partitions needed by windows, and you can optionally include other partitions.

Everything currently on those partitions that you might want is in the image, the operating system, your programs, your files, your emails, your collection of cat pictures, etc.

So if you have things on partitions other than the partitions that have been automatically selected, you might want to include them by ticking them..

If you restore an image you get back to the position you were in at the moment the image was made.

There is a reason it auto selects only the partitions needed by windows. You might have other partitions with stuff that you are not particulkarlky bothered about so you dont want to bother including them. Or, more likely you are backing up critical files separately, in addition to any images you make.

It is quite common to make an image occasionally ( so you can recover in case of disater like hd failure ).

And to back up any changed critical personal files separately and more frequently using a different program. Something like the free Karens Replicator is excellent if you want it done automatically. Or, if you only have a few new photos/documents you want to back up, you can just manually copy them onto a separate hd whenever you feel the need.

So if there is a disaster, you restore your last image which might be a week ago or even a couple of months ago. So you are up and running again. Then you just copy back the files that you have been backing up regularly.

SIW2 · 10 Jan 2022

It depends on what you are doing.

For many, it is sensible to image the os partitions. It is not necessary to do it very often, perhaps after installing some new programs or other major changes.

Then make copies on a separate disk of any new important photos of your grandkids, or the latest version of your will. That could just be a simple copy and paste.

If there is a lot more going on, e.g if you are writing a novel, you might want something to copy any changes to your writing folder every 5 minutes to a separate disk. Karens Replicator will do that if you tell it, and then you dont have to remember. It is not practical to make an image every 5 minutes.

Bree · 10 Jan 2022

surfing69 said:

i would like to know precisely what is included in a system image backup? I have come across various posts in Google which appear to differ considerably.

That's because there are two separate and quite independent parts to ''Backup & Restore (Windows 7)' and depending on your choices when setting it up you could be using either or both of them.

The first is a backup of just your user files from your libraries, desktop and default folders (documents, Photos, etc.). These are stored in a backup set of multiple .zip files, along with an index and catalog that allows a restore to pick the appropriate zip file(s) to retrieve an individual file from. The primary disadvantage of this is that you can only easily restore files from this backup if you have a PC that has a functional 'Backup & Restore (Windows 7)'.

The second is a system image of the partitions required to restore your working Windows system. This has been described well by SIW2, so I won't repeat that. I will just say that it has a reputation for being temperamental and unreliable.

There is some overlap in what's backed up (and hence the confusion in those Google posts) as the system image will contain the C: partition which by default is where the Users folder is stored, and hence all your user files. However Microsoft provide no way to restore any individual files from a system image, hence the need to back them separately.

Microsoft add to the confusion by making it seem that you are setting it up as if it were a single process, when it's actually two.

However, the best advice of all comes from Microsoft. They have been saying for over four years that their system image backup is a deprecated feature and that you should not even think of using it.

Microsoft said:

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

Features removed or Deprecated in Windows 10 Fall Creators Update

There are plenty of reliable free 3rd-party system image programs available. Macrium Reflect is the one I use, but others swear by Aomei Backupper.

Steve C · 11 Jan 2022

Don't bother using the built-in Windows backup software which is deprecated. Many here including me use the excellent Macrium Reflect backup program. The free version is fine and has the option 'create an image of the partitions required to backup and restore Windows' which automatically selects all the partitions required to restore Windows.

surfing69 · 11 Jan 2022

thank you for all your contributions. I will look into using Macrium Reflect as a result.