Clean Install Windows 10 Directly without having to Upgrade First  

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  1. Posts : 3,367
    W10 Pro x64/W7 Ultimate x64 dual boot main - W11 Triple Boot Pending
       #220

    A system image is always a good thing to have onhand as I can tell from having restored a few over the years! With everything on and running good that's always the right moment to see one made up! :)

    As for the old 32gb SSD that could make a good lunch box drive for sampling the other OS's Flavor of the Month since you don't actually need over 32gb to check out the latest distro! You could set it aside for something like that if not opting to run anything on VMs. Simply unplug the 10 host drive first to eliminate any Grub trashing 10 boot sector concerns and have it as a test drive. It's still a bitt too small for the Windows Insider Preview builds since you would some 60gb roughly to have enough drive space just for the basics.
      My Computers


  2. Posts : 8
    Win7 Pro 64bit
       #221

    I appreciate your input Brink & Night Hawk!

    Well, my issue with System Image is that it wants to image EVERYTHING.. or at least that's what I understand from this page on the Microsoft website: What is a system image?. (I've never made a System Image though.) For example, I have a fast 1TB drive in here which I only use as a Scratch Disk for Photoshop and Premiere, so it's full of "temp" files which make no sense to back up.. I have another drive, 2TB, which is completely backed up, that contains my video work, so again, no reason to back it up. Finally, I have my system drive (500GB) and my storage drive (2TB), for a total of 5.5GB... OK, none of these drives are full, but I definitely have well-over 3TB of data on here (combined, I mean) so to make a system image I would require an empty 4TB drive. Do I have it right?

    Restoring from that System Image is also a bit weird: say my system drive dies, I replace it and now I want to restore... I would first need to wipe all data off my scratch, video and storage drives in order for the System Image to be restored, no? (And this, in turn, would require me to either boot into DOS or something just to wipe the drives, or physically connect them to another system, since, given my example, this computer has no OS, so there'd be no other way for me to wipe the drives.)

    Again, I may be misunderstanding something, but to me, keeping a "clean clone" makes much more sense: if the system drive dies, I get a new one, push the clone to it, and I'm up and running in a much shorter time than would be required to restore a System Image. Yes, I will have to reinstall some applications, but at least I'm not imaging a few terabytes' worth of data, a lot of which is useless (i.e. the scratch drive) and the rest of which is fully-backed-up.


    Looking forward to your guys' thoughts on all this!

    Thanks again,

    Dany
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 134,237
    Windows 11 Pro (x64) 23H2 Build 22631.3296
       #222

    All you need to do is use Macrium Reflect and make a complete system IMAGE, to a 2nd drive, then make a rescue USB disk using Macrium Reflect. When or if you ever needed to completely restore your C drive your system image can do this, and you will not lose any of your apps. You can also use the same image to put on a new drive if you were replacing an older drive. System Image is a better method than cloning your C drive using Macrium Reflect Free version. :)

    A system image is a complete copy of your C-Drive including all of your C drives partitions also. This is the BEST method to use.
      My Computers


  4. Posts : 8
    Win7 Pro 64bit
       #223

    Thanks Mike! I will check out Macrium Reflect then.

    In this case, would it be correct to say that the info on the MS website I mentioned above (What is a system image?) is incorrect, since it specifically states that it images all the files and everything? (Or is that how MS's implementation of System Image works, whereas Macrium Reflect's actually makes sense? )


    Dany
    Last edited by danytancou; 06 Feb 2016 at 14:50.
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 134,237
    Windows 11 Pro (x64) 23H2 Build 22631.3296
       #224

    danytancou said:
    Thanks Mike! I will check out Macrium Reflect then.

    In this case, would it be correct to say that the info on the MS website I mentioned above (What is a system image?
    ) is incorrect, since it specifically states that it images all the files and everything? (Or is that how MS's implementation of System Image works, whereas Macrium Reflect's actually makes sense? )


    Dany
    I don't think the way MS makes their image backup is quite the same method. Lots of us on here prefer 3rd party programs, like Macrium Reflect and their are other ones too. For my own personal choice I prefer a program like Macrium Reflect Free over using MS backup program. But it is your choice on what program that you use. Try it out, use it for a little while, make your bootable rescue disk, which is VERY important step. Once you install Macrium on your hard drive, click on "other tasks" from main menu, from their you will be able to have Macrium make your bootable rescue disk, and it will make it bootable for you.
    Then I would suggest to test out your USB stick, just to make sure it works

    A system image is a Complete image of everything on your C drive, including all your partitions. This can be used in different ways, 1 way is to restore your OS to the last time it was stable, depending on if you made your backup when your system WAS stable. Another way you can use your image, is to install your C-drive on a NEW hard drive, or SSD.
      My Computers


  6. Posts : 8
    Win7 Pro 64bit
       #225

    Makes sense.. will do & come back with questions if needed! (Though really, that should be a different discussion, as we've veered WAY off on this thread! Sorry! )


    D.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 3,367
    W10 Pro x64/W7 Ultimate x64 dual boot main - W11 Triple Boot Pending
       #226

    The Windows backup option will only take a snapshot of the C OS drive and nothing else as well as not seeing the backup compressed down in size as a 3rd party software would. I found that to be the case using Acronis True Image here. In fact I still have the 2010 Home edition in use on 10.

    The advantage of going with a full paid for version to make a note of here is not only being able to create an image of any drive but also the flexibility in some case to image more then in one back up! You simply have to direct the backup as well as recovery tools to backup which ones and where the backup will see as the destination as well as what backup needs to be restored to which drive requiring user attention. It's a good thing I upgraded the size of the two previously seen 1tb storage/backup drives with a brand new pair of 2tb drives if I was planning to see a dual OS drive image backup made!

    Clean Install Windows 10 Directly without having to Upgrade First-acronis-ti-home-2010-backup-both-os-drives.jpg

    I think I may have to plan a home server with the network backup options instead?! :)
      My Computers


  8. Posts : 15,443
    Windows10
       #227

    Night Hawk said:
    The Windows backup option will only take a snapshot of the C OS drive and nothing else as well as not seeing the backup compressed down in size as a 3rd party software would. I found that to be the case using Acronis True Image here. In fact I still have the 2010 Home edition in use on 10.

    The advantage of going with a full paid for version to make a note of here is not only being able to create an image of any drive but also the flexibility in some case to image more then in one back up! You simply have to direct the backup as well as recovery tools to backup which ones and where the backup will see as the destination as well as what backup needs to be restored to which drive requiring user attention. It's a good thing I upgraded the size of the two previously seen 1tb storage/backup drives with a brand new pair of 2tb drives if I was planning to see a dual OS drive image backup made!

    Clean Install Windows 10 Directly without having to Upgrade First-acronis-ti-home-2010-backup-both-os-drives.jpg

    I think I may have to plan a home server with the network backup options instead?! :)
    All the main free imaging tools can backup multiple drives (eg Macrium Reflect Free, Aoemi, Easus Todo) in one image file.

    No need to pay for image backup tools in the average domestic use situation.
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 3,367
    W10 Pro x64/W7 Ultimate x64 dual boot main - W11 Triple Boot Pending
       #228

    cereberus said:
    All the main free imaging tools can backup multiple drives (eg Macrium Reflect Free, Aoemi, Easus Todo) in one image file.

    No need to pay for image backup tools in the average domestic use situation.
    And typically the actual support seen in any product for doing just that comes with the paid license! Once you buy the license the full potentials with most softwares are then unlocked. That's the difference being seen between paid and free. With the free version you would need to see separate images for each drive being made once you go over a certain amount. As for the quick and fast solution for the OS drive however most 3rd party programs will have a tendency to compress data down in order to see smaller sizes for images on disk. That was the only thing about the backup option already seen in Windows being a drawback besides any change in drives or drive configurations having an effect.
      My Computers


  10. Posts : 4
    Windows 10 Home
       #229

    very nice thread, will be doing this to try fix a problem I have at the moment
      My Computer


 

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