I have made a Recovery Drive on a USB thumb drive.
I have also made an ISO on DVD using MediaCreationTool.
After windows updates, especially feature updates, do either or both of these need to be renewed ?
Hello @rufford155,
Did you use the MS Recovery Drive facility?
If you did use the built-in 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.
I would definitely make sure that you create regular System Images. If you need further advice or instructions on this, then please let us know and we will provide them for you.
I hope this helps!
Many thanks Paul for your advice.
I made an ISO but was unable to burn it as it is too big for a single DVD.
Why doesn't MS make the thing smaller to facilitate easier burning?
I have created a Sytem Image on an external HDD as you advised.
Took ages and ages so not something to do very often.
The pop-up message said "Windows is saving the backup" which I found confusing as I thought I was saving a system image.
There is a separate option displayed to "Set up back-up" - so what sort of backup would that be?
And another to "Create a system repair disc" - is the the same as my ISO ?
And in settings to there is "Create a Recovery Drive" - which I have already done on USB.
I don't understand the difference between all of these or whether I really need ALL of them !
I already backup all my files quite frequently to both an external HDD and to separate thumb drives using an excellent program called FreeFileSync.
I also use Google Backup & Sync permanently so I have 3 backups in total.
If a backup or download is too large for a DVD+R or DVD-R then one would have to use a DVD+R/DL [DualLayer] disc that can hold about 8GB but may be harder to find locally and the drive has to support it, usually marked on the face of the tray. I use the DL discs for the downloads from Microsoft using the MCT/Media Creation Tool, have about a dozen from the Verbatim 50-pack on hand.
Berton : Many thanks, I knew I need a DL disc but I don't have any - never needed before - so Amazon here I come!
Paul : System Image was supposedly created successfully but I am puzzled :-
The file "WindowsImageBackup" written to the external HDD is only 15.8 kb according to Properties - ?????
BUT - The disc usage is 351 GB although total of the items on it comes to only about 142 GB so over 200 GB is missing !
So is there any explanation ? Is the Image there or not ? If not, where is it ?
Hello @rufford155,
[1] What did you use in the end? Did you perform a Clean Install, an In-Place-Upgrade, or something else?
[2] What did you use to create the System Image [ Windows Built-In, Macrium reflect, something else ]?
[3] I would assume that is to setup a regular automatic Backup.
[4] An ISO is different to a System Repair Boot Disk.
[5] OK.
[6] OK.
I hope this helps.
Hello Paul, thank you for your reply - I hope you are still there - I am back after a holiday break- I hope you are well and had a good Xmas - and I wish you (and all my readers) a happy and healthy New Year.
The answers to your last post are as follows :
(1) I haven't done anything with the ISO, I just thought it would be useful to have but now I am not so sure. I haven't yet been able to burn it so it's just taking up space on my HDD.
(2) I used the Windows built-in facility to create the system image, so my earlier query remains :-
System Image was supposedly created successfully but the file "WindowsImageBackup" written to the external HDD is only 15.8 kb according to its Properties. The external HDD Properties state 351 GB used although the total of the items on it adds up to only about 142 GB so over 200 GB appears missing !
Is there any explanation ? Is the Image there or not ? If not, where is it ?
(3) OK
(4) I hope I am beginning to understand now that the ISO is to install or re-install Windows but the System Repair Disk is for what it says on the tin - to repair a broken PC/OS - so I do need to create this disk too.
I would be very grateful for any further advice, thanks.
Hello @rufford155,
[1] Can you explain exactly what you want to do.
[2] Regarding the built-in MS System Imaging facility you are better off using a different System Image process [ Macrium Reflect, AOMEI, etc ] because . . .
Information:
DOWNSIDE:
It is common knowledge that most of the time youCAN'Ttrust ANY of the MS built-in Backup or Image facilities because they justDON'Twork. The System Imaging facility is a deprecated feature which isNOlonger being developed or updated [ it used the same executables in every version of W10 ]. EvenMSsay that the built-in System Imaging facility shouldNOTbe 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.
[3] You need to burn the ISO to aUSBso that it isBootable. You can then use theBootable MediatoClean Install, perform aIn-Place-Upgrade - Repair Install, etc.
> How to Clean Install Windows 10
> How to Do a Repair Install of Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade
> Create bootable USB Installer if install.wim is Greater than 4GB
I hope this helps!
Many thanks again Paul.
I will need to mull this over for a bit now - getting slow on the uptake in my old age !
What I am hoping to achieve is to have ready everything necessary to fix this laptop should disaster strike.
When that happened to my previous 8.1 machine I was unable to fix it although I did have what I thought was a recovery USB and an ISO on DVD as well as a Kaspersky rescue disk - nothing worked.
I was keen not to move to Windows 10 but was faced with no other option.
Luckily I had backed up all my stuff on both HDD and USB and cloud which I continue to do before attempting any update.
Yes, if you selected the option to put system files on the Recovery Drive when you made it. A Version update changes Windows system files so the Recovery drive needs to be remade or it would reinstall the old files and you'd have to redo the update.
Create a Bootable USB Recovery Drive - TenForumsTutorials
Recover from a drive to Reset Windows 10 - TenForumsTutorials
If you did not select the option to put system files on the Recovery Drive when you made it then there is no particular need to update it after Version updates or Cumulative updates because you'd only be using the Recovery Drive as a tool for allowing you to run repairs.
If you are still in any doubt then I suggest posting in one of those tutorials since the other posters there are familiar with the subject.
Personally, I don't use a Recovery drive because my preferred recovery method is to restore a system image from a third-party utility such as Macrium Reflect or Acronis TI.
Each Version update has its own ISO and you need that to run a Repair install [aka InPlace upgrade] for any new Version or, using an InstallUSB made from the ISO, to run a Clean/Custom install of that new Version.
There are methods for incorporating Cumulative updates into ISOs but they are, to my mind, quite complex & involved. I just keep a copy of the latest CU & its SSU instead. So if I ran a Repair install using the ISO I would have to repeat the CU [and any attendant SSU] afterwards.
Denis
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