Create backup file for the entire system

To create a copy of the recovery system when it is necessary to use 3rd party software, the most famous is Norton Ghost. However, even in Windows there is a similar feature that few people notice.

You have just installed Windows and changed its settings accordingly. If the system fails, it will take a long time to install and reset, even reinstalling the software . takes a lot of time.

But with the way to create images of the system, you can restore Windows to the state of the image initialization. Simply put, the image of the system is a copy, containing all the information, data . available on the C: drive (Windows installation drive), and can be used to restore restore Windows state when needed.

Note: You should create a new image of the system immediately after installing Windows to create a compact image file and recover quickly. Then, regularly create new images (images) to keep Windows software, data and settings up to date.

Here's how to proceed.

Windows 7 : You can perform system image creation on every version of Windows 7.

- Click Start, select ' Getting Started' and click ' Back up your files'.

- Next, click on ' Creat a system image' .

- The process will allow you to select the location to save the created image file. Select 'On a Hard Disk' to save the file on the hard drive, or burn it to a disk ('On one or more DVDS') or save on another computer on the local network.

Note: you should not save the file on the system partition (drive C:)

- Next step, you will be allowed to select other drive partitions (in addition to disk C:) to create disk images (to help recover data on the drive partitions). However, this will make your image file larger.

- Finally, the backup and image file creation process will take place. Depending on the size and the number of drives you choose, the length of time is different.

- After the process is finished, you will be asked to create a system recovery disk. If you created this disk, click No to skip, otherwise, click Yes and perform the burning process. (see also how to "Create a recovery CD before" Windows 7 "cleaning)

How to use: If your Windows has a problem that cannot be fixed, use the recovery disk above to insert it into the CD-Rom and start from there.

- During boot process, select 'Windows Setup [EMS Enabled]'

- After completing the boot process, in the ' System Recovery Options' dialog box, select ' System Image Recovery' , navigate to the image file created above and begin the process of restoring the system's properties and data.

Windows Vista: only available on Ultimate, Business and Enterprise versions.

The process is the same as in Windows 7, click on the Start button, enter 'backup' in the search dialog box and select ' Backup and Restore System' .

In the next window that appears, you will see there are 2 backup forms:

- Back up files: only backup data on the drive.

- Back up Computer: backup all data, properties, settings of the system.

Depending on the intended use, select the appropriate backup forms, and proceed with the same steps as above.

Windows XP: this method is unfortunately not possible on Windows XP.

The above is a simple way to backup the entire system and restore it when needed. With this tip, you can conduct regular backups in case, especially without having to resort to specialized software, most of them are paid software.