Creating a Windows 10 Ghost file allows you to back up and restore data quickly and easily. A Windows 10 Ghost file can back up an entire hard drive into an image file or a partition into an image file, so that if your computer malfunctions, you can quickly restore it.
Installing and restoring a Windows 10 ghost image is similar to installing Windows 10 directly. However, ghost images offer significant advantages over a traditional Windows 10 installation: you can optimize the operating system, install software, and store data within the ghost image itself. Windows 10 already includes a built-in tool called System Image Backup , allowing you to create a Windows 10 ghost image to back up and restore your computer without installing any additional software. Let's explore this further in the article below.
How to create a Windows 10 backup file
If you don't want to spend time creating a Windows 10 Ghost file, you can use the Ghost file below:
Step 1: Click on the Start Menu , type Control Panel , and press Enter.
Step 2: In the Control Panel window that appears, select the "Small icon" display mode and click on " File History".
Step 3: In File History , click on System Image Backup in the bottom left corner of the window.
Step 4: Click on " Create a system image" and select the drive where you want to save the Ghost file, then click " Next".
Step 5: Here you select the drives containing (System) because this is the system drive that must be backed up. Additionally, you can select other data storage drives to back up. Next
Step 6: A confirmation window will appear regarding the creation of the Windows 10 ghost file. Click Start Backup to begin.
The process of creating a Windows 10 ghost file takes approximately 5-10 minutes, depending on your computer's configuration and the data you have.
Step 7: Once the process is complete, click Close to close the window.
Here we will divide it into two cases: the computer can still boot into Windows, and the computer fails to boot.
1. If the computer can still boot into Windows.
You perform the same steps as when creating it; in File History, click on the Recovery option.
Next, select Open System Restore.
In System Restore , check the "Show more restore points" option and select the System Image Restore Point you want to restore.
A recovery confirmation window will appear. Please note that this recovery will revert the system drive to the state it was in when you created the backup of all data files. Therefore, if you have new data, you must copy it to other drives to avoid data loss.
Press Finish to complete the process; the computer will restart automatically, and the recovery will begin.
2. Cases where you cannot access Windows
To restore a Ghost image when Windows fails to boot, follow these steps:
Step 1 : Prepare a Windows installation disc or create a Windows 10 installation USB drive , then proceed with the normal installation. At the Install window , select "Repair your Windows".
Step 2: Select the Troubleshoot option.
Step 3: In Troubleshoot , click on Advanced Options.
Step 4: Select System Image Recovery
Step 5: Check the box next to " Use the latest available system image (recommended)" to select the most recent backup you created to restore Windows, then click Next.
After successful verification, you will be able to easily restore Windows from the Windows 10 ghost image you created earlier. Additionally, you can also ghost Windows 10 using Onekey Ghost, USB, or Norton more simply and quickly.
The above is a guide on creating a Windows 10 Ghost file using the System Image Backup feature. In addition, similar to previous Windows operating systems, you can also create Ghost images using other tools such as Norton Ghost, which is very easy. Good luck!