Windows
over the years have introduced some useful features, some are good
and others adequately do what there meant to. However there is a
couple of features that Windows operating systems provide with most
of there modern versions.
This
is the ability to back up your system after you've installed all your
various drivers and programs. Such as anti-virus software, programs
that take a while to install and all your operating system's updates.
If
your like me and your always deleting and uninstalling stuff off your
computer - and accidentally uninstalling programs and tools your
operating system relies on, things can go wrong - then having a back
up of your computers system image is great.
The
system image is like a snapshot of how your computer is set up, this
is better done when you have just installed your operating system,
but can be done pretty much anytime you want. This then allows you to
roll back your PC to a pre-configured state of your making and not
end up at the clean install you may end up having to do.
Which
of course means you have to install all your programs, drivers and
updates again, and we don't want that.
System
image backup is much like system restore, except that system restore
can only go far back as how many restore points you have stored. This
is great if you only need to undo some settings that don't quite work
the way you intended, but for instance if you uninstalled a program
or registry key that your whole system relies on and you didn't have
system protection on, then you have no system restore point to roll
back and ultimately have to refresh your machine. But then realize that you never made that system image - like all your computer nerd
friends recommended you did. Well then your final choice is to
refresh right back to the start of everything, no programs, no
drivers and of course no updates.
A
System Image is always kept separate from your most used Hard Drive,
this is to prevent data loss of the System Image. You may back up on
a DVD disc, a USB drive, a separate Hard Drive or Solid State Drive
or even an external Hard Drive.
It's
simple and here's how:
To
begin with click Start then go to Control Panel.
Once
here you want to navigate System and Security>Backup and Restore.
On
the left hand side of this window that just opened, you want to click
on Create A System Image.
You
will then see a new window with a smaller window in front of it
saying 'Looking
For Backup Devices'.
At
this point, the software will quickly look for anywhere other than your C: drive
to store the backup image of your system. For my PC it chose the
first partition on my 2nd Disk Drive labelled 'Storage'.
You
also get the option to back up your image onto DVD but this will use
multiple discs.
So
make sure you have the drive that you want the backup saved to
selected and click next.
You
will then be presented with a window pretty much summarizing what
drive you will be doing the image of.
Then
click next again.
It
will confirm with you the selected options, then click Start Backup
and the backup will start.
It
will take several minutes to complete, once done you will be prompted
to make a Repair Disc, ordinarily if you haven't got one then you
would create one at this point. More about the Repair Disc to follow.
When
the image is done just confirm it has saved in the location you
wanted it, it will be in a folder called 'WindowsImageBackup'
Windows Repair Disc
The
Windows Repair Disc is a tool that allows you to boot into Windows
even if you can't get into Windows normally. It allows you to try and
repair your Operating System so you can boot back into Windows and
continue using it.
The
repair disc isn't to be confused with your Recovery Disc that you got
with your computer, that lets you reset your pc back to default
settings. Typically you get a Recovery Disc with a pre-built PC and
your Hard Drive is Partitioned off where the recovery files stored.
Your Recovery Disc will access this drive to reset your machine to an
Out of the Box state.
The
Repair Disc differs, this allows you to fix a fault and doesn't reset
or format your computer. Also to note, that you don't get a Repair
Disk with your computer - unless you have the Operating System
install disc which should have the Repair tools on there – you are
expected to create this yourself. It's dead easy to create one and
like the System Image Back-up best to do one as soon as you can, so
you always have a way of fixing your machine. I mention the Repair
Disc in this article, because when you want to re-image your machine
you will use the Repair Disc to start the process.
To
create a System Repair Disc
To
create a System Repair Disc you will need to – from the desktop –
click Start then Control Panel.
From
here go to System and Security>Backup and Restore.
On
the left hand pane of the new window you want to click on Create A
System Repair Disc.
This
will open a window prompting you to select a disc drive that you will
insert or have already inserted a blank DVD disc.
Then
simply click Create Disc, it will take a few minutes and when its
finished you will be asked to label the disc with the operating
version, i.e. Windows Repair Disc – Windows 7 64-bit.
When
ever you have a problem with your Operating System, then insert this
disc into your disc drive and restart your PC. When prompted press
any key to boot the disc, it will then load the files needed and you
will enter into the recovery option menu. From here you have six
options to use that best suits the situation you have gotten into.
Startup
Repair – this is your go to option, this may very well fix what
ever problem it is your having and even better it does it
automatically. Its great for fixing issues that are preventing
windows from booting, like a missing key boot file such as
Bootmgr.exe
System
Restore - this option will let you roll back your computer to a
point before you installed or made changes to a program, when you
roll back it will change the programs settings but you wont lose any
data.
System
Image Recovery - this lets you access the system image you made and
re-image your system back to how you want it. This is probably best
used if the previous 2 options font fix your issue(s). With a system
image you will lose all your previous data unless you have it backed
up somewhere like a USB drive, External HDD or even a cloud storage.
Windows
Memory Diagnostic – this checks your computers memory hardware for
any errors. The tool wont cause any damage when testing you memory.
It's used to try and uncover the reasons why your pc may hang, freeze
or crash.
Command
Prompt – this opens the all too familiar command prompt, if you are
familiar with using command prompt then go right and use this to type
commands you know in.
Hi. I’m Designer of Blog Magic. I’m CEO/Founder of ThemeXpose. I’m Creative Art Director, Web Designer, UI/UX Designer, Interaction Designer, Industrial Designer, Web Developer, Business Enthusiast, StartUp Enthusiast, Speaker, Writer and Photographer. Inspired to make things looks better.
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