System disk image

Tally

New Member
Messages
5
Hi Y'all,
I'm new to the forum and to Windows 8, and I need some help. I have a new Gateway DX4870 desktop computer running Windows 8. Before I load it up (and possibly screw it up), I want to create an image of the hard drive to DVD’s for protection.
I have used Power Quest Drive Image for years with my Windows XP machine, but apparently that product is now defunct.
I have tried Nova Backup, Shadow Protect, and Image for Windows. None of these will create a bootable disk to use for restoring an image if Windows is inop. They claim to, and they burn something to disk, and say 'completed successfully', but none are bootable.
Yes, my computer will boot from a bootable disk. I made one with Recovery Management in Windows just to prove the computer will boot from a bootable disk. It works.
Norton Ghost and Paragon say they do not support Windows 8.
Does anyone have successful experience with an imaging backup product which will create a hard disk image to DVD's, and a bootable disk to restore said image on a Gateway DX computer running Windows 8.
Thanks for any help.
Cheers Tally
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway DX4870 desktop
There are two aspects to this.

1) Bootable recovery program. Most imaging products will make a bootable recov cd/flash to load the recovery program into memory. When it has loaded, you can remove the cd/flash

2) The backup image. This can be placed on an HD,network share, dvd's or usb.

You navigate to the backup image after booting up the recovery program

I don't know of any that have them both on the same removable boot media.

Some will create a special backup partition on an HD - that will contain the bootable recovery program, and your backup images.

I don't know about Norton , but Paragon HDM Pro and HDM Suite now support win8. The other products will be updated soon.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    7/8/ubuntu/Linux Deepin
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
Acronis True Image 2013 supports Windows 8 as well.

I would not recommend backing up to DVD though. You would be much better off getting an external hard drive and doing a image backup there on a regular basis.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro X64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo IdeaCenter K450
    CPU
    Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
    Motherboard
    Lenovo
    Memory
    16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Integrated HD Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP h2207
    Screen Resolution
    1680x1050@59Hz
    Hard Drives
    250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD;
    2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2;
    1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
    PSU
    500W
    Keyboard
    Wired USB
    Mouse
    Wired USB
    Internet Speed
    3GB Up, 30GB Down
    Browser
    SeaMonkey
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender; MBAM Pro
    Other Info
    UEFI/GPT
    PLDS DVD-RW DH16AERSH
Easeus and Macrium also support 8.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    7/8/ubuntu/Linux Deepin
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
I have had success creating and restoring system images with Windows 7 File Recovery, which can be found in the Control Panel.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    CyberPower
    CPU
    i5 2500K
    Motherboard
    Asus P8P67 Deluxe
    Memory
    8 gigabytes Corsair PC3-12800 DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 460 superclocked
    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic 23" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    128 Gb Samsung 840 Pro SSD
    128 Gb Kingston Hyper X SSD
    1 Tb Western Digital Caviar Black HDD
    PSU
    1000 watt Coolermaster modular
    Case
    Coolermaster Haf X full tower
    Cooling
    Coolermaster Hyper 212 plus
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitec M310 USB cordless
    Internet Speed
    1.5 mb/s download 300 kb/s upload
I have had success creating and restoring system images with Windows 7 File Recovery, which can be found in the Control Panel.

Yep! That's what I use.

Simple and reliable.

And works well.

Had issues with both Acronis and Macrium.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Enterprise 64-bit (7 Ult, Vista & XP in V-Box)
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire Ethos AS8951G 'Super-Laptop'.
    CPU
    Intel Sandy-Bridge i7-2670QM quad-core
    Motherboard
    Acer
    Memory
    8GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 3000HD / Ge-Force GT555M 2 gigs
    Sound Card
    Realtek/5.1 Dolby built-in including speakers.
    Monitor(s) Displays
    18.4" full-HD
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1024
    Hard Drives
    2x750GB Toshiba internal, 1x500GB Seagate external, 1x2TB Seagate external, 1x640GB Toshiba pocket-drive, 1x640GB Samsung pocket drive.
    PSU
    Stock
    Case
    Laptop
    Cooling
    Air-cooled
    Mouse
    I/R cordless.
    Internet Speed
    Borderline pathetic.
I have been using Acronis True Image for years and am very satisfied with it. I think you can download a trial version of Acronis 2013, install it and then create a Media Recue disk then uninstall it. Acronis 2013 is not exactly working in Windows 8 100%, I had problem with it, there is post in this forum about the problem Acronis caused in Windows 8 and have to uninstall it. But for your purpose, a Recue disk is all you need. I created it using a USB Flash drive and it seems to run faster than a CD. For a new system like yours, it should take less than 10" to create an image file.

I also agree with Ztruker, don't backup to DVD, use external hard drive formatted with NTFS so that everything is backed up in one single file.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    8.1x64PWMC Ubuntu14.04x64 MintMate17x64
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Home Brewed
    CPU
    I7 4970K OC'ed @4.7 GHz
    Motherboard
    MSI-Z97
    Memory
    16 GB G-Skill Trident X @2400MHZ
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTS 450
    Sound Card
    X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional Series
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dual HP-W2408
    Screen Resolution
    1920X1200
    Hard Drives
    256 GB M2 sm951, (2) 500GB 850EVO, 5TB, 2 TB Seagate
    PSU
    Antec 850W
    Case
    Antec 1200
    Cooling
    Danger Den H20
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance Mouse MX
    Internet Speed
    35/12mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
I use Paragon Hard Disk Manager, it's very easy to use (much better than Acronis - I have both) and cheaper to boot.

Cheers

Ray
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows Phone 6, Windows CE 5, Windows Vista x32, Windows 7 x32/x64, Windows 8 x64
Hi Y'all,
Thanks for all the good skinny. I'm going to try the Windows 7 File Recovery route next since it’s already available. I also already have the System Repair Disk which I think is the one used to restore an image made with Windows 7 File Recovery. Coincidentally, that is the disk which I created to prove that my machine would boot from CD. I was suspecting that I had a problem with that after several software products which claimed to create a bootable disk failed to do so. That was not the problem as my machine does boot just fine from the System Repair Disk.
So, now if I can successfully create an image which can be restored with the System Repair Disk, I'll be good to go. That would be great since I won't have to find and buy a software program to make backup images. I was not aware of these functions available within Windows 8.
I also already have an external hard drive which I will use to store my images. I was thinking that DVD's would be more secure because they will not break down as a hard drive might, but I see your point about having the image as one contiguous file. I guess that would be more reliable than spanned files on DVD‘s. You guys are a great help. Thanks!
Cheers, Tally
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway DX4870 desktop
So, now if I can successfully create an image which can be restored with the System Repair Disk, I'll be good to go. That would be great since I won't have to find and buy a software program to make backup images. I was not aware of these functions available within Windows 8.

I create a new system image whenever my system is updated, be it with Windows updates, or software installation and updates. So far I have not had any issues with creating, or restoring Windows system images. I think you will find the program pretty straight forward and easy to use.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    CyberPower
    CPU
    i5 2500K
    Motherboard
    Asus P8P67 Deluxe
    Memory
    8 gigabytes Corsair PC3-12800 DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 460 superclocked
    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic 23" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    128 Gb Samsung 840 Pro SSD
    128 Gb Kingston Hyper X SSD
    1 Tb Western Digital Caviar Black HDD
    PSU
    1000 watt Coolermaster modular
    Case
    Coolermaster Haf X full tower
    Cooling
    Coolermaster Hyper 212 plus
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitec M310 USB cordless
    Internet Speed
    1.5 mb/s download 300 kb/s upload
So, now if I can successfully create an image which can be restored with the System Repair Disk, I'll be good to go. That would be great since I won't have to find and buy a software program to make backup images. I was not aware of these functions available within Windows 8.

I create a new system image whenever my system is updated, be it with Windows updates, or software installation and updates. So far I have not had any issues with creating, or restoring Windows system images. I think you will find the program pretty straight forward and easy to use.

I do the same, LittleJay, and I've not had to re-install my W7 Ult. setup since early 2010.

That setup is currently running the W8CP as an upgrade, and hasn't missed a beat.

The only issue I've noticed is that you must rename your backup, or the next one you do WILL
over-write it. I keep at least two, a current one, and the previous one.

And the one failure I had, I mistakenly restored an image of the AS5735 onto the AS8951, and lunched
four partitions over two big drives :cry: I had backups of them too, fortunately.

I didn't appreciate that. But it was my fault, not the software.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Enterprise 64-bit (7 Ult, Vista & XP in V-Box)
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire Ethos AS8951G 'Super-Laptop'.
    CPU
    Intel Sandy-Bridge i7-2670QM quad-core
    Motherboard
    Acer
    Memory
    8GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 3000HD / Ge-Force GT555M 2 gigs
    Sound Card
    Realtek/5.1 Dolby built-in including speakers.
    Monitor(s) Displays
    18.4" full-HD
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1024
    Hard Drives
    2x750GB Toshiba internal, 1x500GB Seagate external, 1x2TB Seagate external, 1x640GB Toshiba pocket-drive, 1x640GB Samsung pocket drive.
    PSU
    Stock
    Case
    Laptop
    Cooling
    Air-cooled
    Mouse
    I/R cordless.
    Internet Speed
    Borderline pathetic.
The only issue I've noticed is that you must rename your backup, or the next one you do WILL over-write it. I keep at least two, a current one, and the previous one.

I usually rename my images as well, but the times I haven't, this is with Windows 7, I found that Windows imaging creates a shadow copy of previous images and have successfully restored them even though I over wrote the original image.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    CyberPower
    CPU
    i5 2500K
    Motherboard
    Asus P8P67 Deluxe
    Memory
    8 gigabytes Corsair PC3-12800 DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 460 superclocked
    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic 23" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    128 Gb Samsung 840 Pro SSD
    128 Gb Kingston Hyper X SSD
    1 Tb Western Digital Caviar Black HDD
    PSU
    1000 watt Coolermaster modular
    Case
    Coolermaster Haf X full tower
    Cooling
    Coolermaster Hyper 212 plus
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitec M310 USB cordless
    Internet Speed
    1.5 mb/s download 300 kb/s upload
Hmmm... Mine didn't, and that was what led to the screw-up.

I'll have to have a look at that. :thumb:
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8 Enterprise 64-bit (7 Ult, Vista & XP in V-Box)
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire Ethos AS8951G 'Super-Laptop'.
    CPU
    Intel Sandy-Bridge i7-2670QM quad-core
    Motherboard
    Acer
    Memory
    8GB DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel 3000HD / Ge-Force GT555M 2 gigs
    Sound Card
    Realtek/5.1 Dolby built-in including speakers.
    Monitor(s) Displays
    18.4" full-HD
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1024
    Hard Drives
    2x750GB Toshiba internal, 1x500GB Seagate external, 1x2TB Seagate external, 1x640GB Toshiba pocket-drive, 1x640GB Samsung pocket drive.
    PSU
    Stock
    Case
    Laptop
    Cooling
    Air-cooled
    Mouse
    I/R cordless.
    Internet Speed
    Borderline pathetic.
Hmmm... Mine didn't, and that was what led to the screw-up.

I'll have to have a look at that. :thumb:

I know what you mean. The imaging program actually says that old images will be overwritten, but somehow I have done it and on more than one occasion. But I know one thing, when I have deleted some of the older images that I no longer need using disk cleanup, I also run the "cleanup system files" and from that window select "more options" and then hit the cleanup button to also remove old "system restore and shadow copies". After running that it actually frees up many more gigs of drive space than if I only deleted the older image file itself.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro x64 bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    CyberPower
    CPU
    i5 2500K
    Motherboard
    Asus P8P67 Deluxe
    Memory
    8 gigabytes Corsair PC3-12800 DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce GTX 460 superclocked
    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viewsonic 23" LCD
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    128 Gb Samsung 840 Pro SSD
    128 Gb Kingston Hyper X SSD
    1 Tb Western Digital Caviar Black HDD
    PSU
    1000 watt Coolermaster modular
    Case
    Coolermaster Haf X full tower
    Cooling
    Coolermaster Hyper 212 plus
    Keyboard
    Logitech
    Mouse
    Logitec M310 USB cordless
    Internet Speed
    1.5 mb/s download 300 kb/s upload
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