Is 'Backup and Restore (Windows 7)' still part of Windows 11?


Haydon

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I am asking the question because 'Backup and Restore (Windows 7) is still part of Windows 10, although the system imaging functionality has been deprecated 4 years ago as Bree noted in a parallel thread.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro
Yes its still part of Windows 11.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Pavilion
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5700G
    Motherboard
    Erica6
    Memory
    Micron Technology DDR4-3200 16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060
    Sound Card
    Realtek ALC671
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung SyncMaster U28E590
    Screen Resolution
    3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    SAMSUNG MZVLQ1T0HALB-000H1
I am asking the question because 'Backup and Restore (Windows 7) is still part of Windows 10....
Yes, it is still there in W11. I think MS keep it for backward compatibility so that users with old W7 file backups can still restore them. MS do not recommend using it to make new system images, but have been silent about the files backups. I wouldn't recommend using either function.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD
    Internet Speed
    50 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Lattitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
I wouldn’t rely on it even if it is.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 64bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    PC Specialist Optimus VII V17-960 Gaming Laptop.
    CPU
    6th Gen Intel Core i7-6700HQ Quad Core processor.
    Memory
    16GB HyperX IMPACT 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 (2 x 8GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 960M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12
    Sound Card
    Intel 2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema 2 & Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Optimus Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
    Screen Resolution
    Full HD IPS display (1920 x 1080).
    Hard Drives
    4TB SSD (internal).
    1x 1TB & 1x 5TB external HDDs.
    Cooling
    STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
    Keyboard
    Logitech K800 wireless keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech M705 wireless mouse
    Internet Speed
    Upto 100Mbps
    Browser
    Edge.
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender & MalwareBytes pro.
There are lots of great tools out there to make backups and some are free. I wouldn't use MS's
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home(Beta) - 23H2 - 22635.3350
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Banana Junior 5600- G Series
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Strix B550-F
    Memory
    G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 64GB 4x16
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN X
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viotek 32", 28" ASUS VP28U
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    Primary SAMSUNG 970 EVO Plus
    PSU
    EVGA BQ 700w 80+ Bronze
    Case
    Zalman i3 NEO
    Cooling
    ARCTIC Freezer 7 X
    Keyboard
    Corsair
    Mouse
    Amazon Generic with Cord
    Internet Speed
    Download: 295.11 mbps Upload: 65.35 mbps T-Mobile Internet
    Browser
    Firefox and Edge
    Antivirus
    MS - Defender
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch ProMedia 2.1
This is what Wikipedia has to say Backup and Restore - Wikipedia

"Backup and Restore became deprecated with the release of Windows 8.0 and File History; all of its functionality was still available, but it would no longer be developed. In Windows 8.1, all user interface functionality excluding system image creation functionality was removed. Windows 10 reinstates Backup and Restore while maintaining the File History feature of Windows 8.0."

And at the end of the article:

"With the release of Windows 10, all Backup and Restore functionality was reinstated in a new Backup and Restore (Windows 7) Control Panel applet. File History, however, is both the default and preferred method to backup content in Windows 10, and it was updated to be included in Settings and to backup additional user locations by default.[21] System image functionality is deprecated with the release of Windows 10 1709 and Microsoft recommends the use of third-party software for the creation of system images.[22]"
-----------------
I am still ruminating on the above, but frankly, the file/folder backup aspect does not sound too bad to me, especially with MS' further commitment in Windows 11.
-----------------
FWIW, I mucked around with system imaging as in the write-up below.
-----------------
I installed Macrium Reflect Free on a spare computer to create a bootable USB stick. The USB stick is used to boot a target computer and create a system image of the target computer. I can confirm that this works for 'plane Jane' target computers.

Unfortunately, this does not work for my main rig which is not 'plane Jane'. My main rig simply refuses to boot from something that contains not only the boot but also something else (like Macrium Reflect Free) I have not tried Clonezilla Live, since it also requires booting from a customized boot. I really don't want to change how I configure (and secure) my main rig (nor do I want to install another third party software on my main rig)

Hence, I need a portable system imaging app (on a USB stick) that does NOT require booting from it.
If the app can also do file/folder backup, then that's a bonus.

Any suggestions?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro
Don't use Wiki for a source for information.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home(Beta) - 23H2 - 22635.3350
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Banana Junior 5600- G Series
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Strix B550-F
    Memory
    G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 64GB 4x16
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN X
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viotek 32", 28" ASUS VP28U
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    Primary SAMSUNG 970 EVO Plus
    PSU
    EVGA BQ 700w 80+ Bronze
    Case
    Zalman i3 NEO
    Cooling
    ARCTIC Freezer 7 X
    Keyboard
    Corsair
    Mouse
    Amazon Generic with Cord
    Internet Speed
    Download: 295.11 mbps Upload: 65.35 mbps T-Mobile Internet
    Browser
    Firefox and Edge
    Antivirus
    MS - Defender
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch ProMedia 2.1
Fair enough (y) Let's focus on the portable system imaging app that does NOT require booting from it :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home(Beta) - 23H2 - 22635.3350
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Banana Junior 5600- G Series
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Strix B550-F
    Memory
    G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 64GB 4x16
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN X
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viotek 32", 28" ASUS VP28U
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    Primary SAMSUNG 970 EVO Plus
    PSU
    EVGA BQ 700w 80+ Bronze
    Case
    Zalman i3 NEO
    Cooling
    ARCTIC Freezer 7 X
    Keyboard
    Corsair
    Mouse
    Amazon Generic with Cord
    Internet Speed
    Download: 295.11 mbps Upload: 65.35 mbps T-Mobile Internet
    Browser
    Firefox and Edge
    Antivirus
    MS - Defender
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch ProMedia 2.1
Ok,, What I do or have done is to back my system up to a temperate drive with the free version of this Best Backup Software for Windows PCs and Servers | AOMEI Backupper. Then if I need to I do a clean instillation of the OS and install the backup tool to restore everything from the backup file I created
Does your app require you to install the app on your target computer? Target computer = computer whose system image you want to create. If so, I don't want it. I don't want to install such an app on my target computer.

Hence, I want a portable app that does not need to be installed on a target computer. I found two portable apps sofar (there may be more) : Macrium Reflect Free and Clonezilla Live. Unfortunately, both portable apps don't work for me, because they require booting from a customized boot. Hence, there is an additional requirement for the portable app: does NOT require booting from a customized boot.

The deployment scenario could look like this:
Plug in the USB stick with the portable app in the target computer​
Plug in a second USB stick as the backup medium in the target computer​
Run the portable app > create a system image of the target computer in the second USB stick​

I am looking for such a portable app :)

Edit: Did I invent the perfect spy gear, LOL
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro
The one I pointed out does need to be installed on you PC but I bet most will.
I hope you find what you're looking for
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home(Beta) - 23H2 - 22635.3350
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Banana Junior 5600- G Series
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 5 5600G
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Strix B550-F
    Memory
    G.SKILL Ripjaws V Series 64GB 4x16
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX TITAN X
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Viotek 32", 28" ASUS VP28U
    Screen Resolution
    1080p
    Hard Drives
    Primary SAMSUNG 970 EVO Plus
    PSU
    EVGA BQ 700w 80+ Bronze
    Case
    Zalman i3 NEO
    Cooling
    ARCTIC Freezer 7 X
    Keyboard
    Corsair
    Mouse
    Amazon Generic with Cord
    Internet Speed
    Download: 295.11 mbps Upload: 65.35 mbps T-Mobile Internet
    Browser
    Firefox and Edge
    Antivirus
    MS - Defender
    Other Info
    Speakers: Klipsch ProMedia 2.1
This is what Wikipedia has to say Backup and Restore - Wikipedia

"Backup and Restore became deprecated with the release of Windows 8.0 and File History; all of its functionality was still available, but it would no longer be developed. In Windows 8.1, all user interface functionality excluding system image creation functionality was removed. Windows 10 reinstates Backup and Restore while maintaining the File History feature of Windows 8.0."

And at the end of the article:

"With the release of Windows 10, all Backup and Restore functionality was reinstated in a new Backup and Restore (Windows 7) Control Panel applet. File History, however, is both the default and preferred method to backup content in Windows 10, and it was updated to be included in Settings and to backup additional user locations by default.[21] System image functionality is deprecated with the release of Windows 10 1709 and Microsoft recommends the use of third-party software for the creation of system images.[22]"
-----------------
I am still ruminating on the above, but frankly, the file/folder backup aspect does not sound too bad to me, especially with MS' further commitment in Windows 11.
-----------------
FWIW, I mucked around with system imaging as in the write-up below.
-----------------
I installed Macrium Reflect Free on a spare computer to create a bootable USB stick. The USB stick is used to boot a target computer and create a system image of the target computer. I can confirm that this works for 'plane Jane' target computers.

Unfortunately, this does not work for my main rig which is not 'plane Jane'. My main rig simply refuses to boot from something that contains not only the boot but also something else (like Macrium Reflect Free) I have not tried Clonezilla Live, since it also requires booting from a customized boot. I really don't want to change how I configure (and secure) my main rig (nor do I want to install another third party software on my main rig)

Hence, I need a portable system imaging app (on a USB stick) that does NOT require booting from it.
If the app can also do file/folder backup, then that's a bonus.

Any suggestions?

What you need to figure out is:

Which drivers does your computer need to boot? That is (most likely) the limiting factor here.

The easiest solution is to install and build the bootable USB device from the computer that you want to boot on. When creating the boot drive, use the Add additional drivers and inject those into the bootable USB device.

However, IIRC, there was a documented way you could do this with a single jump drive and multiple computers, adding the drivers from each computer, so that the one jump drive.

Ahh, yes. Here is one:

The main tutorial from Macrium is here: Creating rescue media - KnowledgeBase v7 - Macrium Reflect Knowledgebase - KnowledgeBase v7 - Macrium Reflect Knowledgebase

But this links directly to how to set up the same bootable device to work on multiple computers with different driver requirements:


Except that you simply copy them to the appropriate directory on the USB media instead of the mounted .ISO file.

This one has slightly better information regarding that: v5 - Adding drivers to WinPE rescue media (drivers, Windows PE)

In addition to all this, here is another more link, a complete Macrium Reflect users tutorial hosted at our sister site TenForums (aka 10F): Backup and Restore with Macrium Reflect

(The specific part about building the rescue media is in section 2 - Backup and Restore with Macrium Reflect )

HTH
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 23H2 Current build
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HomeBrew
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 3950X
    Motherboard
    MSI MEG X570 GODLIKE
    Memory
    4 * 32 GB - Corsair Vengeance 3600 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    EVGA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti XC3 ULTRA GAMING (12G-P5-3955-KR)
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC1220 Codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2x Eve Spectrum ES07D03 4K Gaming Monitor (Matte) | Eve Spectrum ES07DC9 4K Gaming Monitor (Glossy)
    Screen Resolution
    3x 3840 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    3x Samsung 980 Pro NVMe PCIe 4 M.2 2 TB SSD (MZ-V8P2T0B/AM) } 3x Sabrent Rocket NVMe 4.0 1 TB SSD (USB)
    PSU
    PC Power & Cooling’s Silencer Series 1050 Watt, 80 Plus Platinum
    Case
    Fractal Design Define 7 XL Dark ATX Full Tower Case
    Cooling
    NZXT KRAKEN Z73 73.11 CFM Liquid CPU Cooler (3x 120 mm push top) + Air 3x 140mm case fans (pull front) + 1x 120 mm (push back) and 1 x 120 mm (pull bottom)
    Keyboard
    SteelSeries Apex Pro Wired Gaming Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S | MX Master 3 for Business
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
    Browser
    Nightly (default) + Firefox (stable), Chrome, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender + MB 5 Beta
  • Operating System
    ChromeOS Flex Dev Channel (current)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude E5470
    CPU
    Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-6300U CPU @ 2.40GHz, 2501 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
    Motherboard
    Dell
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) HD Graphics 520 + RealTek Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell laptop display 15"
    Screen Resolution
    1920 * 1080
    Hard Drives
    Toshiba 128GB M.2 22300 drive
    INTEL Cherryville 520 Series SSDSC2CW180A 180 GB SATA III SSD
    PSU
    Dell
    Case
    Dell
    Cooling
    Dell
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3S (shared w. Sys 1) | Dell TouchPad
    Keyboard
    Dell
    Internet Speed
    AT&T LightSpeed Gigabit Duplex Ftth
Well, what can I say, I think that it should be a lot simpler than that. I have the Emsisoft Emergency Kit which is a portable app on a USB stick that I plug in and run > scans the machine for malware. NO installations of the app on the machines. NO booting of the machines from the app. It is as simple as that.

I need the equivalent Backup Emergency Kit :)

Come to think of it, someone must have invented this simple spy gear that leaves no trace, perhaps the NSA has it :)

Edit: The Backup Emergency Kit may be illegal, because it would be exceedingly simple to steal humongous amounts of data:scream::scream::scream:
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro
FWIW, I mucked around with Aomei. I installed it on a spare machine, and like the fact that the free version (Aomei Backupper Standard) did not ask for an email address to send a registration code to, like Macrium did. I also like the more refined graphics of the GUI, although it is still a bit rough for my taste (definitely not Apple-like :-)) The boot disk created by Aomei is plain, during its creation the content was downloaded from MS (presumably) there is no added Aomei content. Unlike the boot disk created by Macrium, which does have added Macrium content. So Aomei works only from the installed app > nagware came via the Internet > have to remember to disconnect from the Internet when playing with it.

I tried to install the open source Clonezilla Live, but I couldn't do it without installing other software too, and thank you, I don't do that even on a spare machine.

I am still ruminating, additional food to ruminate welcome!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro
the free version (Aomei Backupper Standard) did not ask for an email address to send a registration code to, like Macrium did.
There's no requirement for an email address to download Macrium Reflect Free, not if you tick 'I need a personal free licence'. The email address is only a required field if you ask for a commercial free licence.

The same applies when installing, registration is only required if you choose to install for commercial use. If you choose Home use then registration is ticked by default, but you can un-tick it and install without registering.
 
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My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23
    CPU
    AMD Athlon Silver 3050U
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphics
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop screen
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768 native resolution, up to 2560x1440 with Radeon Virtual Super Resolution
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung EVO 870 SSD
    Internet Speed
    50 Mbps
    Browser
    Edge, Firefox
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    fully 'Windows 11 ready' laptop. Windows 10 C: partition migrated from my old unsupported 'main machine' then upgraded to 11. A test migration ran Insider builds for 2 months. When 11 was released on 5th October it was re-imaged back to 10 and was offered the upgrade in Windows Update on 20th October. Windows Update offered the 22H2 Feature Update on 20th September 2022. It got the 23H2 Feature Update on 4th November 2023 through Windows Update.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Lattitude E4310
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i5-520M
    Motherboard
    0T6M8G
    Memory
    8GB
    Graphics card(s)
    (integrated graphics) Intel HD Graphics
    Screen Resolution
    1366x768
    Hard Drives
    500GB Crucial MX500 SSD
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    unsupported machine: Legacy bios, MBR, TPM 1.2, upgraded from W10 to W11 using W10/W11 hybrid install media workaround. In-place upgrade to 22H2 using ISO and a workaround. Feature Update to 23H2 by manually installing the Enablement Package.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro (and all my Hyper-V VMs).

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 4GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Beta as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 4GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus the Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds as a native boot .vhdx.
There's no requirement for an email address to download Macrium Reflect Free, not if you tick 'I need a personal free licence'. The email address is only a required field if you ask for a commercial free licence.

The same applies when installing, registration is only required if you choose to install for commercial use. If you choose Home use then registration is ticked by default, but you can un-tick it and install without registering.
Ah, thanks for the info!

I gave them a disposable email address to send their spam to :look:
 
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My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro
An update of my ruminations, FWIW

Since booting from a boot disk generated by Macrium (or Aomei) led me nowhere, I configured a spare machine to mimic my main rig (including the particular BitLocker configuration) > installed Macrium and Aomei on the spare machine to conduct the tests below.

Macrium: did a Disk Image > deleted a couple of unimportant user files > attempted a restore but an error message popped up "cannot unlock C:" I was at first disappointed, but then quite delighted that BitLocker protected the drive.

Aomei: did a Disk Backup > deleted a couple of unimportant user files > did a restore, but the files remain missing. I thought I misunderstood the words (the English of Aomei is not perfect) and did a System Backup and Restore with the same end result, i.e. files remain missing. I don't really know what Aomei has done (or not done, although it did a lot of whrr ... whrr ... whrr) but at least it returned the spare machine bootable with the particular BitLocker configuration intact.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro
Does your app require you to install the app on your target computer? Target computer = computer whose system image you want to create. If so, I don't want it. I don't want to install such an app on my target computer.

Hence, I want a portable app that does not need to be installed on a target computer. I found two portable apps sofar (there may be more) : Macrium Reflect Free and Clonezilla Live. Unfortunately, both portable apps don't work for me, because they require booting from a customized boot. Hence, there is an additional requirement for the portable app: does NOT require booting from a customized boot.

The deployment scenario could look like this:
Plug in the USB stick with the portable app in the target computer​
Plug in a second USB stick as the backup medium in the target computer​
Run the portable app > create a system image of the target computer in the second USB stick​

I am looking for such a portable app :)

Edit: Did I invent the perfect spy gear, LOL

Hi there

@Haydon

Simplest portable app -- provided you keep the Windows OS on its own HDD / SDD

1) install any Live Linux distro on to an external USB device - will fit on a tiny USB stick
2) have an external USB device large enough to have a disk image of the Windows OS -- I assume Windows will be on its own HDD / SSD.

3) boot the live distro with the external USB also plugged in

4) run lsblk from console -- you should see a number of entries such as sda1, sda2 etc with a umber of entries against them -- you should be able from the size to tell what the windows device is and what your external device is. The usb stick will show probably 4GB size or whatever you used for the usb stick you created the live distro on.

(Note to create a bootable usb drive from the iso use something like rufus which works on windows and there is a portable version if you prefer.

assume Windows hdd is sda and your external device is sdb. On the windows disk there may be extra entries such as /dev/sda1, sda2 etc --ignore those.

To CREATE the image from the console / terminal program simply run this command

dd if=/dev/sda of=/dev/sdb bs=2048M status=progress

to RESTORE the image

dd if=/dev/sda of=/dev/sdb bs=2048M status=progress

No formatting etc of any kind required. Nice and portable system and image for you. I'd suggest creating a live distro of something like Linux Mint as it's reasonably like Windows. for command line just use konsole / terminal etc and it works like the cmd prompt in Windows. The desktop will show a load of applications -- a terminal / konsole application will be one of them. Using a Live distro requires almost no knowlege of Linux as it will boot ready for use without any user / passwords etc being required.

These distros will have probably firefox available as a web browser if you get stuck so you can even logon to these Forums and ask for assistance.!!

the dd facility just reads physical blocks - it cares nothing about formats, encryptions, permissions etc etc -- it simply reads / writes physical data off the HDD's sector by sector according to the disk geometry -- bad or good data too - whatever is on one disk will be replicated to the other.

BTW this can also be used to replicate partitions - partitions wil have numbers e.g sda1, sda2 etc. just use those if you want to image just the partitions but for your job its best to replicate the OS disk.

Cheers
jimbo
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows XP,7,10,11 Linux Arch Linux
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    2 X Intel i7
Wow, my heart skipped a beat or two, because I have to learn Linux first!

If I understand correctly, Clonezilla live offers something similar.

I need a breather, but I truly appreciate your write-up, jimbo45 (y)(y)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro
Another update of my backup ruminations, FWIW

I mucked around with Linux-based Clonezilla Live > created a Live DVD > made disk backups of 3 test machines > restore
  1. Can do a restore on a non-BitLocker machine, so the Live DVD works.
  2. Cannot do a restore on a BitLocker machine, because the machine froze during restore, although the BitLocker box was checked on Clonezilla Live.
  3. Cannot do a restore on another BitLocker machine, because it bypassed the Live DVD altogether and booted normally.
The above is consistent with the previous mucking around with Macrium and Aomei > issue is likely BitLocker. I use the most secure configuration of BitLocker which requires a USB Key, but not once was I required to 'Insert USB Key'.

It looks like I am stuck with the built-in utility File History that can make BitLocker encrypted file/folder copies & restores without any problems. I'll maintain 3 File Histories, instead of the previous 2 File Histories, and the Backup and Restore (Windows 7) that has been deprecated. I'll need to do bare metal restores, which I prefer anyway, it is the cleanest restore, although it takes longer. Luckily, I am not a tech that has to provide TLC for 1000 machines :scream:

I wish I had found an ad hoc disk imaging solution as a different kind of resource to fall back on, and I'll revisit the issue from time to time, but I am done for now, I am exhausted, LOL
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro

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