Solved Manually Create a System Image


K

KJJ

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I am using an external Seagate 1TB Portable Storage to regularly backup my laptop. My question is....."do I/should I format the Seagate before each time I manually create a system image backup?"
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
No. Once formatted, disk stays formatted.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    All Branches but Release
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Nitro ANV15-51
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 7735HS 3200-4500 Mhz 8 cores x 2
    Motherboard
    Sportage_RBH
    Memory
    32 GB DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    Radeon Graphic / NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 8 GB GDDR6
    Sound Card
    AMD/Realtek(R) Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Integrated Monitor (15.3"vis)
    Screen Resolution
    FHD 1920X1080 16:9 144Hz
    Hard Drives
    KINGSTON OM8SEP4512Q-AA 1TB
    Western Digital 256GB
    PSU
    19V DC 6.32 A 120 W
    Cooling
    Dual Fans
    Mouse
    MS Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    Fiber 1GB Cox -us & 1GB Orange-fr
    Browser
    Edge Canary- Firefox Nightly-Chrome Dev-Chrome Dev
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Beta
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus X751BP
    CPU
    AMD A9-9420
    Memory
    8 GB of DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD Radeon R5
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900
    Hard Drives
    Seagate 1 TB
No :-)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP ZBook
    CPU
    Intel 6700HQ
    Motherboard
    HP
    Memory
    24
    Graphics Card(s)
    AMD FirePro 5170M
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 860 Pro
    Keyboard
    yes
    Mouse
    yes
    Other Info
    19045.3803
    some Red Hat workhorses
Thanks for your responses. So I assume that the Seagate overwrites the data that is already on the drive during each backup. Again, thank you.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS
KJJ said:
Thanks for your responses. So I assume that the Seagate overwrites the data that is already on the drive during each backup. Again, thank you.
Click to expand...
How would Seagate overwrite any data, Seagate is the media? ;-) What backup program are you using? It would be an anomaly for any of the image-writing backup apps preferred here to overwrite an existing image. A new image is always written with a new file name.
John
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home, ver 25H2 build 26200.8246
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Hewlett-Packard Spectre 13-4001 x360 convertable
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 5200U @ 2.20GH
    Motherboard
    Hewlett-Packard 802D
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 5500 on board
    Sound Card
    Intel Smart Sound Technology (Intel SST)
    Hard Drives
    Micron 256GB M.2 2280 NGFF SSD MTFDDAV256TBN, (SATA 6.0 Gb/s)
    Keyboard
    Model # G01KB
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
    Other Info
    born on date: 25 Feb 2016
  • Operating System
    Win 11 Home 25H2 build 26200.7922
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Desktop model M32AD-US019S (DOM: 6/9/2014 )
    CPU
    Intel Core i7 4th Gen 4790 (3.60GHz), Haswell 22nm Technology, SOCKET 1150
    Motherboard
    H81M-E/M51AD/DP_MB
    Memory
    Samsung 16 GB DDR3 (8GB in 2 modules)
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 760, 3GB, and on-board Intel HD Graphics 4600 Rev 6
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP EliteDisplay E241i LED; HP EliteDisplay E243
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 500GB SSD, 870 EVO (SATA 6.0 )
    Micron 250GB SSD, CT250MX500
    Toshiba HDD, 3GB (original drive w/PC)
    Case
    ASUS
    Keyboard
    ASUS-------------------------
    Antivirus
    MS Defender
    Other Info
    Additional Laptops:

    HEWLETT PACKARD
    HP OmniBook X Flip NGAI (Next Gen AI),
    Model: 16-as0023dx
    PT# B5UH1UA#ABA Product #: B5UH1UA
    delivered and setup 7/25/25
    16" 2K Touch-Screen Laptop
    Intel Core Ultra 7 256V '24 Series 2 - CPU
    Boost Clock Frequency 4.8 gigahertz; Neural Processing Unit (NPU) Yes;
    16GB Memory, LPDDR5X
    1TB SSD PCIe 4.0
    Graphics: Intel Arc 140V
    1 x HDMI 2.1
    1 x Thunderbolt 4
    2K Touch-Screen display, LED, IPS; 1920 x 1200 (Full HD+)
    USB Ports: 1 x USB-C 3.1, 2 x USB-A 3.1
    Wi-Fi 6E
    weight 4.15 pounds

    DELL
    Model:I7591-7483BLK-PUS 2-in-1 (7000 Series)
    purchased 12/3/2019,
    15.6 inch 2-IN-1;
    4K Ultra HD Touch-Screen, 3840 x 2160,
    Intel Core i7 10510U CPU 1.80GHz,
    16GB RAM DDR4 SDRAM 2400 megahert (2 slots),
    dedicated graphics Nvidia GeForce MX250 2 GB Graphics,
    PCIe 512GB Intel SSD + 32GB Optane Memory (Intel Optane Memory H10 with solid-state storage),
    wireless-AX & Bluetooth
    Battery: 68wh, Type 4VGMP 4 cell
KJJ said:
I am using an external Seagate 1TB Portable Storage to regularly backup my laptop. My question is....."do I/should I format the Seagate before each time I manually create a system image backup?"
Click to expand...
Welcome to Eleven Forum.

Seagate provide their Seagate Dashboard for backing up your files. This is NOT a system image, it's just making copies of your user files.


A 'system image' is a full backup of everything required to re-create a full bootable working system, not only all your user files but also the full Windows OS itself, should your drive fail or get corrupted. This would be by either restoring to the original drive if it is functional, or by replacing a dead drive with a new one and restoring to that.

To make a system image there are many programs to choose from, some good, some bad, some free, some paid for. And then there are some that have been deprecated since Windows 10 version 1709 and should never, ever be used.

Microsoft said:
FeatureDetails and mitigationDeprecation announced
System Image Backup (SIB) SolutionThis feature is also known as the Backup and Restore (Windows 7) legacy control panel. For full-disk backup solutions, look for a third-party product from another software vendor......1709
Click to expand...
learn.microsoft.com

Deprecated features in the Windows client

Review the list of features that Microsoft is no longer actively developing in Windows 10 and Windows 11.
learn.microsoft.com
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer Aspire 3 A315-23-R9VY
    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 (from April 2026: 250GB EVO 850)
    Internet Speed
    150 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 2021 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, 24H2 on 3rd October 2024 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 24H2, and 25H2 on 30th September 2025 through Windows Update by setting the Target Release Version for 25H2.

    UPDATE - 11 April 2026: due to mechanical deterioration this PC has been retired from active duty. The OS with all software and files has been migrated to my System Seven below to carry on as my general purpose 'main machine'.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Latitude 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. In-place upgrade to 24H2 using hybrid 23H2/24H2 install media. Upgraded to 25H2 by Enablement Package. Also running Insider Dev, and Canary builds and Windows 10 as native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM THREE is a Dell Latitude 5410, i7-10610U, 32GB RAM, 512GB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro.

    My SYSTEM FOUR is a 2-in-1 convertible Lenovo Yoga 11e 20DA, Celeron N2930, 8GB RAM, 256GB ssd. Unsupported device: currently running Win10 Pro, plus Win11 Pro RTM and Insider Dev, Beta, and RP 24H2 as native boot vhdx.

    My SYSTEM FIVE is a Dell Latitude 3190 2-in-1, Pentium Silver N5030, 8GB RAM, 1TB NVMe ssd, supported device running Windows 11 Pro, plus Insider Beta, Dev, and Canary builds (and a few others) as a native boot .vhdx.

    My SYSTEM SIX is a Dell Latitude 5550, Core Ultra 7 165H, 64GB RAM, 1TB NVMe SSD, supported device, Windows 11 Pro 24H2, Hyper-V host machine. Updated to 25H2 on 30th September 2025.

    My SYSTEM SEVEN is a Lenovo Thinkpad T580, Intel Core i7-8650U, 16GB RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD + 2nd 512GB NVMe SSD, a supported device for Windows 11. This is my current general purpose 'main machine'. The installed Windows 11 Home from my System One has been migrated to this machine.
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