Problems using the Back up and Restore (Windows 7) feature in Windows 11


That is completely true....

Defender became a full AV for Windows 8 and above. Since then the only real changes have been to the name given to it, and the extra layers on top of it like Windows 10/11's ransomware protection. See this article from 2013:
Thanks for confirming that, I could not remember when Windows Defender became a full AV program. I assumed it was installed automatically when I upgraded from W7 (basic) to W11 (Home) in 2015 but apparently you had to download an AV (which I did not do).
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home 22H2 build: 22621.1928
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer/Aspire5 515-54G-70AG
    CPU
    Intel i7-10510U CPU 1.8 GHZ
    Motherboard
    Intel Comet Lake-U PCH-LP Premium, firmware version 3.2
    Memory
    8 GB 1333.3 MHz Dual channel
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD + NVIDIA GeForce MX250
    Sound Card
    RealTek ALC255 chipset
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Full HD TN 16"
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 220 NITS
    Hard Drives
    SATA mechanical 1TB TOSHIBA HDWL110 X1UGPHELT 5600 rpm
    PSU
    Murata battery AP18C4k (31CP5/81/68) Li-Polymer Battery Pack, full capacity 46620 mWh 11.4V
    Case
    Polycarbonate with a metal panel lid
    Cooling
    1 fan
    Keyboard
    US
    Mouse
    Precision Trackpad
    Internet Speed
    15 mb/s
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    2022 Intel diplay driver: gfx_win_101.3413_101.2111.exe
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home 23H2 build 22631.3374
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Vivobook K3502Z S15 15" OLED
    CPU
    Intel 12th Gen. i7 12700H, 14 cores, 2.3 GHz (24M Cache, up to 4.7 GHz, 6P+8E cores)
    Motherboard
    Alder Lake-H, 1700-4700 MHz clock rate
    Memory
    8GB LPDDR4 on board + 8GB LPDDR4 3200 MHz in Dual Channel.
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe supports up to 4096 x 2304 @ 120Hz
    Sound Card
    Harman Kardon - DTS
    Monitor(s) Displays
    OLED 15.6inch 2.8K (2880 x 1620)
    Screen Resolution
    16:9 aspect ratio 0.2ms response time 120Hz refresh rate, 550nits
    Hard Drives
    512GB M.2 NVMe Gen4 PCIe 4.0 SSD, Micron_2450_MTFDKBA512TFK
    PSU
    90-Watt USB charger (Thunderbolt4)
    Case
    Metal lid, plastic case
    Cooling
    1 fan
    Mouse
    Precision Trackpad
    Keyboard
    With backlight
    Internet Speed
    ISP provides 15 mb/s WIFI LTE (4G), laptop WIFI 6 adapter.
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    BIOS American Megatrends International, LLC. K3502ZA.307, 08/09/2022. Network adapter: Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211 160 MHz
I assumed it was installed automatically when I upgraded from W7 (basic) to W11 (Home) in 2015 but apparently you had to download an AV (which I did not do).
No, it was installed automatically when anybody installed or upgraded to Windows 10 or Windows 11. Possibly also Windows 8 but I know nothing about that.

I noticed your previous post about validating system images.
Acronis can definitely validate its images. I validate mine when they are made; it's an option that just extends the time taken by a few minutes but does not involve me having to do anything. I could choose a setting to re-validate all of them routinely but I do not bother.
Macrium Reflect also has a validation routine. I think it's rather onerous but it is there.
If I was starting off from scratch now I would choose Macrium Reflect because there is so much help available for it in these forums from other Macrium users [it's difficult to get them to shut up]. See
my ditty - File backup vs imaging, imaging utilities, backing up drivers [post #3] - TenForums

All the best,
Denis
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home x64 Version 23H2 Build 22631.3296
No, it was installed automatically when anybody installed or upgraded to Windows 10 or Windows 11. Possibly also Windows 8 but I know nothing about that.

I noticed your previous post about validating system images.
Acronis can definitely validate its images. I validate mine when they are made; it's an option that just extends the time taken by a few minutes but does not involve me having to do anything. I could choose a setting to re-validate all of them routinely but I do not bother.
Macrium Reflect also has a validation routine. I think it's rather onerous but it is there.
If I was starting off from scratch now I would choose Macrium Reflect because there is so much help available for it in these forums from other Macrium users [it's difficult to get them to shut up]. See
my ditty - File backup vs imaging, imaging utilities, backing up drivers [post #3] - TenForums

All the best,
Denis
What about AOMEI Backupper Freeware 6.9.2, rated as the best free backup programs by many? Is this checking that you mention only for its own image files or can these programs check also W7 backup image files, do you know?
Frank
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home 22H2 build: 22621.1928
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer/Aspire5 515-54G-70AG
    CPU
    Intel i7-10510U CPU 1.8 GHZ
    Motherboard
    Intel Comet Lake-U PCH-LP Premium, firmware version 3.2
    Memory
    8 GB 1333.3 MHz Dual channel
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD + NVIDIA GeForce MX250
    Sound Card
    RealTek ALC255 chipset
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Full HD TN 16"
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 220 NITS
    Hard Drives
    SATA mechanical 1TB TOSHIBA HDWL110 X1UGPHELT 5600 rpm
    PSU
    Murata battery AP18C4k (31CP5/81/68) Li-Polymer Battery Pack, full capacity 46620 mWh 11.4V
    Case
    Polycarbonate with a metal panel lid
    Cooling
    1 fan
    Keyboard
    US
    Mouse
    Precision Trackpad
    Internet Speed
    15 mb/s
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    2022 Intel diplay driver: gfx_win_101.3413_101.2111.exe
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home 23H2 build 22631.3374
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Vivobook K3502Z S15 15" OLED
    CPU
    Intel 12th Gen. i7 12700H, 14 cores, 2.3 GHz (24M Cache, up to 4.7 GHz, 6P+8E cores)
    Motherboard
    Alder Lake-H, 1700-4700 MHz clock rate
    Memory
    8GB LPDDR4 on board + 8GB LPDDR4 3200 MHz in Dual Channel.
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe supports up to 4096 x 2304 @ 120Hz
    Sound Card
    Harman Kardon - DTS
    Monitor(s) Displays
    OLED 15.6inch 2.8K (2880 x 1620)
    Screen Resolution
    16:9 aspect ratio 0.2ms response time 120Hz refresh rate, 550nits
    Hard Drives
    512GB M.2 NVMe Gen4 PCIe 4.0 SSD, Micron_2450_MTFDKBA512TFK
    PSU
    90-Watt USB charger (Thunderbolt4)
    Case
    Metal lid, plastic case
    Cooling
    1 fan
    Mouse
    Precision Trackpad
    Keyboard
    With backlight
    Internet Speed
    ISP provides 15 mb/s WIFI LTE (4G), laptop WIFI 6 adapter.
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    BIOS American Megatrends International, LLC. K3502ZA.307, 08/09/2022. Network adapter: Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211 160 MHz
Frank,

Imaging utilities only validate their own images.
- There was a period when Acronis could also validate Windows backup & restore images but that stopped several years ago. And, since then, Windows has changed the format of its system images anyway.
- I suppose there might be some other exceptions from time to time but I'm not aware of any.

... rated as the best free backup programs by many?
Whilst my article provided links for several imaging utilities including that Aomei thing, I made no attempt to identify any of them as the "best" because there is hardly ever any objective "best" of anything. It's all horses for courses. To my mind, the most outstanding fact about those imaging utilities was the amount of help available in these forums for Macrium Reflect.

Denis
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home x64 Version 23H2 Build 22631.3296
Frank,

Imaging utilities only validate their own images.
- There was a period when Acronis could also validate Windows backup & restore images but that stopped several years ago. And, since then, Windows has changed the format of its system images anyway.
- I suppose there might be some other exceptions from time to time but I'm not aware of any.

Denis
The question is moot as once you have that new BU software you may as well delete all old image files and make new backups. I was thinking of my personal files (not an image file format) that were backed up with Windows7, I want to keep those. What do you know about AOMEI?
Frank
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home 22H2 build: 22621.1928
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer/Aspire5 515-54G-70AG
    CPU
    Intel i7-10510U CPU 1.8 GHZ
    Motherboard
    Intel Comet Lake-U PCH-LP Premium, firmware version 3.2
    Memory
    8 GB 1333.3 MHz Dual channel
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD + NVIDIA GeForce MX250
    Sound Card
    RealTek ALC255 chipset
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Full HD TN 16"
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 220 NITS
    Hard Drives
    SATA mechanical 1TB TOSHIBA HDWL110 X1UGPHELT 5600 rpm
    PSU
    Murata battery AP18C4k (31CP5/81/68) Li-Polymer Battery Pack, full capacity 46620 mWh 11.4V
    Case
    Polycarbonate with a metal panel lid
    Cooling
    1 fan
    Keyboard
    US
    Mouse
    Precision Trackpad
    Internet Speed
    15 mb/s
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    2022 Intel diplay driver: gfx_win_101.3413_101.2111.exe
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home 23H2 build 22631.3374
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Vivobook K3502Z S15 15" OLED
    CPU
    Intel 12th Gen. i7 12700H, 14 cores, 2.3 GHz (24M Cache, up to 4.7 GHz, 6P+8E cores)
    Motherboard
    Alder Lake-H, 1700-4700 MHz clock rate
    Memory
    8GB LPDDR4 on board + 8GB LPDDR4 3200 MHz in Dual Channel.
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe supports up to 4096 x 2304 @ 120Hz
    Sound Card
    Harman Kardon - DTS
    Monitor(s) Displays
    OLED 15.6inch 2.8K (2880 x 1620)
    Screen Resolution
    16:9 aspect ratio 0.2ms response time 120Hz refresh rate, 550nits
    Hard Drives
    512GB M.2 NVMe Gen4 PCIe 4.0 SSD, Micron_2450_MTFDKBA512TFK
    PSU
    90-Watt USB charger (Thunderbolt4)
    Case
    Metal lid, plastic case
    Cooling
    1 fan
    Mouse
    Precision Trackpad
    Keyboard
    With backlight
    Internet Speed
    ISP provides 15 mb/s WIFI LTE (4G), laptop WIFI 6 adapter.
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    BIOS American Megatrends International, LLC. K3502ZA.307, 08/09/2022. Network adapter: Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211 160 MHz
Frank,

I might eventually transition across to using Macrium Reflect in which case I will need to keep
either​
my current imaging software installed​
or​
its installation file​
in order for my old images to have any potential use at all.
- I routinely weed out old system images.
- But I do keep ones that were significant states so, for example, I keep the final system image of a Windows 7 computer before I upgraded it to Windows 10 and I keep the final system image of each Windows 10 Version.
- After 2025, when I have upgraded all my remaining computers to Windows 11, I might weed out more of the Windows 10 system images.


I was thinking of my personal files (not an image file format) that were backed up with Windows7, I want to keep those
I cannot remember anything about Windows Backup file formats or restoration procedures.
I back up my own files as simple copies so I do not have any backup format / restoration issues to consider.
You might find guidance in Restore Files from Windows Backup - TenForumsTutorials or perhaps one of the others contributing to this thread can advise you. Added later - Bree's post #70 explains how to restore files from your files part of the backup.


What do you know about AOMEI?
Nothing.

All the best,
Denis
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home x64 Version 23H2 Build 22631.3296
Frank,

Do notice, in my earlier link about imaging utilities, that there is a Macrium Reflect tutorial over on TenForums.
If you find Macrium's interface confusing, that tutorial can guide you through it quite well.
- I have used Macrium twice.
- The first time I found its interface was so cramped up that I couldn't see what I was doing.
- The second time I stepped through using that tutorial and it changed my mind about the utility completely.
After using the tutorial, I am now confident about setting up & using Macrium again should I ever decide to do so.

Try3 said:
Backup and Restore with Macrium Reflect - TenForumsTutorials - This includes making their boot disk & optionally adding a Macrium reflect option to your boot menu.

All the best,
Denis
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home x64 Version 23H2 Build 22631.3296
For a beginner, AOMEI free version gui is easier but it has limited flexibility. Macrium Reflect free version has a lot of features.

Polls on this forum show two thirds of users recommend Reflect. That is because users have found it to be very reliable but to be fair AOMEI is also reliable.

In the end, it does not really matter which you use for basic backups.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro + others in VHDs
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Vivobook 14
    CPU
    I7
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    N/A
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Optane NVME SSD, 1 TB NVME SSD
    PSU
    Yep, got one
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois
    Keyboard
    Built in
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wired
    Internet Speed
    72 Mb/s :-(
    Browser
    Edge mostly
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0
I agree that one poll on this forum showed that two thirds [of the total votes submitted by those users who bothered] used Reflect.

Denis
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home x64 Version 23H2 Build 22631.3296
I was thinking of my personal files (not an image file format) that were backed up with Windows7, I want to keep those.
I take it that you are now talking about the files and folders backups that you made with Backup & Restore.

There are two quite separate functions in Backup & Restore, the System Image which can restore a replica of your working system in the event of a drive failure, and a files backup. It is the system imaging that was specifically deprecated, but as the two go hand-in-hand then files & folders should be regarded as deprecated too.

According to Microsoft there is no way to restore individual files from a Microsoft system image, it's restore the whole partition or nothing. In practice it is possible to retrieve individual files. Each partition is stored as a .vhd (in W7) or .vhdx (from W8 on) virtual disk image. These can be mounted as a virtual drive in Windows 10 or 11's File Explorer then explored like any other drive.

The files & folders backup has the disadvantage that (being designed in the days of floppy disks) it saves the files to a series of linked .zip files with a master catalogue. There is no easy way to manually find and extract files, you need a working PC with Backup & Restore installed. Even Windows 11 can still extract files from a files backup made by Windows 7.

I don't know if you have ever tried restoring from such a backup, but the last step is to choose the location to restore to. The default is the original location, but you can chose to restore to a new folder.

I suggest you restore all the files from any such files backups you wish to keep, restoring to a safe long term storage location such as an external HDD. I have kept just the one files backup from a Windows 7 machine, here I'm restoring it using Windows 11.

1659523462087.png


1659523646167.png

1659524081481.png
 
Last edited:

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.
Bree
I agree "extracting" some non-windows files from a W7 backup is a very tedious job; zip files appear randomly created, but I always managed to find what I was looking for. BTW, I installed AOMEI Backupper basic and with very helpful (instantaneous) e-mail support I created an AOMEI Recovery USB drive and will make a full backup with AOMEI next Tuesday together with a W7 backup, either in separate directories or partitions on my external drive. My 4 TB external drive still got plenty of free space so I will leave my old W7 backups alone for the time being. AOMEI Basic has also a free backup to cloud option but I think 2 different backups should be enough for my very limited work.
Frank
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Home 22H2 build: 22621.1928
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Acer/Aspire5 515-54G-70AG
    CPU
    Intel i7-10510U CPU 1.8 GHZ
    Motherboard
    Intel Comet Lake-U PCH-LP Premium, firmware version 3.2
    Memory
    8 GB 1333.3 MHz Dual channel
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel UHD + NVIDIA GeForce MX250
    Sound Card
    RealTek ALC255 chipset
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Full HD TN 16"
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 220 NITS
    Hard Drives
    SATA mechanical 1TB TOSHIBA HDWL110 X1UGPHELT 5600 rpm
    PSU
    Murata battery AP18C4k (31CP5/81/68) Li-Polymer Battery Pack, full capacity 46620 mWh 11.4V
    Case
    Polycarbonate with a metal panel lid
    Cooling
    1 fan
    Keyboard
    US
    Mouse
    Precision Trackpad
    Internet Speed
    15 mb/s
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    2022 Intel diplay driver: gfx_win_101.3413_101.2111.exe
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Home 23H2 build 22631.3374
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Asus Vivobook K3502Z S15 15" OLED
    CPU
    Intel 12th Gen. i7 12700H, 14 cores, 2.3 GHz (24M Cache, up to 4.7 GHz, 6P+8E cores)
    Motherboard
    Alder Lake-H, 1700-4700 MHz clock rate
    Memory
    8GB LPDDR4 on board + 8GB LPDDR4 3200 MHz in Dual Channel.
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe supports up to 4096 x 2304 @ 120Hz
    Sound Card
    Harman Kardon - DTS
    Monitor(s) Displays
    OLED 15.6inch 2.8K (2880 x 1620)
    Screen Resolution
    16:9 aspect ratio 0.2ms response time 120Hz refresh rate, 550nits
    Hard Drives
    512GB M.2 NVMe Gen4 PCIe 4.0 SSD, Micron_2450_MTFDKBA512TFK
    PSU
    90-Watt USB charger (Thunderbolt4)
    Case
    Metal lid, plastic case
    Cooling
    1 fan
    Mouse
    Precision Trackpad
    Keyboard
    With backlight
    Internet Speed
    ISP provides 15 mb/s WIFI LTE (4G), laptop WIFI 6 adapter.
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    BIOS American Megatrends International, LLC. K3502ZA.307, 08/09/2022. Network adapter: Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211 160 MHz

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