Saving system image is to large for backup drive

I used a 1TB backup drive when I had Windows 10. I have 772 GB free of my on my 1TB backup drive. I used to be able to save my files including a system image. When I tried with Windows 11 there was not enough room. It says EFI partition is 260 MB, Windows C is 952 GB, and Windows Recovery Environment is 794MB. Is Windows 11 significantly larger than Windows 10?

Hi,
What are you using to create this system image ?

Windows 11 system image *approx 21.1GB


Windows 10 64 bit system image *approx 20GB

Wow, your C partition is almost a whole terabyte...just wondering how much of that is data (pictures, music, etc.)

mallen said:

I used a 1TB backup drive when I had Windows 10. I have 772 GB free of my on my 1TB backup drive. I used to be able to save my files including a system image. When I tried with Windows 11 there was not enough room. It says EFI partition is 260 MB, Windows C is 952 GB, and Windows Recovery Environment is 794MB. Is Windows 11 significantly larger than Windows 10?

Click to expand...

You need to use some partitioning software like Minitools Partition Wizard (free), to "shrink your C:\ partition, before you try to make your backup.

Right click you C:\ drive and see how much "used space" there is.
Then shrink the C:\ partition to about 3 or 4 times the "used space" on the C:\ drive.

mallen said:

I used a 1TB backup drive when I had Windows 10. I have 772 GB free of my on my 1TB backup drive. I used to be able to save my files including a system image....

Click to expand...

Welcome to Eleven Forum.

The statement that you are backing up "files including a system image" strongly suggests you are using Microsoft's built in 'Backup & Restore (Windows 7)'. This is the only backup solution I am aware of that explicitly uses the phrase 'include a system image'.



If so, then you need to be aware the this has been a deprecated feature for more than four years now. Microsoft themselves recommend you use something (anything) else.

Microsoft said:

System Image Backup (SIB) Solution
We recommend that users use full-disk backup solutions from other vendors.

Click to expand...

Microsoft's system image will be the same size as the total used space on the partitions being backed up. Modern system imaging software such as Macrium Reflect Free uses compression in its image, and the image size will be about 50-60% of the total used data being imaged.

Yes I was using Windows to create the system image.
It says EFI partition is 260 MB,
Windows C is 952 GB,
Windows Recovery Environment is 794MB.

I looked at my C drive it says:
952 GB capacity
247 GB used
705 GB free

mallen said:

I used a 1TB backup drive when I had Windows 10. I have 772 GB free of my on my 1TB backup drive. I used to be able to save my files including a system image. When I tried with Windows 11 there was not enough room. It says EFI partition is 260 MB, Windows C is 952 GB, and Windows Recovery Environment is 794MB. Is Windows 11 significantly larger than Windows 10?

Click to expand...

I have 179 GB unused on a 230 GB C:\Drive.

mallen said:

Yes I was using Windows to create the system image.
It says EFI partition is 260 MB,
Windows C is 952 GB,
Windows Recovery Environment is 794MB.

I looked at my C drive it says:
952 GB capacity
247 GB used
705 GB free

Click to expand...

I believe that's your problem.

Here's an article and instructions you may be able to use for shrinking your hard drive.

Why is 705 GB free a problem?

mallen said:

Why is 705 GB free a problem?

Click to expand...

Because your backup app (Windows 7) wants to backup both the system and all of the free (empty) space.

Seems a bit strange that it would want to back up free space. An image should fit on your drive. Why does Windows see C as nearly 1tb full? If you only have 247GB used. Have you done something with the free space? Or used some kind of cleaner programme on the free space?

Also wanted to add that these days, I back up personal files separately. You can always reinstall Windows quite easily, and then transfer your personal files back on. Plus the personal files are then still accessible easily on an external hard drive. Literally copying and pasting docs, pics etc onto an external drive in their folders.

I mainly use an image so I don't need to reinstall all programs if needing to reinstall Windows. Because you can get the latest Windows download from microsoft to install when necessary.

But wouldn't just rely on a system image for keeping your files safe and backed up. Belt and braces.

Ok that is kind of how I have been doing the back ups. All my files from documents, pictures, music etc. pretty much anything but programs I back up often on my external Seagate drive. (And I have 705 GB free on it).

But I want to make sure I had what I need to set up my computer if it crashed. Windows and and the recovery partition that was installed on my lap top could get corrupted. So I wanted a back up of that. So as long as I can boot up, and install Windows I would be ok. It came with Windows 10 so I would have to update it to 11 and reinstall the programs.

Ghot said:

You need to use some partitioning software like Minitools Partition Wizard (free), to "shrink your C:\ partition, before you try to make your backup.

Right click you C:\ drive and see how much "used space" there is.
Then shrink the C:\ partition to about 3 or 4 times the "used space" on the C:\ drive.

Click to expand...

Why? Macrium Reflect Free creates a compressed image of only the used space - which results in an image that is about 80% the size of only the used space.

Edit: OK, nevermind. @mallen is using the worst possible backup method, I see now.

I'm with @NavyLCDR

I'd highly recommend something like Macrium Reflect Free. Using Windows built-in tools is a recipe for disaster sooner or later.

Completely free to use

mallen said:

Ok that is kind of how I have been doing the back ups. All my files from documents, pictures, music etc. pretty much anything but programs I back up often on my external Seagate drive. (And I have 705 GB free on it).

But I want to make sure I had what I need to set up my computer if it crashed....

Click to expand...

A Macrium Reflect system image can be restored to the original disk if it got corrupted, or to a replacement disk if it died, to give you a working system, and all the user files at the time the image was made will be in place.

However, the Macrium image file can also be mounted as a virtual drive, allowing you to use File Explorer to retrive individual file(s). In this way a Macrium system image can serve both purposes.

Yes you could try a different program to make a system image. I use EaseUS. I can understand why people use the Windows one because it is very user friendly. I've used Macrium as well but prefer the interface on EaseUS (which is also free but you get nagged to upgrade to the paid for version).

All that means is - downloading and installing the backup/imaging program on your computer. Then using it to make the image on your external drive. Afterwards EaseUS will ask you if you want to make a recovery disk (this enables the image to be restored) - you can do this onto a usb stick - if you have a blank one free. Then you have your system image as well as your file backups.

Whatever you find easiest. I've used Macrium as well but got used to using EaseUS.

It would be interesting to see if you have the same problem with a different imaging program.

There's a guide here on how to make an image with EaseUS


You could try both that and Macrium and see which one you prefer. They both make a system image.

I know the Windows Imaging program was flagged as deprecated a while back, but more recently articles have been saying it still works and is fine to use even in Windows 11. Tried it out and it did. But yes there are other methods which people find preferable. And perhaps more futureproof.

So you have two 1tb external drives? One on Fat 32 for file backups and one on NTFS for a system image?

Hazel123 said:

...recently articles have been saying it still works and is fine to use even in Windows 11.

Click to expand...

'Works' is correct, 'fine' is perhaps an undeserved exaggeration. It suffers from very limited (if any) user options. For a start, there are no user-selectable compression options available. The image it makes will be near enough the same size as the total used data of the partitions being imaged. Frustratingly, there is a compression algorithm built in, but it is only employed if you choose to store the image on a set of DVDs.

And on completing the image it still only offers to make a recovery CD, there's no option to make a recovery USB or ISO. Who has an optical drive these days?

None of those restrictions apply to any of the popular 3rd-party imaging tools.