Need help creating a System Image for Windows 7

[JakeXPMan]

Bought a used Laptop with Windows 7.

Normally I use a System Recovery on a partition to restore Windows in the past. This is my first Windows laptop "without" a set partition backup, but it has a fresh install of W.7 (32bit) So to keep that as is, the Image program build into Windows 7, should come in handy.

My questions are,

1. Can I use a USB stick with "8GB" and set the image onto that, do I need to erase or format first ? I don't have an external HDD, just USB sticks around.

2. Is there a way to know how much space I need before starting the Image backup ? Data files I don't need backed up (none anyway) just the clean Windows.

3. I am new to trying this backup imaging, I did try Reflect and AOMEI with help and still killed Windows XP, partition caused unable to boot... and lost some files... so I dont wanna go back to that just yet.

4. I also heard you have to back up Windows every 30 days or it will be unactivated and wont work, is this true?

5. Should I update Windows drivers and security patches before or after making an Image ?

I think that is a good start, anxious to boot it up and get started later after dinner, thanks in advance

 

[Alkajak]

1. Generally 8GB won't be enough if you're planning on making the image after the Windows Updates.

2. Windows will allow you to choose if you want specific folders saved or just Windows.

4. Haven't experienced this myself. Been using system images for a while.

5. You should definitely do all Windows Updates before imaging to save yourself the trouble down the road. With that said, doing the updates before the image will require more capacity than 8GB.

 

[frogboy]

Whatever you do if you want to keep Windows 7 do not install kb3035583 or you will end up with Windows 10 most likely.

 

[Rishi]

Whatever you do if you want to keep Windows 7 do not install kb3035583 or you will end up with Windows 10 most likely.

 

[JakeXPMan]

1. Generally 8GB won't be enough if you're planning on making the image after the Windows Updates.
You should definitely do all Windows Updates before imaging to save yourself the trouble down the road. With that said, doing the updates before the image will require more capacity than 8GB.

Could I try before updates to see, or is it bad to run out of space? Its Windows 7 pro 32 bit.


Is it possible to use two USB sticks if it goes over 8GB? Would DVD take around 10 ?

I would have prepared this sooner, but I didn't know the backup was so easy to do on 7 and I knew it wasn't possible on XP without a 3rd party program.

Here's the C drive space.

 

[Rishi]

how much disk space is needed for a clean install of windows 7 ultimate? And this is just with plain Windows 7 no service packs and no updates, no pagefile/hiberfil and no restore points... recommended if you are doing 1:1 byte-for-byte imaging with no compression

 

[Alkajak]

Could I try before updates to see, or is it bad to run out of space?

Is it possible to use two USB sticks if it goes over 8GB? Would DVD take around 10 ?

I would have prepared this sooner, but I didn't know the backup was so easy to do on 7 and I knew it wasn't possible on XP without a 3rd party program.

Here's the C drive space.

I don't believe you can split it up onto more than one USB. DVD would not work either (4.7 GB), not even dual-layer (8.5 GB). As posted above, be ready for 15-25 GB at the least. 32 GB is recommended. My current image for Windows 10 clean install with updates done is at 31 GB right now.

 

[JakeXPMan]

I don't believe you can split it up onto more than one USB. DVD would not work either (4.7 GB), not even dual-layer (8.5 GB). As posted above, be ready for 15-25 GB at the least. 32 GB is recommended. My current image for Windows 10 clean install with updates done is at 31 GB right now.

I'm looking on eBay for 32GB stick and see what I find... is there a brand I should avoid ? Some seem much cheaper then others.. like the one from Texas is only like 6 dollars for 32GBs.

The backup should hold just one main Image without update maybe ... at first, but replaced when all is updated probably.

 

[Alkajak]

Not really a brand to avoid, but brands to recognize. Lexar, Sandisk, Verbatim and Kingston are all very good. All of my personal USBs are Lexar right now. Don't know if you need to go as far as eBay, I've seen 32 GB USB sticks going for $19 CAD retail nowadays.

 

[Rishi]

Cheaper option would be : make a separate partition using built-in windows partition manager,then make a local backup , open a free online account with MEGA (50GB), use their sync tool to backup your new partition. Of course it will take some bandwidth and also depends on your connection speed.You would also need another device to access this backup in case the windows laptop runs into trouble or just keep the backup locally after you have found your solution( thumb drive or HDD).

 

[frogboy]

Or give Aomei One Key a go and make a local backup as @Rishi says above, it will create a partition and backup locally.

 

[milas]

This is all terrific advice as I need to do this as well on my W/7 Pro. Thanks guys!

 

[JakeXPMan]

This is all terrific advice as I need to do this as well on my W/7 Pro. Thanks guys!

Nice info I agree thanks all ...and milas if you want to make an Image Windows 7 Pro using the built in feature,
Here's a good article by How-to-geek,
How to Create a System Image in Windows 7, 8, or 10

I like this end part which provides estimates,

Conclusion

This is a extremely handy feature and it actually works well. It is also nice that the feature will be available in each edition of Windows 7 instead of just the higher end versions. This will save you some money in not having to spend $50-80 on a third party utility. You should create an image when everything is fresh on your system so the image is not too large and the essentials of you machine can quickly be restored. For instance I created an image after a fresh install and putting Office 2007 and a few of my most commonly used programs. The entire image came in around 10 GB which is easily stored on an external drive or a few DVD’s.

Nice video on the image backup process.
(Create Windows 7 Image Backup video)

 

[milas]

Thank you @JakeXPMan ...I really need this information. I'm rather in a panic mode to want to do this soon.

 

[milas]

Can you also tell me what is a good online backup? If I decide to go that route? Early in the thread Rishi mentioned MEGA 50GB..

Sorry I keep editing this..I am doing the Windows System Image to DVDs as I type..Thanks again for your help!

 

[JakeXPMan]

Can you also tell me what is a good online backup? If I decide to go that route? Early in the thread Rishi mentioned MEGA 50GB..

Sorry I keep editing this..I am doing the Windows System Image to DVDs as I type..Thanks again for your help!

Welcome, sorry I cant say more about MEGA as I never used this free storage, but I'm sure you can ask someone here about this...
I didn't know you were in a hurry to get the Image done, but DVD's is a good start point. I recovered my first Compaq desktop using DVD's.
Its recommended to backup using external drive and a good USB drive (another drive is fastest way and said to be most reliable) DVDs are pretty slow if you have data and Windows too I bet.

I plan to make DVD and USB.

 

[milas]

I find doing the Windows System Image was taking way to long and I got an error on the 10th DVD so I had to trash that. Will do a backup to my Transcend instead. Thanks so much for the guidance though! Which will still be helpful for my other systems.

 

[JakeXPMan]

My DVD Image backup worked! I made two backups (4 DVD's total) 6-7GB (Windows 7 32bit no updates) also made a Windows 7 repair disc.

Tried every method to create Image to USB... still not working, even with tips from MT.

 

[frogboy]

Some good news at least you got a backup made.

 

[JakeXPMan]

Some good news at least you got a backup made.

yeah I feel more secure to download updates and drivers, in case of BSOD or any major problem, that could occur.