Friends, there are situations when it is not possible to restore the system using checkpoints. Yes, it is better to avoid such situations, but if it does happen, then the problem needs to be solved somehow.
And to make the decision simple, it is best to prepare for such a situation. Today I will tell you how to restore your computer from a system image.
The system image is an exact copy system files, settings, configurations.
In this case, as with recovery from checkpoints, the system will “roll back” to the state recorded on the image. And accordingly, all program settings, system parameters and files located on the system drive will be “rolled back” (usually the “C:\” drive).
Why create a system image?
Consider this option, you downloaded new game, installed it. At the end, the installation wizard asked you to reboot the system. The computer turned off and the OS will no longer boot. What happened? A virus was built into the distribution of the program, which infected your system.
This can also happen when you try to download and install a “hacked” software, which Russian PC users love to use.
As a result, we end up with an inoperable system. This is where it will come in handy for us to create in advance this image OS. If you have such a disk, then restoring the system will not cause you any problems.
Create a disk with a system image
- 1. Click on the “Start” button in the lower left corner of the system desktop. In the menu that opens, select “Control Panel” of Windows 7 OS. In the window that opens, find the “System and Security” section and click on the “Backup computer data” subsection.
- 2. In the window that opens, select the “Create a system image” item.
- 3. The “System Image Creation Wizard” will start. Which will prompt you to select a location to save the archive. By default, the item “On DVDs” will be indicated. Leave this option and click the “Next” button.
- 4. The “Confirm archiving parameters” window will appear. After checking the specified parameters, click the “Activate” button.
After which the process of preparing and creating an archive will begin. The progress of the process will be displayed as a filling colored bar.
- 4. During the process, the Wizard will prompt you to insert a blank storage medium larger than 1 GB into the drive. The disk must already be formatted. This can be done in the “My Computer” window by right-clicking on the DVD drive. And in the menu that opens, select “Format...” or “Erase this disk.” And the master will then format it himself.
- 5. Next, the Wizard will begin recording the created archive onto a DVD. This process may take a significant amount of time.
Upon completion of this operation, a window will appear asking you to add to disk being created information for disaster recovery systems. As we remember from the article “”, using the information recorded on the disk, it is possible to return the system to one of the states recorded as a recovery checkpoint.
- 6. After the Wizard finishes creating the system image, a window will open with a message indicating the successful completion of system archiving.
- 7. Now the disk with the created system image can be removed from the drive and close the Wizard window by clicking the “Close” button.
So, Friends, the disk with the system image has been successfully created. We laid out some straw. Protect yourself.
Restoring a system from a system image
Let's look at a situation where, as a result of a virus, our computer refuses to boot. Accordingly, there is neither an emergency recovery disk nor an installation disk with the OS at hand. But we prepared a disk image with the system in advance.
- 1. Reboot the computer by clicking the “Reset” button, or by turning off and then turning on the computer’s power. When loading, press the “F8” key and go to the “Advanced boot options” menu.
- 2. Select “Troubleshoot computer problems” and press the “Enter” key.
- 3. After this, the “System Recovery Options” window will appear with the required selection of the recovery menu language and keyboard options.
As a rule, you don’t need to change anything here, just click the “Next” button.
- 4. Next, the “System Recovery Options” window will appear, in which you must specify the Username and Password.
Specify the required Username, enter the password and click “OK”.
- 5. A window will open in which you will need to select the system recovery option.
- 6. Next, insert the previously recorded DVD with the system image into the drive and click on “Restore system image”. After some time, the system will find the image on the DVD and launch the “Recover Computer from Image Wizard”. On the next two Wizard windows, click the “Next” button, leaving the proposed settings. And on the last window, click the “Done” button.
- 7. By clicking the “Finish” button, a final window will appear warning that all data on the system disk will be replaced with data from the system image. Confirm your intention to restore the system from the image by clicking the “Yes” button.
After this, the Wizard will begin the system recovery process, which will take a little time.
Once the recovery process is complete, your PC will automatically reboot. The operating system was restored from the image, all user data was saved, we did not touch it.
Now we have completed our study of the issue of restoring a computer from a system image.
I am sure that now each of you will certainly create an image of the system. After all, they say correctly: “Trust in God, but don’t make a mistake yourself.”
From file backup copy You can restore objects of both all users and only your own objects. In the first case, in the Recovery area, you need to click on the Recover files of all users link (for inexperienced users, use this mode Not recommended). In the second, click the Recover my files button, which will open the recovery window.
You can restore the entire archive or select individual objects from it. To restore the entire archive, you need to click the Browse Folder button, select the archive with the mouse pointer in the window that opens (you need to know the path where it was saved) and click the Add Folder button. To restore only a folder in the archive, click the Browse folders button, then double-click on the archive icon (if necessary, open subfolders in it in the same way until the required one is found), select the folder and click the Add folder button . In a similar way, you can select several folders to restore from the archive.
If you need to restore a file, you should use the Browse files button and in the window that opens, double-click the archive icon (to open it). If necessary, subfolders are opened in the same way, the required file is highlighted with the mouse pointer and the Add files button is clicked. You can select several files located in the same folder for recovery at the same time by selecting them with the mouse pointer while holding down the Ctrl key.
A list of objects selected for recovery will be displayed in the central part of the window.
If it is difficult to find an archive to restore, then you should use the quick search mechanism by clicking the Search button and entering the name or part of the archive name using the keyboard in the window that opens, and then clicking the Search button. To add to the recovery list, you need to mark each found object with the appropriate checkbox and click OK.
If necessary, you can delete any object selected for recovery from the list by selecting it with the mouse pointer and clicking the Delete button. You should be careful when doing this, since the program does not issue an additional request to confirm the action. To remove all objects from the list, use the Remove All button.
After clicking the Next button, using the switch positions, you specify the location for restoring data from the archive. If the switch is set to the To original location position, then the objects will be restored to their previous location (that is, to where they were before archiving). If the switch is set to the To the following location position, then click the Browse button, in the window that opens, specify the recovery path and click OK.
The recovery process begins with the Restore button. After some time, an information message indicating the successful completion of the action will be displayed on the screen.
In the video course “System Restore in One Click” I talked about the program Acronis True Image, which allows you to create images of partitions hard drive and as a result of failure of the operating system, it allows you to restore the system partition identical to the state of the disk at the time the backup was created.
In this video we will deal with the built-in using Windows 7, which also allow you to create backup copies and restore the operating system at the time the disk image was created.
First of all, let's launch this tool in Windows 7 ( Start\Control Panel\Backup and Restore) and configure backup (Set up backup).
Next, we indicate where the backup copy will be stored; here we cannot select drive C, i.e. system one, since we will be making a backup copy of it. You can select any partition of the same physical disk on which the system one is located, but it must be with the NTFS file system. I am interested in creating an image of the system disk, but this image cannot be stored on a partition with the FAT32 file system, since it supports files no more than 4 GB, and we will have a much larger image. Therefore, the utility itself will not allow you to create images on such a disk, but only backup copies of user documents.
In general, it is recommended to store backups on another physical disk, and not on another partition, since if the hard drive fails, the backup copies also cannot be restored, since they were stored on the faulty disk.
You can also specify a folder in local network (Save online), to do this you need to know the credentials of the user who has write rights to this folder.
Next, select What should be archived? Personally, I prefer to choose what will be archived, so we choose Give me a choice. Here we can specify which files will go into the file backup, not into the image, i.e. When archiving is performed, 2 backup copies are created:
1) File— it contains the files that we specify. It can be:
— user files stored in their profile;
— user files that have not yet been created, but during the automatic backup process, they will also be included in the backup copy;
- and certain files on other sections.
2) System disk image.
But I’m not interested in user files, since they are stored on other partitions, but I’m interested in the checkmark Include system image (C:\Next) and here we see that the backup will only contain an image of the system disk. We can change the schedule ( Change schedule \ Perform scheduled backups and set the required conditions \ Save parameters and start archiving).
If we click on View details, we will see the current backup process.
If in this window we select Creating a system image, then this will be a manual creation of the image; it will not be executed according to a schedule, but only when we launch it.
What else is interesting here? Space management, here we can change the way system images are stored. To see what storage methods exist, click on the And button change parameters, and there are two ways to store images:
1) Creating incremental images after a full, i.e. as in Acronis, a full image of the system disk is created, and then small-sized images are created that store changes that have occurred since the creation of the full system image. To be honest, it’s not particularly clear how Windows will do this, given the special settings for this method No. Acronis has many different configuration methods this process, therefore, I consider this point to be the biggest drawback of this system, as well as the fact that you cannot specify a separate folder for storing copies. The folder with the images is created in the root of the disk that we specified, the path can only be specified for network storage, but only one system image can be located in the network storage;
2) Store only the latest system images— as with network storage, only the last full backup copy will be stored.
In this backup system, I use the second method; one full image is enough.
And before studying the system recovery process, let’s consider another method of restoring functionality, this is creating Recovery checkpoints (My Computer\RMB\Properties\ Extra options systems\system protection).
Here we indicate for which hard drive to create checkpoints, in our case it is system disk (C:\Customize\Restore system settings and previous versions of files\Disk space, allocated for storing checkpoints). We will also create a control point ( New\Name\New\OK)
Now let's look at the recovery ( Start\Control Panel\Recovery\Run System Restore) or ( Start \ All Programs \ Accessories \ System Tools \ System Restore). The created checkpoints are displayed here, which we can restore if we select in ( Control Panel\Recovery\Advanced recovery methods) then, through point ( Use system image\Skip,if you do not want to create an archive of user profile data \ Restart), you can restore not a checkpoint, but completely restore the system image at the time of its creation.
In the next video tutorial, we will look at a situation where the Windows 7 operating system does not boot and there is no way to restore the system from the Windows shell.
In the previous subsection we talked about saving system parameters in the form of restore points so that you can return to them in the event of a failure. In this subsection we will talk about how to protect yourself from the loss of data stored on your computer, which can be caused by problems with Windows.
To avoid worrying about the safety of your personal files, you should archive them and store them in a safe place (for example, burn them to a CD or place them in a folder on another computer over the network). Of course, this can be done manually, but you must agree: it is not practical to select files for archiving yourself, and then track the changes made and add them to the archive. It is much more convenient to use the built-in tool Windows archiving, which backs up files and updates archives automatically.
The video “Lesson 8.3. Archiving and restoring files."
To open the Backup and Restore Center (Fig. 8.19), run the command Start -> Control Panel -> System and Maintenance -> Backup and Restore Center.
Rice. 8.19. Backup and Recovery Center
To start archiving files, click the Archive files button. If this is your first backup, the next step is to configure its settings. First you need to specify a location to store the files. Obviously, the safest option is to choose a CD or DVD (you must have a burner drive installed for this). Click "Next.
If your HDD is divided into several sections; on the next page you need to indicate which of them are to be archived. The partition in which Windows is installed must be archived. Next, you will be given the opportunity to choose which types of files should be added to the archive. Remember, only personal files of all computer users are archived. System files are not copied to the archive.
At the final stage, change the archiving schedule if necessary, selecting the frequency, days and time of updating the archive. After that, click the Save settings and start archiving button, insert a blank CD or DVD into the drive, if you have chosen it as a storage location, in the window that appears, click OK and wait until the disk formatting and archiving process is completed.
By default, archiving is configured to run automatically. When using a hard drive or network folder on another computer it will run according to schedule without you noticing. If CD or DVD is selected as the storage location, the Backup and Recovery Center will require you to insert it for a scheduled archive update.
If you wish, you can disable automatic archiving and run it only when needed. To do this, in the Backup and Restore Center window, click the Change settings link (it appears after performing the first backup) and in the window that opens, click the Turn off button.
In the same window you can change the previously selected archiving parameters. To do this, click on the link Change archiving settings and then follow the already familiar instructions.
If you have disabled automatic archiving, you can start the next archive update (or create a new one when changing archiving parameters) at any time by clicking on the Archive now link in the window in question or by clicking the Archive files button in the window shown in Fig. 8.19.
If you lost files on your computer as a result of a crash, you can restore them from the archive using the following method. Insert the CD into the drive, if the archive is recorded on it, in the Backup and Recovery Center window, click the Recover files button, select which archive to restore from, specify the required files and the location on the computer where they will be copied. Please note that if the file names match, they will be replaced with archived copies.
In ch. 3 we considered the issue of restoration previous versions files. If you need to return to one of them, you also need to insert the archive CD into the drive.
The contents of the archive can be viewed in Explorer. To do this, in the archiving location, go to the folder with the name of your computer, it contains the Backup set folders with archiving dates. Go to the desired folder, then to the Backup files directory with the archiving date. The archive with the files is called Backup files.zip (a sequence number can be added to it).
IN Windows Vista there is a function for creating a complete archive of the Complete PC system, containing copies of system files, settings and installed programs. In case of serious problems that cannot be corrected by any of the methods described above, with its help you can restore the original state of the operating system without resorting to reinstalling it. Even if Windows does not start, you can use the Complete PC archive image to restore the system by accessing the installation Windows disk Vista. Remember, the operation of restoring a computer image from an archive leads to reformatting of the hard drive and the loss of all files that were saved on it after creating the archive. Therefore, you should resort to the procedure of restoring a computer from the Complete PC archive only in the most extreme cases, or if you have all your personal files in a safe archive location, from which they can then be restored.
To create an archive image of a computer, in the Backup and Restore Center window (see Figure 8.19), click the Back up computer button. As a result, a window will open where you have to select the storage location for the archive. This could be a hard drive or several DVDs. Next, follow the instructions and wait until archiving is complete.
If you need to restore the state of your computer from an archived image, use the following method. IN BIOS settings change the settings so that the computer starts booting from the CD. Restart your computer and in the window that appears, click Next. Select the System Restore function (see Figure 8.17). Then specify the operating system to be restored and click Next. From the System Recovery Options menu, select Complete Windows PC recovery and follow the instructions.
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A Russian proverb says that until thunder strikes, a man will not cross himself. It’s the same with our documents, photos, passwords, etc., which are stored on the hard drive. home computer. But we don’t even think that the hard drive might break and “say” goodbye, and all our data will go away with it.
To protect yourself from such surprises, you must at least occasionally take a full backup of our system. For these purposes, you should select a separate folder on your computer’s hard drive in which the image of our system will be stored. Moreover, the disk must be divided into at least two partitions, since creating an archive of the system image in the partition with installed system will not work.
In addition to this, you should allocate space on your external hard drive and periodically upload backups there. You can also use a flash card with a capacity of 32-64 GB for these purposes, but first format the external hard drive and flash drive in file system NTFS, otherwise the image will not be copied to them.
A copy of the archive is needed in case the original is somehow damaged on the computer’s hard drive, and having a copy of it, you can always restore the Windows 7 system without any problems. But there is one point: if a copy of the archive is stored on a flash drive, then before During recovery, the archive will have to be copied to an external hard drive, since the recovery utility does not see it on the flash drive.
1. Creating a system image archive.
To create a system image archive, we will use the standard Windows tool “ Archiving" This utility allows you to create an exact snapshot of the entire contents of your hard drive or a copy separate files and folders. And she can do this more than once, but according to the schedule we set. More on this below.
Let's go to " Control Panel» -> « Backup and recovery" and run the command " Creating a system image».
In the next window, the program will prompt you to select hard section The disk on which you want to save the system backup archive. Choose required section and click " Further».
By default, the archiving program will select the partition with operating system, and if you want to add another section for archiving, then check the box next to it. Click " Further».
After finishing the utility archiving and recovery A folder with the system archive will appear on your hard drive, which you can immediately copy to a flash card or external hard drive.
However, a system image archive created once has its own pitfall. If after six months or a year Windows “dies”, then when restoring the system from the archive, the utility will destroy all files located on the hard drive in this moment time, and replace them with your own files from the archive. That is, we will get the system rolled back a year or six months ago.
On the one hand, there is nothing terrible, because a full-fledged working system from six months or a year ago is restored, but on the other hand, you can lose important files or documents if they were not backed up in time.
Of course, before restoring you can use a special boot disk Live CD and download a simplified version from it Windows version, and with its help find and copy to external storage all necessary data. What if there is no such disk? What if you don’t know how to use it?
To avoid all this, you can configure the archiving program so that it will automatically make backup copies according to the schedule you specify and save them to the specified location. In this case, the entire archive will not be rewritten, but only modified files will be added.
2. Setting up automatic archiving of a Windows 7 system backup.
Let's go to " Control Panel» -> « Backup and recovery" and run the command " Set up backup" This procedure is performed once, and in further Windows will create a backup copy according to the scheme you choose automatically.
In the next window, the backup program will prompt you to select the disk on which the system backup will be stored.
It’s better to let her update the files on the computer’s hard drive and copy them to a flash card or external drive you can always. The main thing is not to forget this matter.
Select the hard drive partition to store the archive and click “ Further».
The window that opens will offer two archiving options. Select " Give me a choice" and click " Further».
In this window, check the boxes as shown in the screenshot and click “ Further».
Before starting archiving, we are offered to check the settings made again and, if necessary, change the schedule according to which the utility will work. By default, the program will update the archive every Sunday at 19.00. If this gap is large or small for you, then select the command “ Change schedule" and customize the schedule for yourself, and after the changes have been made, click " OK».
When archiving is complete, an archive file with the name of your computer will appear next to the previously created system image file. Moreover, the previously created file will be automatically updated by the archiving program at the current time.
3. Restoring Windows 7 using a previously created system image.
Now imagine a situation where our Windows 7 does not start and displays a black screen.
Insert into the drive system recovery disk, reboot and, following the instructions of the system, we reach the window “ System Recovery Options", in which we select the utility " Restoring a system image».
If you have any difficulties at this stage, the article describes it in detail.
In the window that opens, we will be asked to select the latest available system image. Here we fully agree with the choice of program and click “ Further».
Once again, make sure that the image archive is selected correctly and click “Finish”.
And before the recovery process itself, we are warned that all data on the disk will be replaced with data from the archived system image. If everything suits us, click “ Yes"and start recovery Windows systems 7 from the image.
Now, if your system is severely damaged and cannot boot on its own, then having system recovery disk And archived system image, You can easily restore Windows 7.
Good luck!
