In Windows 10, go to Settings > Update & Security > Recovery and click the Restart now button under Advanced startup heading. Make sure your backup media is inserted or plugged into the computer. After exploring other troubleshooting methods, you feel that restoring Windows from the image file may be your only option. Okay, now let's say you're in a jam one day because Windows is misbehaving. Confirm that your DVD drive appears, then click the Create disc button. Insert a blank CD or DVD into your drive and click the Create a system repair disc link.

If your computer doesn’t have a disk drive, you can always purchase an external DVD drive, then connect it over USB. You will need a disk drive, since the feature still does not support the use of a USB drive. Next, you want to create a system repair disc to use if Windows is ever incapable of booting up on its own. Windows now creates the image file and saves it to your chosen destination. Click Next.Ĭonfirm which areas or partitions of your hard drive will be included in the image file, then click the Start Backup button. If you want to use an external drive, make sure it’s formatted using NTFS in order to store the image. Yes, it still says Windows 7, but this feature works just fine in Windows 10 and 11.Ĭlick the Create a system image link, then choose where you want to save the backup-on an external drive, DVD, or network location. With Control Panel in icon view, select Backup and Restore (Windows 7). Use the Windows search function from the Taskbar to type Control Panel, then select it from the results. The quickest way to get to the system image backup is through Control Panel. You can create the image on DVDs, but the easiest option is to use an external drive, a network drive, or a network-attached storage (NAS) drive. So you will need to create the image on a fairly regular basis to make sure you have the latest version of your Windows environment preserved.īefore you get started, you need to set up an external source on which to save your image file. The only drawback to a system image backup is that you can't restore individual files, only the entire image. A Restore Point can save everything but it can sometimes fail, leaving you with nothing. File History preserves just select files and folders, while a Recovery Drive won’t save your personal files.

It's important to note that this method differs from several other backup options offered by Microsoft.

Advanced system repair for windows 10