UKC

I've been looking at a laptop which comes with Windows 7 installed but it seems the recovery disc is Windows 8. I've regularly used the system restore on my current laptop so if I went with this new one I'd like a way of restoring it to the clean install of Win 7 when it slowed up or died.

I was wondering if anyone could recommend the best/easiest way to create an image of the HDD that would be easy enough to go back to at a later date. I vaguely remember doing this with nero for linux distros about 10 years ago but I'm a little clue less these days.

So two questions really, a) any suggestions for (preferably free) software, Acronis seems to be recommended a lot but it's not free - worth it?
and b) if you use a small external HDD to write the image to is it just a case of changing the boot configuration to USB first and plugging it in when you come to the time you want to restore, then it magically boots to your restore programme?

Thanks and any other suggestions welcome,

Ben

In reply to Sharp:

You need to create an image of the hdd... basically an iso file. There is an inbuilt feature for this in windows I think, but it's not a great one if I remember what I was told (not used it). I am sure piriform do a program for this (free software) and they are good. Or just search for any hdd clone program that can make an iso file. Then if windows goes weird, you just wipe the hdd and plant the mirrored iso file on.

In reply to crayefish:


That's the bit I'm not sure about, if windows gets corrupted then you've got the image on a separate disc, but how do you extract it to the hard drive.

In reply to Sharp:
You'll need another computer for that. Borrow a friends, plug both hdds in (one via a hdd caddy for internal hdds) and then wipe and mirror the drive over. I *don't think* you can do it via BIOS. Though in theory you could have a separate windows copy on the external hdd and boot from that and do that way, but a bit of a faff as has to be installed on it specially to match that comp to avoid BIOS issues in many cases.

But to be honest, I wouldn't worry about windows being corrupted or slowing too much - easier to keep it tip top with registry cleaners and defrags etc. Plus it has a built in recovery to a previous stable point if you enable it. Though it's easy enough to get 'new' install disks online from torrents. You're best off managing your data across the partitions (assuming you have a partition) then keep ALL your data on the non-windows drive. That way if anything happens to the partition windows partition, your data is safe and you just reinstall windows from a disk. but if your data drive f*cks up, you mirror the iso over from the external drive and hey presto, your data is back and no messing about with windows. Not sure if I am been clear there or that was what you're after.

In reply to crayefish:
Cheers for the info, I'm really just looking for a simple way to do what I can already with the pc I have at the moment, given that the lappy I was looking at wont restore itself without shitting windows 8 everywhere. I think I might just keep looking for a laptop that doesn't come with the "upgrade" to Windows 8. I've utilised the restore function on my laptop more times than I can count, registry cleaners and defrag software just scratch the surface imo and I'd much rather keep all my data off my laptop and just hit the restore button every time it slows down, two cups of tea and a biscuit later and you're back to a fresh pc. Plus my laptop has properly died 3 times in the last 5 years, so being able to restore has saved me buying a new windows disc or tediously replacing corrupt files manually, which I'm long past having the patience for! I don't know about anyone else but I kind of just want pc's to work for me now, it doesn't seem to work like that unfortunately.

I was hoping there'd be a way to create a restore function manually so to speak (given the laptop doesn't come with a function to restore to win7) but I guess that would involve either installing a boot loader on a fresh partition or doing it from linux (or another windows on an ext. disc as you say). I guess if you buy one of these restore products they come with a boot disc and you can run your restore from that but I just cringe at buying software so maybe just looking for a different lappy is a better solution.

Cheers

In reply to Sharp:
There is a function in Win 7 to do this. You can create a boot disc (CD by default), and then an image which the boot disc will use to restore your system. The image can then be incrementally backed up using the inbuilt software. The whole thing works and is fairly straightforward and, seemingly, robust.

Go to Control Panel, and in the 'System and Security' section, have a look in the 'back up your computer' options. I haven't done it for a bit, so can't remember the exact sequence.

I'm pretty sure that you can also create the boot drive on a USB drive, but seem to remember this being a bit of a hack so you may need to google.

When I set my machine up I got my OS drive partitioned right down to the essential basics that I wanted imaging as the Win software is pretty slow to work; I hived off everything else into my storage drive for standard backup.

I have used the restore function once; it was quicker than using the painfully slow 'repair' process that windows tries when it has a wobble.

You can also use the image to restore earlier versions of individual files/folders. If you have working win 7 machine (whether your own or another), you can interrogate the image and find restore points for each component. It's a bit fiddly, but it works.

Hope that helps,
Mark