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If you are the type of person who regularly backs up their computer, and you should be, then you probably know there are different types of backups that you can perform. You can do file and folder backups, drive backups, partition backups and then Windows system image backups. These system image backups take a snapshot of your computer at a particular point in time and save it to an image file. Performing regular backups should be part of everyone’s regular Windows file and folder management tasks.
Then you can boot your computer to the backup recovery mode using a flash drive, CD or the Windows boot menu to restore your backup image back to that point in time. In this article, we will be showing you how to backup and restore a Windows system image using the MiniTool ShadowMaker Free software.
Step 1 – Configuring the MiniTool Recovery Environment
In order to restore a Windows system image backup, you will need to boot your computer into the MiniTool recovery environment. So, the first thing you should do is decide if you want to create bootable media on a USB flash drive or CD or add a boot menu to your PC that will be shown every time you start your computer. Either method will take you to the MiniTool recovery environment.
To create the bootable media, go to the Tools section and then to Media Builder.
Next, you will need to decide if you want to create an ISO file that you can burn to a flash drive or CD later, or have it create the recovery media on a flash drive or CD from the program. If you choose the option to make an ISO file, you can use a tool such as Rufus to create a bootable flash drive later.
The other option is to add a MiniTool entry to the Windows boot menu which can be done by clicking on Add Boot Menu from the Tools section. Just keep in mind that you will see this menu every time you start your computer. You can also come back here and remove the boot menu by clicking on the Delete boot menu button.
Step 2 – Creating your Windows System Image Backup
To create a Windows system image backup, you will need to go to the Backup section within ShadowMaker and then click on the Disk and Partition button to configure the backup settings for the job. You can also click on the Destination Folder button to choose the location where the image backup will be placed. Just be sure it is not on the same drive where Windows is installed.
After clicking on Disk and Partition, you will then click on Disk and Partitions. As you can see in the image below, ShadowMaker can also be configured to perform folder and file backups.
Next, you will need to click on the disk that has Windows installed on it and then check all the partitions that are on that disk over in the right pane.
Once you click the OK button, you will taken to the Manage section where you can see any previous backups and run them again if needed. You can perform full, incremental and differential system image backups. Then all you need to do is click on the Back Up Now button next to your backup job to start the backup process. You can then run this same backup job later if you want a more current Windows system image backup. One thing to keep in mind about image backups is that they contain the state of your computer in regard to Windows, programs and personal files. So, anything you do after the backup is made will be lost if you restore the image backup.
Step 3 – Restoring a Windows System Image Backup
If you need to restore your system image backup, you will either need to boot your computer using the flash drive or CD you made from the Tools section in ShadowMaker or if you configured the boot menu, you will see a screen similar to the image below when you start your computer. Then all you need to do is click on MiniTool Recovery Environment.
Once you are in the MiniTool Recovery Environment, you can click on the Restore button next to the name of the image you want to restore.
If you do not see your image listed, you can click on the Add Backup button and browse to the location of the system image backup file on your computer.
Once you have the right image chosen, you can then start the restore process which can take several minutes depending on the size of your backup and speed of your hard drives.
Once the restoration is compete, you can reboot your computer and it will be restored back to the date and time that the Windows system image backup was created.
One other feature of MiniTool ShadowMaker is the ability to mount your backup image files so you can then access them and see the files and folders contained within the backup. This way you can restore individual files without needing to restore the entire backup.
This can be done from the Manage section by clicking on the ellipsis (…) next to the backup job name and choosing Mount.
This will then mount the image using the next available drive letter on your computer. You can then access the files from the image from File Explorer. To unmount the drive, you can go to the Tools section and then choose Dismount.
You can download MiniTool ShadowMaker software from their website.
For additional training resources, check out our online IT training courses.
