ebrke Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 Sorry for very elementary question, but my infrequent windows use is showing. In Win 7, is "Create A System Image" going to get me the same result as creating Product Recovery discs did in Win XP? I didn't get Win 7 media from Lenovo, since this hardware was "back installed" to Win 7, I got only Win 8 media. In the past, when HD had to be replaced on Win XP laptop with only Vista disks supplied by manufacturer, I needed the Product Recovery discs as well as my own backup for the new HD. I want to be sure this new laptop for my mother is prepared for the worst. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 I don't know diddly-do about Win 7 backup options, so I'm going to listen in here, if you don't mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebrke Posted February 27, 2014 Author Share Posted February 27, 2014 (edited) Okay, something just came up way down the list of search results that I didn't see before--it appears that the sys image can be used to restore by first using the system REPAIR media and then the sys image media. Could someone confirm that for me please? LIke I said, something to use in the event of drive failure or something equally damaging. This just looks like something any good backup imaging app would do, so I'm a little confused. Edited February 27, 2014 by ebrke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveydoom Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 (edited) In Win 7, is "Create A System Image" going to get me the same result as creating Product Recovery discs did in Win XP? It will allow you to create an image of the drive that can be restored at any time so it is similar to a Factory Restore. There is a great tutorial about it here. A tutorial for restoring the image is found here. Edited February 27, 2014 by daveydoom 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebrke Posted February 27, 2014 Author Share Posted February 27, 2014 It will allow you to create an image of the drive that can be restored at any time so it is similar to a Factory Restore . There is a great tutorial about it here. Thanks very much! That's a better tutorial than has come up in my search results so far. Yes, since I didn't get win 7 media with laptop, similar to a factory install is what I'm looking for. I've learned bitterly with windows to prepare for the worst immediately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveydoom Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 You're welcome . I've learned bitterly with windows to prepare for the worst immediately. Good plan. I still have to do this with one of my new Windows 8 laptops. Probably this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted February 27, 2014 Share Posted February 27, 2014 It will allow you to create an image of the drive that can be restored at any time so it is similar to a Factory Restore. There is a great tutorial about it here. A tutorial for restoring the image is found here. Neat. I was just about to search for such a tutorial. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Hey Elizabeth, I was thinking... if you're going to continue to use that boring generic avatar, how 'bout a nice female version? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebrke Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 Hey Elizabeth, I was thinking... if you going to continue to use that boring generic avatar, how 'bout a nice female version? Why change what's been in place for what, 10 years or so now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 (edited) Factory Restore discs put it back to 'factory'. System Images restore the system to a given snapshot in time -- including any programs, files, changes you have made, devices you have added, etc. etc. -- it truly is a snapshot in time. They each have their purposes. I had a client that somehow got hit with something bad on the computer. It would have been a total waste of a huge amount of time to set it back to factory, then have to install all his programs again, set up security again, restore his programs, etc., etc. When restoring the system image from last month would get him so close to where he was today and just have to restore his data from normal Windows Scheduled Backups to get him back to where he was. The only programs he would have to add back in are ones he installed over the last 4 weeks instead of every program that was installed on the system since he bought it (when it was a new factory image equivalent to system restore discs). They each have their place. If you have to replace the hard drive, you will need all three; restore discs, your system image and your backups. But that combo will save days of getting you back to rights after a hard drive failure. NOTE: System Images are generally computer specific because it was built on given hardware and licenses are hardware specific for OEMs these days. So you wouldn't want to restore a Sony image to a Dell computer, etc. Edited February 28, 2014 by LilBambi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Unless you like Blue or Black screens which can often follow when you have the wrong drivers in place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebrke Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 I need something to use in the event of disc failure. Without supplied win 7 media (explained above), could I use the sys repair and sys image discs made through win 7 in that situation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 No. Likely not. You need to have Windows 7 install media or restore disks too. It could work, maybe but the time I tried to use it that way, they had to get a Dell installed system on a new hard drive first before it would work. If you have system restore discs, you would restore to factory first, then use the System image. If you need a clone you can use that way, I would suggest using another cloning method than the limited Windows System Image and System Repair Disc. Clonezilla might be a better choice. Clonezilla Clonezilla Live Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebrke Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 (edited) No. Likely not. You need to have Windows 7 install media or restore disks too. It could work, maybe but the time I tried to use it that way, they had to get a Dell installed system on a new hard drive first before it would work. If you have system restore discs, you would restore to factory first, then use the System image. If you need a clone you can use that way, I would suggest using another cloning method than the limited Windows System Image and System Repair Disc. Clonezilla might be a better choice. Clonezilla Clonezilla Live OK, I need to clarify--apologies, my windows years are pretty far behind me at this point. I have no win 7 media--only media supplied by mfr was for win 8 (I requested "back install" of win 7 at purchase). I need something I can use in case of HD replacement due to failure. Up thru XP, MS used to have something called "Product Restore" discs you could burn . I know that worked because those discs plus a backup got mother's current laptop up and running with new HD last year. If MS no longer has "Product Restore" in Win 7, could I use a complete drive image from something like Image for Windows or Image for DOS (Terabyte) to get a new drive up and running in the event of disaster? I know I could for a linux distro, but am very uncertain about MS requirements in this kind of situation. EDIT: Should have said specifically could Clonezilla be used in lieu of win 7 install media and if so, is that unique to Clonezilla or could something like Image for DOS also do the job? Edited February 28, 2014 by ebrke Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveydoom Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 No. Likely not. You need to have Windows 7 install media or restore disks too. Yes, I believe you are correct . My apologies for leading anyone astray. The backup (system image in Win 7 and 8) will work if you simply want to restore to a previous date. However, if the drive fails you'll need the media or an image as Fran indicated . Sorry I overlooked that part about a failed hard drive ebrke. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveydoom Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Should have said specifically could Clonezilla be used in lieu of win 7 install media and if so, is that unique to Clonezilla or could something like Image for DOS also do the job? Yes Clonezilla (or any similar program) can be used in lieu of install media. I've never heard of Image for DOS. I use DriveImageXML and have always been very happy with it. Always be sure to test your image after creating it . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebrke Posted February 28, 2014 Author Share Posted February 28, 2014 Sorry I overlooked that part about a failed hard drive ebrke. Not a problem--I wasn't clear enough in my original post. I'll probably try Clonezilla after I look at it--at the moment, I'd like something to go to DVDs just once until I can get an external HD. I mentioned Image for DOS/Windows because I've always had good luck with Terabyte Unlimited software--I've used BootIt for years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Yes Clonezilla (or any similar program) can be used in lieu of install media. I've never heard of Image for DOS. I use DriveImageXML and have always been very happy with it. Always be sure to test your image after creating it . Another great choice: DriveImageXML Not a problem--I wasn't clear enough in my original post. I'll probably try Clonezilla after I look at it--at the moment, I'd like something to go to DVDs just once until I can get an external HD. I mentioned Image for DOS/Windows because I've always had good luck with Terabyte Unlimited software--I've used BootIt for years. DVDs will be a real pain but likely could be done I suppose. Usually going directly to an external hard drive is much easier. Although most imaging tools generally expect you to have an external hard drive; or a hard drive in a dock to write to. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted February 28, 2014 Share Posted February 28, 2014 Why change what's been in place for what, 10 years or so now? One should embrace change. It's good for the soul. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebrke Posted March 1, 2014 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 Well, I just finished installing Libre Office, Thunderbird and a calendar add-on whose name escapes me at this tired moment to mother's new laptop. If the HD does fail sometime in the future and my image isn't enough to restore win 7, I can go to a linux distro and she'll see the same programs she's been using. I have never used Thunderbird before and was impressed with how easy it was to set up. I think I'll give DriveImage XML a try, but not tonight. Thanks to everyone for the help--I'm sure I'll be back with more issues before this is all over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 Thunderbird (Lightning is the calendar extension) is ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL! It's been my email/calendar client for quite some time now... years, actually. I LOVE IT! By the way, nice avatar you have there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 A full disc clone with Clonezilla works fine with Windows. I had to do a quick fiddle with the MBR to get Windows to boot afterwards though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LilBambi Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 Just for the record here so folks can find it all in one place, what was the 'fiddle' you had to do and how did you do it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ebrke Posted March 1, 2014 Author Share Posted March 1, 2014 Just for the record, I'm embarrassed to report that I finally found the "Create Factory Restore Discs" function--it's buried in the Lenovo ThinkVantage Tools software. I found it by accident. So I now have my Win 7 Factory Restore Discs safely tucked away. I do appreciate everyone's help, and I'll probably use one of the suggested programs for regular system image backups. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 Just for the record here so folks can find it all in one place, what was the 'fiddle' you had to do and how did you do it? Hmm it was a while ago and I do not make notes. I think I had to reinstall the MBR ? Not sure if I had to use the W7 install disk recovery tool ? or if I had to use the command line ? Hmm ? :'( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 No notes? You MUST make notes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted March 1, 2014 Share Posted March 1, 2014 Oh I do make notes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
V.T. Eric Layton Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 No. Counterfeiting Pound Sterling notes was not what I meant. Although, I can see that as being lucrative, actually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
abarbarian Posted March 2, 2014 Share Posted March 2, 2014 You need to go to Specsavers. My pictorial post above refers to, Early in 1776 confidence in the Continental money began to waver. The bills were sometimes refused. A general uneasiness began to prevail in the public mind concerning them; and Committees of Safety and other authorities in the several Colonies were constrained to adopt measures for sustaining them. Patriotic men came forward and offered to redeem them at par, and exchanges of one thousand dollars in silver were made for the same sum in Continental Paper. But these examples were not potent enough to allay the public distrust, and the Continental Congress was compelled to take the matter in hand. On the 11th of January, 1776, after intimating in a preamble that the Tories, or the adherents of the Crown, were endeavoring to depreciate the currency, the Congress resolved: "That if any person shall hereafter be so lost to all virtue and regard for his country as to refuse to receive said bills in payment, or obstruct and discourage the currency or circulation thereof, and shall be duly convicted by the committee of the city, county, or district, or in case of appeal from their decision, by the Assembly, Convention, Council, or Committee of Safety of the Colony where he shall reside, such person shall be decreed, published, such treated as an enemy of his country, and precluded from all trade or intercourse with the inhabitants of these colonies." And when, at near the close of the year, immediately after the battle of Trenton, Washington was invested by the Congress with the powers of Military Dictator for six months, one specification of those powers authorized him "to arrest and confine persons who refuse to take the Continental Currency," and to return to the States of which they were citizens, their names, together with those of the witnesses. http://www.revolutionarywararchives.org/continentalmoney.html Or you could brush up on your countrys history. And when, at near the close of the year, immediately after the battle of Trenton, Washington was invested by the Congress with the powers of Military Dictator for six months Interesting to note that The Land Of The Free started life under the yoke of a military dictator. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.