Post by drcard on Feb 8, 2021 20:40:30 GMT -5
Use Windows to Backup – Part 3
Overview:
This part explains how to use Windows to create backup images of the drive that Windows is installed on. Also, there are instructions of how to store more than one image backup.
Use Windows to Create and Schedule a Backup Image
• Don’t start this creating a backup image until you have time to allow the PC to make the backup image.
• Press Win key + R to open the Run box. Type sdclt and press the Enter key. This will open the Control panel Backup and Restore (Windows 7) window. Note: This utility was introduce in Windows 7 and has remained the same thru Windows 10.
• If you have never used the Windows Backup Utility, press Set up backup to start the Windows Backup Utility. If you have used the Backup Utility before, the last backup settings will be below Backup; press Change settings to start the Backup Utility.
• The first page of the Backup Utility is to select the drive you wish to store the image backup on. It will display all drives connected to the PC except the drive Windows is installed on. Select the external USB drive you have to store your backups on. If your drive doesn’t show in the list, check your connections and click the Refresh button to find your drive. After selecting (highlight) your storage drive, press Next. Notice that the Backup Utility will only backup the image to the root directory of a drive, you can’t select a folder on that drive to store the backup image in. This will come into play later on.
• The next page asks What do you want to back up? Select Let me choose and press the Next button which will open the next page. We make this choice so we can adjust the default settings of the Backup Utility to create only a backup image and not backup any personal data files.
• This next page allows you to select which personal files will be backed up and if an image is to be made or not. The list of files as Data files and Computer in the box refers to personal files in these locations. We do not want any personal files backed up so all these boxes must NOT have a check, so uncheck any that do have checkmarks. Below this box of personal file locations is a small checkbox next to Include a system image of drives: All partitions on the drive that Windows is installed upon. Usually it is Windows (C:), an EFI partition, and a recovery partition if it was a preloaded PC. This is the box we want a checkmark in. Press Next to go to the next page.
• The next page is to review your backup settings. Make sure that the Backup Location shows your storage drive. In the Backup Summary box, System Image should be the only thing listed. If these items are incorrect, use the back arrow at the top of the page to go back to a prior page and correct the setting. Below the Backup Summary is Schedule: with Change schedule to the right of the current schedule listed, press the Change schedule to open the backup schedule window.
• On the How often do you want to back up? page make sure the box to the left of Run backup on a schedule (recommended) is checked. Click the dropdown arrow to the right of the How often: box and select Monthly. Click the dropdown arrow to the right of the What day: box and select what day each month the image backup will be made. Click the dropdown arrow to the right of the What time: box and select the time of day this backup image will be made. Choose a time of day that you usually won’t be using the PC and a time that doesn’t conflict with other backups such as your personal data backups each night. I chose a time that would be about 1 hour after that time the personal backup was finished on its longest backup. This still allowed time for the image backup to complete before I would normally start using my PC. Once all the scheduling settings are made, press the OK button to save those settings and return to the prior review page.
• The final step is to press the Save settings and run backup button, but clicking that button will start the making of the backup image and the next backup image made will be according to the schedule you set up. You can still use the PC while it is making the backup image, but it will take less time for the image to be made if you are not using the PC. As a reference, it took my system 25 minutes to create the image for 55 GBs on an internal SSD backing up to a USB 3.0 external drive.
• If you monitor the backup process, don’t be alarmed when it seems to reach 95 or 97% and seems to hang. Be patient and let it finish its job.
• When the backup operation is complete close any windows remaining open.
Managing Image Backups
• The Windows Backup Utility will create a new folder on the root directory of the storage drive. Root directory means this folder will not be placed in any other folder on that drive. The folder will be named WindowsImageBackup.
• Click to open this WindowsImageBackup folder and you may receive a warning notice that you don’t yet have permission to access this folder and to press Continue to gain permission. You will have to do that for all other folders in that folder. These backup images are accessible only by users with administrative rights and Windows is adding your user logon with administrative rights to the list of users with permission to access the files.
• Inside the WindowsImageBackup folder is a folder with the name of your PC that Windows is installed on. Inside this PC name folder you will find a folder labeled: Backup with the date the backup was made followed by some numbers. Your backup image is in this folder.
• Each time Windows makes a new backup image it looks for the WindowsImageBackup folder and replaces the Backup folder with the old image in it with the new backup image in a new Backup folder with this new backup date name. When this over write happens, the old image is gone.
• Many users do not use every function of Windows or all their installed applications on a frequent basis. This means a user may not discover a problem until after the next backup image has occurred. This means that the backup image that was made before this problem occurred has been over written by the new backup image which has the problem in it. The solution is to keep some backup images for a longer time just in case a situation like this occurs.
• It is easy to keep a backup image. In the root directory of the storage drive where the WindowsImageBackup folder is, create a new folder and name it CImage with the date that the image was made such as CImage 2-5-2021. Now place the mouse pointer over the WindowsImageBackup folder, press and hold the left mouse button, move the mouse pointer & folder to the new CIMage 2-5-2021 folder and release mouse button to move the WindowsImageBackup folder to inside that folder.
• At the next scheduled image backup, Windows will not find the WindowsImageBackup folder in the root directory and thus create a new WindowsImageBackup folder. Windows will not find a Backup folder to over write and this will preserve your prior image. I repeat this process about once every three months until I have images that go back a year. I don’t keep any older than that.
• This moving the backup image to another folder every three months is all the maintenance required for this automatic backup system.
Overview:
This part explains how to use Windows to create backup images of the drive that Windows is installed on. Also, there are instructions of how to store more than one image backup.
Use Windows to Create and Schedule a Backup Image
• Don’t start this creating a backup image until you have time to allow the PC to make the backup image.
• Press Win key + R to open the Run box. Type sdclt and press the Enter key. This will open the Control panel Backup and Restore (Windows 7) window. Note: This utility was introduce in Windows 7 and has remained the same thru Windows 10.
• If you have never used the Windows Backup Utility, press Set up backup to start the Windows Backup Utility. If you have used the Backup Utility before, the last backup settings will be below Backup; press Change settings to start the Backup Utility.
• The first page of the Backup Utility is to select the drive you wish to store the image backup on. It will display all drives connected to the PC except the drive Windows is installed on. Select the external USB drive you have to store your backups on. If your drive doesn’t show in the list, check your connections and click the Refresh button to find your drive. After selecting (highlight) your storage drive, press Next. Notice that the Backup Utility will only backup the image to the root directory of a drive, you can’t select a folder on that drive to store the backup image in. This will come into play later on.
• The next page asks What do you want to back up? Select Let me choose and press the Next button which will open the next page. We make this choice so we can adjust the default settings of the Backup Utility to create only a backup image and not backup any personal data files.
• This next page allows you to select which personal files will be backed up and if an image is to be made or not. The list of files as Data files and Computer in the box refers to personal files in these locations. We do not want any personal files backed up so all these boxes must NOT have a check, so uncheck any that do have checkmarks. Below this box of personal file locations is a small checkbox next to Include a system image of drives: All partitions on the drive that Windows is installed upon. Usually it is Windows (C:), an EFI partition, and a recovery partition if it was a preloaded PC. This is the box we want a checkmark in. Press Next to go to the next page.
• The next page is to review your backup settings. Make sure that the Backup Location shows your storage drive. In the Backup Summary box, System Image should be the only thing listed. If these items are incorrect, use the back arrow at the top of the page to go back to a prior page and correct the setting. Below the Backup Summary is Schedule: with Change schedule to the right of the current schedule listed, press the Change schedule to open the backup schedule window.
• On the How often do you want to back up? page make sure the box to the left of Run backup on a schedule (recommended) is checked. Click the dropdown arrow to the right of the How often: box and select Monthly. Click the dropdown arrow to the right of the What day: box and select what day each month the image backup will be made. Click the dropdown arrow to the right of the What time: box and select the time of day this backup image will be made. Choose a time of day that you usually won’t be using the PC and a time that doesn’t conflict with other backups such as your personal data backups each night. I chose a time that would be about 1 hour after that time the personal backup was finished on its longest backup. This still allowed time for the image backup to complete before I would normally start using my PC. Once all the scheduling settings are made, press the OK button to save those settings and return to the prior review page.
• The final step is to press the Save settings and run backup button, but clicking that button will start the making of the backup image and the next backup image made will be according to the schedule you set up. You can still use the PC while it is making the backup image, but it will take less time for the image to be made if you are not using the PC. As a reference, it took my system 25 minutes to create the image for 55 GBs on an internal SSD backing up to a USB 3.0 external drive.
• If you monitor the backup process, don’t be alarmed when it seems to reach 95 or 97% and seems to hang. Be patient and let it finish its job.
• When the backup operation is complete close any windows remaining open.
Managing Image Backups
• The Windows Backup Utility will create a new folder on the root directory of the storage drive. Root directory means this folder will not be placed in any other folder on that drive. The folder will be named WindowsImageBackup.
• Click to open this WindowsImageBackup folder and you may receive a warning notice that you don’t yet have permission to access this folder and to press Continue to gain permission. You will have to do that for all other folders in that folder. These backup images are accessible only by users with administrative rights and Windows is adding your user logon with administrative rights to the list of users with permission to access the files.
• Inside the WindowsImageBackup folder is a folder with the name of your PC that Windows is installed on. Inside this PC name folder you will find a folder labeled: Backup with the date the backup was made followed by some numbers. Your backup image is in this folder.
• Each time Windows makes a new backup image it looks for the WindowsImageBackup folder and replaces the Backup folder with the old image in it with the new backup image in a new Backup folder with this new backup date name. When this over write happens, the old image is gone.
• Many users do not use every function of Windows or all their installed applications on a frequent basis. This means a user may not discover a problem until after the next backup image has occurred. This means that the backup image that was made before this problem occurred has been over written by the new backup image which has the problem in it. The solution is to keep some backup images for a longer time just in case a situation like this occurs.
• It is easy to keep a backup image. In the root directory of the storage drive where the WindowsImageBackup folder is, create a new folder and name it CImage with the date that the image was made such as CImage 2-5-2021. Now place the mouse pointer over the WindowsImageBackup folder, press and hold the left mouse button, move the mouse pointer & folder to the new CIMage 2-5-2021 folder and release mouse button to move the WindowsImageBackup folder to inside that folder.
• At the next scheduled image backup, Windows will not find the WindowsImageBackup folder in the root directory and thus create a new WindowsImageBackup folder. Windows will not find a Backup folder to over write and this will preserve your prior image. I repeat this process about once every three months until I have images that go back a year. I don’t keep any older than that.
• This moving the backup image to another folder every three months is all the maintenance required for this automatic backup system.