This morning I pulled out one of my old USB 2.0 external HDD's, and formatted it, to not only make a system image from my system disk, but also of my 2nd internal disk that's used for Libraries and backup images and File History.
The time is nearing for Win10 RTM and if something goes wrong I want to be prepared. My system is working perfectly(no problems after the last round of updates & patches), all my software/programs are up to date, and I have disabled my installed theme and run SFC-DISM to reset everything.
This is taking a while because I'm making an image of 11 Reflect system images too on the backup partition.
I cannot recommend strongly enough, that everybody else do this(especially the ´"beginners") or else here in the blog there will be a lot of "I lost all my files, what do I do now?" posts, when there is a power fluctuation or you lose internet connection or maybe be a driver/software(in my case it was Samsung Rapid) compatibility problem that causes a BSOD after Upgrading.
So prepare right now for the worst if your system is running smoothly and do yourself a favor and image all your internal disks now, even if you do a "Clean Install", because you never know....
Whew!! That took a while! It just finished. After the image was done I did a verify. 5 hours in all, but worth it I'm sure. It took up 394GB up, because as I said before, I even backed up my backup images( 11 in all with different configuration/update levels) and File History from my 2nd internal drive.
So, bring on the Ten!
Bring on the Ten!
Here comes the pain!(Not!!!)
Backing up externally shouldn't only be done in anticipation of Win 10. It should be done all the time in case of unexpected screw ups on any OS.
Here's my data backup:
On my main PC, I have no data stored on internal hard drive except for disposable files. Everything goes to my NAS and external drives. Even my music and videos are on the NAS.
And here's my OS backup ( the hard drive contains only macrium images from my 3 machines):
I back up monthly to second internal or before big changes, and I just have my laptop(shown in specs)which is now only if I have to help someone out at their house or in case of DCF(Desktop Catastrophic Failure) and my Lenovo H530 desktop(specs can be seen at Eight blog) only has a couple of documents(nothing really important, I still like paper and use OneDrive for them too) and some ripped music, so I all I really need are my monthly's and 1 good image on an external(which I just redid today).
I basically wrote the post for the many, too many actually, people that come to the blog that don't have any system images and think File history is going to be enough(NOT). How many people come to the blog with problems that could be solved by an image? BSOD, driver failures, bad patches...etc. When it comes time to upgrade they need to know to, and what to, image(everything), because after it starts and something unexpected happens(junior trips over power cord) there is no going back.
Good advice Cliff. I did a system back a few days ago
I actually wanted to redo/update my off computer image a while ago, but waited for patch Tuesday, then came this weeks round of updates, then I had to turn off/unpatch my theme, so I waited till today when I had enough time knowing it would take a while because it was a total image and the USB drive is a 4 year old USB 2.0 that I keep in a closet(being Germen houses are usually made of cement blocks it stays the same cool temperature year round). I use the old 2.0 because it's too slow for any other use.
I do an image on Win 7 every other day.
What does [SFC-DISM] actually do. Restore everything to default? Does it remove Updates?
It'sWhat does [SFC-DISM] actually do. Restore everything to default? Does it remove Updates?And it is the system file checker(SFC) which checks and repairs system files, and Deployment Image Servicing and Management tool(DISM) which cleans up the Windows Side by Side(WinSxS) folder.Code:Dism.exe /online /Cleanup-Image /StartComponentCleanup&sfc/scannow&Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth&sfc/scannow&pause
Thanks Cliff
