Cannot take a system image from my SSD

I've been trying to take a system image from my laptop (which is a 256 GB SSD, used only till 45%) to an external hard drive (on a partition of about 256 GB).

Every time I try, I get this error message "Windows could not find backup devices on this computer. The following information might explain why this problem occurred: Incorrect function. (0x80070001). Close Windows Backup and try again".

I can view the external HDD through Windows Explorer and there is no problem either reading or writing to the external HDD in the usual course of operation. I checked if TRIM was working and it is, so I cannot understand the problem.

The only explanation I could come up with was that since the system image makes an EXACT sector by sector copy, and the storage framework of the SSD being vastly different from that of the HDD (?), the system image function would not work in this particular combination.

I wonder if anyone else had this very same problem, and what, if anything they did about it. Do you think an SSD to an external SSD combination would work? Doesn't Windows 10 come with a "SSD-HDD-SSD sector translator" (aka driver)?

Hi, what you're trying to do is a perfectly reasonable procedure.

However, sometimes Windows' Backup isn't so reliable ((some have found).
I have a SSD and HDD external storage, and it works for me (just tried it for the first time).

I would recommend (as others have) you explore e.g. Macrium Reflect (free) + boot medium + external storage.
Many more features, more reliable, incremental imaging, control of backups created.

There is a good scattering of threads about problems with connecting external disks on this forum, but normally they are cases where the disk is not accessible.

System images backups are not a direct sector by sector copy. The backup file is basically a file like any other. Something else is wrong.

Try using Macrium Reflect Free to make an image backup.

Hi, what you're trying to do is a perfectly reasonable procedure.

However, sometimes Windows' Backup isn't so reliable ((some have found).
I have a SSD and HDD external storage, and it works for me (just tried it for the first time).

I would recommend (as others have) you explore e.g. Macrium Reflect (free) + boot medium + external storage.
Many more features, more reliable, incremental imaging, control of backups created.

There is a good scattering of threads about problems with connecting external disks on this forum, but normally they are cases where the disk is not accessible.

That was excellent advice. I'm sorry I took so long to reply, but I've just used Macrium Reflect (as you and cereberus suggested), on two of my Windows 10 SSD machines which had this problem, and I'm happy to report that I'm all rescue protected and imaged twice over. Even tried a mock restore (without actually doing the restore), so that I could familiarize myself with the situation. It's a great program, and thanks to you both for recommending it.

System images backups are not a direct sector by sector copy. The backup file is basically a file like any other. Something else is wrong.

Try using Macrium Reflect Free to make an image backup.

That was excellent advice. I'm sorry I took so long to reply, but I've just used Macrium Reflect (as you and cereberus suggested), on two of my Windows 10 SSD machines which had this problem, and I'm happy to report that I'm all rescue protected and imaged twice over. Even tried a mock restore (without actually doing the restore), so that I could familiarize myself with the situation. It's a great program, and thanks to you both for recommending it.

Glad to hear it got solved, I'm going to check out Macrium Reflect (free) myself ...