Power user features made easy: System Imaging

System images have long been used in corporate network environments for simultaneously restoring scores of computers to their original states.  The same technique also works well on the small scale.  Many people complain about their computers becoming slow over time, at which point, reformatting and reinstalling the operating systems becomes the only option.  This is where imaging saves the day.  The average user doesn't want to spend the time to back up all of their data and reinstall all of their programs, a process that can take days.  A system image is essentially a complete copy of your system state at the time it is made.  When the image is written back to the drive, your system will be exactly the way it was when you made the image.  I suggest making an image a week to a month after getting a new computer, this way you have time to install programs and tweak settings to your liking.  Hit read more to see how to create and restore from system images in Windows 7.

Before you begin

In this guide I will assume that you are running Windows 7 Home Premium or higher.  I also assume that you have a backup medium available.  I recommend an external hard drive equal to or greater than the size of your system drive, or a large set of DVD-Rs.  You will need the DVDs to make a system repair disc anyway.  Please note that you will still have to back up your user files, as anything you generate after the system image will be wiped out when you restore said image.  Keep in mind that the purpose of imaging is to save you time when it comes to reinstalling programs and changing settings; it is not meant to replace regular backups of your important data.

Making an image

Start by opening up the Control Panel and navigating to the Backup and Restore center.  Plug in your external drive before proceeding any further.  Then choose the "Create a system Image" option from the left panel.  Choose the drive you want to back up to from the dropdown box, or select DVDs.  The next screen will tell you what drives are to be backed up.  If you have more that one drive or partition in your system, you may want to back those up as well.  Continue by pressing "Start backup."

Creating the repair disc

Next, you will need to create a system repair disc.  This will be to restore the system image in the event that your system become un-bootable.  Insert a blank DVD or CD, then choose "Create a system repair disc" from the left panel in the Backup and Restore center.  Select the correct disc drive (if you have more than one), and press "Create disc."  Once this process has finished, remove the disc, label it, and store it in a safe location.

Restoring the image

Restoring from the image is only slightly more difficult than making microwave popcorn. You can use the repair disc to begin or initialize the procedure from the Backup and Restore center.  If your computer is still in working condition and you simply want to restore it to an earlier state for that "new computer" feel, use the Backup and Restore center path.  Then connect the drive or insert the discs containing the image.  Choose "Recover system settings or your computer."  Next pick the "Advanced recovery methods" option.  Finally, choose "Use a system image you created earlier to recover your computer."  If you need to back up files, do so now.  Restoring from a system image will wipe out your current settings, data, and programs.  Remember, the point of restoring your system is to bring it back to a more "out of the box" like state.  After backing up data, press "Restart" to continue the process.  When your computer reboots, it will present a series of boxes asking you what you wan to do.  Choose your keyboard layout, whether you want to use the newest system image (the default option), if you want to format and partition the disks ( which should be unavailable unless you have repartitioned since the creation of your image), and your final approval to begin the launch sequence.  Press finish when you are ready to commence the restoration of your system.  I don't recommend stopping the process in the middle, as you may leave your system in a broken state.  When the process finishes, and your system restarts, Windows will ask you if you want to restore your files (assuming you backed them up using the built in tool).  That is beyond the scope of this guide, but Windows will guide you through the steps if you choose to do so.  If all goes well, your system will be just like it was when you made the image, and you will be smiling at your fast "new" computer.