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Actually I have been wanting to create a full system image as backup for my Windows 10 PC as it has started giving troubles to me. And I want full system image as backup as I don't want to reinstall my precious softwares.
So, my questions are :

  1. Will making a system image on a new external hard disk will render it bootable ? Point being, will I still be able to use it for further storage purposes or not .I am gonna have to buy a new hard disk solely for this, so I need to know.
  2. Suppose I make a system image of my windows 10 now. And my PC gets updated in future and say it was running on Windows 11 when it got crashed and I needeed my system image. So, when I restore, obviously it will be windows 10. Will I be able to update again to windows 11 ? ( I mean the same user, with the same IP address, updating twice to Windows 11. I hope that's not a problem for Microsoft. )
  3. When I create a system image, do the viruses,malware etc. get copied too ? Will restoring a previous image to a clean PC can infect it ?

    Thanks for helping in advance !
Curious Cosmopolitan
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2 Answers2

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1. Will making a system image on a new external hard disk will render it bootable ? Point being, will I still be able to use it for further storage purposes or not. I am gonna have to buy a new hard disk solely for this, so I need to know.

Generally, no. You could clone your disk, which means you make a byte-for-byte copy. That would be bootable. But usually the term "system image" is understood to mean a non-bootable file - typically a compressed copy of your disk. (Additionally, many imaging tools are smart enough to exclude things like the swap file, hibernation file, etc).

2. Suppose I make a system image of my windows 10 now. And my PC gets updated in future and say it was running on Windows 11 when it got crashed and I needed my system image. So, when I restore, obviously it will be windows 10. Will I be able to update again to windows 11 ? (I mean the same user, with the same IP address, updating twice to Windows 11. I hope that's not a problem for Microsoft.)

As long as you restore to the same hardware, you'll be fine.

3. When I create a system image, do the viruses, malware etc. get copied too ? Will restoring a previous image to a clean PC can infect it?

Yes. Your system image contains everything on your hard drive - good and bad.

Charles Burge
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Making a System Image does not back up data, nor other files. It only copies essential Windows operating system (OS) files.

  1. A System Image is not bootable.
  2. If you have a newer version of Windows OS, it might or might not accept reversion to an older version. If you are able to recert from Windows 11 to 10 from that file, you likely could update to Windows 11 again, though you would likely need o install many updates, before and after re-upgrading.
  3. Though it is unlikely, it is possible that deepkly-hidden malware can be stored in the System Image.

Much more useful is a full disk image. That is, a copy, possibly compressed, of all files on your hard disk drive (HDD) or solid state drive (SSD), including your documents, photos, music, videos and all installed programs. These images can be browsed to find individual files, or the entire image can be restored -- often within 30 minutes.

There are a number of excellent, free and paid, programs to make a disk image, such as Macrium Reflect Free and AOMEI Backupper. You will need an external drive for the image with at least as much spaces as that actually used on your PC's drive.

As for malware, it likely will be in the image, too. Use reliable anti-malware applications to scan you machine before making any image, if you believe there are issues.

DrMoishe Pippik
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