{"id":27828,"date":"2022-08-31T20:26:55","date_gmt":"2022-08-31T14:56:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/198.58.113.91\/blog\/?p=27828"},"modified":"2023-06-27T18:50:27","modified_gmt":"2023-06-27T13:20:27","slug":"restore-system-image-backup-windows-11","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/restore-system-image-backup-windows-11\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Restore System Image Backup in Windows 10 or 11"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The native Backup and Restore tool in Windows 10 and 11, also known as &#8220;Windows 7 Backup and Restore Tool,&#8221; lets you backup your files and create a system image of your current Windows installation. You can access the tool from the classic Control Panel.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>The system image backup is stored in a folder named <code>WindowsImageBackup<\/code> in the root directory of the specified partition or external drive.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27829\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/system-image-backup-winre-1.png\" alt=\"restore system image backup windows re\" width=\"496\" height=\"185\" \/><\/p>\n<p>You can restore the system image if Windows fails to boot and you&#8217;re unable to fix the issue. To restore the system image from an earlier backup, you need to boot into the Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE.)<\/p>\n<p><strong>Note:<\/strong> The <code>WindowsImageBackup<\/code> folder has the following directory structure, and it&#8217;s essential to maintain the same structure for a successful restoration.<\/p>\n<pre>E:.\r\n\u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500OptiPlex-9020\r\n\u2502 \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500Backup 2022-08-09 153325\r\n\u2502 \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500Catalog\r\n\u2502 \u251c\u2500\u2500\u2500Logs\r\n\u2502 \u2514\u2500\u2500\u2500SPPMetadataCache<\/pre>\n<p><em>OptiPlex-9020 is the computer name in the above example.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Also, do not move the <code>WindowsImageBackup<\/code> folder to a subfolder. Or else the System image recovery tool won&#8217;t be able to find the image.<\/p>\n<p><em>(Before proceeding, I highly recommend taking a complete system image backup of the current Windows installation using a reliable tool like Macrium Reflect Free edition, Acronis True Image, or any other professional backup tool.)<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>Restore System Image Backup in Windows<\/h2>\n<p>To restore the system image backup using Windows RE in Windows 10 or 11, follow these steps:<\/p>\n<p>Press the Shift key while you select the Power button, and click Restart. Your PC will restart in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/edit-registry-offline-windows-re\/\">Windows Recovery Environment<\/a> (WinRE).<\/p>\n<p>On the Windows RE page, click Troubleshoot \u2192 Advanced options \u2192 System Image Recovery.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-27830\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/winre-screen-system-image-recovery.png\" alt=\"win re system image backup recovery\" width=\"750\" height=\"444\" \/><\/p>\n<p>On some OEM PCs, you need to use the following options instead:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Troubleshoot \u2192 Advanced options \u2192 See more recovery options \u2192 System Image Recovery.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27832\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/win-re-system-image-options-1.jpg\" alt=\"system image recovery in windows 11 or 10 - screenshots - windows re\" width=\"750\" height=\"559\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Windows RE will automatically scan for the&#8221;<code>WindowsImageBackup<\/code>&#8220;folder in each partition and list your backups. If your backups are stored on an external drive, attach the external hard drive now. The rest of the procedure is simple. All you need to do is follow the on-screen instructions and finish the process. The screenshots below are from a Windows 11 21H2 computer.<\/p>\n<p>The System Image Backup tool will recommend the latest available system image.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27835\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/win-re-system-image-options-4.jpg\" alt=\"system image recovery in windows 11 or 10 - screenshots - windows re\" width=\"750\" height=\"508\" \/><\/p>\n<p>If you want to choose a different system image, click &#8220;Select a system image&#8221; and click Next. If more images are available, they will be shown on the resulting screen.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27836\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/win-re-system-image-options-5.jpg\" alt=\"system image recovery in windows 11 or 10 - screenshots - windows re\" width=\"751\" height=\"507\" \/><\/p>\n<p>On the other hand, if none of your hard drive partitions contain a system image, you&#8217;ll see the following error:<\/p>\n<pre class=\"err\">Re-image Your Computer\r\n\r\nWindows cannot find a system image on this computer.\r\n\r\nAttach the backup hard disk or insert the final DVD from a backup set and click Retry. Alternatively, close this dialog for more options.<\/pre>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27833\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/win-re-system-image-options-2.jpg\" alt=\"system image recovery in windows 11 or 10 - screenshots - windows re\" width=\"750\" height=\"457\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Side note: You might also see the above error if some files in the <code>WindowsImageBackup<\/code> folder are missing (e.g., <code>MediaID<\/code> or <code>MediaID.bin<\/code>), or the folder hierarchy has been changed, or the folder has been moved to a subfolder.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27834\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/win-re-system-image-options-3.jpg\" alt=\"system image recovery in windows 11 or 10 - screenshots - windows re\" width=\"751\" height=\"507\" \/><\/p>\n<p>You can insert your external hard drive, the backup DVD, or choose a network location (UNC path); it must be an ethernet connection; Wi-Fi isn&#8217;t supported.<\/p>\n<p><em>To select a network location that contains the system image, or install a driver for your backup device (if Windows RE doesn&#8217;t automatically detect it), click Advanced. In the resulting window, you can choose one of the options, &#8220;Search for a system image on the network&#8221; or &#8220;Install a driver&#8221;.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Windows RE lets you add the device drivers needed to access the external drive if your backup device is a legacy one and is not detected. As said earlier, you can also use a DVD or connect to a network share and access the system image backup files.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27837\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/win-re-system-image-options-6.jpg\" alt=\"system image recovery in windows 11 or 10 - screenshots - windows re\" width=\"752\" height=\"312\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Once located and selected the system image for restoration, click Next.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27838\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/win-re-system-image-options-7.jpg\" alt=\"system image recovery in windows 11 or 10 - screenshots - windows re\" width=\"751\" height=\"510\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Editor&#8217;s note:<\/strong> On the above screen, the &#8220;Format and repartition disks&#8221; is unavailable or grayed out. The system image I&#8217;m using in this example is located in another partition in the same hard drive. That might be the reason why the option is grayed out. Also, as my system image backup included only the C:\\ drive, Windows RE has safely dimmed that setting.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>You can configure some options if necessary by clicking on the &#8220;Advanced&#8221; button. The options available are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Automatically restart this computer after the restore is complete. To make additional changes before restarting this computer, clear this check box.<\/li>\n<li>Automatically check and update disk error information. This might take several minutes to complete. To check disks and update error information manually, clear this check box.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27839\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/win-re-system-image-options-8.jpg\" alt=\"system image recovery in windows 11 or 10 - screenshots - windows re\" width=\"751\" height=\"376\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Click Next to see the final screen. Read the following instructions, and click &#8220;Finish.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;If the restore process is interrupted or fails to complete, your computer might not start up (boot). If this happens, you can use a system repair disc to try to restore the computer again or attempt other system recovery options. Create a system repair disc.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27840\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/win-re-system-image-options-9.jpg\" alt=\"system image recovery in windows 11 or 10 - screenshots - windows re\" width=\"746\" height=\"505\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em><strong>Editor&#8217;s note:<\/strong> The final warning is why I suggested taking a complete system image backup using Macrium Reflect Free Edition (or any other reputed program like Acronis) beforehand.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"rp\"><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/windows-backup-failed-exclusive-lock-efi-partition-avast\/\">&#8220;Windows Backup Failed to Get an Exclusive Lock on the EFI System Partition&#8221; Error<\/a><\/div>\n<p><em>If your Windows RE doesn&#8217;t have the above options, it implies the Windows RE image (<code>Winre.wim<\/code>) is missing in the Recovery folder. In that case, you can do <strong>any<\/strong> <strong>one<\/strong> of the following:<\/em><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Restore the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/cant-reset-windows-10-could-not-find-win-re\/\">missing Winre.wim<\/a> file and re-enter Windows RE.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em style=\"font-size: inherit;\">Boot Windows using the Windows 10\/11 bootable USB <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/windows-iso-to-usb-dvd-tool-bootable-media\/\">Setup disk<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/access-windows-recovery-environment\/\">access Windows RE<\/a>.<\/em><\/li>\n<li><em style=\"font-size: inherit;\">If you created a system repair disc the last time you made a system image backup, you could also use that disk; it contains the Windows RE boot image.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"rp\"><strong>RELATED:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/windows-backup-restore-desktop-right-click-options\/\">Windows Backup and Restore Tool &#8211; Command line arguments<\/a><\/div>\n<h3>Additional Information<\/h3>\n<p>The System Image Backup and Restore tool doesn&#8217;t provide you the option to restore selected files from the backup image. However, you can manually mount the VHDX files in the Backup subfolder (e.g., <code>\\WindowsImageBackup\\OptiPlex-9020\\Backup 2022-08-09 153325<\/code>) and extract individual files from the virtual hard disk image.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-27843\" src=\"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/winre-screen-system-image-recovery-vhd.png\" alt=\"system image recovery in windows 11 or 10 - - mount vhd vhdx image\" width=\"682\" height=\"145\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The native backup and restore tool is a barebones program that doesn&#8217;t have advanced features like scheduling (though there is an undocumented command-line argument that can be used for scheduling) and differential\/incremental backups. And, if you face any difficulties using this tool, getting a proper solution from Microsoft is tough.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The native Backup and Restore tool in Windows 10 and 11, also known as &#8220;Windows 7 Backup and Restore Tool,&#8221; lets you backup your files and create a system image of your current Windows installation. You can access the tool from the classic Control Panel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,869],"tags":[680],"class_list":["post-27828","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-windows-10","category-windows-11","tag-windows-recovery-environment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":9898,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/automatically-backup-registry-hives-windows-10\/","url_meta":{"origin":27828,"position":0},"title":"How to Automatically Backup the Entire Registry in Windows","author":"Ramesh","date":"June 22, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"Every System Restore point or shadow copy maintains a complete backup of the registry hives. However, Windows 10\/11 doesn't automatically create System Restore points every day. Restore Points are created only when installing important updates or drivers. Notwithstanding the System Restore's excellent capabilities, relying upon System Restore as a file\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Utilities&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Utilities","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/utilities\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"backup registry daily or weekly - regidlebackup task","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/registry-backup-task-regidlebackup.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/registry-backup-task-regidlebackup.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/registry-backup-task-regidlebackup.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":75826,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/system-image-backup-0x80780119-error\/","url_meta":{"origin":27828,"position":1},"title":"Fix: System Image Backup Error 0x80780119","author":"Ramesh","date":"July 4, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"When you create a system image using the built-in System Image Backup tool in Windows 10 or 11, the error code 0x80780119 may appear. The backup failed. There is not enough disk space to create the volume shadow copy on the storage location. Make sure that, for all volumes to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows 10&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows 10","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/windows-10\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"delete font files in EFI partition - error 0x80780119 during system image backup","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/del-ttf-efi-partition.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/del-ttf-efi-partition.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/del-ttf-efi-partition.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/del-ttf-efi-partition.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":5464,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/system-restore-error-0x80042308-reset-vss\/","url_meta":{"origin":27828,"position":2},"title":"System Restore Error 0x80042308 &#8220;Object could not be found&#8221;","author":"Ramesh","date":"October 11, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"When you attempt to create a new Restore Point, the error 0x80042308 may pop up and the restore point isn't created: The restore point could not be created for the following reason: The specified object could not be found. (0x80042308) Please try again. Also, the same error code appears when\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"System Restore Error 0x80042308 \u201cObject could not be found\u201d","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/system-restore-80042308-1.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":18069,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/create-a-recovery-drive-refresh-reinstall-windows-10\/","url_meta":{"origin":27828,"position":3},"title":"How to Create Recovery Drive in Windows 10","author":"Ramesh","date":"August 25, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"If your current Windows 10 installation gets corrupted, you'll be able to use the recovery drive to reinstall Windows 10 -- restoring the same build and version of Windows 10 you were using, along with the installed drivers and preinstalled customizations. 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It's even found on your SD card, USB pen drive, and external hard disk if you have connected them to your Windows computer earlier. It's is not a virus or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"what is system volume information folder, and can i delete it","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/svi-folder-system-drive-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/svi-folder-system-drive-2.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/svi-folder-system-drive-2.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/svi-folder-system-drive-2.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4241,"url":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/windows-backup-restore-desktop-right-click-options\/","url_meta":{"origin":27828,"position":5},"title":"Add Windows Backup and Restore Options to Desktop Right-click (Cascading) Menu","author":"Ramesh","date":"September 30, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Windows Backup and Restore tool supports certain command-line arguments using which you can automate certain backup and restore tasks. You can quickly start a backup (full\/create new backup set or create a differential backup in the existing backup set), or open a Windows Backup and Restore user interface window without\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Windows&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Windows","link":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/category\/microsoft\/windows\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"windows backup and restore context menu","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/backup-restore-cascade-menu.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/backup-restore-cascade-menu.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/backup-restore-cascade-menu.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27828","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27828"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27828\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27828"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27828"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.winhelponline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27828"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}