YizEr Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 I'm thinking of creating a Windows 8.1 system image backup using my external usb hard drive because of large free space available but the external usb hard drive is not empty I have media content stored in the drive. Just want to find out if creating a Windows 8.1 system image backup using the external usb hard drive will delete the contents of the hard drive? Does the external usb hard drive need to be empty in order to create a Windows 8.1 system image backup? Can I partition the external usb hard drive for Windows 8.1 system image backup? and do you have any other tips when creating a Windows 8.1 system image backup? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riggers Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 It`s perfectly fine doing a system image of Windows 8.1 on an external USB drive. Iv`e just done one 10 minutes ago and no files that where already on the drive were affected in any way. As long as there is enough space it shouldn`t touch anything and i would imagine would prompt you if it were to. Just go through the normal process, Control Panel -> File History -> System Image Backup -> Make sure to select the correct drive (i.e. your USB external) at the "On a Hard Disk" point -> Next. It will take a while depending on the size of the image but once done you should see a folder on the root of the USB drive called "WindowsImageBackup" which will be seen as being emtpy but if you click on it (you will see and permissions popup) then do the same for the folders inside you will see the hard disk image file in the Backup <date> <number> folder... p.s. You can partition it if you wish, that`s up to you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YizEr Posted March 18, 2015 Author Share Posted March 18, 2015 It`s perfectly fine doing a system image of Windows 8.1 on an external USB drive. Iv`e just done one 10 minutes ago and no files that where already on the drive were affected in any way. As long as there is enough space it shouldn`t touch anything and i would imagine would prompt you if it were to. Just go through the normal process, Control Panel -> File History -> System Image Backup -> Make sure to select the correct drive (i.e. your USB external) at the "On a Hard Disk" point -> Next. It will take a while depending on the size of the image but once done you should see a folder on the root of the USB drive called "WindowsImageBackup" which will be seen as being emtpy but if you click on it (you will see and permissions popup) then do the same for the folders inside you will see the hard disk image file in the Backup <date> <number> folder... p.s. You can partition it if you wish, that`s up to you. once I make the WIndows Image backup can i copy or move the Windows Image Backup to another hard drive? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mzta cody Posted March 18, 2015 Share Posted March 18, 2015 once I make the WIndows Image backup can i copy or move the Windows Image Backup to another hard drive? Yes, you can copy it or move it, but to in order to restore from it, it must always be at the root of the drive the image is on, and to move it will require administrative permissions just so you know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GamerwithGlasses Posted March 20, 2015 Share Posted March 20, 2015 You can also run command line as an administrator and give the following command to backup to an external drive. Make note of the external drive's drive letter. WBADMIN START BACKUP -backupTarget:(Destination Drive Letter): -include:(system drive letter): -allCritical -quiet I wonder however, I've had issues in Windows 7 where a backup on a USB 3.0 was not seen by the recovery program. Does this work with windows 8.1? I've had to stick with USB 2.0 based flash drives or external hard drives for it to actually and successfully see the external drive for image restoration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whs37 Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 You can also run command line as an administrator and give the following command to backup to an external drive. Make note of the external drive's drive letter. WBADMIN START BACKUP -backupTarget:(Destination Drive Letter): -include:(system drive letter): -allCritical -quiet I wonder however, I've had issues in Windows 7 where a backup on a USB 3.0 was not seen by the recovery program. Does this work with windows 8.1? I've had to stick with USB 2.0 based flash drives or external hard drives for it to actually and successfully see the external drive for image restoration. Your stick was probably formatted in Fat32 and not in NTFS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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