Restore Complete Computer

How to Restore the Complete Computer from a Complete Backup and Restore Image in Vista​

   Information

A Windows Complete PC Backup image contains copies of your programs, system settings, and files. It is a complete system backup that you can use to restore the contents of your computer if your hard disk or entire computer ever stops working. This will restore the hard drive size and content back to exactly as it was when the Complete PC Backup was made. For more information, see: Windows Help and How-to: Restore your computer from a system image backup

   Note

BACKUP LOCATION:


A) If you want to delete or copy the entire WindowsImageBackup folder to save it to another location to keep a copy of it, you will need to open each subfolder in the WindowsImageBackup folder and grant access permission to them first by clicking Continue twice for eace folder. You will then be able to copy this folder like any other folder. You may want to do this because when a new Complete PC Backup is made it can overwrite the previous Complete PC Backup with the differences to create the new backup.

• Backups are saved in this format: (backup location)\WindowsImageBackup\(computer name)\Backup (year-month-day) (time)
• If the backup was done on Local Disk D: at 9/7/2007 1:00:50 PM (It uses 24 hour time), then the full backup file path would be:
• D:\WindowsImageBackup\Computer\Backup 2007-09-07 130050
• You would right click the folder Backup 2007-09-07 130050 and click Delete to delete that backup.
• To see what your computer name is, see: How to Change the Computer Name in Vista

B) To delete all but the most recent Complete PC Backup, you can use Disk Cleanup. You will just need to select the drive that the complete PC backups are stored on and select the More Options tab. For how see step 15 here: How to Use Disk Cleanup in Vista

C) To delete the Complete PC Backup completely, you just need to take ownership of the WindowsImageBackup folder and subfolders. Afterwards, you will be able to delete the folder.

   Tip

• This only applies to the Vista Enterprise, Ultimate, and Business editions.
• For SP1 news about changes to Backup, see: Technet.com: What’s new with backup and Restore on Vista SP1
• When you restore your computer from a Windows Complete PC Backup image, it is a complete restoration. You can't choose individual items to restore, and everything you’ve done since that backup was created will be lost. This includes new programs, settings, and all files like pictures and music.
• If you dual boot with Windows XP, then everytime you start in XP the System Restore Points and all except the most recent Complete PC Backup files in Vista get deleted. For how, see: How to Stop System Restore Points from being Deleted in Vista when Dual Booting with XP
• You cannot restore a 32 bit Vista version complete pc backup on a 64 bit Vista version, or the other way around.

EXAMPLE: Restore Complete PC Backup Notice
NOTE: When you click on the Restore computer button from the Backup and Restore Center in the Control Panel (Classic View), you will see the screenshot below. Just click Close and see how to to restore the computer below.

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Here's How:

1. Boot into the System Recovery Optionsscreen.​

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2. Click on the Windows Complete PC Restore option. (See screenshot below)​

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3. If you saved the backup image on a set of multiple DVDs, then insert the last DVD from the backup set when prompted. If not, go to step 8.​

A) Go to step 9 below.​

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4. If you have a saved backup image on a connected hard drive or another partition, then you will see this screenshot​

below.​

A) If you want to restore the latest backup, then click on Next.​

NOTE: The Restore the following backup is normally the last backup made.​

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B) To restore a different backup image, dot Restore a different backup and then press Next.​

NOTE: This is if the backup you want to use is not listed here and you have made other complete PC backups in this same location that you wish to choose from instead. If you have a backup from another location that you want to choose from, then it will need to be connected to the computer before step 1.​

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C) Select which backup to restore from the list and then click on Next. (see screenshot below)​

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D) Click on Finish.​

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5. Check the confirm box and click on OK. (See screenshot below)​

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6. You will now see this screenshot below.​

NOTE: If you have the backup image on DVDs, have them ready. See step 3 above.​

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7. When done, click on Restart Now to finish. (See screenshot below)​

NOTE: Your computer will restart and the restore will be done.​

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That's it,
Shawn

Related Tutorials

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• How to Extract Vista System Image Files Using Virtual PC 2007
• How to Create a Complete Computer Backup and Restore Image in Vista
• How to Do a System Restore in Vista
• How to Restore Backup Files in Vista
• How to Restore Previous Versions of a File and Folder in Vista
• How to Create a Vista Recovery Disc
• How to Reset the Last Backup Listing for Vista Complete PC Backup
• How to Reset the Last Backup Listing for Vista Back Up Files

 

[samayam]

Thanks shawn for taking time to reply me
I didn't make out you reply clearly
Still in darkness how do i get the option to select the different backup, Any alternative methods
Hope you could help me!!!

 

[Brink]

No problem Samayam,

You will not see that option unless you have made other complete PC backups in the same location listed (Ex: D: ) to choose from instead. If you have a backup from another location that you want to choose from (Ex: external USB drive), then it will need to be connected to the computer before step 1.

 

[Harry230]

Hi,

Nice tutorial.

I have a problem with completion of the backup.

I get to step 10 of your tutorial (given permission to overwrite etc.) and it just starts the restoration process, and then gives an internal error:
"The backup target volume does not match target shadow copy's original volume"

Any ideas what caused that?? as it won't go any further in the backup restoration. The c: drive remains as it was. In this instance I have saved a couple of backups and I am trying to replace the c: drive with the first backup.

Any help appreciated. As I have just done a new computer build and saved complete backups at a few key spots along the way of reinstalling drivers/apps etc but would like to get back to a previous point. (without using system restore as the restore point doesn't exist any more)

regards,

Harry 230.

 

[Brink]

Hello Harry,

Is the backup from that specific C: drive and not from another one? It will not work from a backup of another computer or hard drive.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[Harry230]

Hi, Shawn,

Exactly the same c: drive, same computer. Had the backup "WindowsImageBackup" on another drive (z: BACKUP) on the same computer. I was quite surprised it didn't work and alarmed me a little as to how valid this image backup is. I am glad I did this early in my new computer build as I now have doubts as whether it will be useful if I am in a more desperate situation. Still would be nice to get back to the backup I have from a few days ago without having to do a complete reload. Any other pc image programs you can recommend.

Also when doing the complete pc backup I only selected the c:\ partition to ensure backup of the OS and applications. My plan is to use the file backup for my docs,pics,music etc. My understanding is that it complete pc backup should restore the complete c:\ partition, correct?

I have four other partitions on the same 750gb drive that the c:\ OS partition is on, and they should not be affected by restoration??

I was a little surprised with the message "The backup target volume does not match target shadow copy's original volume" as it should be just overwriting the c:\, is that true ? Also I did not change size of any partitions etc, it was all the same as when backed up.

I am a little annoyed with the product as I bought the Ultimate 64 thinking the backup options would be good value.

thanks for any help.

Harry

 

[Brink]

When you do a Complete PC Backup, it will backup the entire C: partition. When you restore it, it will only format and restore to the C: partition leaving all of your other partitions untouched.

Is your Z: Backup a separate hard drive or another partition? I'm not sure why it had failed on you, but you might try using another drive letter other than Z to see how it works after another backup as a test.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/114767-drive-letter-add-change-remove.html


Another good backup program is Acronis True Image. You can try a 15 day trial version from this link below.

Complete hard disk recovery solution, backup, drive copy, clone and image computer software

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[Harry230]

Thanks Shawn,

I think I may have discovered the cause of the problem. I had moved the original file from another partition (had been backed up on the partition on a drive different from the OS) to the z: backup which is a separate partition on same hard drive (separate to the OS drive but within the same computer). I then added another increment by pointing the complete pc backup to the new drive (by drive pick list), it appeared to find the previous backup and actually incremented the backup and changed the date/time reference but when used obviously caused the error I mentioned.

I have since tried some other backups making sure the complete restore app uses the same backup each time.

For just a single backup of the OS and selected apps (approx 15gb), backup and restore worked fine, tried it a couple of times, worked just like your tute!

Problem: I then built a new backup file, installed/added some more apps and files to the C:\ OS partition and did a new backup file (even reset to "no previous backup found") it appeared to increment the original build, changed time/date file name etc and file size increased about 1.5gb (approx size of change to OS partition). BUT when I went to restore and booted from the vista install disk all that could be found was the original build (filename, time/date) but nothing of the incremental builds (2) that had been added. I further proved this by actually restoring and observing it only restored the original backup, none of the incremental additions (files/applications) had been included.

Does this mean one should perform a seperate complete backup at any given stage of populating a computer and saving as complete images. I thought that further "complete pc backups" would increment the original backup and allow a full restoration which doesn't seem to happen in my case (I tried 3 different rebuilds/backups/restores with no joy).

Also should it be possible to see each incremental addition to the original and be able to restore to any of the incremental stages.

OR is it just better to use Acronis.

thanks for any help and the delay in replying to you was because I was testing, building, testing etc...

regards,

Harry.

 

[Brink]

Harry,

What did you mean when you said, "(even reset to "no previous backup found") " ?

When you do another Complete PC Backup to the same location, it does is by increments and only backups the differences between the last backup and the new one to save space. When you do a Restore, you will have the option (step 8b in tutorial) to select a different Complete PC Backup date (increment) to restore from or restore the entire computer again from the most current backup.

The only drawback to this is all these incremented backups must be intact to use it. If you clear or delete one incremenatal backup, then you will lose all backups dated after it.

You should only do Complete PC Backups on separate drives or media if you want to be separate from another one. For example, a clean slate backup instead of a backup that includes everything else you have installed.

Acronis is a fine backup program, but I find this free one with Vista works very well once you get use to how it works.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[Harry230]

Thanks,

I meant I reset the last backup listing for complete pc Backup and Restore as per your tute deleting registry values.. With my testing I thought it best to strart fresh again to ensure the base backup and subsequent increments were clean.

As I said I didn't see any of the increments in restoration, just showed me the base (first iteration) of the backup. Even though I had performed two increments (with OS partition file/app changes) AND it showed up as the increments occurred in the windowsupdate file with changed size, date, time and size when I actually went to restore via install disk couldn't see the increments as you say in 8b. Not sure what I am doing wrong (if anything) as I am doing everything exactly to the letter of MS instruction and your tutorials (which are all quite simple and straightforward).

Any clues let me know.

I am off to bed, it is just after midnight here in Western Australia.

regards,

Harry...

 

[Brink]

Harry,

Deleting the last backup listing was probably the cause of it. You would only want to do that if you deleted all of the old Complete PC Backup and increments completely and created a new one.

 

[Harry230]

Hi, thanks for that, you may be right.

I saw on a another forum that the "Complete PC Restore and Backup" should be reinitialised before starting again.

Quote from the site:
"if you want application to forget *all* the old backups - you can launch an elevated command prompt.
type commandline: wbadmin delete catalog "

Have you had any experience with this, to me it makes sense that to start a new backup set any corrupted references should be deleted and I guess the catalog contains those.

I might apply this but will wait for your reply.

regards,

Harry...

 

[Brink]

I have not used that before, but you can delete the backups by taking ownership of the old WindowsImageBackup folder and check the box for all subfolders. Afterwards, you can just delete it and create a new one.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/67717-take-ownership-file.html

 

[Harry230]

Hi again Shawn,

I still have problems with building a complete pc and restore backup file. The initial WindowsImageBackup file builds ok (in this case image only of the c:\ drive) and if I restore from Vista install disk it can be found and restores ok. The backup is on z: partition which actually reverts to K: when accessed by Vista install disk from complete pc restore option.

If I then install/add more apps and files to the C:\ partition (OS) and do another complete PC and Restrore backup it increments the original build, changes time/date file name etc and file size increases about 1.5gb (approx size of change to OS partition). Does all the things it needs to do on the original file.

BUT when I try to restore when booted from the vista install disk all that could be found was the original build (filename, time/date) but nothing of the incremental builds (2) that had been added. I further proved this by actually restoring and observing it only restored the original backup, none of the incremental additions (files/applications) had been included.

Also I am now using the wbadmin.exe command line to check what is going on in the background. When I interrogate using the command line wbadmin previous versions I do see the incremented versions, but not when trying to restore using Vista install disk they are not in sight, just the first backup.

Is anyone else having trouble with incremental additions to the first "complete and restore backup" Can it have anything to do with the chipset, I am using the intel P45 chipset on a gigabyte mobo.

At the moment it appears I need to perform a seperate complete backup at any given stage of populating a computer and saving several complete images.

I thought that further "complete pc backups" would increment the original backup and allow a full restoration which doesn't seem to happen in my case (I have tried 5 different rebuilds/backups/restores now with no joy).

Also should it be possible to see each incremental addition to the original and be able to restore to any of the incremental stages.

I would like to persevere and get it right (if it can be righted) as the concept within Vista seems good, and as I previously mentioned one of the reasons I bought Ultimate 64 was because of the pc imaging included.

Any clues let me know or should I refer it to MS.

regards,

Harry...

 

[Brink]

Harry,

As a test, change the drive letter for the Z drive to be K instead to match what it is from the Vista installation DVD. Afterwards, see if the option to select the different incremental backups are available.

http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/114767-drive-letter-add-change-remove.html

 

[Harry230]

No luck with that, even did two reboots to see if it might reset, realign, and prayed the second time but even that didn't work.

harry.

 

[Brink]

As a test wipe out the old backups from Z and create new ones with it as K now instead of Z. They may still be tied with Z.

I must admit that I do not know what else to try other than a clean reinstall of Vista to see if it was something corrupted with the backup feature.

 

[Harry230]

I think it has something to do with Complete PC restore booted from install disk only sees drives with backups on and probably labels them temporarily. I did what you suggest but no luck.

If I boot the install disk and get through to the stage of reinstalling vista, I can see all drives that are available in the system so I would assume all drivers are ok.

I am not completely happy with reinstalling as I have done that a number of times during the past week to no avail.

Do any MS whizz's ever visit this forum, they may have seen it before.

BTW thanks for your help thusfar, wish you could tell me the answer.

regards,

Harry.

 

[Brink]

Your welcome Harry.

I wish I knew something else to try for you. You might also post this in the General Discussion forum to see what you may get from there to.

Yes, we do have a few of the MS Team folks here sometimes.

Sorry,
Shawn

 

[Harry230]

Thanks Shawn,

I think (well I know) I have solved the puzzle of the missing incremental backups.

In my desire to be "SAFE" I had copied the original backup to another drive, so I had a copy of the original backup on S: drive and my normal backup on the Z: drive.

The backup on the Z: drive (as you well know from the above) had been incremented several times.

As you know I couldn't see the increments on the Z: drive backup but when I booted from Vista install disk it did find both available backups, ie. the backup on S: and the backup on Z: (but renamed as D: and K: under install disk).

I checked both and they both only showed the original backup and original time/date, it was very disappointing.

IN the meantime because of this problem with Vista Complete Restore and Backup I tried a trial version of Acronis True Image Home 11 and it appeared to be a very good program, backed up nicely, allowed a view of backed up files and easy restoration from within Vista. This looked really good so I decided I would create the Acronis boot disk to check that I could restore whenever I wanted (after all that is the main aim of the program)

Hmm, Acronis is not good for restoring from boot disk if you have all SATA drives, it can't see them, it will see standard IDE and I have one of those. After very little web research seems like a lot of folks have the same problem, and on forums is actually acknowledged by Acronis support team. This is not very good for a program recently upgraded for Vista, you would expect it to be able to handle SATA from bootdisk!, so Acronis didn't look like a good substitute.

I went back to the drawing board with Vista Complete Backup and Restore.

Even though Vista Complete Backup and Restore allows (and checks for more than one backup file) I decided to disable the original copy(just renamed temporarily) and reboot and try again, didn't think this would have any effect at all.

Wow!! is Vista Complete Backup and Restore a great program, found my one and only backup with all the increments so I can set my computer to any previous increment (shows time/date for each increment to select from), have proved it works ok and is quite easy and complete.

So what appears to have happened is; if Vista Complete Backup and Restore sees more than two backup files (maybe they have to have the same original build) it wont show any increments past the earliest. In this case it would only show the original backup(for both backups found), AND, wouldn't allow the icrements to be shown if selecting the later backup. That is selecting "restore a different backup button" which is the only way incremental backups can be seen, you may want to note that in your tutorial that increments are seen by selecting "restore a different backup button", clicking on the backup and selecting next.

Not sure this is a bug on my PC but I think not, so the moral of the story is (for me at least) keep any backup copies hidden and only have one backup available for Vista Complete Backup and Restore to discover, as all increments are then shown.

Works as good as I would have expected, I might submit this problem to MS if I can find a non payment option.

Thanks for your help, hope this makes sense, but all ok for me now.

regards,

Harry

 

[Brink]

Harry,

I'm happy to hear that you got it sorted out and working now. Thank you for posting your findings on this.

Shawn