abacab

rlared
I didn't make a backup image file, although I should have.  I like to live on the wild side :)

If I was planning to keep that hardware for a while, I would rather have a fully patched image to restore from, than to have to repeat a clean install + update.   Windows 8.1 even includes a free imaging utility ...

I agree, I should have done it.  I just didn't really think of it until it was too late and I had already installed a bunch of DAW software, etc.  Next time I do a clean wipe I'll definitely do an image backup once all the updates have installed.  I like to wipe the computer and reinstall windows every 1-2 years anyway.

There's no reason to avoid taking an image now, as long as things are stable.  You will have a nice restore point with your DAW software in working order to go back to.  Last known good working state.  I take one monthly ... before each Windows and/or Sonar update.

OK I only have a single hard drive in my laptop.  The image would be about 100 gigs.  My hard drive is 1TB so there's space.  How would that work?  Would I create a separate partition to hold the image?  

rlared
OK I only have a single hard drive in my laptop.  The image would be about 100 gigs.  My hard drive is 1TB so there's space.  How would that work?  Would I create a separate partition to hold the image?  

 
To take an image of the system partition, you need to write to somewhere other than the partition you are backing up.  A secondary internal drive, or an external USB drive is perfect!
 
I use a couple of really cheap USB2 external drives.  I alternate them each time I make a backup image in case one craps out, then I will have at least the other one to fall back with.  Poor man's RAID setup, LOL!  But one is really all you need.
 
As you can see here, the 1TB drives are running around $50 now.  Cheap insurance to keep your sanity!
https://www.amazon.com/s/...amp;sort=relevancerank
 
If you go this route, and the built-in Windows imaging utility seems too techy, then have a look at Macrium Reflect Free.  Very user friendly and fully documented in the user guide.  It can get the job done, as well as step you through setting up a recovery reboot disk or thumb drive. You can use that to boot from and restore that image with.  Really useful if your system won't boot one day
 
http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx

abacab
I use a couple of really cheap USB2 external drives.  I alternate them each time I make a backup image in case one craps out, then I will have at least the other one to fall back with.  Poor man's RAID setup, LOL!  But one is really all you need.

guilty of using that poor man's RAID system, either. very effective.
 
also has the advantage that you can store it in different places in case your DAW goes up in flames or under water.
no disadvantages really, other than in case you get divorced, your wife may have a legal right to claim one of the 2 drives ;-)

Rob[atSound-Rehab]

abacab
I use a couple of really cheap USB2 external drives.  I alternate them each time I make a backup image in case one craps out, then I will have at least the other one to fall back with.  Poor man's RAID setup, LOL!  But one is really all you need.

no disadvantages really, other than in case you get divorced, your wife may have a legal right to claim one of the 2 drives ;-)

Nah, she gets the house and truck, I keep the dog and DAW ...

OK thanks for the tips.  I'll pick up a 1TB external hard drive.  That's big enough for me to do one "base" backup image of my hard drive plus an additional few images that get updated every few weeks.
 
One question, can you open an image file and view the file structure from within Windows?  Like if I have an image from a month ago, can I open it and just copy a few files out of it?

rlared
One question, can you open an image file and view the file structure from within Windows?  Like if I have an image from a month ago, can I open it and just copy a few files out of it?

I can do this with a Windows native image. Windows imaging utility uses the .vhd file extension.  In Windows Disk Management, you can click Action > Attach VHD, browse to the image file, then mount by assigning a drive letter.
 
After that, the image is mounted just like any drive on the system.  You can browse the entire file structure of your main partition with File Explorer, and you can drag and drop from it to any other drive if you just need to recover some files or folders. 
 
Windows 7 Image utility (Win 7, 8, 10) tutorial.  In Windows 8.1 Create a system image is hidden under "File History".
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/tutorials/create-system-image-in-windows-7-8/
 
I keep a few old system images around from past builds that I can refer back to, from time to time, if it seems like I misplaced something during a clean install
 
Macrium can do this too, just with a slightly different process, outlined here:
http://knowledgebase.macrium.com/display/KNOW/Browsing+Macrium+Reflect+images+and+backups+in+Windows+Explorer

That's fantastic, thanks for the info.  Windows Native disk image should work fine for me, I think I will be able to figure it out.  I should have done this a while ago, would have saved me numerous headaches since I like to wipe my system every now and then.  I am in the perfect spot to create a backup right now, I just downloaded all the Windows updates plus my DAW software, VI's and 100 gigs of libraries, but haven't really done anything else.
 
Glad to know that next time I need to wipe everything, it will take an hour instead of a few days to get everything back up and running.

abacab
I can do this with a Windows native image. Windows imaging utility uses the .vhd file extension.  In Windows Disk Management, you can click Action > Attach VHD, browse to the image file, then mount by assigning a drive letter.
 
After that, the image is mounted just like any drive on the system.  You can browse the entire file structure of your main partition with File Explorer, and you can drag and drop from it to any other drive if you just need to recover some files or folders. 
 

learned something real good here. thanks a lot!