[Article] How to: Create a system image in Windows 10

Question

📌 Note: This article was originally created by Andre Da Costa on Answers Support Community. It provided meaningful insights and proved helpful to many. We're recreating it here to preserve its value and ensure continued access for others. Technical Level : Intermediate

Summary Now that you have Windows 10 setup the way you like, one of the most important things you can do right now is preserve your investment. Create a recovery drive and a system image which you can use to easily restore if Windows does not boot or becomes corrupt or hardware failure.

Details

First step, launch Backup and Restore

Press Windows + X then click Control Panel

In Control Panel, click Backup and Restore (Windows 7)

Under Control Panel Home, click Create a system image

Make sure your external storage device is plugged in and turned on. It should automatically be detected. Click Next

Click Start backup to begin the backup process. The process can take some time depending on the size of your backup.

Backing up Windows 10

After Backup has completed you can close the wizard or create a system repair disc. It is recommended you do so if you don’t have a physical copy of Windows 10 for reinstallation.