The Legacy Backup and Recovery Tool (Windows 7) is still available in Windows 11 and it can be used to create a System Image Backup of your computer.
System Image Backup is a complete Snapshot of the computer at a given point of time and it includes all your files, photos, apps/programs, Operating System Files, settings and almost everything that is required to restore the computer.
Hence, it is always a good idea to create System Image Backup of the computer, before installing third-party apps or carrying out major changes and troubleshooting steps on the computer.
Create System Image Backup in Windows 11/10
Depending on your preference, you can create and store the “System Image Backup” of your computer on a USB Drive, External Storage Drive and also save it to any other storage location on a network.
If you are using a USB Drive to store the System Image, make sure that the USB Drive is formatted to NTFS Format and it has sufficient storage capacity to store the System Image of your computer.
Steps to Create System Image Backup
The steps to create System Image Backup of a Windows computer on a USB Flash Drive and External Hard Drive attached to the computer are practically the same.
1. Plug the USB Drive or the External Hard Drive to the computer.
2. Open the Control Panel on your computer.
3. On the Control Panel screen, switch to Large Icons view and click on Backup & Restore (Windows 7).
4. On the next screen, click on Create a System Image option.
5. On the next screen, select the External Drive where you want to store the System Image Backup and click on Next.
6. Wait for the computer to complete the process of Creating System Image Backup.
The time to create a System Image can vary, depending on the amount of data available on your computer. When the System Image backup is completed, you will be asked if you want to create a System Repair Disk.
The System Repair Disk can be used to gain access to your computer, if you get locked out of the computer due to a crash or other reasons.