Windows 8: Restoring Your System Image and Software
Equivalent information for Windows 7 configurations can be found at
“Restoring Your System Image and Software” on page 18.
It is very important that you create DVD copies of your Factory Image and
Bootable Disc before beginning to use your system. To do so, follow the
instructions in the “Saving Your Factory Image” and “Creating Backup Images
of Factory Image and Discs” sections of this chapter.
Saving and Recovering Your Factory and System Images
Along with instructions on saving your Factory Image, this document outlines
several other important procedures, such as making a system image, restoring
your Factory Image and system images, managing your images, and restoring the
partitions on a hard drive.
I
N ORDER TO MAKE COPIES OF FACTORY AND SYSTEM IMAGES AND BURN BOOTABLE DISCS
YOU
MUST HAVE AN INTERNAL OR EXTERNALLY CONNECTED WRITABLE
DVD
DRIVE
.
I
T IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT THAT YOU COPY YOUR
F
ACTORY
I
MAGE TO REMOVABLE MEDIA
(
E
.
G
., DVD
DISCS
). F
AILURE TO DO SO COULD RESULT IN AN INABILITY TO RESTORE THE IMAGE AT A FUTURE DATE
.
W
E RECOMMEND THAT YOU USE
DVD-R
OR
DVD+R
DISCS FOR YOUR BACKUP
,
BUT SUPPORTED
MEDIA
*
FOR IMAGE BACKUPS INCLUDE
: F
OR FACTORY IMAGE
,
APPLICATION DATA
,
AND
BOOTABLE DISC
: DVD-R/+R.
F
OR USER
-
CREATED BACKUP IMAGE
: DVD-R/+R, DVD-RW/+RW, DVD-DL.
* D
EPENDING UPON YOUR OPTICAL DRIVE AND MEDIA FORMAT USED
,
SOME MEDIA TYPES MAY BE
INCOMPATIBLE FOR CREATING IMAGE BACKUPS
.
D
UE TO CERTAIN LICENSING REQUIREMENTS
,
SOME THIRD
-
PARTY APPLICATIONS WILL NEED TO BE
INSTALLED SEPARATELY
.
Saving your Factory Image
When you purchased your new system, a copy of the pre-installed Factory Image
was loaded into a hidden partition on your hard disk drive. Having a copy of the
original Factory Image available to you means that in the event of system failure, you
will be able to restore it to its original state.
Appendix 136