Third-party apps like Macrium Reflect or Acronis True Image-at least, the paid versions-do offer some advanced features you won’t find in the Windows system image backup tool. RELATED: How to Use All of Windows 10's Backup and Recovery Tools With that in mind, however, image backups can still be really handy. It would be like trying to plug your hard drive into another PC and expecting everything to load well. You’re creating an image of your full Windows installation and, since Windows is set up specifically for your hardware, it just won’t work as-is in another PC. The biggest disadvantage with system image backups-other than taking a bit longer-is that you can’t restore the backup to a different PC.

On the other hand, normal backup tools, including online backup services like Backblaze or Windows’ built-in File History feature, essentially copy your files to another location. No need to reinstall Windows or your apps.

The advantage of a system image is that if a hard drive crashes, you can replace it, restore the image, and have your system right back to where it was when the image was captured. Open System Image Backup in Windows 10 and Windows 11Ī system image backup is essentially a complete snapshot of an entire hard drive.

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