Today, the Windows XP operating system is considered obsolete. It has been replaced by more modern systems with much greater capabilities. But at a time when Windows XP was one of the most common, most users respected it for its high reliability and stability, ease of configuration and compatibility with most existing equipment.
At the moment, the XP system is used on computers that were once designed specifically for it and do not meet the requirements for installing more modern programs.
Most users note that a system that has a limited number of programs installed that meet operating system compatibility requirements can work indefinitely without reinstallation. At the same time, a computer on which many programs, sometimes of dubious origin, are often installed and uninstalled, may at any time refuse to work due to an OS failure.
The problems are caused by the fact that as a result of installing programs, various “garbage” accumulates in the system catalog and registry of the operating system, which at some point can be recognized by the system as working files and, naturally, lead to the “crash” of the system and the appearance of the “Blue Screen of Death” "
So, we can name the main reasons for the need to reinstall the operating system:
- “garbage” in the registry and system directory;
- hard drive failure;
- changes in computer hardware configuration;
- virus attack.
“Treatment” or reinstallation
There are many special programs or utilities for cleaning and restoring operating systems, but, as experience shows, their use by inexperienced users does not bring tangible results. This is due to the fact that the effect of these software tools is superficial, and more complete cleaning requires a lot of experience and time. In most cases, loading a new system takes less time and does not require special skills, since most actions occur automatically.
The only exceptions are computers with installed programs for which there are no installation images or media, since the newly installed system contains only the minimum programs necessary for the computer to operate.
Why not DVD and what is the difference between a regular flash drive and a bootable and multiboot one?
Almost all installation files for installing programs, including operating systems, are supplied on CDs or DVDs. Their volume is sufficient for any purpose. But modern computers allow initial startup, before the operating system starts, from other devices, including flash drives. What advantages does this provide:
A bootable USB flash drive with Windows XP allows you to install a new operating system and the necessary set of application software on your computer in a few tens of minutes, without changing the media.
An increasing number of users prefer to use bootable flash drives. Why they are called bootable, the fact is that you cannot simply take and write the operating system files to a flash drive. In order for the computer BIOS to start booting from an external drive, its structure must be designed accordingly. This applies to the structure of the drive as a whole and, in particular, its boot sector. The boot is based on the master boot record - MBR, which contains data about the boot order, the location of the loaded data and other service information. The MBR structure is inaccessible to the average user, so its formation requires special programs and utilities.
In addition to simple bootable flash drives, there are multiboot flash drives that allow you to select the necessary actions before installing the operating system. Such flash drives may contain:
- several OS boot options;
- several different operating systems;
- utilities for testing hardware;
- utilities for working with hard drives;
- a lightweight version of the operating system that does not require installation.
For these purposes, you need a specialized program or utility that would create the necessary partition structure of the external drive and copy installation data into it, placing them in a certain order.
The main difficulties when reinstalling the Windows XP operating system
Currently, MicroSoft Corporation has stopped supporting outdated operating systems, which, unfortunately, includes Windows XP. The biggest problem with this attitude is that when reinstalling outdated programs, sometimes a situation may arise when some hardware requires a driver. Sometimes finding the required driver takes longer than reinstalling the entire system.
Since the release and support of the Windows XP operating system has been discontinued, for recording it is necessary to use existing DVDs or download ISO images of the operating system from the Internet. Similar images are available in sufficient quantities on available file hosting services or torrent trackers. It should be especially noted that by downloading files from the Internet, users violate copyright laws, since the posted files are pirated, and do so at their own peril and risk. You also need to be aware that there is no guarantee that the installation images are correct and that they are identical to the original ones.
Programs that allow you to create an installation flash drive
Those who want to reinstall Windows have at their disposal a large number of different programs for creating bootable flash drives. The programs include both paid and free programs. If you use them only for the specified purpose, then they do not have any special advantages over each other. There are only a few differences in the interface. Therefore, the use of a particular program is determined by personal preferences. In addition, paid programs usually have a limited period of use, so for one-time use to create a bootable flash drive they can also be used.
The Command Line method has broader capabilities for creating bootable, and especially multiboot, flash drives, but only trained users can do it. For the vast majority, this method is not applicable due to its high labor intensity and complexity.
Among the most common programs for writing bootable flash drives are:
- Win32 Disk Imager;
- UNetBooting;
- PeToUsb;
- WinSetupFromUSB;
- Rufus.
For the Windows XP operating system, the bootable USB flash drive must have a capacity of up to 4 GB. It all depends on the size of the ISO image.
When creating a bootable flash drive, all data previously located on it will be irretrievably lost without the possibility of recovery.
Therefore, before making a bootable Windows USB flash drive, you need to take care of saving the necessary files and data. It is not necessary to format the drive in advance, since most of the programs listed can do this on their own.
Among these utilities, .stands apart. The program allows you not only to make a bootable USB flash drive for Windows XP, but also to perform many actions to create, copy and edit ISO images. On the other hand, the abundance of functions makes it difficult for less-skilled users to use such a utility.
To create multiboot flash drives, you can use the following programs:
- WinSetupFromUSB;
- SARDU;
- Easy2Boot.
When using these programs, you can create bootable flash drives with almost any set of installation images and test utilities. The only limitation is the amount of flash memory. It is very convenient to place anti-virus programs and driver sets on multiboot drives for various hardware configuration options, which in some cases allow you to avoid the process of reinstalling the operating system. That is, using a bootable USB flash drive with Windows XP, you can scan and “cure” the system in the event of a virus attack, test your hard drive for bad sectors, or copy important data to a third-party drive.
How to create a bootable USB flash drive for Windows XP
In most cases, creating a bootable USB flash drive only requires specifying the location of the source image of the operating system and the designation of the drive on which the recording will be made. In a few minutes, the Windows XP bootable USB flash drive will be ready.
The Windows XP image can be on any media. If you are recording from the original installation disk, then you first need to create an image with any disk burning program, specifying an existing hard drive with the required capacity as the location of the final file. Using a bootable USB flash drive with Windows XP, copied from the original DVD, guarantees the stability of the newly installed system.
For faster installation and to avoid failures, it is recommended to disable anti-virus programs while preparing the bootable drive. The recording speed depends on many factors: the power of the computer, the DVD reading speed, the speed of the flash memory and the amount of RAM.
For example, you can show how to make a bootable USB flash drive with Windows XP using examples of the most common programs and.
To make a bootable USB flash drive using the program, you must perform the following sequence of actions:
As you can see, the latter program is much easier to use, but has a significant “minus” - it cannot be used for anything else. In this regard, more complex software provides greater opportunities due to its versatility and multifunctionality.
Conclusion
To reinstall the Windows XP operating system, you will need a bootable or multiboot flash drive, which can be created using many special programs. The choice of a particular program depends on the user's preferences or goals to be achieved, since some of them are equipped with additional features. Some of the most common utilities are and.
Video on the topic
Creating a fully customized image of an operating system with installed applications is often necessary in a corporate environment, and home users will not refuse an installation disk containing their favorite set of programs and tweaks. In modern Windows operating systems, creating such an image is much easier than in Windows XP, and you can use the automatic installation package.
This article explains how to prepare and deploy a fully customized system image, and also covers how to back up your operating system to a WIM image.
On this page
You will need
- Deployment Tools from the Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit (ADK)
Of course, you will need a computer to install and configure the OS, as well as a place to save the system image. The installation computer can be a virtual machine (for example, Hyper-V from Windows or VirtualBox). You can save the customized image on a non-system partition of this computer.
For example, during system installation, you can create two partitions - install the OS on one, and subsequently save the image on the second. Also, you can always connect another virtual disk in a virtual machine. Finally, the customized image can be saved to a network share or USB drive. As you can see, there are many options - there is plenty to choose from.
Advantages and disadvantages of using a custom image
In my opinion, the advantages of a fully customized image outweigh the disadvantages.
Advantages
- Quick installation of a system with a set of applications, since no time is spent on installing them. However, compared to a standard image, the customized image takes a little longer to unpack.
- You can further customize the operating system by using a response file used in conjunction with a customized image.
- It becomes possible to deploy an image using the utility ImageX. The standard image can only be used in combination with the installer because not all settings are configured (for example, language).
Flaws
- The image size increases. The final size depends on the number and volume of installed applications. If you plan to continue installing from a DVD, you must be aware of the 32-bit versions' WIM file size limitation of 4 GB (2^32 bytes).
- Versions of applications included in the image may become outdated. To maintain the latest versions of applications, you will have to rebuild the image. Regularly updated applications most likely do not make sense to include in the image. They can be installed separately, automating this process.
Steps to create a custom image
Creating your own WIM image can be divided into the following steps:
- Installing applications and setting up the system
- Preparing the system using the utility sysprep
- Booting into Windows PE and saving the image using the utility ImageX
The resulting image can then be included in the installation disk, installed from a network share, or deployed using ImageX.
A note about customizing settings
In addition to installing applications, audit mode allows you to configure user settings. There are two ways to apply settings to an image.
You can:
- Configure only system parameters, and import custom ones using REG files into the configured WIM image (or into the source image before starting the installation described here).
- Configure both user and system settings, and then use a response file to ensure that the built-in account profile is copied Administrator to the standard user profile.
Importing registry settings
The principle itself is discussed in detail in the article Using registry tweaks. I trust that you have read it and have a complete understanding of importing user and system settings.
Copy a profile using a response file
To copy a customized account profile to a standard user profile, you can use a response file that contains the parameter
Microsoft-Windows-Shell-Setup | CopyProfile
If this parameter is set to true, the profile is copied.
You need to use this opportunity when installing a customized image by including this parameter in the response file. In this case, the profile will be copied on the pass 4 Specialize.
Example of a universal answer file for 32-bit and 64-bit OS
Why does this article recommend copying the profile during installation rather than pointing sysprep to the answer file when generalizing the image?
In any case, the profile is copied during installation at the Specialize stage. If you use the /unattend option in sysprep, the answer file is cached and then used during installation. At the time of writing the first version of the article, this did not work, despite the documentation.
If you are using MDT or SCCM, the method described in this article is required for the reasons outlined in KB973289:
Now let's talk about everything in order.
Starting the operating system installation from the installation disk and entering audit mode
The first step in preparing a customized image is to launch the OS from the installation disk. You can perform the installation manually, or you can automate the process using a response file.
Manual installation
Manual installation is not fraught with any tricks. If you plan to save the customized image on a non-system disk partition, use Windows Setup to create the partitions.
Advice. When installing the system on a virtual machine, you can connect a second virtual disk and subsequently use it to save the image. This will make it easier to copy the image into your production environment since the VHD(X) can always be mounted on a physical machine.
Continue the installation until the OOBE stage. It is easy to recognize by the prompt to choose an account name and a picture for it.
At this stage, Not while selecting your account name, press CTRL + SHIFT + F3. This key combination will put the system into audit mode with the rights of the built-in account Administrator.
Automatic installation
With an answer file, you can automate all steps of Windows installation, including managing hard drive partitions, entering audit mode, and even installing applications on it, as discussed in this article. You can follow the instructions given in it up to the section “Transferring the system to oobe mode” (the article discusses complete automation of the installation).
Installing updates, applications and system configuration
Once you enter audit mode, you can begin installing updates, applications, and configuring operating system settings. Do not close the utility window sysprep- you will need it at the end of the setup phase.
If installing an application or update requires a system reboot, you can do so. After rebooting, the system will return to audit mode. As mentioned above, the application installation process can be automated using an answer file. You can configure any system and user settings in the Windows GUI. You can also import registry settings from pre-prepared REG files.
On Windows 8 and later, do not update apps from the Windows Store as this will cause problems when generalizing the image. There is also a science to uninstalling modern applications. See TechNet Library warning and KB2769827.
Once you've finished installing applications and configuring your system, you should prepare it for further use.
Preparing the system using the sysprep utility
After installing applications and configuring the system, preparation is performed using the utility sysprep. Depending on which installation method you chose, the steps will be slightly different.
Manual installation
When installing the system manually, the utility sysprep runs when entering audit mode. To prepare the system for further use (in this case, for creating a customized image), you need to set the utility parameters, as shown in the figure below.
With the specified parameters the following is produced (in parentheses are the equivalent sysprep command line parameters):
- System preparation (/generalize) - remove unique system parameters, clear event logs, reset security identifier (SID), etc. This option is absolutely necessary to create a customized image.
- Putting the system into OOBE mode (/oobe) - this mode will be activated the next time the system starts.
- Shut down the system (/shutdown).
An example of a universal answer file for saving 32- and 64-bit OS drivers
Automatic installation
If you automate entering audit mode and installing applications using a response file, as described in Installing applications in audit mode, you need to add the following highest-numbered synchronous command. This command can also be used during manual installation, after first closing the utility window sysperp.
%SystemRoot%\system32\sysprep\sysprep.exe /generalize /oobe /shutdown /quiet
The first three command line parameters are specified in the same order as the utility GUI parameters described above. Parameter /quiet— ensures quiet operation and is necessary for automation.
After sysprep will complete its work, the system will be turned off. Now it is fully configured, and you can create its image using the utility ImageX.
Booting into Windows PE and saving the image using the ImageX utility
Note. Image size install.wim, included in the installation disk of a 32-bit operating system, should not exceed 4 GB (2^32 bytes). Otherwise, the installation will fail. This limitation does not apply to image deployment using the utility Imagex.
If the Windows installation files are hosted on a network share, you can copy the customized image and response file there, and then boot into Windows PE and connect to the network share and run the installation from the command line.
Net use y: \\network_share\distrib y:\setup.exe /unattend:unattend.xml
Deploying a customized image using the ImageX utility
Using Windows PE and utility ImageX, you can deploy the customized image to your computer.
The sequence of actions is as follows:
Note. Deploying an image using ImageX only possible on a volume that has the same drive letter as the volume saved in the image. In addition, using ImageX You cannot deploy a standard (source) image Install.wim.
Let's look at an example of deploying a customized image. It is assumed that the computer's hard drive is not formatted. After booting into Windows PE, you need to use the utility Diskpart Create a partition on your hard drive and format it. I will demonstrate creating one partition on a disk.
Diskpart select disk 0 create partition primary select partition 1 active format fs=NTFS label="System" quick assign letter=c exit
Additional information about the utility commands Diskpart you can get it by running it with the key /? , or from the article Description of the Diskpart program with a command line interface. If desired, the process of creating a partition can be automated.
All that remains is to apply the image.
Imagex /apply E:\custom.wim 1 c:
In this team:
- /apply- application of the image
- E:\custom.wim- the path to the image. When placing it on a network drive, you must first connect it with the command net use E:\\network_share\images.
- 1 — index of the image saved in the WIM file.
- c:— the letter of the volume to which the image is applied.
After applying the image, you can verify (with the command dir) that is on the section C files unpacked from the image appeared. Now this partition contains the operating system in the state in which it was at the time the image was created. If the image was saved after performing settings in audit mode, the next time the computer is turned on, the system will enter OOBE mode, giving the user the opportunity to perform initial settings.
If you copied the configured account profile when you prepared the image, all new accounts will have exactly the same settings.
Deploying a Customized Image Using WDS
As with a standard image, you can use Windows Deployment Services (WDS) to deploy a custom image. A detailed description of this method is beyond the scope of the article, so I will limit myself to linking to the WDS manual posted on Microsoft Technet.
Backing up the operating system to a WIM image
The article focuses on installing applications and configuring the system in audit mode and saving the image at this stage of installation. The advantage of this approach is that the saved image is neutral - it does not contain any accounts (except built-in ones), personal files and confidential data.
You may be wondering whether it is possible to save the system image after completing a full installation, that is, after the OOBE stage, the first login and subsequent configuration. This question is relevant if you want to install a system, work in it for a while - install applications, configure various parameters, etc., and then create an image.
Mention that imagex does not know how to use hard links (I checked - it does).
So, after applying the image:
- Extended file attributes are lost. These are NTFS attributes that are needed only for backward compatibility with OS/2 applications.
- Sparse files are captured, but after being applied they are no longer sparse files.
- Symbolic links and connections are automatically updated. In some scenarios (eg SIS) this causes links to go to the wrong place.
In my opinion, in typical scenarios for using a client OS at home, these restrictions can be neglected. But restoring such an image on another PC (even with the same hardware configuration) can lead to serious hardware conflicts.
That being said, there are several points that I would like to draw your attention to.
- Installed programs and personal files can take up a lot of disk space, which will affect the size of the backup WIM image. To store the image, you may need a dual-layer DVD or a high-capacity USB drive.
- You can reduce the size of a WIM image by excluding files and folders from it when the utility captures the volume ImageX. The file used for this is Wimscript.ini, which is discussed briefly in the article on creating a bootable Windows PE disk. Its detailed description is in the help file “Windows PE User Guide”, included in the ADK.
Recovery
Restoring from a backup WIM image is performed as described in the article section. However, the sequence of utility commands given there Diskpart needs to be adjusted.
For example, if there are several partitions on a disk and the system is installed on the first one, the sequence of commands to prepare this partition for recovery will be as follows:
Diskpart select disk 0 select partition 1 active format fs=NTFS label="System" quick assign letter=c exit
You can include a customized WIM image as part of a boot disk with Windows PE, thereby creating a universal system recovery solution - a recovery environment and a backup image.
Conclusion
Creating and deploying a fully customized Windows system image using the tools included in the ADK is a fairly straightforward task. You can make this image neutral (that is, without personal files or personal data) by installing applications and configuring settings in audit mode.
This approach allows further customization of the image during installation using a response file, and also preserves the ability for the end user to set personal options during the OOBE phase of the first system startup. You can also use WIM image technology to create a backup copy of your operating system.
Often, when we buy a ready-made computer with a pre-installed operating system, we do not receive a distribution disk. In order to be able to restore, reinstall or deploy the system on another computer, we will need bootable media.
The entire process of creating a bootable XP disk comes down to writing the finished operating system image onto a blank CD. The image most often has an ISO extension and already contains all the necessary files for downloading and installation.
Boot disks are created not only to install or reinstall the system, but also to check the HDD for viruses, work with the file system, and reset an account password. There are multiboot media for this. We will also talk about them below.
Method 1: disk from image
We will create a disk from a Windows XP image downloaded online using the program. On the question of where to get the image. Since official support for XP has ended, the system can only be downloaded from third-party sites or torrents. When choosing, you need to pay attention to the fact that the image is original (MSDN), since various assemblies may not work correctly and contain a lot of unnecessary, most often outdated, updates and programs.
The disk is ready, now you can boot from it and use all the functions.
Method 2: disk of files
If for some reason you have only a folder with files instead of a disk image, then you can also write them to a disc and make it bootable. This method will also work if you create a duplicate installation disk. Please note that you can use another option to copy a disc - create an image from it and burn it to CD-R.
In order to be able to boot from the created disk, we will need a boot file for Windows XP. Unfortunately, it cannot be obtained from official sources for the same reason that support has ceased, so again you will have to use a search engine. The file may have a name xpboot.bin specifically for XP or nt5boot.bin for all NT systems (universal). The search query should look like this: "xpboot.bin download" without quotes.
Multiboot disk
Multiboot disks differ from regular ones in that, in addition to the installation image of the operating system, they can contain various utilities for working with Windows without starting it. Let's look at an example with Kaspersky Rescue Disk from the laboratory.
- First, we need to download the necessary material.
- Launch Xboot and drag the Windows XP image file into the program window.
- Next you will be asked to select a bootloader for the image. Suitable for us "Grub4dos ISO image Emulation". You can find it in the drop-down list shown in the screenshot. After selecting, click "Add this file".
- In the same way we add the disk with Kaspersky. In this case, selecting a bootloader may not be necessary.
- To create an image, click the button "Create ISO" and give the new image a name, choosing a place to save it. Click OK.
- We are waiting for the program to cope with the task.
- Next, Xboot will offer to launch QEMU to check the image. It makes sense to agree to make sure it works.
- A boot menu will open with a list of distributions. You can check each one by selecting the appropriate item using the arrows and pressing ENTER.
- The finished image can be recorded onto a disc using the same UltraISO. This disk can be used both as an installation disk and as a “healing” one.
Conclusion
Today we learned how to create bootable media with the Windows XP operating system. These skills will help you if you need to reinstall or restore, as well as in cases of virus infection and other problems with the OS.
Many of us often face tasks like “deploy many workstations,” and the hardware at all these stations may be different. Moreover, some of these machines must have a variety of software pre-installed (from “corporate sets” - ICQ, browsers, pdf readers, to “university” sets - Visual Studio, Project Manager). Previously, RIS (Remote Installation Services) was used for such purposes, now Microsoft is campaigning for WDS (Windows Deployment Services). We will focus on the latter.
WDS works great with images of new systems from Microsoft - Vista, Windows Server 2008, Windows 7, but what if we need to use the good old Windows XP (and this is the situation that arises very often, because many have not yet switched to new systems) . In this article we will learn how to prepare the OS to create an image in the .WIM format with which the WDS server works.
First stage: Create a template installation of Windows XP SP3
We install WinXP SP3 on the virtual machine. I personally used VMWare as a virtual machine platform.
Also at this stage it makes sense to install all the software you need. In my standard package I included:
- WinRAR
- K-Lite Codec Pack
- Microsoft Office
- Adobe Reader
- Total Commander
- IM client (for example QIP, ICQ...)
- Browsers (for example Opera, Firefox)
For those who serve computer classes (universities, schools, gaming clubs), at this stage it is possible to install additional software: development tools, graphic editors, etc.
Second stage: We prepare the system for image removal, including packing it with all the necessary drivers.
Now the resulting virtual OS needs to be processed with Sysprep for correct post-installation. Just in case, let me remind you that Sysprep can be found on any installation disk with Windows XP (D:\Support\Tools\deploy.cab), where D: is the letter of the CD drive in your virtual machine.
Unpack the contents of deploy.cab, for example, into C:\Sysprep on the virtual machine and run setupmgr.exe. We go through the process of creating an answer file according to our needs. The only thing I’ll remind you is that when choosing the answer file type, you need to select the second option – “Install Sysprep”.
As a result, we get the response file Sysprep.inf. Now you need to slightly change the contents of this file.
In the section, change the parameter
InstallFilesPath="C:\WINDOWS\Driver Cache\i386"
And add:
DriverSigningPolicy=Ignore
UpdateInstalledDrivers=Yes
In the section, change the parameter
DistFolder="C:\WINDOWS\Driver Cache\i386"
Now you need to create a selection of drivers (these are the drivers that will be used to install all system devices when deploying the image). It can be made up of drivers that are used to install workstations in your company, or you can use a ready-made one (there are probably a lot of them on the Internet). We copy all these drivers to C:\Windows\Driver Cache of the virtual machine.
The next step is we need Sysprep Driver Scanner. Download it and place it in the C:\Sysprep folder. We launch and go through the following stages:
- Change the path to search for drivers to C:\Windows\Driver Cache.
- Click “Scan”.
- Click "Default".
- Click “Save”.
- Click “Done”.
Now, when the Sysprep mini-installation runs, it will look for drivers exactly in the directory we specified.
Again you need to make changes to the Sysprep.inf file - add it to the end of the file and execute “sysprep.exe –bmsd” from the command line. The output is something like:
pci\ven_1022&dev_7007=c:\windows\inf\machine.inf pci\ven_1022&dev_700d=c:\windows\inf\machine.inf pci\ven_1022&dev_700f=c:\windows\inf\machine.inf pci\ven_1022&dev_740b=c:\windows \inf\machine.inf pcmcia\ibm-pcmcia_portable_cd-rom_drive-84e3=c:\windows\inf\pnpscsi.inf pcmcia\ibm-pcmcia_cd-rom_drive_cd-400-5afa=c:\windows\inf\pnpscsi.inf pcmcia\ ibm-pcmcia_portable_cd-rom_drive-84e2=c:\windows\inf\pnpscsi.inf pcmcia\pcmcia-ide_card-3220=c:\windows\inf\pnpscsi.inf ...
These are the identifiers of the drivers and their locations.
Now let's start changing the computer kernel settings for our image. To do this, we need another utility - MySysprep. Download and unpack it into the same Sysprep folder on the C: drive of our virtual machine. We search in the unpacked MySysprep.inf and remove all comment marks (;) from the section. Save the edited file. Now you need to change the default “Single-processor computer with ACPI” to “ACPI computer”. To do this, open the “Device Manager” and select the option to update the driver for the “Single-processor ACPI computer” device. We refuse offers to search and say that we will find everything ourselves, and in the last window (manual driver selection window) we select “ACPI Computer”.
After that, restart and run the mysysprep.exe file from the C:\Sysprep folder. In the program window, check the “mini-installation” box and click the “Reseal” button.
Now our OS is ready to “capture” and create an image using WDS.
When the virtual machine starts, go into the BIOS and set it to boot over the network (PXE). When booting via PXE, we get to the WDS server image selection menu and select the image that is used for “capture” on our WDS server. After executing the bootloader, we select the location to save the image (WDS server or local disk), and the actual process of creating the image occurs.
When and why do we need an operating system image? From the moment of purchasing a personal computer and before starting it, any user has to perform a number of preliminary configuration steps. First of all, the operating system is installed, then the necessary device and hardware drivers, after which the software comes. Often, when purchasing a desktop or laptop, users receive a ready-to-use device: the OS and drivers are installed by the installer, sometimes even a minimal set of office software is included. Nevertheless, there are still enough worries about installation and configuration - from the appearance of the interface to specific programs.
Of course, this takes time: even an advanced user will spend several hours on such an operation, and often the individualization process can take several days - this is labor-intensive, painstaking and requires care, but, unfortunately, it is impossible to call it a one-time operation.
Why? Because modern computers, from the hardware to the fine-tuning of the software, are susceptible to failures, even failure, and the software, in addition, can be unstable; the result of such instability can be a wide variety of consequences, from simply unpleasant to fatal.
Here is what one of the users writes: “... I purchased a new hard drive with a SATA interface and increased recording density... over the two years of its use, I had to seriously restore the OS five times, three times with a complete reinstallation. In each of these cases, I found several bad blocks on the logical disk occupied by the OS...” This case is not isolated; in addition, there is a danger of system data being damaged by malicious programs - viruses, Trojans. Often, as a result of their activities, it is necessary to completely delete information, format disks and reinstall all software.
But even if the consequences are not fatal, still over time any OS begins to work slower due to accumulated redundant information, which can also serve as a prerequisite for its reinstallation. In any of these cases, the user will face lengthy, painstaking work, which, however, could be completed in 15-20 minutes if... care is taken to make timely backups. It is enough to create an image of the system disk and, if necessary, deploy it.
How to save an operating system image
The task of creating an image for a fully customized operating system has long been successfully solved by software developers. Products with which this is done exist in different forms: some are commercial, some are free. However, when choosing a utility, I personally would not skimp: even commercial programs are not very expensive. For example, Acronis True Image Home 2011 will cost 928 rubles, and Symantec Norton Ghost will cost 1,499 rubles. Of course, there are also free versions of such software, such as driveImage xML from runtime Software or the cross-platform solution GParted (by the way, you can download its version in the LiveCd image), but they have significantly fewer capabilities. However, if you set the task “only make disk images with the OS and for free!”, then this option is the best.
I’ll look at the process of making an image using an example Acronis True Image Home, fortunately I have been using this utility for a long time and am pleased with its capabilities.
The first thing to do is create a boot disk. It will allow you to boot from the optical drive in the event of a fatal failure (up to the failure of the hard drive), and then restore the system from the saved image from external storage (including to a new HDD). To do this, you need to go to the section " Tools and Utilities» select the item « Creating bootable media" By the way, if you launched Acronis True Image Home for the first time, you will be prompted to complete this procedure by the Wizard. The created disk image can be saved in ISO format; it is small in size - about 60 MB, which allows you to write it even to a flash drive or small CD. During the disc creation process, you will only have to select a burning device (or a path to save the ISO image). After clicking the “Proceed” button, you will either have a ready-made CD or an image that you will have to burn with your favorite program onto optical media. I prefer to keep the boot disk next to the laptop and a copy of the image on a flash drive. For reliability.
So, the boot disk is ready, let's proceed to the procedure of creating an image of the system disk. I consider the ideal case to be creating an image from a boot disk: there is no risk of losing critical data due to open files, etc. However, the same can be done from under a running OS: as experiments have shown, there are no problems with this arises too.
On the tab " start page"select the link option " Discs" in the section " Backup", mark the system disk with a tick (I also mark " Byte-by-byte copying", but this is not necessary, and the archive size increases). On the next tab, select the path to save the image. It is important that it is under no circumstances located on the system disk; It is best if it is located on external media and a physically different drive. For insurance. All that remains is to press the " Get started"so that, after a time depending on the size of your system partition, you get an exact copy of the disk - the same system image. For reliability, this operation should be performed once for a new, installed and configured OS, and then an archive of the current state should be created every three months. Of course, the first of them must be kept intact and without changes, and the updated one can be stored no more than two: the current and the previous one.
How to deploy an operating system image
If you need to restore an image from a backup, the procedure is performed in a similar way: boot from the boot CD, select the option " Restore from backup", indicate the location of the last archive (or the very first, depending on the situation), wait 15-20 minutes and get a fully functional system. It is also possible to restore a copy from the operating system, however, this mode can only be used to restore some files or folders that are not occupied by system operations or services. In this way, you can return applications that were accidentally deleted or damaged by viruses to working condition.
To do this, select the tab " Recovery» — « Restoring disks from a backup"and after selecting the current image in the "Select recovery method" window, indicate where and what objects to deploy. The required information can be placed either in the same place or in a separate section: this may be required to compare changed files
Why is it worth backing up an operating system image?
I have already said that it is best to have several copies in the archives - and this is not accidental. Despite the size of the archive file (and only in the case of a “bare OS” it will take at least 4.5 GB), saving space for it is the last thing. Therefore, ideally, five archives should be stored: a fully installed and configured OS with drivers; a fully prepared system with installed software; an annual copy of the working configuration and two updated quarterly copies, the latest and the previous one.
This storage mode is guaranteed to avoid any problems with possible damage to both software and hardware. You can return to a working configuration at any time, even if the last two archives contain the virus in a latent state - you can restore the annual backup. And if it is necessary to completely redo the configuration, getting rid of unnecessary (outdated) information, or simply return to a “clean” OS (this situation may arise when selling a computer or transferring it to another person), the first of the archives is used.
If it is impossible to store such a quantity, the number of archive files should be reduced to three: a “clean” copy and two quarterly ones. If you rarely change the PC configuration or it is not used for active work, the number of archive files can be reduced to two. In this case, it is enough to save a regular copy of the contents of the system disk once a year or six months.
Where and how to store archives
An important condition for the safety and reliable protection of your backup information is the correct choice of storage location. The first commandment is to never store all backups on a working hard drive, and certainly never place them on a system partition. The first copy of the system can be placed on optical media or a flash drive: DVD or Br have enough capacity for such an archive. Subsequent images typically range in size from 20 to 80 GB (and may be larger), so only external hard drives can be used to store them.
The best solution is to place backups in several places: for example, on different external drives or on neighboring computers. Even in the event of failure of both the PC and the external storage (this is possible, for example, due to significant power fluctuations in the electrical network), at least one accessible copy will remain on an optical disk or backup HDD, used only for maintaining archives, the rest of the time stored in off state. As a separate means of protection, it is recommended to place one archive in online storage. Of course, downloading several tens of gigabytes is not an accessible task for everyone (a high-speed channel is required), but if the volume is small (10-20 GB), then this is a completely possible option.
To restore the system (for example, after a hard drive fails), you will first have to restore the minimum configuration (from a flash device or optical disk), gain access to the Internet, download the required file and restore it again - this time in a “combat” configuration