Need Advice - Bootable recovery media

[XGwolf36]

I have a 320GB Western Digital portable hard drive that has been made redundant

and I thought I should try make a full backup of my laptop.

 

I don't know what all the types of back ups are,

but I want to do the one that is like the ultimate full backup,

which I can boot from if something dreadful happens to 

the software state of my laptop.

 

It should be a pretty simple process but I just would

like some guidance from the master computer people.

 

Thanks

[Bonesy]

With windows, you cannot make a BOOTABLE clone on an external device. Windows is picky about its bootmgr, and will only install it on a physical drive attached via SATA,PCI-E, etc. An external drive attached via USB will not work. This is not to say you cant create a complete clone of your contents, but you will not be able to boot from it. The only bootable clone option you would have, is to physically remove the HDD from the external enclosure, and swap it with your HDD in the laptop. If swapping HDD's is not an issue for you, then you can use free software like XXClone or similar to accomplish your bootable clone.

 

This has personally frustrated (and that's putting it politely) me for years, especially since OS X has had it commonplace for so long.

[XGwolf36]

Well, that's a bummer.

 

I just saw a video that instructs how to create a system image backup of windows 8.1.

I suppose this isn't exactly what I had in mind - maybe this process just backs up operating system and maybe not personal files?

I have no idea...

 

Anyway video here: 

 

Can you tell me exactly what this guy has actually backed up?

(and how it is not what I had in mind)

 

Thanks

 

[Bonesy]

The video is for creating a disk "image" of your files, you would still need a bootable OS to boot into, to use the image for restoral.

 

The major difference between a "clone" and an "image", is a clone is a 1:1 filesystem copy, directly to the external.Swap HDD's and your done. 

An image also does a 1:1 filesystem copy, but into 1 large file, an ISO. This allows you to have multiple images on a single external drive - which can be handy if you want to do a full backup every so often, and retain previous copies as well. 

 

However, whether using a clone, or an image...an internal HDD must be used to make it bootable, therefore; either method will still require some HDD swapping.

[XGwolf36]

Alright well I will forget about booting.

 

Just want to confirm, 

If I make an image as per the video, will this image have all my settings, programs, updates, drivers, files, etc?

[Bonesy]

Alright well I will forget about booting.

 

Just want to confirm, 

If I make an image as per the video, will this image have all my settings, programs, updates, drivers, files, etc?

 

Yes

[XGwolf36]

Also, can the portable hard drive have other stuff on it as well as an image or multiple images?
In the video it seems like the image is just in a folder.

I could have other stuff in other folders?

[Bonesy]

Correct, with disk images, they are just another file as far as windows is concerned...until you tell it to restore from that image. So use as normal

[XGwolf36]