[ELI5] Help needed please with learning and understand OS backups & system images

Euphoria · September 17, 2020

Skip to the questions at the bottom if you don't want to read all my waffle

Hi everyone, I need some help and info regarding OS backups and images, but please (ELI5) explain like I'm 5yo as my knowledge is very poor on this subject. I'm a little ashamed to say that after more than 2 decades of being a techy PC nerd/enthusiast, I've never actually done any OS backups, imaging, or even learned much about it. I'm hoping with Googling, reading, and some nice kind people on the forum I can fix that.

Explanation / Me waffling:

My understanding over the years of OS backups and system images, please correct me if this is wrong, has been that it's like cloning a drive; it works most of the time and can get you out of a pinch but a fresh install is much better. Sort of a duct tape approach; it will mostly seal the hole but the damage will still be there underneath and could cause leaks.
Because of this I never bothered with OS backups as I always thought if my OS was FUBAR I'll just format and do a fresh install, once every few years is no big deal, but now I live in a very rural and remote area so I now experience a huge number of power blackouts that have caused OS corruption and data loss, even with a UPS it got so much work from the constant voltage drops and blackouts it died after 14-months. Therefore, now doing a fresh install every time is getting old and tedious really fast, it usually takes me over a week to get everything set back up exactly how I want it again, so I think system imaging would be a better option now.

Questions:

Is my understand of OS backups & system imaging correct - that it's like plastering over the cracks, the cracks (corrupted OS files) are still there and could cause problems or performance loss? Or am I completely wrong and system images are effectively the same as doing a fresh OS install? In other words, if my OS gets corrupted or in some way broken, will restoring from an image fix everything and the system is back to the day I did the fresh install, or is it a temp fix to get the system back up and running for a while until I have the time to do a format and fresh OS install?
What are the limitations of a backup/image? If I restore from a backup is it just the OS so I still have reinstall all my apps, games, programs on the main C:drive or is everything on the OS drive exactly as it was, nothing needs reinstalling? Will I need to set up all my apps; configs, settings... like they were freshly installed or is it a total and complete carbon copy, so everything will be exactly how it was, no need to do anything, just restore and go?
To create a full comprehensive system backup/image, do I just use Windows built-in thingy, is there some free third-party app that most people use, or do I really need a decent paid app if I want it done properly?
Do backups/images always work? If my OS gets Fubar'ed by a blackout during critical MS updates, will a restore definitely fix the corrupt/missing OS files, or does a backup sometimes not resolve the issues if it's serious, so a format and fresh install is required?
How should I set things up? I currently have my OS drive with drivers, main frequently used apps, but all games, save game locations, personal files, media, and everything else on separate drives. Is this fine to keep doing it or if I want to create a full backup and Not have to redownload and reinstall everything, do I need to put everything on the main OS drive? If I kept my games on a separate drive, I assume after restoring from a backup I would have to reinstall all the games?
What are the best practises for OS backups and images, anything I should know at all, advice from experiences on things to watch out for?

I think that's about all the questions I have for now, I'll get to Googling and watching some newbie videos on it, but any and all info would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Pharr Carnell · September 17, 2020

Here's the thing...once you've done a new, fresh install, done all the updates and added the software you need....then THAT is the time to do a backup!! And to create a Restore disc...

So that next time the system shits itself, use the Restore disc you burnt when prompted to by the cloning software [I've used heaps of different softs over the years...once using only Acronis, then Aomei, Veeam and lately Macrium] - if I had to recommend just 1...then Veeam seems a better result when a restore is required, tho Macrium is very good in that you can create a clone from say,a 500GB drive to a smaller 250 GB drive]

Using this method, when Windows does crap itself...a restore can be as quick as 10 minutes...and you're right back where you started from...believe me; this is very sage advice!

Euphoria · September 17, 2020

2 hours ago, Pharr Carnell said:

Here's the thing...once you've done a new, fresh install, done all the updates and added the software you need....then THAT is the time to do a backup!! And to create a Restore disc...

So that next time the system shits itself, use the Restore disc you burnt when prompted to by the cloning software [I've used heaps of different softs over the years...once using only Acronis, then Aomei, Veeam and lately Macrium] - if I had to recommend just 1...then Veeam seems a better result when a restore is required, tho Macrium is very good in that you can create a clone from say,a 500GB drive to a smaller 250 GB drive]

Using this method, when Windows does crap itself...a restore can be as quick as 10 minutes...and you're right back where you started from...believe me; this is very sage advice!

Thank you very much for that info and advice.

Yes, that was my intention - do a fresh install on a new drive, update absolutely everything, install all drivers, apps, games etc, set everything how I want it... then do a backup.

But can you tell me any more info regarding my second question, please. Does it keep absolutely everything even app and game config/settings files, would everything be installed with all settings how I had them?
And I assume it's just the C:drive that gets imaged and restored, so games and apps I have installed on different drives would need to be reinstalled, correct?