System Image Recovery - Can't find System Image

Anonymous
2010-08-12T02:37:45+00:00

I am trying to restore a backup system image to my repaired PC.  It is wiped clean.  I have the "Repair Disc Windows 7 64 Bit" that I created in Windows 7.  Using Windows 7 Backup I have a system image backup on an external WD Essentiasl 1TB USB Hard Drive.

I insert the Repair Disc and start the system.  Get to System Recoevery Options.  I have the external Hard Disk with the system backup image connected.  Select System Image Recovery option.  Says "Windows cannot find a system image on this computer.  Attach the backup hard disk or insert the final DVD from a bckup set and click retry.  Alternatively, close this dialog for more options.  Retry gives me the same message.  Tried starting with drive attached, not attached, same result.  Click cancel.

Next option selected is "Select a system image."  No system image listed.  Hit refresh, still nothing.  Top of screen says "Click Advanced to add a network location or install a driver for a backup device if it does not show up in the list below."  I click on the Advanced tab.  Option to "Search for a system image on the network" or "Install a driver."  I select install a driver.  Find the right driver for the WD Essential hard drive (disk.sys and partmgr.sys) and when I click on them I get "The specified location does not contain information about your hardware."  Click OK.  Can't find how to load these drivers I am being asked for.

Funny thing is that on the screen where I search for driver I can see the WD Essential Hard Drive connected to the system.  I can also see the system image files but when I click on them I get the same error message, "The specified location does not contain information about your hardware."

Please HELP.  This is very frustrating!!!

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Recovery and backup

Locked Question. This question was migrated from the Microsoft Support Community. You can vote on whether it's helpful, but you can't add comments or replies or follow the question.

0 comments
Answer accepted by question author
Anonymous
2010-08-12T08:41:31+00:00

While in Repair Mode, you have an option to open a Command Prompt. From there try the following commands:

Mountvol

(This command will show you all available drives, including your external disk)

dir Q:

(Replace Q: with one drive letter at a time from the letters that the mountvol command showed you, e.g.

dir D:

dir E:

etc.

until you see a folder "WindowsImageBackup" on the screen. Let's assume it is F:\WindowsImageBackup.

dir F:\WindowsImageBackup /s

(This command should show you the contents of the image folder, with files totalling more than 10 GBytes)

Now perhaps this image folder is missing, incomplete or inaccessible.

I have to add that I am disappointed with the native imaging facility under Windows 7. It is temperamental and its functionality is extremely limited. I recently bought myself a copy of Acronis TrueImage 10 and its is to the Windows imaging tool like a fully functional motor cycle is to a child's tricycle. Other brand imaging tools are just as functional - just make sure that they are certified for Windows 7.

Was this answer helpful?

200+ people found this answer helpful.
0 comments

95 additional answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. Anonymous
    2012-05-16T10:20:33+00:00

    Windows cannot find a system image on this computer

    Any of these 5 things will cause this error message, or prevent Images from being found on a USB drive.  If these items aren't the cause of the problem, you can restore your Windows System Image using Acronis, including the free 30 trial of Acronis Home 2012.

    .

    But first, if you get this error message or if some but not all System Images are displayed from the Recovery Boot Disk, check these details.  

    .

    1. Make sure the folder named "WindowsImageBackup" is still in the root of the USB drive where it was originally created. Like g:\WindowsImageBackup

    .

    1. make sure the folder for each computer image is still the system name of the PC, the way it was originally created. If you rename a folder the image (and other images on the same drive) will not be found. So the full path will be like g:\WindowsImageBackup\your-pc

    .

    1. make sure you haven't added any other folders in the "WindowsImageBackup" folder unless they are disk images of other computers. Any other folder (like an empty folder) that is aphabetically ahead of a Windows Image Folder will prevent all alphabetically trailing System Images from being found.

    .

    1. If you have multiple system images on one USB drive and rename the mediaID file on any of the images, then all images alphabetically trailng the one with the renamed mediaID file will not be found.

    .

    1. USB Flash Drive

    For some reason, Flash drives don't seem to work for making or recovering from an image with Windows imaging but you can use Acronis True Image Home 2012 to recover a Windows System Image that has been copied to a Flash Drive.

    .

    If nothing above works, you may have a corrupt mediaId file. Download Acronis which will allow you to recover the Windows System Image 1 partition at a time directly from the .vhd files in your WindowsImageBackup folder. 

    Use Acronis to recover the 100M reserved partition first, then drive c:\ etc. This works well for recovering to the original partitioned hard drive but not to a blank hard drive. The BOOTMGR is missing on startup when I try restoring to a new hard drive. When this happens, the usual tools for fixing the BOOTMGR have not worked for me.

    The recovery boot disk that you can create from the free 30 day free trial version of Acronis Home 2012 works for recovering partitions from a Windows System Image. If you benefit from using Acronis, you should probably buy it for $49.00.

    When using Acronis to recover partitions its confusing because the drive letters for the partitions are not displayed correctly in the Acronis interface. You have to identify the target partitions by knowing their sizes which are displayed. This happens because the 100M reserved is displayed with a drive letter in Acronis, but of course it does not have a drive letter in Windows.

    Was this answer helpful?

    100+ people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  2. Anonymous
    2010-08-13T22:54:15+00:00

    Thanks for the response, Pegasus. Acronis seems to be a really useful and capable program, and I was pretty sure the problem was with the system image itself. I think I'll go ahead and buy True Image. It's only $30 right now, and it would be worth it to not have to deal with this headache again.

    So, does anyone know the answer(s) to any other questions I asked?

              -Is there a way to check whether the files are corrupt?

              -Is there a way to repair the image?

              -Is there a way to boot from the image?

              -Is there any other way of using this image to restore my system?

    If I had other system images to work with, I would just forget it and move on. However, this computer was only a month old when it started acting up. I had just recently finished copying my files over and getting all of my programs installed when the hard drive exhibited problems. I'd rather not go through all of that again already.

    Thanks again for all your help.

    Was this answer helpful?

    6 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  3. Anonymous
    2014-02-18T21:44:10+00:00

    There's no reason to be upset.  This is perfectly normal behavior for Windows System Image Recovery software.  If at any time you are able to restore a Windows machine using the built-in System Image Recovery then it's time to be shocked, as you've witnessed a miracle as rare as the Virgin birth.

    Was this answer helpful?

    5 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments
  4. Anonymous
    2011-10-29T00:34:35+00:00

    I was having the same problem...came here for the solution...and there wasn't any...but I figured it out:

    Restart your computer with external HD plugged in

    Click: Control Panel>System & Security>Backup & Restore>Recover System Settings or your computer>Advanced Recovery Methods>Use a system image you created earlier...

    At this point it says it can't find the back up...and it asks you to backup the files now...click SKIP and on the next page it gives you the option to restart or cancel.  Click RESTART.

    When the computer restarts it boots in recovery mode or whatever you call it and it is there I am able to restore the image....and you should too!!

    Was this answer helpful?

    5 people found this answer helpful.
    0 comments