System Image Recovery - Can't find System Image

Anonymous

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!!!

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Anonymous

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.

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95 additional answers

Anonymous

2017-01-07T21:39:47+00:00

Not sure if anyone is still in the Win7 world, but I just encountered this and was able to move ahead. I have Win7 64bit. My Windows Backup utility generated backup file was on an external drive along with backups for other home computers. I experienced the same issue as many and when I tried to do a full system restore (dead harddrive, using system repair disk to boot) I wasn't seeing the backup file I needed.

I connected the external drive to another computer. Opened Windows Explorer and reset the permissions for the WindowsImageBackup folder. Then, I renamed the other backup files in that folder such that the one I wanted was alphabetically first. Went back to the brick computer, booted on repair disk, went to restore, and voila, the backup file I needed was there.

So, the trick appears to be that (at least with Win7) when doing the full image restore, you need to make sure that if you have multiple files (folders really) in your WindowsImageBackup folder, the one you want to use needs to be the FIRST in the list. Hey, it worked for me.

Hope that this helps someone.
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Anonymous

2016-09-15T16:21:19+00:00

<<<RANT>>>

So many wasted days of reading and efforts to no avail.

I am throughly convinced that Microsoft is truly evil and useless.

#1 - I have not found an answer that works and have tried everything you see in this thread and others.

#2 -I am working with Windows Server 2012 R2 not a desktop version of the OS.

     Everything I have found online is people trying this with a desktop OS.

#3 -I can't just give up or use a free version of Acronis or some 3rd party solution "because Microsoft Sucks"

     This is a production server environment and built in backups actually need to work.

     I am NOT currently in a crisis situation I am simply testing and auditing backup & restore on a system

     for a client that they actually expect should work when it was sold along with all of it's very expensive licensing.   I'm irate and infuriated 4 days into this and still not working and no real information out here to troubleshoot this issue other than a stupid message that no backup images are found when I

can see plainly with the command prompt that they are actually there and the files are accessible and in the proper place. This is a pile of horse manure and is the same worthless pile of crap that you guys have been struggling with on desktop operating systems but has been included on a server OS that I expect to actually just work and it does not.

I have the same problem (Can't find a system image to restore).

And I have tried everything I can think of.

Been backing up for months to a network file share all looks good all seems to be there

But cannot restore from the network (intel nic drivers are built in to the restore environment)

Nor will the restore environment recognize my images copied from the network back to a USB (not flash) drive or local SATA drive.

Frustrating Frustrating and useless poop with no path to troubleshoot or fix that I have found yet.
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Anonymous

2012-04-12T19:45:03+00:00
Even if you can't restore from the system image (I'm in the middle of the same problem), then you should be able to mount the virtual hard disk (.vhd) file using the Computer Management Disk Management Tool - I've got stuff back this way - don't delete your system image on your backup drive! Once you've got your machine working again (or on another machine) - do:
1. Right click on My Computer and select "Manage"
2. From Computer Management, select "Disk Management"
3. Once this has loaded (you have to wait a little), right click the Disk Management node and select "Attach VHD" (don't select Readonly)
4. Browse to your VHD file and select it (this will be somewhere like Q:\WindowsImageBackup{Machine Name}\Backup {date}{Guid}.vhd
You can now assign a drive letter to the virtual hard disk and browse it as though it were another drive and pull stuff off it. The mapping is lost at reboot, but allows you to recover lost stuff.
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Anonymous

2011-08-07T06:54:18+00:00

I am facing exact same issue with my Dell purchased - Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit.

In addition to my C: Drive I am seeing a "Recovery Drive" and an OEM Drive in my disk manager,.. so there is a recovery image out there... somewhere..which I can not use.. when I boot =>F8=>Repair=>System Image Recovery Option=> It tells WIndows can not find a system image!!! Should not it find out one which is a factory Image? Is there any issue in the way i m doing it..

On side note.. i also tried changing boot sequence and tried bootign from windows 7 instalation disk... which for some reason..after trying for 5 minute..my laptop boots from harddrive OS.. and doesnt give me any option of format & re-install windows 7..

ANy help will be appreciated..

Thanks.
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