I cannot restore any system image which was created in Windows 10 v1709 using Backup and Restore.

fg2001

Thanks for your patience with this -  I think I've nearly got it

Just to clarify

The existing system HDD is indeed Disk 0 named C:

The WD Enterprise that will replace it is Disk 1 and named Z:

The WD Black that will hold the SIB is Disk 2 and named J:

I will create the USB recovery disk after the backup

The system image is on Disk 2 J:

I remove the duff original HDD named C: and replace it in the same physical SATA port with the new Enterprise currently named Z:

I boot up from the USB stick and choose the SIB on J:

I assume now that Z: becomes C: with the system on it

The spare drive named J: will stay where it is and be used for future SIBs

I will keep the USB stick for future repairs

You mention 16299.125 which I presume is the last build that SIB worked with until the very latest build fixed the problem

I apologise for my wariness on this as I don't have anything to practice on - I hope that it doesn't happen

Thanks again

fg2001

Thanks for your patience with this -  I think I've nearly got it

Just to clarify

The existing system HDD is indeed Disk 0 named C:

The WD Enterprise that will replace it is Disk 1 and named Z:

The WD Black that will hold the SIB is Disk 2 and named J:

I will create the USB recovery disk after the backup

The system image is on Disk 2 J:

I remove the duff original HDD named C: and replace it in the same physical SATA port with the new Enterprise currently named Z:

I boot up from the USB stick and choose the SIB on J:

I assume now that Z: becomes C: with the system on it

The spare drive named J: will stay where it is and be used for future SIBs

I will keep the USB stick for future repairs

You mention 16299.125 which I presume is the last build that SIB worked with until the very latest build fixed the problem

I apologise for my wariness on this as I don't have anything to practice on - I hope that it doesn't happen

Thanks again

Keep in mind that the letters assigned to the drives may change when you boot from a recovery or an installation disk.

Make sure you verify which disk is which, going to cmd prompt, diskpart- 'list disk will' give you the list of the installed disks and 'list volume' will give you the list of the volumes and the letters assigned to them, 'select disk n' and  'list partition' will show you the partitions after you select the disk you want to see .

As for the build 16299.125 it is just the latest installation disk level for 1709 that you can download from Microsoft, it is not related to the level that fixed the system image backup.

The fix for the backup was on build 16299.214 and above, the restore can be done with the installation disk 16299.125 or 16299.15, you will see these levels when you boot from the installation disks and go to cmd prompt.

The current level of update on a running windows 10 system is 16299.334, but that has nothing to do with the level of the recovery disk or installation disks which will have the level of the time they were released.

Microsoft Windows [Version 10.0.16299.334]

(c) 2017 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

Hello fg2001

Thanks for all your help which I'm sure others will find useful.

Before I looked this forum, I contacted the PC manufacturers' or assemblers and this was their response

"The Windows 7 ‘System Image’ is still a part of Windows 10 but whether it works or not is debatable.

I would argue that any form of System Image is not a reliable backup method. Even back in Windows 7 it was an unreliable technique in my experience.

A clean install and then re-installing the software from the website of the creator is the best way. A reinstall of a piece of software should take no more than 10 minutes realistically, with most taking less than 30 seconds on modern hardware."

They also knew nothing about products like Acronis etc. They've never been helpful. Reinstalling several hundred applications from scratch is going to be a long job. They did the last Win 10 repair which apart from the cost, took a week to do plus two days travelling on my part.

Best wishes

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