How to check windows 7 system image is working ok

[Paulusheart]

As per title. How to check windows 7 system image will work in the future. I do not want to do recovery just to check on that. Is there any tool available to check recovery image?

 

[USAFRet]

As per title. How to check windows 7 system image will work in the future. I do not want to do recovery just to check on that. Is there any tool available to check recovery image?

The only real way to know is to try it.
A backup is only as good as the last time you tested it.

 

[Paulusheart]

Thanks for reply. In this case would like to know if recovery makes any harm to ssd drive or registry etc. Somehow I feel that recovery could 'spoil' my present fresh windows 7 install. Are there any side effects or risks associated with recovering from system image? If recovery goes wrong will I have to reinstall windows?

 

[k1114]

You could do an md5 check. If it even runs, it's unlikely that there is something wrong.

 

[USAFRet]

Personally, I do NOT use the Windows 'System Image'.
But, if it works, it works.

If it fails recovering to your main drive with the current OS on it...then it fails. And maybe a full reinstall is needed.

It is, in theory, a full 'image' of the system as it was at the moment you made it. It wipes the entire drive, and rewrites everything back to the moment you created that image.

 

[Paulusheart]

What other system image software would you recommend? Free options would be the best.

 

[USAFRet]

What other system image software would you recommend? Free options would be the best.

Macrium Reflect Free

Create a drive or partition image, on a schedule you set, Full, and optionally, Differential.

I have mine set to:
Image the C drive to another drive in the system every night at 2 AM. Keep 2 weeks worth, deleting the oldest.
Image the C drive to another PC on the LAN, every Sunday at 3 AM. Keep 4 weeks worth, deleting the oldest.

If my C drive dies, it is only 1 day old.
If the entire PC melts down, it is only one week old .

Other files and drives are backup differently, on their own schedule.

 

[Paulusheart]

Thanks for all the answers. Macrium Reflect Free looks good