Contents
This is just a quick guide to backing up and restoring your installation, The full program is much more powerful and its recommended you have a look into it.
- Installation
- Backing Up Your Windows Installation
- Bootable Media
- Recovering your Windows Installation using Bootable Media
Installing Acronis
You will need a 1 GB USB flash Drive or Superior and an External Hard Drive 1-2 TB recommended. As Acronis has two free Editions compatible with SeaGate and WD External Hard Drives respectively I advise using a Drive made by either one of these companies(most External Hard Drives are from either one of these companies anyway).
The first thing to do is make a new folder on your WD External Hard Drive and call it appropriately. In my case I will make a folder on my 2 TB My Book WD External HDD it Windows 10 LatE5510 and put it in a folder called Acronis:
Then install the Acronis WD Edition. This will only install if a WD external (or internal) HDD is detected:
Double click the setup:
Select the user account control:
Select install:
Wait for it to install:
Select Start Application:
Select no thanks at the advertisement to buy the full version:
Backing Up Your Windows Installation
Select the my backups button and then select Entire PC:
Select the destination:
Select Browse:
Navigate to the folder you want using the [+] buttons:
Select your folder and select ok:
Most of the options are only available in the full version so theres little point in looking at the options. The WD free version of Acronis will automatically be setup to create a full backup of your system weekly however and you may wish to change the frequency of this backup. It will backup in the same folder.
Then select Back Up Now and then leave it to finish making an Acronis Image on the external HDD:
When its done there will be a green tick:
You can look at the image.
Creating Bootable Media
In order to restore from your backup if you have software corruption and can no longer boot into your Windows installation or if you are wanting to install on a new drive you need to also create Bootable Media anf a FAT32 formatted USB is recommended.
When using Acronis to create a Bootable USB it only copies the files over to the USB and does not format its contents. Its advised to Format the USB using Windows Explorer before using Acronis to make the USB Bootable.
Right click the USB you wish to use and select Format:
Ensure the File system is FAT32 and call the volume label Acronis. Select Start to Format:
Select Ok at the warning to proceed with the Format:
Select Ok when it says Format complete:
Select Tools:
Select Rescue Media Builder:
Select Acronis Bootable Rescue Media:
Select your FAT32 formatted USB flash drive:
Select Proceed:
Wait for Acronis to make the Bootable USB Flash Drive:
Select Close:
Recovering from a Backup
I will mention how to restore from a backup using the Bootable USB and external hard drive as its the most reliable and covers all cases.
I will test using a UEFI BIOS with SecureBoot Enabled. As you can see in the screenshot below the Boot List Options are UEFI and SecureBoot is enabled. Acronis will of course also work on a system with a Legacy BIOS.
Insert the Acronis FAT32 Bootable USB and USB External Hard Drive. Power down your Dell. Press [F12] when powerin up to enter the Boot Menu.
Use the [↓] and highlight the USB flash drive and press [Enter]
The Acronis Bootloader will now launch as you can see its been certified by Microsoft to pass SecureBoot.
Press [1] to launch Acronis WD Edition:
It will now launch Acronis WD Edition:
The user interface of this version looks very similar to the older version of the program. i.e. it has not been updated to match the user interface within the Windows 10 Desktop. This makes the program feel inconsistent but it still works fine regardless. Select Recovery.
Select Disk and Partition Backup:
Select Browse:
Navigate to the location on your External Hard Drive:
Select the image you want to backup from and press Ok:
Highlight the image and select next:
Opt to Recover whole disks and partitions:
Select the Disk to the top left so all the partitions in the backup are selected then press next:
Press next again:
Select the Disk you want to backup to, in this case the 250 GB Crucial MX200 and press Next:
Select ok at the confirmation warning:
Select next:
Select proceed:
Wait for the recovery operation to complete:
Select ok
You may now exit Acronis.
It should then close and your computer should then restart.
Your computer will be precisely the same as it was when you made the recovery image.