Avatar of nachtmsk
nachtmskFlag for United States of America

asked on 

How to make Windows 2012 disk image

Hi,
i have a newly built Windows 2012 server standard (not Hyper-V, not R2), fully updated through MS updates.
I want to create an exact backup of the disk the way it is, so in the event I mess up something in the future, I  don't have to start from scratch in building the server again. BTW -- this is a Lab server.
So, what's the easiest way for me to create an image either on the system disk (plenty of space) or removable disk/USB that would allow me to restore the server to it's current state in the future if need be.

I'm not talking about a bootable/installation disk image, I already have that on a USB stick, that's how I built the server. I'm talking about the server as it stands now, since I've updated it. There were a lot of MS updates, I don't want to go through that again if possible.

Thanks!
Nacht
Windows Server 2012VirtualizationAcronis

Avatar of undefined
Last Comment
David Johnson, CD
Avatar of Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)
Andrew Hancock (VMware vExpert PRO / EE Fellow/British Beekeeper)
Flag of United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland image

So you want to image your computer, so you can restore from an image.

How about

Drive Snapshot - http://www.drivesnapshot.de/en/

Inexpensive, and almost free!

otherwise, you've got Acronis imaging tools, or http://clonezilla.org/

http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx

We actually use the following these days quick and easy...

http://redobackup.org/
Avatar of Lee W, MVP
Lee W, MVP
Flag of United States of America image

Why not make a backup using the Windows Backup and Bare Metal Restore option?
SOLUTION
Avatar of jekautz
jekautz

Blurred text
THIS SOLUTION IS ONLY AVAILABLE TO MEMBERS.
View this solution by signing up for a free trial.
Members can start a 7-Day free trial and enjoy unlimited access to the platform.
See Pricing Options
Start Free Trial
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
Avatar of noxcho
noxcho
Flag of Germany image

Blurred text
THIS SOLUTION IS ONLY AVAILABLE TO MEMBERS.
View this solution by signing up for a free trial.
Members can start a 7-Day free trial and enjoy unlimited access to the platform.
Avatar of nachtmsk
nachtmsk
Flag of United States of America image

ASKER

All good suggestions, thanks! I will look each of them over in detail and be back.
I only use the base install media ONCE install all of the updates, sysprep and then capture an image of the machine and then use this base image for further installations.

I highly leverage MDT in order to do this. I have reference images of all the current Microsoft Operating systems and leverage WSUS for the updates. It takes about 24-48 hours to create the initial reference images. All of this is done in hyper-v so that if I change platforms for a physical install I don't bring artifacts of a machines physical dependencies.

from these reference images this is where I do my production deployments and typically refresh these captures every 6 months. These refreshes take considerably less time.

I also have in place regular backup solutions for bare metal restores of production machines.
Virtualization
Virtualization

Virtualization is the act of creating a virtual (rather than actual) version of something, including (but not limited to) a virtual computer hardware platform, operating system (OS), storage device, or computer network resources. Virtualization is usually the creation of a system that executes separate from the underlying hardware resources, or the creation of an entire desktop for systems located elsewhere, similar to thin clients.

22K
Questions
--
Followers
--
Top Experts
Get a personalized solution from industry experts
Ask the experts
Read over 600 more reviews

TRUSTED BY

IBM logoIntel logoMicrosoft logoUbisoft logoSAP logo
Qualcomm logoCitrix Systems logoWorkday logoErnst & Young logo
High performer badgeUsers love us badge
LinkedIn logoFacebook logoX logoInstagram logoTikTok logoYouTube logo