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
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
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Why not make a backup using the Windows Backup and Bare Metal Restore option?
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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.
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.
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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.
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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/