System Restore with Qiling Disk Master
When your system crashes, restoring from a system backup is a better solution than reinstalling the OS, as it saves time and preserves data.
System restore can be used in the following scenarios:
- System malfunction: System restore can help fix system issues by restoring system settings and configurations to a previous point in time when the system was working properly, typically after a severe error, crash, or failure to start properly.
- Software conflicts: If new software or an update causes issues with other programs or the system, system restore can revert the system to a previous state, resolving the conflicts.
- Malware infection: When a computer is infected with viruses, malware, or ransomware, using system restore can revert the computer to a previous point in time when it was free from these threats, effectively removing the malicious software.
- Accidental operations or data loss: If important files or directories are accidentally deleted or system settings are changed, system restore can roll back to the previous state, recovering lost data.
- Test environment restoration: When conducting experiments, installing new software, or making configuration changes, it's a good idea to perform a system restore to back up the current environment. This allows you to restore the system to its previous state once the testing is complete, ensuring that any changes or issues caused by the testing don't affect the system's normal functioning.
How to Restore System with Qiling Disk Master in Windows 10 step by step
Prerequisites for system restore
Before restoration, there are some things you need to know.
- Qiling Disk Master system restore relies on a previously made system backup using the same software. You'll need to have at least one system image created by Qiling Disk Master, regardless of the source system being the current crashed one or another computer. Note that even if you have multiple Windows backup points, they won't work with Qiling Disk Master, as it only recognizes system images made by its own software.
- If you haven't created a system backup with Qiling Disk Master, you can create one based on another working system, but the restored system will be a copy of the backup, not the original crashed system. This method is viable if you have another working system to base the backup on.
- If a PC fails to boot or has crashed, users can create a WinPE bootable media using Qiling Disk Master or iling PE Builder on another healthy computer, and then boot the crashed PC from the WinPE bootable media to run the system restore under WinPE.Qiling PE Builder on another healthy computer, and then boot the crashed PC from the WinPE bootable media to run the system restore under WinPE.
Users should create a WinPE bootable media as soon as they start using Qiling products, and store it safely to ensure they can boot a failed computer if needed, as not having this media may result in being unable to recover the computer.
If you don't have the necessary items, please download Qiling Disk Master and prepare what you need.
Detailed steps about how to restore a system backup
Restore System under Windows:
1. Select the task you want to restore from the list, then click Restore to start the restore process. This will restore the task to its original state, overwriting any changes you made since the backup was created. Be careful when restoring tasks, as this will delete any changes you made since the backup was created.
2. To recover your system, select a backup image and click the "Next" button, which will restore your system to the state it was in at the time the backup was taken.
3. Choose to restore the entire image or part and click Next.
4. To execute the operation, first, preview the operation on the "Operation Summary" page, then click "Proceed". Wait for the process to complete, and finally click "Finish".
- Tips: If the system image is taken from another computer, you should enable the "Universal Restore" feature to ensure the system is bootable after recovery. This is a paid function.
To do a System Restore, go to the Start menu and type 'System Restore' in the search bar. Click on the result to open the System Restore window.
Restore System under WinPE:
If your PC won't boot or has crashed, you'll need to create a WinPE bootable media using Qiling Disk Master, then boot your PC into WinPE to run system restore.
1. To create a WinPE bootable media using Qiling Disk Master or Qiling PE Builder on another healthy computer, follow these steps: First, download and install Qiling Disk Master or Qiling PE Builder on the healthy computer. Next, launch the software and select the option to create a WinPE bootable media.
2. Insert a bootable media into the failed computer and boot from it, possibly by changing the boot sequence and boot mode in the PC's BIOS/UEFI Setup Utility.
3. When the PC boots up successfully, Qiling Disk Master, already installed on the bootable device, will run automatically, allowing you to start the system recovery process just like under Windows.
4. After a successful system restore, remove the bootable media and restart your PC. You might still need to adjust the boot sequence and boot mode in your PC's BIOS/UEFI Setup Utility.
Notes:
- You regularly backup your system, so each backup will generate an image at a given point in time, resulting in multiple backup points to choose from.
- The destination disk/partition will be completely erased, so any important data should be backed up to another location before proceeding.
- During a system restore, the computer will be prompted to restart, and then enter into a "Restart Mode" for the restore operation.
- If your system uses an "EFI partition + system partition + recovery partition" layout, there may be more than one EFI partition after restore. To fix this, try deleting the extra EFI partition and keeping only one, which should allow the system to boot normally.
- If you can't boot into Windows to run the program for the restore, you can create a WinPE bootable media using Qiling Disk Master beforehand and then boot from the WinPE media to perform the restore operation.
- System restore will restore the entire system to a specific point in time, so it's recommended to back up important files and data before doing so.
Conclusion
System Restore is a feature that allows you to revert your system to a previous state in case of a crash, saving you the time and hassle of reinstalling the system.
FAQs:
Q: The error message you're encountering suggests that the system partition is located on a dynamic disk or the image file is stored on a dynamic volume. To resolve this, you can use the "Tools" feature to create a Windows PE bootable CD, rather than a Linux bootable CD, and then try the restore process again. This should help you overcome the issue and complete the restore operation successfully.
A: If programs are running on the destination partition during the restore process, the system will automatically restart and run Disk Master in Linux or WinPE mode to complete the restore. This issue occurs because image files in dynamic partitions cannot be recognized by the Linux environment, leading to the need for a restart and re-run of the restore process.
1) Copy the image file to a basic partition and then restore it again.
2) Click Tools-To create a WinPE bootable media, follow these steps: Create Bootable Media. This will allow you to recognize image files in a dynamic volume. Once created, boot from the WinPE bootable media to proceed with the restore process.
Q: The message indicates that the image file is stored on a shared drive or NAS network, and the restore operation requires a bootable CD to access the file. This is likely due to the fact that the image file is not on a local drive, and the restore process needs to be initiated from a bootable environment to access the file. To resolve this, you may need to create a bootable CD or USB drive and use it to initiate the restore process. Alternatively, you can also try to copy the image file to a local drive and then perform the restore operation. However, the exact solution may depend on the specific backup software and hardware being used.
A: If you're trying to restore an image to a shared folder or NAS device, but getting a message saying that programs can't close, you can resolve this by creating a bootable media, booting from it, and then completing the restore process.
Q: The error message "Unable to get the backup information because the image file does not exist, or it can't be accessed..." appears when clicking the Restore or Advanced button on a backup task on the Home screen. This issue occurs when the image file for the backup task is either non-existent or inaccessible.
A: The task may not be able to locate the backup files, so you need to delete the task and re-import the backup task by browsing the backup files under Tools-->Import/Export Configuration, which should then list the task on the Home screen again.
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