Open BAK File

System Image Recovery

Recovery image of the operating system is a backup of every file including operating system files and boot information. Typically, recovery image is created as a bit by bit copy of a hard drive. This way when hard drive is restored from the backup image all the information is restored and the operating system will operate in the same way it worked when restore image was created.

Restore images are typically created to save operating system in a state when it is fully operational and stable. If some software destabilizes operating system in the future it is always possible to restore it to the latest stable state. The negative side of this is that with full disk restore all user files will be also restored to their original state and all changes since the restore will be lost. That’s why it is recommended to combine restore image creation with a regular backup of document and other important files on a disk. This way even if a full operating system restore is required it will be possible to restore important data.

Recovery disk image creation and restore is a free option in Windows and Mac OS operating systems. In Mac OS you can use Disk Utility to create a disk image and on Windows OS you can use File History tool in the Control Panel.

There are other uses of disk restore images besides restoring operating system due to a failure. For example, if you want to upgrade your hard drive to a different one you can use disk restore image to copy your entire disk contents into a new drive without a need to install a new operating system. Another use of restore disk images is in enterprise environment where system administrator can use them to create identical copies of the same operating system environment on multiple machines. This operation is frequently called server provisioning. Modern server clusters are able to deploy system images to new or failed servers automatically without any involvement from administrators.