How to take a disk image of your computer

Get started
To create a drive image download Macrium Reflect Free. Once downloaded, double-click the setup file (reflect_setup_free_x86_x64.exe) and follow the wizard to install it. Once complete, a shortcut to the program will be placed on the Windows Desktop.

Double-click this to get started. After registering the program at no cost, its main screen will appear. If the PC’s firewall application displays a prompt, ensure reflect.exe gets the access it needs.

Everything is neatly laid out, with all attached disks and disk partitions visible in the main area of the program window. The first step is to create a rescue CD or DVD: if the PC needs restoring, this disc will be required first.

To create the rescue disc, pop a blank CD or DVD into the drive, open the Other Tasks menu and select Create Rescue CD. Leave the Linux option selected and click Next. Click Advanced and tick the Compatibility Mode box before clicking OK. Verify the correct CD/DVD-writer drive is selected before clicking Finish and wait for the disc to be created.

Make the first backup
To take a disk image, click the ‘Create a backup image of an entire disk or selected partition(s)’ button, which will launch the Create Backup Wizard. Select the disks or partitions to back up by ticking the appropriate boxes and click Next.

Now choose where to store the backup. If you select the hard disk option, click ‘Browse for folder...’ to choose the disk and folder that will be used to store the backups. Click Next.

Review your choices (click Advanced to increase the compression level if backing up to DVD), and click Finish followed by OK to start the backup. If you are backing up to CD or DVD, have plenty of blank discs ready and label each with a number.

Verify the backup and rescue disc
Once the backup is complete, check all has gone to plan by opening the Other Tasks menu and selecting Verify Image & Backup Files. Click Next to select the backup ­ the Recent Locations folder should contain the folder or disk to which the image was backed up.

Select the folder from the list to view all backups inside it. If more than one is present, use the Backup date to select the most recent backup.

Click Next followed by Verify and then sit back and wait. It can be a lengthy process. To verify backups from CD or DVD, you may need to insert the last disc first, then remove it when prompted and insert the first disc, followed by the rest of the discs in the order they were created.

Once the backup has been verified, test the rescue disc. Restart the PC with the disc inserted in the drive ­ if your PC is set to boot from CD/DVD, it will start automatically; if not, look for an option to enter the boot menu (tap F12, F2 or Delete just after switching on the PC), then select the relevant drive from the list.

If the disc works, the Image Restore Wizard will appear. Click Next and the drive will pop open so you can remove the rescue disc. Verify you can see the backup device from the list and click Cancel followed by OK to launch back into Windows. Once the disc is verified, make sure it’s labelled and stored securely.