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24 October 2023  Amanda J. Brook  Senior Product Manager
 

Summary
Learn how to solve the "Windows cannot find the system image" issue and discover alternative methods to restore your system image. Find the solutions here.



Table of contents

table iconI. What is a system image?
table iconII. How to solve the problem that the system image file cannot be found when restoring the Windows system?
table iconIII. System Backup and Restore with Renee Becca
windows cannot find a system image on this computer

I. What is a system image?

A system image is a copy of your system drive that you can use to restore your computer’s contents if your hard drive or your entire computer fails. By default, a system image contains the drives that Windows needs to run, the Windows system, and your system settings, programs, and files. When restoring a computer from a system image, a complete restore will be performed, and users cannot select individual items to restore, and all current programs, system settings, and files will be replaced by the corresponding contents in the system image.
To sum up, the role of the system image is self-evident, but what should you do if you are prompted that Windows cannot find the system image on this computer when you restore Windows? Here are some effective solutions for you.

II. How to solve the problem that the system image file cannot be found when restoring the Windows system?

back up windows with system image recovery
1. Make sure the system image folder name is “WindowsImageBackup”
It should be noted that the system backup folder must be named “WindowsImageBackup”. If you change the folder name of the system image, it will cause the problem that Windows cannot find the system image on this computer.
2. Place the “WindowsImageBackup” folder in the root of the drive
The WindowsImageBackup folder must be located in the root directory of the hard drive (such as G:\WindowsImageBackup), not in any subfolder, otherwise Windows system recovery will fail because the system image cannot be found.
3. Do not change the subfolder name
You should make sure that the subfolder names in the WindowsImageBackup folder are the same as when the system image was created and cannot be changed. If you change it, Windows will not be able to find a backup of this computer and the restore will fail.
4. Do not add any folders in the “WindowsImageBackup” folder
Make sure you haven’t added any other folders to the WindowsImageBackup folder other than disk images from other computers. Otherwise, the system image file will not be found.
5. Make sure the mediaID.bin file is saved with the system image
The mediaID.bin file is a file created after backup, no matter you want to save the system image on the internal hard disk or an external hard disk, please make sure that the mediaID.bin file is saved together with the system image.
6. Copy WindowsImageBackup to the built-in hard disk
Some users save the WindowsImageBackup folder on the mobile hard disk, causing Windows to fail to find the system image. At this time, you can try to copy WindowsImageBackup to the built-in hard disk, and then restore the system.
The above is the solution when Windows cannot find the system image file. Please note that any changes to the system image backup may cause Windows to not find the system image on this computer, so do not make any changes. If the system cannot be successfully restored through the above methods, then I recommend a more effective method of backing up and restoring the system image, that is, using Renee Becca Perform system backup and restore, using this software, you don’t have to worry about the problem of not being able to find the system image on your computer. The following are the specific steps.

III. System Backup and Restore with Renee Becca

1. What is Renee Becca?

Renee Becca is a tool specially used for system/hard disk data backup and restoration. It can help you back up and restore important data in your computer, such as programs, system configuration, emails, photos, videos, documents, bookmarks, etc. It adopts leading incremental/differential backup technology, which can save you more time and disk space. In addition to system backup, it also supports partition backup, hard disk backup, file backup, and disk cloning to meet your different needs.
Renee Becca - Reliable Data Backup & Restore Software

Quick Backup files at up to 3,000MB/min.

Fullfill different backup needs Supports system backup, disk / partition backup, file backup and disk clone.

Intelligent Automatically analyze the differences between source and backup data.

Convenient Support VSS, allowing to freely view webpages when backing up system.

Highly compatible Supports various files and storage devices.

Quick Backup files at up to 3,000MB/min.

Fullfill different backup needs Backup for disk, partition and system. Save disk space by backing up incremental /differential data.

Highly compatible Supports various files and storage devices.

Free TrialFree Trial 2000 users have downloaded and enjoy Renee Becca!

2. How to use Renee Becca to back up the system?

Renee Becca can create a system image by backing up the system function, and the specific operation steps are as follows:
Step 1: Download, install and run Renee Becca on the computer, and select the (System Backup) option in the main interface (Backup) column.
how to reinstall windows 10 with renee becca
Step 2: Next, select the source and the destination. The source device generally selects the system partition by default, and the destination can choose the location where you want to save the system backup. If you need to back up the system regularly, it is recommended to select a suitable backup plan mode according to individual needs in (Backup scheme). Renee Becca has 5 backup scheme to choose from, namely, version chain mode, single version mode, full mode, incremental mode and differential mode.
back up system with renee becca
Renee Becca has 5 backup plans to choose from:
Version chain mode: Only the latest 5 versions are kept, and useless old versions are automatically deleted after the backup is complete.
Single version mode: Only the most recent version is kept, and the previous version is automatically deleted after the backup is complete.
Full mode: Create a full backup.
Incremental mode: After the initial full backup, only incremental backups are created.
differential mode: After the initial full backup, only differential backups are created. You can view the difference between incremental backup and differential backup.
In addition, in (Schedule), you can set a daily/weekly/monthly automatic backup plan and the time to start the backup, click (OK) to enable the automatic backup function.
system backup-schedule
Step 3: After all the settings are completed, click (Backup Now) and wait for the system backup to complete. You can check the backup progress in the task bar.
how to reinstall windows 10 with renee becca

3. How to restore the system image with the help of Renee Becca?

If you want to restore the system image, you can check the following. The specific operation steps are as follows:
Step 1: Run Renee Becca, switch to (Task) in the function bar at the top of the interface, and then select the option (Rescue CD), which can create a startup disk.
create rescue disc
Step 2: Select the type of rescue disk to be created. Please select according to your disk and computer conditions. After the selection is completed, connect a blank CD or U disk to the computer, and click Select (Next) to create a startup disk.
make a rescue disc with renee becca
Step 3: Connect the boot disk (CD/U disk) to the computer where you need to restore the system image, and enter the BIOS interface through the shortcut key when starting up, and change the boot sequence to boot from USB/CD. Take the following BIOS interface as an example, if you want to boot from a CD, please select (CD-ROM Drive), if you want to boot from a USB flash drive, please select (Removable Devices).
Change bios startup items
Step 4: After successful startup, select the system backup you need to restore and the target location to restore in the window. If the previously backed up system is saved in an external hard disk, please connect it to the computer and select it. At the same time, check (Make the target system disk bootable) option. Finally, click the (Recovery) button to start executing the command to restore the system image.
recover-system-from-backup-files