How to create a system image for fast windows recovery. How to create an ISO image from files and folders.

Hello!   In this tutorial, I will teach you how to create ISO disk images. This feature can be useful in cases where a game or program does not start without a DVD or CD inserted into the drive.

I will also show how you can create an ISO disk image from various files that just lie on your computer. We will be able to pack in the image of music, movies, programs and much more.

In general, if you are on this page, then most likely you know for what purposes you need create disk imageso let's get down to business right away. To create the image we will use ultraISO programwhich can be downloaded on the official website.

And run it. Do not forget to insert a disk into your computer. Now we need to select the Tools menu in the UltraISO and the item "Create CD Image". You can also use hot key F8.


We have a window where we need to adjust something. The first thing in the section CD / DVD drive need select drive letter, which can be found by going to the section Computer. If you have only one drive installed, the desired letter will be selected by default.

Just below you need to specify a place on the computer where you need to save the ISO image, as well as give it a name.

Below is a section for selecting the format. Besides ISO   there are MDF, BIN and some other less popular formats. Perhaps in some cases they will be useful to you.

To start creating an image, we just need to click the Make button.

This is how the process looks:

Here we once again see where the image will be saved, as well as the approximate time that remains until the completion of the process. At the end we can open the folder and check the result.


Now this ISO image can be opened in special programs, for example,. After opening the image, in the section Computer this file   will be displayed as a disk, and we can work with it as with ordinary CDs and DVDs.

Creating an image from various files
(movies, music, programs, etc.)

Now I have shown how to create iSO image   from a real CD that is inserted into the optical drive. But besides this, the UltraISO program can pack absolutely any files into a disk image. This is done very simply.

You need to run the program and drag files from the bottom window to the top window.

Now press the File - Save As menu.

Give the image a name, select the ISO file format, specify where to save the image and click Save.


The process has begun!

So, how to create a disk image in ISO format from various files, we also figured out. Use these options in your practice.

If something suddenly happens to your operating system, it can cause a huge amount of problems. At best, it will have to be reinstalled, searching for drivers and installers of the programs you need on the Internet. In the worst case, there is a risk of completely losing all personal information. unique photos, important documents and projects. Normally, restoring the OS in this case is unlikely to help - it only works with windows settings. Therefore, to save your data, it is important to know how you can create a backup disk image from your Windows 7.

Types of images

The DVD itself is not necessary to have it. There is a specialized software   (for example, the UltraISO utility), with which you can do everything you need right on your computer. You prepare a set of folders and files, and with the help of the program you create a disk image.

The second view is a backup of the operating system.. It can even be done standard means   Windows It is needed to restore your OS in case of unforeseen emergencies.

In fact, it is a cast hard drive. The computer scans the entire contents of the specified HDD, and packs it into a special archive. If something happens - you can always restore everything back.

Windows backup

To create backup data on a disk, no additional software is needed. You just need to do the following:



The whole process can take quite a long time. Volumes of stored data, as a rule, are large. In general, the duration depends on the amount of copied information, generation of USB or SATA / SAS interfaces, network speed (depending on where backup is stored) and computer performance.

Recovery disk

After the backup process is completed, the system will prompt you to create a special recovery disk. This is a complex useful programsthat can help users if their OS stops running. On it you can find utilities for restoring the MBR boot sector, kits system filesrequired to run, and so on.

Creating an ISO image

If you want to burn the contents of a DVD or CD in digital ISO format, you will need special program. The easiest and most reliable example of such a utility is free application   Imgburn

A disc image is a complete, “photographic” copy of an optical disc (for example, a CD or DVD). Unlike a simple copy of a disk, its image is not just a set of folders, but a file that contains information about the disk format, boot data, its structure and the data itself.

Disk image files often have the extension .iso. Usually, in this format, boot disk images or computer games. Consider how you can create an iso disk image.

To create an iso disk image, emulation programs are used that create virtual disk drives on the user's machine, which, however, are perceived by the computer's operating system as quite real. There are several such programs, but we will look at how to create an iso disk image with the help of two of them: Daemon Tools and UltraISO.

How to create an iso disk image, Daemon Tools

The program is unpretentious and its free version allows you to create an iso disk image from any optical disc placed in the drive of your computer.

After installing the program on your computer, the Daemon Tools program icon will appear in the lower right corner of the Desktop. By clicking on it right click   mouse, we will see the following image:


Using the tooltip, look for the “Image creation” icon on it (second from left). After clicking on this icon, a window with the same name will open:

In this window, after we insert the disk into the computer's drive, select the save folder and the format of the future disk image file (iso), decide whether we will compress it or not, and use or discard the protection of the iso file with a password.

Click "Start" and at the end of the processing operation we find the disk image created by iso in the specified folder.

How to create an iso disk image, UltraISO

The UltraISO program is more functional than the free version of Daemon Tools and allows you to create an iso disk image from files stored in computer folders.

The UltraISO interface window consists of two parts, each of which has a conductor structure.


We find in the bottom of the file or folder from which we want to create an iso disk image and drag it to the top.


Then open the "Properties" window by clicking on the button next to the "Image" field, set the type-size of the desired disk image and the format of the file name "standard" in this window. Click OK in the "Properties" window, and in the main window of the "Save As" program.


In the window that opens, select the file format (ISO file), give it a name, specify the save folder and click “Save”. Everything, after the processing operation, we find the disk image created by iso in the specified folder.


If the computer is under running windows   7, it is not necessary to install to create an image of the system additional programs. You can use the service "Backup and restore data."

To do this, you need to connect an external disk or USB flash drive to your computer, formatted in NTFS, and then go to the “Control Panel” and select the “Backup and Restore” section. A dialog box opens, in the left part of which you need to select the item “Create a system image”.

Now you have to answer the question of the system “Where should the archive be saved?”. The use of local hard is not recommended. When attacking viruses or illiterate user actions, it is often impossible to recover the system from it. It is better to choose an external drive pre-connected to the computer. Can be used and dVDsbut it is less convenient.

Under no circumstances can you edit the received archive copy. Any change in the data obtained will make it impossible to restore the system from this archive file.

Now you need to select the disks that will be archived. If on external drive   enough space, and you have a lot of free time, it is better to tick all local drives. Then you can be sure that all your data will be restored. Otherwise, select the system disk C for archiving.

In the next dialog box, to confirm the selected parameters, click on the "Archive" button. This will start the process of archiving the system and in the dialog box you will see the movement of the green pointer “The archive is being saved”. It shows what stage the process is at.

When the creation of the system image comes to an end, the next program window will appear with a proposal to create a “System Restore Disk”. If you have not done it before, you must agree and click the "Yes" button. After all, if the operating system does not boot, then without this disk it will be impossible to restore the created image.

When archiving is completed, the notification “Archiving successful” will appear in the “System Image Creation” window. Click "Close" to end the program.

How to create an operating system image using Acronis True Image

Compared with the standard archiver application has advanced features. Launch the program and in the main window click on the item “Create archive”. Now you need to choose which of the disk partitions will be saved. To create a copy of Windows, you need to click on the menu item "My Computer" and select hDDon which the operating system was installed. Usually such a drive is drive C.
To ensure that archives with the latest operating system status are always at hand, it is recommended to set the automatic schedule in the program settings. reserve copy.

In the next dialog box there will be a description of various archives that can be created using Acronis. Just read the suggestions of the program and click "Next." Now you need to specify the location to save the future archive. It is better to take care of creating a folder for archive files in advance. As in the previous method, the best solution is to write the archive to external media.

Next you need to select one of the types of archiving, the description of which was in the previous window. The best option   is “Creating a complete archive”, because it is completely autonomous and does not depend on the remaining copies. In the Backup Options dialog box, select the first option Use default settings and click Next.

Over time, you may accumulate different images of Windows. For example, you can create an archive of operating systems with or without drivers, a “clean” image or with the necessary programs already installed. Therefore, in the next step, make a description of the archive, so as not to confuse it with others. Click "Next" and Acronis will start the task.

This tutorial will detail how to create an ISO image. On the agenda are free programs for creating ISO windows image, or any other bootable disk image. Also talk about alternative optionsto accomplish this task. We will also talk about how to make an ISO disk image from files.

Creating an ISO file that represents an image of any media, usually a Windows disc or other software, is a simple task. As a rule, it is enough to have the necessary program with the necessary functionality. Good, free software to create images abound. Therefore, we confine ourselves to listing the most convenient of them. And at first we will talk about those programs for creating ISO, which can be downloaded for free, then we will talk about more advanced paid solutions.

Update 2015: Added two excellent and clean programs for creating disk images, as well as additional information on ImgBurn, which can be important for the user.

Ashampoo Burning Studio Free is a free program for burning discs, as well as for working with their images - is the best (most suitable) option for most users who need to make an ISO image from a disc or from files and folders. The tool works in Windows 7, 8 and Windows 10.

The advantages of this program over other similar utilities:

  • It is clean of additional unnecessary software and Adware. Unfortunately, with almost all the other programs listed in this review, this is not quite the case. For example, ImgBurn is a very good software, but it’s impossible to find a clean installer on the official website.
  • Burning Studio has a simple and intuitive interface in Russian: for almost any task you do not need any additional instructions.

In the main window of Ashampoo Burning Studio Free on the right you will see a list of available tasks. If you select the "Disk image" item, then there you will see the following options for actions (the same actions are available in the File - Disk Image menu):


  • Burn image (write existing disk image to disc).
  • Create an image (removing an image from an existing CD, DVD or Blu-Ray disc).
  • Create image from files.

After selecting “Create image from files” (I will consider this option) you will be asked to choose the type of image - CUE / BIN, your own format Ashampoo or standard ISO image.


And finally, the main step in creating an image is adding your folders and files. At the same time, you will visually see on which disk and in what size the resulting ISO can be written.


As you can see, everything is elementary. And this is not all the functions of the program - you can also burn and copy discs, burn music and DVD movies, do backups   data. You can download Ashampoo Burning Studio Free from the official site https://www.ashampoo.com/ru/rub/pin/7110/burning-software/Ashampoo-Burning-Studio-FREE

CDBurnerXP

CDBurnerXP is another convenient freeware utility in Russian that allows you to burn discs, and at the same time create their images, including in Windows XP (the program works in Windows 7 and Windows 8.1). Not without reason, this option is considered one of the best for creating ISO images.

Creating an image occurs in a few simple steps:



As a result, a disk image containing the data you selected will be prepared and saved.

You can download CDBurnerXP from the official site https://cdburnerxp.se/ru/download, but be careful: to download a clean version without Adware, click on “More download options” and then select either a portable (portable) version of the program that works without installation, or the second version of the installer without OpenCandy.

ImgBurn is a free program for creating and recording ISO images.

Attention (added in 2015): despite the fact that ImgBurn remains an excellent program, I could not find a clean installer from unwanted programs on the official website. As a result of testing in Windows 10, I did not detect suspicious activity, but I recommend to be careful.



The next program we will look at is ImgBurn. You can download it for free on the developer’s website www.imgburn.com. The program is very functional, while easy to use and will be understandable to any newcomer. Moreover, Microsoft support recommends using this program to create boot disk   Windows 7. By default, the program is loaded in English, but on the official site you can also download the Russian language file, and then copy the unpacked archive into the Language folder in the folder with the ImgBurn program.


What ImgBurn can do:

  • Create an ISO image from disk. Including, it is not possible to create a bootable ISO Windows   from the distribution of the operating system.
  • Easily create ISO images from files. Those. You can specify any folder or folders and create an image with them.
  • Burn ISO images to discs — for example, when you need to make a boot disk in order to install Windows.

Video: how to create bootable ISO Windows 7

Thus, ImgBurn is a very convenient, practical and free program, with which even a novice user can easily create an ISO image of Windows or any other. Especially to understand, in difference, for example, from UltraISO, it is not necessary.

PowerISO - advanced creation of bootable ISO and not only

The program PowerISO, designed to work with boot images of Windows and other operating systems, as well as any other disk images can be downloaded from the developer's site http://www.poweriso.com/download.htm. The program can do anything, though it is paid, and the free version has some limitations. However, consider the capabilities of PowerISO:

  • Create and burn ISO images. Create bootable ISOs with no bootable disk
  • Creating bootable Windows flash drives
  • Burning ISO images to disk, mounting them in Windows
  • Creating images from files and folders from CDs, DVDs, Blu-Ray
  • Convert images from ISO to BIN and from BIN to ISO
  • Extract files and folders from images
  • DMG Apple OS X image support
  • Full support for Windows 8


This is not all the features of the program and many of them can be used in free version. So, if the creation of bootable images, flash drives from ISO and constant work with them is about you, take a closer look at this program, it can do a lot.

BurnAware Free - burn and ISO

You can download the free BurnAware Free program from an official source http://www.burnaware.com/products.html. What can this program do? Not much, but, in fact, all the necessary functions are present in it:

  • Write data, images, files to discs
  • Create ISO disk images

Perhaps this is quite enough if you do not pursue some very complex goals. Bootable ISO also perfectly records if you have a boot disk from which this image is being made.

ISO recorder 3.1 - version for Windows 8 and Windows 7

Another free program that allows you to create an ISO from CDs or DVDs (creating ISO from files and folders is not supported). You can download the program from the site of the author Alex Feynman (Alex Feinman) http://alexfeinman.com/W7.htm

Program properties:

  • Compatible with Windows 8 and Windows 7, x64 and x86
  • Create and burn images from / to CD / DVD discs, including creating bootable ISO

After installing the program, context menuWhen you right-click on a CD, the item “Create image from CD” will appear - just click on it and follow the instructions. The image is written to the disk in the same way - right click on the ISO file, select the “Write to disk” option.

Free program ISODisk - full-fledged work with ISO images and virtual disks

The next program is ISODisk, which you can download for free from http://www.isodisk.com/. This software allows you to perform the following tasks:

  • Easily make an ISO from a CD or DVD disc, including a boot image of Windows or another operating system, recovery discs for a computer
  • Mount ISO in the system as a virtual disk.

As for ISODisk, it is worth noting that the program copes with the creation of images with a bang, but it is better not to use it to mount virtual drives - the developers themselves admit that this function works fully adequately only in Windows XP.

Free DVD ISO Maker

The Free DVD ISO Maker program can be downloaded for free from http://www.minidvdsoft.com/dvdtoiso/download_free_dvd_iso_maker.html. The program is simple, convenient and no frills. The whole process of creating a disk image takes place in three steps:


  1. Run the program, in the field Selet CD / DVD device specify the path to the disk from which you want to make an image. Click “Next”
  2. Specify where to save the ISO file
  3. Click "Convert" and wait for the program to finish.

Done, you can use the created image for your own purposes.

How to create bootable ISO Windows 7 using the command line

Finish with free software and consider creating boot image   ISO Windows 7 (can work for Windows 8, not verified) using the command line.

  1. You will need all the files contained on the disk with the Windows 7 distribution, for example, they are in the folder C: \\Make-Windows7-ISO \\
  2. You will also need The Windows® Automated Installation Kit (AIK) for Windows® 7 — a set of Microsoft utilities that can be downloaded at http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=5753. In this set we are interested in two tools - oscdimg.exe, by default located in the folder ProgramFiles \\WindowsAIK \\Tools \\x86   and etfsboot.com - the boot sector, which allows you to create a bootable ISO Windows 7.
  3. Run command line   as administrator and enter the command:
  4. oscdimg -n -m -b "C: \\ Make-Windows7-ISO \\ boot \\ etfsboot.com" C: \\ Make-Windows7-ISO C: \\ Make-Windows7-ISO \\ Win7.iso

Note on last team: no space between parameter – b   and specifying the path to the boot sector is not an error, as it should.

After entering the command, you will observe the process of recording the boot ISO of Windows 7. Upon completion, you will be informed about the size of the image file and will write that the process is complete. Now you can use the created ISO image in order to.

How to create an ISO image in the UltraISO program



UltraISO software is one of the most popular for all tasks related to disk images, flash drives or creating bootable media. Making an ISO image from a file or disk in UltraISO does not pose any special problems and we will look at this process.

  1. Run the UltraISO program
  2. At the bottom, select the files you want to add to the image, by clicking on them with the right mouse button, you can select the “Add” option.
  3. After you have finished adding files, select “File” - “Save” in the UltraISO menu and save it as an ISO. The image is ready.

Creating ISO in Linux

All that is required to create a disk image is already present in the operating system, and therefore the process of creating ISO image files is quite simple:

  1. On Linux, run a terminal
  2. Enter: dd if = / dev / cdrom of = ~ / cd_image.iso   - This will create an image from a disk inserted into the drive. If the disk was bootable, the image will be the same.
  3. To create an ISO image from files, use the command mkisofs -o /tmp/cd_image.iso / papka / files /

How to create a bootable USB flash drive from an ISO image

If for some reason the methods and programs listed here turned out to be not enough for you to do what you wanted and create a disk image, pay attention to this list: Wikipedia image creation software - you will certainly find what you need for your operating system.

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