Recovering Your Computer from Backup

System image backups contain all the information needed to recover the Windows operating system. This means system image backups contain your programs, any files used by the operating system, all drivers, and all registry settings. You can use a system image backup to recover the operating system and your programs to the point in time the backup was created.

You can recover the Windows operating system using a system image by following these steps:

1. If the computer is running but has started with errors, click Start. On the Start menu, click the Shut Down options button and then click Restart.
2. During startup you can access the Windows RE, press F8 to access the Advanced Boot Options screen. If the computer has multiple operating systems, you'll see the Windows Boot Manager screen, select the operating system to work with, and then press F8.
3. On the Advanced Boot Options menu, use the arrow keys to select Repair Your Computer, and then press Enter.
4. The computer will load the Windows RE. In the System Recovery Options dialog box, select a language and keyboard layout, and then click Next.
5. To access recovery options, you need to log on using a local administrator account. Select the local administrator to log on as, type the password for this account, and then click OK.
6. In the System Recovery Options dialog box, select System Image Recovery, and then click Next. Follow the prompts to recover the operating system.

Reinstalling Windows 7

When all else fails and you cannot recover Windows in any other way, you can reinstall Windows 7. This procedure follows the same steps you would follow if performing a clean install of the operating system. Reinstalling Windows 7 will result in the loss of all user settings and programs. After reinstalling the operating system, you will need to reconfigure the computer and reinstall your applications.