This worked for me. TL;DR: Attach to a VHD on the network share and backup to that.
Create a System Image Backup
This is based on Windows 10 Pro (version 1803). To create a virtual hard disk file (.vhdx) you need to have the following Windows feature installed: Hyper-V Module for Windows PowerShell
Also make sure "Block Level Backup Engine Service" is running. If there is an existing backup in the backup location, Windows will use it for block-level copying of the files, which will greatly speed up the job.
Replace \\BACKUP-LOCATION with your location on the network or on local disk.
From PowerShell run:
$vhdpath = "\\BACKUP-LOCATION\system-image.vhdx"
$vhdsize = 127GB
New-VHD -Path $vhdpath -Dynamic -SizeBytes $vhdsize |
Mount-VHD -Passthru |
Initialize-Disk -Passthru |
New-Partition -AssignDriveLetter -UseMaximumSize |
Format-Volume -NewFileSystemLabel "System Image" -FileSystem NTFS -Confirm:$false
The new drive will open in File Explorer and in Disk Management (diskmgmt.msc) you will see a new disk attached.
Next, open Backup and Restore with one of these ways:
- Press Windows Key + R, and run
control /name Microsoft.BackupAndRestore
- or: Windows Settings > Update & Security > Backup > Go to Backup and Restore (Windows 7)
- or: Control Panel\System and Security\Backup and Restore (Windows 7)
On the left, select Create a system image or for Schedule select Change settings.
Select the drive labeled "System Image" and follow the steps to create a system image.
Note that if you want to backup also files and folders, in Windows 10 the File History app is recommended over the old Backup and Restore. But for creating system images as of now (version 1803) there is no new solution available by Microsoft.
If you backed up system image, you'll see a "WindowsImageBackup" folder in your backup drive. If you also chose to backup files, you will also have a "MediaID.bin" file and a folder with the name of your computer that you can open to restore your files.
Restoring System Image
To restore the system image you will need a System Repair Disc that you can create from Backup and Restore (Windows 7) window by clicking on "Create a system repair disc" on the left. But don't do that because you need a ISO. Go to Windows download page and download the Media Creation Tool. Run it and create the installation media to a ISO file (Windows.iso).
Now the question is, how to restore from the VHD file using system repair disc? I haven't tried it yet, but my plan is to use Hyper-V and attach a physical hard disk plus the system image VHD, and Windows.iso as DVD drive. Boot from the DVD and follow System Image Recovery to restore from the attached VHD into the physical HDD.
Best Answer
This sounds like a UAC issue. See if you can access the folder(s) with an elevated command line (like PowerShell), rather than Windows Explorer. The issue is that Windows Explorer does not behave "properly" with UAC, so problems like this often result.
The linked article has a couple of workarounds, though personally, I prefer to just use a different program for file browsing... I was never a big fan of Windows Explorer to begin with.