How to Image a Hard Drive in Windows and Mac

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Co-authored by Gonzalo Martinez and Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: January 20, 2023 Tested

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Using a Windows PC

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Using a Mac

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Q&A

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Tips

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Warnings

Do you need to backup your computer's files, settings, and operating system? You've come to the right place! Imaging your hard drive has never been easier and luckily, we're here to walk you through the entire process. Whether you're working with a Windows or a Mac, we've got you covered. Let's get started!

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Using a Windows PC

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Your external drive should attach via USB cable to one of your computer's USB ports. You'll need an external drive that can hold at least as much data as your current hard drive is using.
Click the Windows logo in the bottom-left corner of the screen.

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This will search your computer for the File History backup program.
It should be at the top of the Start window. Clicking it opens the File History window.
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Click System Image Backup. You'll find this in the bottom-left corner of the window. It may take a few seconds to appear while File History searches for your external drive.^{[1]
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- If you see a page entitled "No File History was found" here instead, click Configure File History settings before proceeding.
It's in the upper-left corner of the window.
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Check the "On a hard disk" option. This will indicate to Windows that you want to use your external hard drive as a backup location.
- You may need to select your external hard drive's name from the "On a hard disk" drop-down box
It's in the bottom-right corner of the window.
This option is at the bottom of the window. Doing so will prompt Windows to begin imaging your hard drive.
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Wait for your backup to complete. It will likely take several hours to finish, so keep your computer plugged into a power source and make the connection to the hard drive isn't disrupted.
- Once the backup finishes, you'll be prompted to create a repair disk. You can do this by clicking Yes, inserting a blank DVD into your computer, and following the on-screen instructions. A repair disk will allow you to recover your computer if it malfunctions.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Using a Mac

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Attach your external hard drive. Plug your hard drive into one of your Mac's USB ports. You'll need the same amount of space on the external drive as is being used on the hard drive.
- If your hard drive uses a USB 3.0 connection and your Mac doesn't have USB 3.0 ports, you'll need to buy and use a USB-C to USB 3.0 adapter.
- If you haven't yet formatted your hard drive to erase it and set it up for a MacOS backup, format it before continuing.
Click the Apple menu
, click Restart..., and click Restart Now when prompted.
Do this immediately after your Mac begins to restart.
You may also see a spinning Earth here.
As soon as you see the spinning globe or Earth icon, release the keys. You should now be at the recovery screen.
It's a grey hard drive icon in the window.^{[2]
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This is in the bottom-right corner of the screen.
Click the external hard drive's name in the top-left side of the page.^{[3]
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This menu item is at the top of the Mac's screen. A drop-down menu will appear.
It's at the top of the drop-down menu.
You'll find this in the middle of the window.
It's in the drop-down menu.
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Click Restore. This blue button is in the bottom-right corner of the window. Clicking it prompts your hard drive to begin backing up to the external hard drive.
- This process may take several hours.
- If you get a "Restoration Failed" error, turn off FileVault and try again.
This signifies that your backup is complete.

Community Q&A

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I am told that my backup drive needs needs formatting. What should I do?

Community Answer

You can temporarily move your important files to another storage device or rent such a storage. Just make sure that the files doesn't have or get hold of virus in that process.

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Tips

Unless you have a relatively small (250 gigabytes or smaller) hard drive, you'll likely need at least a one-terabyte hard drive on which to save your image.

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