The problem with some imaging software is it doesn’t allow creating backup images for external devices such as a USB flash drive, digital camera, or MP3 player. Imaging is different from just backing up your files or selected folders because a complete copy is created for the whole hard drive or partition and its structure.

If your system is unable to boot, start up the computer with the imaging software’s rescue media and it can restore your system back to the time when you created the image. However, it’s recommended for all users to keep backups in case of crashes or hardware failures. Creating a full Windows backup by using the built it Windows Imaging Tool, Acronis TrueImage, EaseUs Todo Backup, or Macrium Reflect is pretty common for experienced computer users.