Most modern installations of Windows 10 use GPT disk partitioning, which is much more modern and efficient than the old MBR (still supported for older operating systems). The presence of a GPT partitioning can create some problems when you have to create a backup image of the whole system (ghosting image), since the partitions are different than in the past. Fortunately, however, there are valid programs capable of creating aGhost image Windows 10 (i.e. complete with all included partitions), to be used in case of need to restore the system.
Keep in mind that Ghost, in this case, does not mean “ghost” but it is an abbreviation that stands for General Hardware-Oriented System Transfer. creating a Ghost UEFI means to create a photocopy of the system that includes all partitions of a disk and that can be used to restart a computer if the current disk fails, without losing anything and quickly.
In the guide that follows we will see together how to create ghost UEFI backups on Windows 10, using free programs available for all computers. Obviously we recommend making this backup only with the system fully functional: if the system is already blocked or does not work, it is advisable to proceed with the recovery first and only then create the ghost image (to be saved on external USB disk).
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Does our computer have GPT disks?
Before going on with the guide it can be very useful to understand if our hard drive or the SSD present on the computer uses GPT or MBR partitioning. The programs that we recommend below work well in both cases, but it is always useful to understand what type of partitioning we use on our computer. To find out this information, right-click on the Windows 10 Start menu, open the menu Disk management, press with the right button on the box below Disco 0 (for the primary disk) or any other disk at the bottom, click on the item Property so let’s go to the card Volumes.
Next to the item Partition style the wording should be present GPT O MBR, depending on how the disk was initialized. If we have bought a new PC or laptop we will most likely only find GPT; on old computers or some formatted computers we can also find MBR.
For the primary disk (where there is Windows) it is not possible to switch from one partition style to another but, if we have other disks present in the system, we can always delete all the partitions present, press the right button on the relative disk pane and press on To convert to disk GPT or his To convert MBR . to disk.
But what are the advantages of GPT over MBR? One of the advantages of GPT disks is the ability to have more than four primary partitions on each disk, a limitation that many Linux users are familiar with. Using GPT we can also use disks larger than two terabytes (TB), which is not possible with simple MBR partitioning.
AOMEI Backupper
The first program we recommend you use to create a Ghost image on Windows 10 is AOMEI Backupper, which we can download for free from the official website.
After installing this program we can immediately start the Ghost UEFI backup by starting it, pressing on New Backup and choosing System backup O Disk backup. In the new window we choose which partitions to insert in the backup, we choose the location of the backup (possibly a USB hard drive or a NAS) then proceed with the creation of the system image.
In case of problems we can restore the image created previously directly from the program or, if the operating system does not start, using a AOMEI recovery disk, which we can also create on other PCs and start on the non-working PC by changing theboot order. Always with this program we can also create a dedicated recovery partition, starting the mode AMOEI OneKey Recovery: in a few simple steps we can create an invisible partition next to Windows 10 and start it (only with a specific command) at startup to access the AMOEI recovery environment and use one of the images created with the program to restore a Ghost UEFI backup .
Macrium Reflect Free
Another very good program for creating Ghost UEFI backups on Windows 10 is Macrium Reflect Free, downloadable for free from the official website.
Starting this program we will end up with a clear and complete interface, so that we can quickly create the Ghost backup of the entire operating system or the entire hard disk on the PC. To proceed we open the program, make sure to position ourselves on the card Disk Image, select the disk or partitions to be included in the backup then press on the left side on the item Image selected disks on this computer O Create an image of the partition(s) required to backup and restore Windows. The program will let us choose where to save the system image: possibly choose on a disk external to the computer.
In case of problems or if we need to restore the computer we can either use the program interface (taking us to the tab Restore) or create an emergency recovery disk and boot the PC from it, so that you can restore the system even in the event of sudden freezes or freezes of the system at startup.
Conclusions
We have seen together the best programs to use on PC to create a ghosting of GPT partitions, so as not to have any problems with backups on new laptops or new PCs. These programs are really very simple to use and allow you to quickly restore a Windows computer damaged, not working or having some problems starting. Obviously they can be considered valid aids to backup systems already present on Windows 10 and fully functional even on GPT partitions.
To learn more about the backup systems on Windows, we invite you to read our guides Backup of installed programs and settings on Windows e Windows 10 Backup and Restore.
If, on the other hand, we have no external hard drive to save the backups, it may be a good idea to set up a NAS-based backup center, as also seen in the guide Buying a Network NAS Storage: what is it for and how much does it cost.