Control Panel System Image can't find backup drive?

[ChrisGreaves]

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The backup drive is a 500GB USB drive, and I have used it as recently as a month ago to make a system image for this Win10 laptop "Acer075"
First week of month, make a system image, right?
Last night after about a minute of "searching for backup drives" CP reported along the lines of "cannot find a backup drive", so I took a look at Management, Disk Management and there was a drive there, but unlettered.
So I called it "G" and tried a system image again. No luck.
Rebooted (maybe the letter "G" has to "take"), no luck.
That's when I looked at the contents of the USB drive (as shown above) and yes, it really was my image drive that sits in a specially marked envelope in my fire-retardant box.

Then I thought that maybe it was assigned "F" last time I used it, so i renamed it "F", rebooted, and tried again.
Still no luck.

I have the correct physical USB drive, no doubt about that, and my hand-written notes on the envelope confirm a backup on 2021/10/6, so that corresponds.

I hate to think that the drive letter matters. If I backup to drive F and then add an SSD that shunts letters one place to the right, then effectively I would have cut myself off from a system restore in the future.

I am not panicking yet, but would appreciate any suggestions as to what might have changed on my system since October 6th to cause what is Win7 System Image to baulk.

I should add that 168 GB is used, 301 GB is free, so plenty of space there for my drive C which is 41 GB used.

Thanks
Chris

[JoeP]

I recommend you not use the Windows 7 backup but choose a free version of a third-party app such as Macrium Reflect or Easus To-Do.

[ChrisGreaves]

I recommend you not use the Windows 7 backup but choose a free version of a third-party app such as Macrium Reflect or Easus To-Do.

Hi Joe; I understand your recommendation, and I have used both Macrium and EaseUS in the past (years ago), but right now I am curious as to why something that is supplied as part of Win10 should suddenly stop working after about 15 months of operation.

IF my system crashed today, I ponder, will I be able to recover from one of these backups or is the USB drive hardware-corrupt?

Are you suggesting that Macrium or EaseUS will be able to locate and make use of earlier backups from that USB drive?

Thanks
Chris

[JoeP]

I am not suggesting that. Macrium and Easus will not process Windows backups AFAIK. Microsoft's inattention to backup leads me to not be surprised that it is flaky. I have had issues with File History not recognizing a drive it was using for many months. The drive was/is perfectly usable. I think there is a serious bug in the code to recognize USB drives used for Microsoft backups of any kind.

[John Gray]

Macrium and EaseUS make their money from backup software; Microsoft does not.
I know to which I would entrust my data backups

[ChrisGreaves]

I am not suggesting that. Macrium and Easus will not process Windows backups AFAIK. Microsoft's inattention to backup leads me to not be surprised that it is flaky. I have had issues with File History not recognizing a drive it was using for many months. The drive was/is perfectly usable. I think there is a serious bug in the code to recognize USB drives used for Microsoft backups of any kind.

Thank you Joe; that is clear now.
so:-
(a) the backups on that USB drive are probably useless now; there is a chance that Win10/7 might one day wake up and recognize them, but chances are not what I want when it comes to System Image restorations.
(b) I confess that although I have made system images on a regular basis in the past, I have had little reason to use them for an Image restore.

I made a Macrium Reflect image to that USB drive last night.
I will try doing another one tonight, and then try to reload that second image.

For most of my Windows Life I have been trapped between 3rd-party stuff (which I love) and basic Windows. So many corporate clients are leery of 3rd-party that I have tried always to make sure I know how to "do it in Windows", no matter that 3rd party is, I believe, usually much better.
Especially when it comes recommended by members of Eileen's Lounge.


Thanks again
Chris

[ChrisGreaves]

Macrium and EaseUS make their money from backup software; Microsoft does not.
I know to which I would entrust my data backups

Thank you, John.
Your impeccable logic makes complete sense.
As usual.

Cheers
Chris