Backup Windows 8/8.1 Operating System | 3 Popular Ways

Should We Backup Windows 8/8.1 Operating System?

Definitely yes! Backup Windows OS after installing the system is necessary. No matter Windows 8/8.1 or Windows XP/Vista/7/10, backup system can solve many problems. Here we summarize some common reasons: 

Prevent system failure and data loss due to it: We all know that the computer may get in troubles because of many effects, such as virus attacks, hard drive broken, human’s wrong operations, etc. Many accidents can result in system crash. Once the system down, your computer cannot boot, the information may lose, the data may broke.

Fast recovery: A system image backup will include the operating system, system files, drivers, installed program, data etc on the system partition, thus you can easily restore Windows 8 image to SSD or HDD without downtime if something bad happens.  You don't need to reinstall Windows or factory reset it to default settings.

How to Backup Windows 8 or 8.1 Operating System 

Does Windows 8 or 8.1 have a backup program? You may have this question if you don't create a system image for your computer before. The answer is positive - you can still use Windows 7 Backup and Restore in Windows 8 or 8.1. However, it is hidden in the File History.

? Way 1: Using System Image Backup
? Way 2: Using Windows 7 File Recovery
? How to Automatically Backup Windows 8/8.1 (Effective?)

Way 1: Using System Image Backup

Step 1. Click Start button -> Control Panel -> select Save backup copies of your files with File History under System and Security.

Step 2. In the pop-up window, select System Image Backup from the left bottom.

Step 3. Check On a hard disk and select an external hard drive or other devices where you want to store the backup image. 

Step 4. Confirm backup settings and click Start Backup to backup Windows 8 or 8.1 operating system. 

Way 2: Using Windows 7 File Recovery

Step 1. Press the Windows key and search for "recovery". Then select Windows 7 File Recovery.

Step 2. When Windows 7 File Recovery opens, click the Create a system image option in the sidebar.

Step 3. Select a backup destination and run the backup.

Now you may successfully create Windows 8 operating system backup with step by step guide above. But you may find this software does not support creating OS backup automatically. That's to say, you can only restore your computer back to the state you backed it up and lose all of the changes made from that.

You may feel terrible if you lose any data after system recovery. Then, how to backup operating system for Windows 8 or 8.1 automatically and easily? You can use a third-party reliable backup software in the next part.

How to Automatically Backup Windows 8/8.1 (Effective?)

AOMEI Backupper Standard is free backup software used by millions of users worldwide. With it, you can easily create Windows 8 operating system backup as well as other systems, such as Windows 11, 10, 7, Vista, XP. Below are useful features of it:

Backup system automatically: You can backup system in daily, weekly, or monthly mode, thereby keeping changed data included in the backup.

Use less backup time or disk space: It allows you to backup only used sectors of file system, keep only changed files with Incremental Backup, and compress a backup image to smaller ones, etc.

Various backup destinations: With it, you can backup Windows 8 operating system to external hard drive, USB drive, cloud drive, network drive, etc.

Free and easy to use.

Now, download AOMEI Backupper Standard and install it on the Windows 8 operating system. Prepare an external hard drive if you want to backup Windows 8 to an external disk. 

Step 1. Launch AOMEI Backupper Standard, click “Backup” and then “System Backup”.

Step 2. In the system backup window, the system and boot partition has been selected by default, so you only need to select a destination place to store the backup image. You can choose a local space or an external hard drive, even backup to NAS.

Step 3. Click "Schedule Backup" and "Enable Schedule Backup", then select "Daily", "Weekly", or "Monthly" backup frequency. Afterward, click “Start Backup” to create OS backup in Windows 8 automatically.

Notes:

• You can click “Options” to add comments for the backup, set image compression level, and so on.
• You can click "Backup Scheme" to set Full/Incremental Backup method. Also, you can use Differential Backup and enable Automatic Backup Cleanup to delete old backup images if you upgrade to the professional version.

Summary

Backing up Windows 8 or 8.1 operating system is not difficult as long as you have reliable backup software. The built-in tool is a good option if you think it's OK to backup system manually. But if you want to make this task automatically and easily, AOMEI Backupper Standard will be a better choice. 

Not only creating scheduled backup, it also provides other useful features you will benefit from, such as Normal or High compression level, Intelligent Sector Backup, Incremental Backup, Email Notification, etc. You'll get more pleased to find out it is also wonderful hard drive transfer software.