Hi there,
laptop in question is Win7SP1 Home Premium; 64bit; 4x 394Gb drives plus Q: as hidden OS partition.
I'm always sceptical of things working properly when it says it's going to copy all my stuff! lol 
So same goes for the imaging/back-up function of Win7. I currently image & back-up to external hard drives plus also onto the default internal drive. I select all the drives to be backed up because I use them all, except of course the hidden drive. Also I use an external back-up program Memeo by Seagate to make another set onto a Seagate external drive.
What exactly does the IMAGE function copy? As in does it copy the hidden drive containing the OS?
More importantly what DOESN'T it copy? With regard to all the added softwares on my laptop.
Once it is done how is it used (as in restore or reformat or either)? And can it be used from an external drive as in is it bootable (I think that's the correct terminology!). Or must it restore/reformat from within the default drive in the pc?
I ask these questions because I currently have a major issue with Windows Office Starter doing a self destruct & EULA refusing to let Libre Office run in place of Office. 
I have tried the restore function but there are issues & it won't complete due to 'licencing'. If the image won't do it for me, I'll start a new topic in the correct section on the Office thing.
But if I can find out just how extensive the image is I could maybe just do that instead?
Hi ClissAT, and welcome to the forum. 
I currently image & back-up to external hard drives plus also onto the default internal drive
You should never store backups on the system (C) drive, only on external media.
A full system image includes everything contained on the selected drive. If it's the system (C) drive it will include all system files, installed programs, all data, settings, and anything needed for the restored image to boot. Empty (free) space is not generally included but there will often be an option to create a 'sector by sector' image which will then also include free space.
I doubt the "hidden" (Q) partition has anything to do with the working OS. Sounds to me it's most likely a recovery partition which, if the system will not boot, can be used to restore the system back to factory settings - as it was when you first got it.
To restore an image, the user will need some sort of recovery disc (bootable CD/DVD). Normal procedure is to boot from the disc, select the recovery option, select the destination (usually the main drive), select an image to restore, and then press the go button. This will then restore the system/drive back to more or less the same state as it was when the image was created.
Hope that helps. If you have any further questions, fire away.
Cheers now... Jim
Hi Jim, Thanks for that info.
My pc is Asus quad core being 2x WD 1Tb drives each partitioned as follows:-
first drive holds C: & D: (D: as yet unused)
second drive holds E: F: &Q:(yes the recovery drive)
I put most of my data on E drive, F: being the default location for the windows back-up & image software. A lot of stuff ends up on C: & I go through it periodically & move it to E: because C: is filling fast!
So I have a variety of back ups & images from win7, Gentoo & Memeo. I order everything to be copied. Some are copies of back-ups & Images but I don't mind that they are over 300Gb.
I have my recovery & repair discs that I made the day I unpacked the laptop.
So my decision is whether to try to fix the Office Starter version using .....umm not sure what.... or just do a.....repair or whatever. I tried a restore but got the licencing problem because Starter is an OEM product (I think that's the right terminology. It's licenced to the people who build & load the pcs & requires a special licence input or .msi* file. I know where they are on my pc but can't navigate to that folder). I can start another topic in Software if you or someone thinks they can help me with that one.
Okay, but I'm not quite sure what the Office Starter edition has to do with it. Office Starter is a free edition pre-installed on certain systems, generally with an option to upgrade.
Why don't you just uninstall Office Starter and then install Libre Office?
Jim I prefer Windows Office. There were some updates that failed 3-4wks ago & still wanting to install everyday. One was for Office & the other was for .NET framework. They caused Office Starter to lock & ask for a licence key. During the following 2wks of trying to figure it all out I discovered that Starter had been discontinued & the only way to retrieve it was to restore or reformat or repair.
So my question today was in regards to an image if I had to resort to that fix.
Restore was my first choice which didn't work. All the components are there just waiting for the right key or link to be added. However I can't navigate to the bootstrap file of C2R or the .msi*for some reason to create the required link. The link starts computer>OS>(C)>ProgramData>.... When I'm navigating to the folder & I right click on (C), the drop down list doesn't contain ProgramData yet I can search it & the folder containing all the files I need comes up.
The next option is repair which I haven't done since early XP days. But if it is the same process then I should be able to achieve it so long as Office Starter is listed separately.
Lastly is reformat which I need much more info about & would not want to do until all else has been exhausted.
Aha, now I understand. We mentioned those bad MS updates on the blog here: https://davescomputertips.com/latest-ms-office-updates-cause-issues-patches-to-patches-released/
I thought MS had released another batch of updates which supposedly fixed the previous bad ones.
I would guess that the reason you can't see the Program Data folder is because it is hidden. Go to Start>Control Panel>Folder Options. Click on the "View" tab in the Folder Options windows and place a checkmark next to the option to "Show hidden files, folders, and drives". Then click Apply and OK.
You should now be able to see the Program Data folder in the root directory of C drive.
A repair installation is not going to do any good in this case. Repair installations only look at and fix corrupted system files. Office Starter is not part of the operating system so a repair installation won't work.
Your only real choices are to try and fix Office Starter or restore an image. Exactly what is the issue with Office Starter? What happens when you try to open a new Word document? Or when you try to open en existing (previously saved) Word document?
Ahh thanks for that Jim1 I totally forgot about hidden files. Yes I can navigate to it now.
"What happens when you try to open a new Word document"
Jim a variety of messages have popped up saying things like attempting to recover or failure of visualization, or some error code...... or please uninstall & reinstall, etc.
I have just spent several hours attempting to do a restore back to a time when the Windows Starter worked. But in the end nothing connected with Starter or Click-to-Run to get it to open. I have been getting 'fatal error' & failure of visualization thing messages.
I previously did the restore early last week to the same date & that's when I got the message to provide to link to the C2R bootstrap & .msi* files. But I didn't know how to navigate to them. Now I know but the software is gone! 8*(
I have a link to a download & reinstall Click2Run so I'll have to do that first I think. Then try the restore again. I think doing the restore drops that download so maybe I have to save it to disc or put it in another drive because I am only restoring the C drive. But if I put it in another drive I don't know how to link to it later when it's needed to get Starter operational again. Putting it in Program Files is the default location that the pc is set up to draw from.
Yes, well I have had absolutely zero experience with Click2Run, never used it myself. However, if I remember correctly, doesn't Click2Run create a virtual drive labeled "Q"? Pretty sure it does, so that's what your "Q" drive will be all about. In that case, I can understand why system restore has not been fixing the issue.
Anyway, I had a little dig around and came across this article here: http://triplescomputers.com/blog/casestudies/click2run-configuration-failure-when-office-2010-starter-is-launched/
That may help. It seems to have been successful for other users, hopefully it will be for you too.
Cheers... Jim
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