Forum Discussion
Azure Backup for laptop backup
Hi, is it possible to create a complete backup of a laptop using Azure? I have 2 critical laptops that I need to be able to back up and restore if case of laptop failure. This means, restore on a...
sumo83if your OS is listed in the support matrix for the MARS backup agent then yes, it is possible (see an overview here).
For a one-off solution to preserve the state of a critical machine (short of a full backup solution) there is also the Sysinternals utility Disk2VHD. This will create a VHD (virtual hard disk) that you can mount in Hyper-V as a virtual machine. It's a good solution for short-term recovery or copying data from an older machine but because you have detached the Windows instance from its hardware it can cause license issues to run it this way.
Azure backup also creates a VHD, and updates this snapshot with subsequent incremental backup runs. The documentation notes that if you intend to preserve the state of your machine that will be accomplished for Windows, but not necessarily for other programs you run (although most programs still recover nicely using their own cached state which is being backed up as part of your machine's snapshot).
thank you for this.
Please correct me if I am wrong - I will select "System State" for my scenario right? As there is also a "bare metal" option so not sure which one should I use.
- It sounded like it from your initial description but I recommend first testing the entire process including both backup and restore on a machine that is not 'critical' as you describe the two laptops so that you become familiar with the process and understand the outcomes of the method you use.
I have been following the MS guide to set up System Backup, and got stuck when configuring scheduled backup in MARS on my laptop. I "Select items to backup", as per instructions, I should select "System State". However, I cannot see that option. I only see drive
The confirmation task then shows the backup as "Files and Folders"
Is that how it should be?
Btw, I am trying to backup a laptop running Win11 with C: drive only.
Thank you!
sumo83yes, that looks correct. Your original question didn't specify your operating system. If you look at the matrix linked in my first reply it shows that Windows 11 is supported but for file system backups only, not system state:
